Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (3 page)

She
worked he
r left hand into a crevice, and draped her other arm around Maddock.
She looked
at him
, uncertain what to say.
She
’
d expected to dislike him, but now she wasn
’
t so sure.

“
How are you holding up?
”
Maddock aske
d, his thickly muscled arms trembling and his knuckles white.

“
That depends on how much
longer you can hang on
.
”
Avery struggled against the urge to look down.

“
Are you kidding?
I
’
m in this for the long
haul.
”

Avery forced a smile and felt herself slip a little bit.
“
I
’
m sorry about this. It
’
s not the way I intended for us to meet.
”

“
So you don
’
t spend your days hanging around pits with strange men?
”

Her fingers slipped
again
and she wondered
, for a moment,
if she should just let go. This was all her fault and it wasn
’
t fair for Maddock to go down with her. Literally.

“
Did somebody say hanging?” Just then, a rope dropped down alongside them. “Don
’
t worry. It
’
s not a noose.”

“Bones!” Maddock exclaimed. “It
’
s about time you got here.”

“Talk about ungrateful. Now, how about you and your new friend take hold of this rope before you both fall?”

Avery reached out
,
slipped one arm through the loop
,
and
grabbed hold of the rope.
She started to rise
and, next thing she knew, strong hands lifted her up and onto solid ground

Her rescuers were
tough-looking men. One
, a stocky man with short brown hair, introduced himself.

“I
’
m Matt,” he said. “This is Bones.”

Bones stood well over six feet tall, with striking Native American features, and a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. He wore his long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail
, and his t-shirt displayed a giraffe with a speech bubble that read, “Moo! I
’
m a goat.”

“
Maddock
’
s got to go
back down
for his air tank and other crap,” Bones said.
“
He
’
ll meet us back at headquarters, if you can call it that.
”

“
Okay.
”
Avery could barely find words. She was still freaked out about her near death experience and she was exhausted from the ordeal.
“Are you part of Mister Maddock
’
s crew?”

“
He
’
s my partner. Or I
’
m his. It gets a little confused at times.
And don
’
t bother with the
‘
Mister.
’
He just goes by Maddock.
”
He raised an eyebrow. “You got a name?”

“
Avery Halsey,
”
she replied.
“
Sorry, I
’
m usually much friendlier.
”

“
I hear you.
”
Bones took her by the arm and guided her toward the work site.
“
What are you doing out here anyway?
”

“
If you
’
re
Maddock
’
s partner, then
I have a business proposition for the two of you.
”

Bones didn
’
t break
his
stride or even look at her, but threw his head back and laughed.

“
Did I say something funny?
”

“
No,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s just, we get that all the time.
”

A motley group awaited them
at the work site
. The two who stood out to her were both Native America
n
. One was an attractive young woman with the body of an aerobics instructor. Avery wondered if she was Bones
’
girlfriend, and found the thought raised a pang of jealousy. Whatever. She
’
d known the guy for
all of
two minutes.

The
other
was a man of about sixty. Unlike Bones, he wore his long, silver-streaked hair down, with a black leather headband holding it back. His weathered face was handsome and
, like Bones,
mischief danced in his eyes. He wore
a
coat and tie
,
blue jeans
,
and cowboy boots.

Bones introduced the man as his uncle,
“
Crazy
”
Charlie Bonebrake, and the girl as his sister, Angelica, or Angel for short. Now that she saw them up close, the family resemblance was unmistakable.

“
Glad to see you
’
re okay,
”
Angel said. Her handshake was firm, almost manly in its strength, but the air about her was d
istinctly
feminine,
though with a touch of tomboy.

“
We
had no idea
anyone was coming out to the site,
”
Crazy Charlie said
, a touch of disapproval in his voice
.
“
If we hadn
’
t
gotten Willis’s call
, we
’
d never have known.

“
I still can
’
t believe I fell. I
’
ve been coming to this island since I was a little girl. I know better than to let my mind wander.
”

“
So, what brings you here?
”
Charlie crossed his arms and waited for an answer. The transfor
mation was immediate,
as his expression went from warm and inviting to cold and calculating in a flash. Two men moved in to flank Avery on either side. What was going on?

“
You need to chill, U
ncle.
”
Bones stepped in between them.
“
She
’
s here to see me and Maddock.

Charlie considered Bones
’
words before dismissing his men with a jerk of his head. He
looked at
Avery a moment longer.

“
All right, then. Just be sure to let us know before you visit the work site
again
.
For safety reasons
.
”

Avery nodded. She
doubted
that safety was Charlie
’
s primary concern, but she couldn
’
t very well argue with him. After all, she
’
d just demonstrated the perils of wandering the island alone. Still
, w
hat was with the thugs?
Just t
reasure hunter paranoia, she supposed.

“
I understand. Sorry for coming unannounced.
”

“
I
’
ll leave you to the kids, then.
”
Charlie winked at Bones, patted Angel on the shoulder, and left.

“
Gotta love old folks,
”
Bones said.
“
They never forget you were once five years old.
”

“
Maybe if you didn
’
t still act like you were five,
”
Angel
said in a scornful tone
. She turned to Avery.
“
Let me look at your hands.
”
She gave them a quick inspection before leading
Avery
to a nearby tent
where she cleaned and bandaged
them
. Maddock arrived just as they were finishing up.

“
So, you never told me what you were doing here,
”
he said
without preamble
.

“
I came here looking for you.
”
Avery bit her lip.
“
It
’
s about your father and his research.
”

The color drained from Maddock
’
s face. He looked at her, nonplussed. It was an odd expression for a man who, minutes before, had bravely scaled a wall to rescue her.

“
I
’
m sorry. I don
’
t know much about his research, and he
’
s been dead for years.
”

“
Please.
”
She felt a lump forming in her throat.
“
I wouldn
’
t ask if
it weren
’
t important. Could we, maybe,
meet somewhere and
discuss it, at least?
”

Maddock
and Bones looked at one another
, as if
each were reading the other
’
s thoughts. Finally, Bones gave a shrug and nodded.

“
All right,
”
Maddock said.
“
No promises, bu
t you name the time and place and we
’
ll be there.

“
Oh, come on.
”
Avery balled her fist and
pounded
the dashboard o
f her Ford Ranger. She found the loud thump
satisfying
. Not so
satisfying was the hot air that continued to pour out of the vents. She supposed punching the dash wasn
’
t air conditioning repair 101, but it was her only option
at the moment.
She
’
d just have to roll down the windows and deal with it.

Springtime in Kidd
’
s Cross with no air. This would do wonders for her hair.
Was she fated to look like a slob every time she and Maddock met?

Already imagining rivulets of sweat pouring down her back, she pulled into the parking lot of the Spinning Crab, narrowly missing a drunk college kid who reeled into her path. He shouted and gave her the finger, but froze when their eyes met.

Avery rolled down the window as she guided the little pickup into the nearest empty parking space.

“
Let me guess,
”
she called to the dumbstruck young man.
“
You
’
re telling me I
’
m your number one professor.
”

The
boy grinned sheepishly
.

“
Sorry Miss Halsey. I guess I had a couple too many.
”

“
Don
’
t forget you
’
ve got an exam
coming up
. I think it would be a good idea for you to impress me, if you get my meaning.
”

The young man nodded and hurried away amid the good-natured ribbing of his friends. Considering the quality of his academic performance so far this semester, Billy Dorne wasn
’
t likely to impress her or anyone else with his brilliance, but maybe the dunce would at least crack a book.

She killed the engine and checked her hair and makeup in the rear-view mirror.
Not as bad as she
’
d feared
. She just needed to get inside before she started sweating like a pig
.