Shell Game (13 page)

Luke took the sprayer from her. “Some buddies and I got a chance to go on leave there, and we grabbed it.”

“That’s right. You mentioned you’d been in the navy.”

The boat sputtered and jerked, then slowed and pulled alongside the short wooden dock.

“All aboard is in thirty minutes,” the dive leader said. “You can leave all the rented gear here. We’ll take care of it.”

Sharla set her face mask on the bench atop the wet suit she’d used, then reached for her cover-up. Sliding it over her head she felt the pockets for her keycard and ID.

“Something wrong?” Luke asked.

“I thought I put my cabin key in the pocket.”

Looking first from side to side, he bent down on all fours, feeling around under the benches.

Her gaze immediately went to the way his swim trunks hugged his backside, and she had to stop her mind from coming up with all sorts of interesting pictures.

“Here you go.”

“This seems to be my day to keep saying thank-you.”
Especially for the view
. “I wouldn’t want to learn the hard way how to get back on the ship without ID.”

“I doubt they’d just leave you here.”

“Maybe, but I’d rather not find out.” If there was one thing she’d gotten good at through the years, it was following the rules. Nothing to attract the attention of the police or a governmental bureaucracy, and that included the ship’s captain.

Halfway to the ship, Kyle emerged from under a thatch of palm trees to join them as they walked. “D’ya have a good
dai
?”

“I did.” She grinned. He did so sound like an Australian tourism commercial. Any minute she expected him to mention throwing shrimp on the barbie. “Enjoy your afternoon off?”

“Indeed.”

He gave a short wave to Luke who, moments ago, had been walking at arm’s length beside her and now stood so close she could feel the hair on his arms tickling her skin.

When Kyle fell in step at her other side, Luke’s hand slid over and settled at the small of her back. The unexpected contact seared her skin, sending heated sparks in every direction.

As quickly as his hand had advanced, it withdrew. Luke seemed to take an intentional step aside, leaving a good foot of space and no risk of contact between them. It was almost as if he had been as startled as she’d been to find his hand on her back. The rest of the walk he and Kyle chatted about the dive, compared the waters around Australia to the Caribbean and Hawaii, and agreed hands-down that Australia was a winner.

Back on board, keycards recorded and carried-on goods scanned, Kyle waved good-bye to her and Luke, and turned down what she presumed was the crew corridor.

“Sounds like Uncle Sam kept his promise to you,” she said.

“Oh, which was that?”

“Join the navy and see the world.”

Luke laughed and punched the elevator button. “Oh, yeah. I did at that.”

“Did you like it?”

“The navy?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you leave?” He looked up at the panel of numbers over the elevator for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to answer.

“It was time.”

She considered the evasion. “What did you do?”

His head turned, and his gaze locked with hers.

The way he stared so intently into her eyes, she’d have believed he was trying to read her mind. Or see her soul.

“I’m a SEAL, Sharla.”

There was no need for a mirror to know her eyes were huge with surprise. A million careers in the navy, from paper-pusher to auto mechanic, and he had to be the most elite of Special Forces. “You said ‘am’ present tense. I thought you weren’t in the military anymore?”

“Once a SEAL always a SEAL. But I have been out of the navy for a little over two years.”

“Oh.” Relief rolled over her like the wake of a speedboat at full throttle. He may have once upon a time been the stuff movies were made of, but he didn’t do life-threatening missions anymore. Unless… “So what do you do now?”

“I work for the State Department.”

Images of bullets flying and Luke falling on the president to save the commander in chief’s life flashed before her eyes in widescreen Technicolor. “Secret Service?” She hoped he didn’t hear the note of panic in her voice.

“No.” He smiled. “The president’s going to have to stay safe without me.”

The tension eased from her shoulders. She wasn’t looking for a man and a relationship, but something about Luke Chapman was too damn hard to resist. But resist she would if he’d had another high-risk job. She’d been there. Done that. Hated the T-shirt. “Then what do you do?”

He hesitated again, studying her much the way he had a few minutes before, when she had asked what he’d done in the navy. “Internal Affairs.”

“Ooh, that’s gotta be rough. I know in the police department, those guys might as well work in a leper colony.” The night Danny had died, Tyler had taken out the perp with one clean shot. While the rest of the department had cheered, Internal Affairs had run an investigation. Standard procedure, Tyler had told her. But she saw how it had affected him and the other guys who had been mulling about her house in those days.

“Someone has to do it.” Luke smiled but the usual sparkle didn’t appear in his eyes.

The elevator opened at her floor, and she wasn’t surprised to have Luke follow her out and down the hall to her cabin to wait while she shoved open the door.

Over her shoulder he did a quick visual, and this time his eyes twinkled brightly when he smiled at her. “See you at dinner.”

She was going to have to make up her mind. Even if Luke didn’t have a high-risk job, and regardless how he seemed—with every hour—to dig himself deeper under her skin, he wasn’t likely to be looking for a relationship anyhow.

The cabin steward had already left her a new folded-towel animal on the bed. A peacock. She almost laughed. Beautiful and captivating. Just like Luke Chapman. And the question still lingered: to fling or not to fling?

* * *

Seated at the head of the table, Herbie dropped his napkin and, leaning over, whispered to Luke. “Anything new?”

Luke gave a minimal shake of his head. There’d been no time to contact Kate. On land he’d kept his cell on Roam just in case she had some breaking news for him. But nothing. They’d have to wait for the music trivia contest tonight and try to get George talking after the game.

“Oh, look.” Sophia broke away from her conversation with Sharla and waved her fingers in the air.

His back to the door, Luke saw no need to turn and look. Gloria Bailey’s perfume smacked him upside the head twenty seconds before she reached the table.

