Emerald Fire (16 page)

Finn’s eyes narrowed. Jason had looks and charm, and the crew here seemed to respect him. He couldn’t find a single fault to latch onto except he and Chloe were acting all friendly. It felt wrong, like a kick in the gut, and he didn’t understand why.

It wasn’t because Finn was impressed by her strength and resilience. Or that she was tenacious enough to take on pirates, handle firearms without flinching, and still charm a complete stranger over dinner. It was more like she had turned him inside out and nothing made sense anymore. He thought he knew how to read people, and yet he had her all wrong. He’d pegged her for the sophisticate, the kind who spent her days relaxing poolside and sipping champagne. Instead, she was self-possessed, determined, and courageous.

He’d wanted to put her on a plane and send her back home just a few days ago. Now another man looked at her in appreciation, and he wanted to shove a fist into something. The only viable explanation was that he’d hit his head during their escape. Probably had a whopper of a concussion.

Finn sat back in his chair. The more he watched Chloe work her magic, the more his jaw clenched in aggravation. As the minutes crawled by, the crew cycled in and out, some grabbing a quick bite at one of the other tables, some taking a tray to go. The one thing they all had in common seemed to be a work ethic that didn’t slow down. A tropical storm brewing outside didn’t mean work stopped; it just moved everyone inside where they studied whatever data they’d collected.

Jason and Chloe suddenly burst out laughing, and he’d missed whatever caused it. He frowned, their easy banter only fueling his mystifying sense of irritation.

Chloe lifted her lemonade and took a sip, glancing at him over the rim of her glass. How did her lips still manage to curve while she drank? And how did she manage to look so fresh and enticing while wounded, exhausted, and wearing borrowed clothing?

“Don’t you agree, Finn?” she asked him.

He stared at her in consternation, suspecting that she knew he’d not heard a word of their conversation. Knew it and was pointing out that fact.

He decided to change the subject. “What exactly is the
Seagrove
researching?” Finn asked Jason abruptly.

Jason lifted a brow in interest, glancing between Finn and Chloe with a level of speculation that never ended well. Finn wanted to swear. He’d made a point earlier of establishing a claim on Chloe, so for all Jason knew, the two of them were a couple. Except all through dinner Finn had done nothing but scowl darkly as Chloe beguiled Jason with an ease that should be a warning bell to any man within a hundred yard radius. Jason didn’t get the message, however. He just leaned back in his chair with a sense of calm that Finn used to own until the day he’d met Chloe Larson.

“Our crew works for the Wallace Ocean Science Institute in the Bahamas,” Jason explained to Finn. “The
Seagrove
is here to study the effects of environmental change in coral reef. Something NOAA is interested in enough to fund an expedition and provide a ship.”

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration?” Finn asked, suddenly interested. “Why is a federal weather agency interested in Caribbean marine life?”

“It’s complicated,” Jason replied. “Predicting catastrophic storms is only part of NOAA. Oceans and atmosphere are linked. What happens in one, affects the other. Coastal ecosystems are at the mercy of global climate patterns, which also affect shipping lanes, fisheries, oil drilling, the list goes on and on.”

“What’s happening in the Caribbean?” Finn asked.

“Increasing ocean acidification and thermal stress,” Jason replied. “Warmer surface water temperatures, rising sea levels, and higher concentrations of CO2 in the water. Any of it can signal a shift in ocean currents.”

Chloe sat forward in her chair, arms folded on the table in front of her. “Which can affect weather, economic stability, tourism, you name it.”

“You got it.”

“Are you a marine biologist?” she asked him.

“Not exactly,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Not yet, anyhow. I’m a bit of a hybrid. For the past several years I’ve been a veterinarian.”

Chloe laughed softly and shook her head. “What’s an animal doctor doing in the middle of an ocean studying coral?”

Jason smiled back at her. “It’s a long story, one that started with a trip to Africa.”

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked.

There she went again, back to work charming their host. Finn continued to listen, but the show was decidedly more fascinating. Watching Chloe beguile and engage her quarry was a sight to see. Clearly, she could put people at ease when she wanted to. Why hadn’t she ever tried that technique on him? Since the day he’d met her, she’d done nothing but demand, negotiate, tempt, and drive him crazy.

