Treasure Tides (The Coins) (17 page)

Jackass
displayed
on the backlit screen. “Nice,” he said, responding with a text of his own.
n ur dreams wolf boy
Joanna countered via her keyboard.
He turned his gaze toward Joanna and continued to wait patiently
until she looked at him.
She finally turned her head in his direction
almost against her will.
“Count on it,” Landon assured her.

Joanna’s eyes were glued to the screen in front of her, monitoring
both teams of divers as they scoured the bottom of the harbor. She had
taken a break from trying to figure out how to lift the cloaking spell on
the coin.
She had made very little headway, and the process was
draining. However, there were still some things she wanted to try.

Landon had turned out to be an unexpected pain in her ass. He was
clearly used to brainless twits fawning all over him. “Count on it,” he
had said. Unfortunately, Joanna had learned long ago that the only thing
she could count on from a man was pain and heartache.

Leaving the computer set in “alert” mode, she walked to the railing
where she and Landon had stood a short while ago.
As soon as she
touched him, she had felt a premonition of sorts.
It was fuzzy and
unclear, but she sensed danger.

Castle Pinckney sat in the distance while Joanna tried to imagine it as
it had once been. Suddenly, she felt as if someone or something was
trying to communicate with her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on
searching for whatever was out there. It was an elusive sort; she couldn’t
quite push close enough to mentally connect. As she concentrated more
intently, blocking out the world around her, she felt herself being drawn
toward something unexplainable.
Smack!
Joanna felt as if she had
physically run into a wall of concrete.

Someone needed her. They were trying to tell her something
important, but there was an invisible force blocking the communication
in some way. She pulled on all of her energy searching for a way around
the roadblock.

Yes
! There it was-- a trail as thin and fragile as a spider’s web. She
followed the trail deeper and deeper. Tackling this sort of thing alone
was dangerous and exhausting. Joanna knew she should pull back, but
could not bring herself to sever the thin connection. Deeper and deeper
she ventured, further and further away, searching, seeking.

“
Beep--Beep!
” Joanna’s laptop startled her out of the trance-like state
she had fallen into.
Dropping her head onto the railing, she took a
moment to gather her strength.
So tired.
“
Beep--Beep!
” She knew the
sound would not stop until she checked it. Sighing, she forced herself to
push off of the railing and make her way to the computer. She felt a
splash on her forearm and saw a drop of bright red blood.
Great! Could
one more thing piss her off?
Grabbing a tissue from beneath a bench seat,
she focused on the screen.

“c u @ boat,” Sean had responded. They were returning to talk
about the find and decide how to proceed.
Joanna had hoped for a little more time to rejuvenate before Royce
came back on board. She hoped he didn’t notice the dark circles that
now stood out beneath her eyes. At least her nose had stopped bleeding.
She quickly stashed the bloody tissue in her bikini top.
As the men surfaced they ripped the regulators out of their mouths
and celebrated.
High-fives all around!
Joanna had to laugh at their
excitement.
“Nice going, guys,” Joanna called before hurrying below. She really
needed to rest for just a moment longer.
She slid into one of the
benches surrounding the table and cradled her head on folded arms. She
kept one ear tuned to the activity topside.
If someone came down the
stairs, she would jet into the head pretending she needed to use the girls’
room.
“Where’s Jo?” Sean asked stowing their gear. He grabbed a cold
bottle of water and savored a long pull.
“I think she went below to bring up our lunch,” Royce said, knowing
that it would be a cold day in hell when that happened. Joanna didn’t
wait on anyone.
“Right, I’m sure that’s it,” Sean chimed in sarcastically.
Kurt dropped onto the deck, lying flat on his back to study the clouds
in the sky. “Good work today guys. These old bones are worn out.”
“You are such a senior citizen,” Landon agreed heading below deck
to grab some sandwiches.
Diving was hungry work, and they were
growing men.

Looking forward to continuing his conversation with the sexy Witch,
Landon took the stairs two at a time. The smile on his lips slipped as he
saw Joanna slumped over the table.
He leaped from the stairs landing
beside her. She was barely breathing, and a steady flow of blood trickled
from her nose.

“My God,” He said scooping her into his arms to carry her to one of
the bed rooms. “
Royce!
” he bellowed as he placed her gently on top of
the comforter. “
Royce, get down here
!”