“So glad you decided to join us.” Sophia smiled at Gloria and George, then glanced over to Herbie and Luke. “We bumped into each other in the ladies’ room a little while ago.”

“We have the most boring table.” Gloria took an empty seat. “One honeymoon couple who can’t stop making goo-goo eyes long enough to chew, never mind talk. And two sisters from Wyoming. I didn’t know people really lived there. All they talk about is sheep. Ack.”

“So naturally I said they should join us, since we have these two extra chairs.” Sophia beamed a little too brightly for a mere friendly gesture.

The same gut feeling Luke had when Conway had talked him into taking this cruise reared its head. Sophia’s grin shouted ulterior motive. But what in heaven’s name could the old bird want with George and Gloria?

Sophia and Herbie moved over a place so George could sit by his wife. In no time at all George and Herbie were already engrossed in sports talk, but Luke knew Herbie was just waiting for an opening. Gloria on the other hand seemed to have a mind only for food. For a thin woman, she ate like the proverbial horse. She’d ordered two appetizers, the salad, and the New York strip steak with grilled shrimp.

He couldn’t tell if Sharla’s eyes were wide from the amount of food Gloria had ordered or the size of the rock Gloria kept waving in front of Sharla’s face. An inch closer and she could take out an eye with the thing.

Sophia seemed to be the only one engrossed in the tiny menu, but he’d noticed her gaze shift from the specials to the hand Gloria kept waving about as her mouth prattled on about the secret to weight control being the right balance of protein, carbs and fat. He suspected a good plastic surgeon was probably her true secret weapon but thought it safer to refrain from commenting. He also debated if Sophia’s interest was in her granddaughter’s safety or the size of the ring that had almost smacked him in the face as well, on that first day on the ship.

Ordering only the salad and the Chilean bass, Sophia gave the waiter that sweet doting smile that made Luke think of lilacs and crocheted afghans and all things granny, then she looked up at George. “So, what are your and Gloria’s plans for when we dock in San Juan tomorrow?”

The way George puffed up before speaking, Luke already knew George was going to start bragging on his real estate ventures.

“Actually I’m going to hire a car and head out to the site of my next project.”

“Oh, Herbie mentioned you’re in real estate. Such an interesting business, but I have such a terrible head for numbers. I’d never be able to understand it.”

“Not what I do.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, we all know the real money to be made is in the resort land deals. There are so many small investors who can’t amass enough funds to buy into a large opportunity alone, but together…” He raised a forefinger at her and winked. “Together they can play with the big boys.”

“You make it sound more like fun than business. What part in this dealmaking do you have?” Sophia leaned back for the waiter to set her salad in front of her. The entire table remained quiet as the two servers set a dish before each of them.

As soon as the waitstaff were gone, George continued his explanation. “I keep an eye out for underdeveloped property with resort potential. Many Caribbean islands have limited economies in the main cities and ports, but, with the right backing, private resorts in the outskirts become popular tourist destinations.”

“Especially the ones for honeymoons,” Gloria added between bites of her escargot.

“Then what?” Sophia pressed.

“A corporation is formed and investors put money into a pool in exchange for shares in the new company. Those funds are then used to buy small parcels of land at a good price. Once all the parcels are bought up, the corporation sells the land as a package to the developers for a nice profit.”

Luke saw the opening to get more info and pounced. “You’ve found a good site in San Juan?”

“Not San Juan proper of course. On the east side of the island.”

Not wanting to seem too interested, Luke paused, stabbing at a lettuce leaf. “Really? Why is this site a contender?”

“Pristine beaches. Off the beaten path, but not too far from the main highway. Building roads and bringing in infrastructure will be done at a minimal cost. Big companies put the local sugar cane growers out of business long ago. The nearby small village is dying, and the descendants are ready to move on to bigger and better things. The timing is right.”

Sophia cut into her fish. “Sounds perfect.”

“It really is. The locals call it Miracle Bend. Back in the late eighteen hundreds, an epidemic of what historians believe might have been typhoid fever hit that side of the island. There used to be a small catholic monastery nearby. They took in the sick, instructed the locals in the then-unheard-of practices of boiling for sterilization, and washing their hands before handling food and water. The spread of the disease slowed, the sick began to recover and, as far as the locals were concerned, the monks saved the people and the economy. Which at the time relied heavily on having enough people to work the sugar cane.”

“Great story.” Herbie pointed to George with his fork. “Tourists love local color. Too bad I didn’t bump into George here sooner. All the company shares have been sold.”

Sophia blew out a heavy sigh, her entire body deflating with the departed breath. “Well, that’s just a shame. I’ve had a little money tucked away looking for the right investment, and this seems like the perfect fit for me. I have the money, and you have the brains.”

Saint George blustered and grinned. “You are too kind.”

“I’ve had almost a hundred grand sitting in the bank earning pennies for so long, maybe you can keep me in mind for your next project?”

For a few seconds George’s complexion grew so pale, Luke wondered if Sophia had just given the man a heart attack, but, before anyone else noticed his reaction, George cleared his throat and leaned slightly forward over his empty plate. “If you two would like to tag along tomorrow and see for yourselves, I can have the accountant double-check all the files and confirm we’re sold out.”

“Ooh.” Sophia clapped her hands together excitedly. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful, Herbie, if there were a few more shares available?”

Herbie’s gaze bore into Sophia. “Yes. Yes it would.”

Chapter Fourteen

Something was going on, and, though Sharla didn’t have a clue what, she was positive she didn’t like it. Since when did Nana have a hundred grand sitting in the bank collecting dust? The whole reason they shared a house was to cut back on expenses. And what was all this business about real estate? Why in heaven’s name would her grandmother want to buy into a resort? Of all the things…
Oh, shit
.