She wasn’t showing that side of her personality to Jason. Nope. All he was seeing was the injured Chloe, the pleasing dinner companion, the mild-mannered siren in sheep’s clothing. He hadn’t met the shrewd and stubborn Chloe, the one who refused to take no for an answer. Apparently that Chloe was reserved special just for Finn.

“Africa was a life-altering experience,” Jason was saying. “Mostly due to a friend of mine named Miranda Bennett. She’s one of the top dental zoologists in the country.”

“Whoa…an animal dentist?” Chloe asked in surprise. “How fascinating.”

“Miranda lives and breathes animal welfare,” Jason said. “I was lucky enough to work with her, despite the fact that she’s bossy and kept me on the straight and narrow. She and her husband, Matt, currently run an animal sanctuary in Botswana. Just so happens that I helped Matt save her life when an arms dealer kidnapped her. She repays me by interfering with every career move I ever think of making. Wouldn’t have it any other way, though.”

Finn hated the way Chloe was looking at Jason, intent and focused on his every word. He reminded himself that he’d only known the woman a few days. He’d no reason to resent her smiling at anyone. Except he did.

Jason offered up the plate of cookies to Chloe, and she selected a peanut butter one as he kept talking. “Miranda made the job seem sexy, like it was the most desirable career field on the planet. And it is. I love being a vet. But I’ve always been interested in marine life. She picked up on that, and the next thing I knew she’d connected me with friends at Sea World, which led to NOAA, and here we are.”

“She sounds like a wonderful friend,” Chloe responded, breaking off a piece of her cookie and nibbling.

“The best.” He held the plate out toward Finn, but after a negative shake of his head, Jason set the cookies back on the table.

“I have—” Chloe covered her mouth on a sudden yawn. “Oh, dear…oh…I’m so sorry.”

Finn had heard enough. He pushed back his chair and stood, ready to call dinner done. “It’s been a long and grueling couple of days. If you don’t mind, Chloe should get some rest. How about we call it a night?”

Jason matched his move and stood to shake Finn’s hand. He was grateful for the man’s hospitality. They’d be in a world of hurt without it. But at the same time, he’d wrestled with an urge to punch the man’s lights out. The dual emotions were foreign and uncomfortable, to say the least. And every bit of it was Chloe’s fault.

“Absolutely,” Jason replied with a suspiciously knowing grin. “I shouldn’t have kept you so long. We should reach Freeport on Grand Bahama Island by tomorrow afternoon. Breakfast is at seven, but there’s always something to eat no matter what time you venture out.”

Dinner had been delightful, despite bone-deep exhaustion and Finn’s constant scowl and surly mood. Chloe had found it easy to be polite to their rescuer. Jason was quite charismatic. Finn, on the other hand, had a lot to learn when it came to social graces. She cut him some slack during the meal, but the second their cabin door shut, she took him to task for his lapse in manners.

“I realize you’re every bit as tired as me,” she said as Finn grabbed his duffle bag and began spreading the contents to dry, “but isn’t there a bounty hunting manual that teaches the art of polite dinner conversation without snapping at the host like a growly bear?”

“Sure there is,” he replied tersely. “I didn’t read it.”

Something was eating at him, something beyond their life-threatening ordeal. She just had no idea what it could be. “You know, if anyone has the right to be grouchy, it’s me, not you.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well, for starters,” she said, hands on hips, “I’m the one who got shot.”

He snorted. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

“Yes,” she said with a shrug, “but it was a dirty bullet. I might have an infection.” That much was true. Kyle said so. Open wounds, warm saltwater, yada, yada.

He shot her a skeptical look. “You are, without a doubt, the most exasperating female I’ve ever met,” he said with a complete lack of sympathy over her injury. “Anybody ever tell you that?”

“Never,” she declared. “Not even once.”

“Liar.”

Her earlier feelings of guilt over his sacrifice were beginning to fade. “Oh, yeah? Well, ditto.”