“The kids are at it again,” Royce groaned as he worked up the energy
to move from the comfortable chair he had just landed in.
Surely they
could get along for five minutes unsupervised.

Landon didn’t know much about Witches, but he knew this was
serious. “Joanna is unconscious and bleeding from the nose.”
“Son-of-a-bitch,” Royce said as he lunged from his chair and hit the
stairs at a run.
Sean followed closely on Royce’s heels while Kurt raced toward the
captain’s chair. In a matter of seconds, they were headed back to the
marina at full speed.
Joanna moaned as she opened her eyes. Three men hovered over her;
panic reflected in each of their expressions. Covering her face with her
hands, she tried to hide tears of exhaustion as they rolled down her face.
“I’m sorry, Royce,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry. I’m so embarra--”
“You’re going to be more than sorry,” Royce jumped on her with
both feet. “I’ve had it, Jo. If you can’t use some common sense, I’ll call
in Tammy.” Royce’s fear manifested in rage. “I’m not going to risk you
pushing your limitations. I’ll call her right now if I can’t trust you to use
your head and not--”
Landon stepped in front of Royce placing his palm solidly in the
middle of Royce’s chest. “Back off,” he growled.
Royce lifted a sardonic eyebrow and looked pointedly at Landon. His
hand applied enough pressure to force Royce to move back a step.
“She is sick,” Landon said softly. “Now is not the time.”
Joanna couldn’t believe Landon had intervened to stop Royce from
verbally taking a piece out of her. She was too tired to give it much
consideration as she slipped quietly into a deep sleep.
Taking a step back, Royce scrubbed his face with both hands.
What
the hell had happened?
He looked at his sister lying deathly still, her face
frighteningly pale and streaked with blood and tears.
Several minutes had passed.
Both men silently watched Joanna, as if
to confirm that she was indeed still breathing.
“Her heart rate has returned to normal. It was very sporadic for a
while.
And her body temperature has risen substantially.
Its ninetyseven degrees right now but still on the rise,” Landon reported.
“How do you know all that?” Royce asked. Mystified by what he had
just heard.
Landon shrugged. “Heightened senses-- I’m a Wolf, remember?” he
said with small grin.
“Oh, yea, that,” Royce nodded. “I was out of line earlier. I, uh-appreciate you stepping in, although I was tempted to kick your ass for
it.”
“Again,” Landon began drearily, “I’m a Wolf, remember?”
Royce laughed. “Don’t you worry; I’ve got ways to deal with that,”
he assured Landon.
Sean appeared in the doorway. He had gone to see how much longer
it would be before they reached the marina.
“We’re within five minutes. What’s the plan?” Sean asked, referring to
Joanna.
“I’ll let her sleep and bring her home when she wakes up,” Landon
offered. “She’ll probably be out for a while.”
After a long look, Royce agreed to leave Landon with Joanna.
“I’ll take care of her. She’s safe with me,” Landon promised her
brother.
“If I doubted that for a minute, you wouldn’t be anywhere near her,”
Royce assured him. “One word of warning though,” Royce continued
with an evil smile, “she may be a tad irritable when she wakes up.” With
that being said, he turned and climbed the stairs. Landon heard the sonof-a-bitch whistling as he helped unload their gear.

“She’ll be fine with Landon; he wouldn’t let anything happen to her,”
Kurt reassured Royce as they carried the last of the air tanks to the truck.
Royce offered Kurt his hand saying again, “I know, or I would never
leave her with him.”
Shaking Royce’s hand Kurt continued, “Now, I’m not sure
he
is safe
with
her
.”
“You may be right,” Royce laughed as he agreed. Turning to find
Sean, Royce called, “Let’s go. I have a date tonight and I don’t want to
be late!”
Kurt shook his head as Royce and Sean roared out of the parking lot.
He walked back to the boat and glanced at his watch. He had close to an
hour and a half to get things done before he needed to pick up the girls
for dinner.
Kurt wished he could check in with everyone at home, but his cell
phone had just died. Clarissa had lost her cell phone charger, so she was
using his. He had accidently run over his car charger after it had fallen
out of his truck a couple of days ago. Consequently, there was no way to
recharge his phone until he got home.
Becki was off work today and
would take care of anything that came up, but he would call them when
he got to the shop, just to be sure.
“You ok, bud?” Kurt called down to Landon.
“Yea, I’ve got it covered down here. I’ll catch up with you this
evening,” Landon said quietly.
“Ok, the girls and I are going to go out to eat tonight. They leave for
Indiana in the morning.”
Kurt would miss his girls, but he needed to know they were safely
tucked away from whatever craziness was in progress here.
“Ok, catch ya later,” Landon said, his attention being pulled once
again to the woman sleeping nearby.
Sean had warned that Joanna
would wake up with the mother of all headaches. He had aspirin ready
for the minute she began to stir.

Becki had been home all day cleaning her house.
The floors positively
sparkled. She was lounging on the deck drinking a glass of wine when
her cell phone rang.

“Hey, you’re home safe and sound!” Becki answered.
“Yep, and already unpacked,” Natie said.
“Wow! You’re good!” Becki applauded, taking a sip of her wine.
“I just called to let you know I dumped Jonah on his self-centered

Becki spit her wine out all over the table. “
What?
It’s about damn
time!” She said trying not to choke.
“I decided the night we left and told him to get his shit together and
get out as soon as we got home,” Natie said proudly.
“That’s wonderful news!”
“He whined about being tired from the drive, and I told him I was
pretty sure he could find someone willing to let him into their bed
tonight. But, that someone wouldn’t be me!”
Becki laughed, “Ha! I bet he didn’t have anything to say to that!”
“Oh, he slammed around, and I helped him all I could… by throwing
his shit out in the front yard from the second story window!” Natie
bragged.
Becki laughed as Natie gave her the details. “Oh, Nat, I wished I
could have been a fly on the wall,” she said, her eyes dancing with mirth.
“Speaking of being a fly on the wall, tell me about your ride home with
Sean the other night. He’s such a sweet-heart.”
“I know, but I’m not ready to think about anyone other than me right
now, Becki. I didn’t love Jonah anymore, but he was comfortable. I’ve
never been with anyone else, so I’m just going to go solo for a while,”
Natie said.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. You need to come back here now
that you’ve cut the ball and chain loose. We can have some real fun,”
Becki coaxed.
“Maybe I’ll be able to come back in a few months. Don’t get too
excited, but I’m considering moving there permanently.”
Becki screamed in excitement, “
Really?
” Becki asked as she stood up
and danced around in circles. “That would be so awesome!” Flopping
back into her seat, she grabbed her wine glass and pressed her sister for
details, “When?”
“I’m thinking as soon as this semester is over. I still have a few weeks
to go. I’m getting sick of school, so I might take next semester off. I
figured that would be a good time to relocate,” Natie shared. “What’s
that hottie’s name, the one who owns your house? Does he have any
more rental properties on the Island?”
“I’m sure he does…and he
is
a hottie,” Becki agreed. “I’ll be glad to
make the sacrifice and find out for you,” she graciously offered.
“I’m sure you would,” Natie said, mocking her sister. “Have you
talked to Jenna lately?”
“She Facebooked me just the other day,” Becki said as she poured
another glass of wine. She had spit most of her other glass out. “She
had some new ink she wanted me to see.”
“Tweedy Bird,” Natie said laughing.
“Yep, that’s it. She also got nipple rings, but she didn’t send me pics
of those.
Thank
God
,” Becki said grimacing. That was just way too
much for her. Those had to hurt like a mother.
“Just wait. I’m sure you’ll be able to catch them on Facebook,” Natie
teased.
“Probably,” Becki agreed.
Jenna was a free spirit. She was into body piercings and tattoos, liked
to smoke a little pot, and ride her Harley.
She reminded Becki of a
chocolate covered cherry-- hard on the outside and mushy on the inside.
Jenna also had a pet snake that Becki and Natie were not so fond of.
She insisted that he was a real “sweet heart.” But even so, they made her
leave him at home, when she visited one of them.
“You should so get Jenna to come with you,” Becki said.
“Oh God, can you imagine the three of us together on an island?
That place would never be the same!
Me with my boobs hanging out,
her with tattoos and piercings everywhere, and you trying to get us all
drunk. I’m not sure the locals could take it. And then there’s the
“midnight ride”. That alone would probably get her thrown in jail!”
Jenna liked to ride her Harley in the buff during the full moon. She
had tried to talk Becki and Natie into it several times but hadn’t been
successful, yet.
It was nice to hear Natie so happy.
It had been a long time since
Becki had heard that sparkle in her voice.
“You should ask her anyway. She might be ready for a change,”
Becki urged.
“I will; next time I talk to her. I have to figure out what I’m going to
do before I pull her into the mix,” Natie reasoned.
A call
beeped
in, and Becki saw it was Clarissa. “I need to take this call,
Natie. It’s Clarissa…and Kurt is out on the boat.”
“Ok, we’ll talk later. Bye,” Natie said before disconnecting the call.
Becki picked up Clarissa’s incoming call.
“Hi, Hon. What’s up?” Becki asked as she topped off her glass with
just a tad more wine.
“Becki?” Clarissa began nervously.
“What’s wrong, Clarissa. Is everybody ok?” Clarissa sounded as if she
had been crying.
“Yes, but these men came to the door and wanted me to ask them in
to wait on my Dad. I told them I couldn’t let anyone in when my dad
wasn’t home.”
Beck swallowed the panic rising in her throat as Clarissa continued,
“They went back out and sat in their car for a while, just watching the