She turned away from him, disgusted with her brilliant display of inept debating skill. She blamed it on the fact that when it came to bad days, today was the second worst day of her life. The first being the day she lost her parents in the plane crash. And now she’d just lost the only real comfort she’d known since that awful day. She felt out of sorts, her arm ached like the devil, and she wanted to scream through a tidal wave of anger and resentment. Instead she maintained control. But it cost her. Whatever sharp-witted dialogue she had left, she’d spent at dinner.

She tossed her bag up on the top bunk, intending to follow it up, but decided to give it another shot and turned back to face him. “I don’t understand you. From day one, you’ve not wanted me around and haven’t once tried to hide it. I’ve done nothing but try to help. It’s not my fault pirates ruined everything. Why are you angry at me?”

When he took a step toward her, she stepped back, hitting the bunk. He stopped right in front of her, fireworks lighting his blue eyes as they glared at her in accusation. “I’m angry because from the day we met, you’ve done nothing but aggravate me.”

“That’s not true.” She decided to glare at him, understanding be damned. “And it’s unfair. If not for me, you wouldn’t have made it this far. Up to now, I’ve been your ace in the hole. The fact you didn’t like having a partner isn’t a problem you need to take out on me or our rescuer.”

His expression darkened. “You make it sound like I couldn’t have done it without you. For the record, I’ve managed plenty of cases all by myself.”

“But you didn’t have to with this one. I had the GPS location of the
Fire.
” She couldn’t stop arguing with him, even though she knew they were both under stress.

“True enough,” he said in voice that finally started revealing emotion. Not good ones, but even anger was better than the dead zone he’d been in all through dinner. “But those coordinates wouldn’t have done you any good without me.”

“To quote you, ‘I could’ve handled it on my own.’"

He gave a short bark of laughter. “Who was it that got results when the port authority shut you down?”

Her eyes narrowed. “That windbag was probably taking kickbacks.”

“Who had the know-how and the laptop to research piracy in the area?”

“Something I didn’t need since I had the actual location of the yacht,” she said with a tight smile.

“Maybe,” he said. “But it was my idea to steal it back from the pirates.”

He had her with that one. But she wasn’t giving in just yet. “Who all but handed you that bounty money so you’d work with me? I had to pay for your services.”

That was hardly a fair statement and she knew it. He needed that money. He had a family business on the line.

“You know what?” he asked smartly. “I can’t figure you out. You are secretive and deceptive. You want help but refuse to explain. Well, I’m getting tired of playing that game.”

He’d hit a home run, and she responded with silence. When his jaw hardened and fingers clenched into a fist, a wave of remorse washed over her. This argument was ridiculous. She didn’t really feel this way. Him wanting her gone was true enough, but it wasn’t what she wanted to say. This wasn’t one-sided. And she wasn’t the only one dealing with a loss.

He was about to say something, but she held up her hand. “Please, let’s stop. We’re both tired and saying things we don’t mean.”

Finn didn’t move, but his eyes spoke volumes. They were a mixture of anger and something else. Regret maybe. But she doubted that. This man didn’t strike her as the type to second-guess anything he said or did.

But he finally nodded in agreement, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“You’re right,” he said brusquely and moved away from her to finish emptying his bag. “Arguing doesn’t serve any purpose. We’re alive, the
Fire
is gone, and what happens from here is anyone’s guess.”

They might have lost this round to pirates, but that didn’t mean the war was over. At least not for her. She still had the journal, the promise of royal emeralds worth a queen’s ransom. What did he have waiting? The loss of his family heritage. Surely he had other irons in the fire. Missing out on this one bounty wouldn’t be the end. Would it?

“What does happen now?” she asked him. “Boston Marine doesn’t have to pay a claim, but will they pay you a flat fee for almost getting the ship back?”

He laughed, but there was little humor in it. “No one gets paid. Not me, not your uncle, and not the criminal trophy wife. Intentional sinking isn’t exactly covered by insurance.”

She knew that, but hoped he’d get something for his efforts. Guilt nibbled on the edges of her conscious, and she fought against it. Was it her fault they couldn’t win against an army of cutthroats? No. But on the same token, it wasn’t his fault the
Fire
now rested at the bottom of the sea either. Wait, technically it was his idea, but it saved them from a horrible fate.

“Will NorthStar survive?” She didn’t want to hear the answer, but she had to know.