house.
And, then I saw these other really big guys start walking over
toward their car, and they took off. Then the big guys walked all around
our house. It was just weird the way they kind of left all of a sudden.”
“I’ll be right there,” Becki promised as she ran into the house to find
her keys.
“I’m a little scared. We have the doors locked, but I don’t know
when Dad will be home,” Clarissa concluded, sniffling.
Becki knew she was more than a
little scared
.
“I’m on my way now. Just sit tight and don’t answer the door for
anyone. If someone else shows up, call 911,” Becki insisted.
“Understand?”
“Yes,” Clarissa responded.
With her heart in her throat, Becki said, “I’m going to put you on
speaker, so I can have both hands to drive. You stay on the line with
me. Tell me if you see anyone at all.”
Becki activated the Bluetooth speaker system, “Can you hear me,
Clarissa?”
“I hear you,” she confirmed.
Becki was more frightened than she had ever been in her life. Even if
she could get in touch with the guys, they were out in the middle of the
water somewhere. It would take them too long to get home.
Please keep
them safe, Lord.
“Where are your sisters, Clarissa?” Becki asked.
“They are right here with me. We’re upstairs watching out the
windows. I’m getting a little freaked with all these strangers around. No
one is usually down here that I don’t know. We are supposed to go out
for dinner, so Dad should be home soon. I wish he was home now,”
she finished in a whisper.
Becki flew.
In the quiet little cul-de-sac everyone stuck together.
There was no reason for anyone to be down there that Clarissa didn’t
know. A bunch of strangers milling around was quite disturbing.
Her phone
beeped
indicating a call coming in, but it didn’t display
who was calling.
Please let it be Royce.
Becki’s tires squealed as she
made the turn into the addition.
“Hold on, Clarissa. I have a call ringing in. I’m pulling in to the
addition right now; I’ll be there in two minutes or less,” Becki
promised.
“Ok, I’m going to try to call Dad again. I’ll see you in a minute,”
Clarissa said.
Becki clicked over to the new call. “Royce, where are you? Are
you back yet?
Is Kurt with you?” She was firing off questions
without waiting for answers.
“What’s wrong, Doll?”
“Trev,” Becki said with tears of disappointment thickening her
voice. “I can’t talk now. There’s trouble, big trouble. I have to find
Royce.”
Becki hung up before Trevor could formulate a question.
Her phone rang again, and this time the caller ID chose to work
properly. “Royce,” she choked past the lump clogging her throat.
“What’s wrong, Becki?” Royce asked anxiously.
He had just gotten out of the shower and was in the midst of
getting ready for their date. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Becki was beautiful. She was also kind and caring. She was not afraid
to stand up for herself and what she believed was right. In many ways
Becki was like Joanna, who had really pissed him off earlier.
Joanna had pushed too hard today.
She had risked her health
because of her damn stubbornness.
Joanna would fight to the death
to protect those she loved.
Becki was like that when it came to her
family.
Royce didn’t know how he was going to keep Becki out of the
middle of this mess.
He would never forgive himself if something
happened to her, but he couldn’t seem to stay away. He found
himself just wanting to be with her. To care for her… protect her.
Recognizing the concern in his voice and because she was terrified,
Becki started to cry. “Royce, Clarissa called and there have been people
watching the house.
They even went up to the door and tried to get
inside. I’m pulling up to the driveway now,” Becki explained as she
jumped out of her car.
Royce heard the car door slam and then heard the girls crying. They
must have run out to the car when Becki pulled in the driveway. He felt
a chill as he began running toward his own car.
“Get the girls back in the house right now and lock the doors!” Royce
ordered. “I’m on my way.”
“Royce says to get back inside and lock the doors,” she explained as
she disentangled herself from three sobbing girls.
“Becki, do not answer the door for anyone,” Royce barked sternly.
“Do you understand me? Kurt is on his way home, and I’ll be there in a
few minutes. If you’re not inside, get there! Now!”
Becki heard another car door slam and turned to see strangers
appearing in the cul-de-sac.
They were moving quickly toward the
driveway where she and the girls stood.
Suddenly, Landon’s door
opened.
Thank God, she hadn’t known he was home
.
However, it wasn’t Landon who appeared in the doorway. Bursting
out of Landon’s house were several very large men. Men she didn’t
know and had never met.
What the hell?
Those were some scary dogs the
guys had.
Or were they dogs?
Whatever they were, the things were
growling and snarling and-
shit
-- running toward her.
Becki pushed the girls back into the house.
Without pausing to look
again, she slammed the door and threw the deadbolt home.

Joanna had regained consciousness a few minutes ago.
She was,
however, strangely subdued. Her eyes were downcast, and if he hadn’t
known better, Landon would have sworn she wiped away a tear.

As she surfaced, Joanna felt a rush of emotion. Royce was really
pissed
!
She had messed up big-time.
But she had been so
close!
Something was
dancing around the edges of her mind trying to get her attention. She
had almost zeroed in on the elusive whisper-like thought. She would
have to be more careful because something extremely powerful was
trying to reach her. She felt better but was still a little tired.
God, her
head was killing her. She was certain her forearms had to be streaked
with blood along with her face.
However, she couldn’t quite bring
herself to look.

Joanna jerked her head around to see him standing close, a little too
close.
He was watching her a little too intently as well.
Then she
focused on the glass of water and aspirin he held in his hands.

Landon slid an arm around her shoulders and lifted her up, leaning
her against his chest. Keeping his arm around her, he handed her the
pills and then the water.

“Not too often,” he answered, his breath whispering across her
cheek.
Joanna swallowed the aspirin, savoring the taste of ice cold water on a
hot day.
It was quite stifling at the moment, cocooned as she was in
Landon’s arms and leaning against his broad chest. Water dribbled down
the glass and splashed onto her chest.
Landon couldn’t help watching the liquid as it rolled down between
her breasts. Joanna felt his gaze on her. It seemed as if he had followed
the trail of water with his fingertips rather than his eyes.
Cupping Joanna’s face and tipping it toward him, Landon said, “You
didn’t answer me. Are you ok?”
How is a girl supposed to think in these circumstances?
A bad-ass Werewolf,
normally chocked full of mischief and teasing, was looking at her all
serious and concerned. Joanna shrugged out of his embrace and scooted
to the side of the bed.
“Fine,” she said as she hurried toward the head to wipe the blood
away.
She turned on the water and steeled herself to look in the mirror. Her
arms weren’t covered in blood, so maybe she hadn’t lost as much of it as
she thought.
As she forced her gaze to the looking glass, she was
stunned to see that not a drop of blood could be seen anywhere on her
face.
She knew, without being told, who had cleaned the blood from her
face and arms. Tears threated, but she forced them back.
No more tears!
She had shed enough over the past few years to last a lifetime.
They
hadn’t helped then, and they wouldn’t help now. Joanna griped the door
handle and turned it slowly. She opened the door bracing herself to deal
with the embarrassment of thanking Landon for what he had done.
The room was empty.
She sagged against the door frame, feeling
somewhat like a coward.
Get on with it, Joanna. What are you afraid of?
“Joanna?” Landon spoke from the doorway of the bedroom. He had
sent a quick text to Royce letting him know Joanna was awake.
They
would be heading that way soon.
She stiffened abruptly, almost as if he had frightened her. He saw
genuine fear pass through her eyes for an instant, and then it was gone.
As she smoothed her hair, Joanna smiled brightly at him.
“I’m ready when you are,” she announced regally as she brushed past
him on her way out of the bedroom
Landon narrowed his eyes and followed Joanna closely. She seemed a
bit unsteady.
Didn’t she get into this mess by pushing herself too hard?
Now she
was starting to piss
him
off!
“I just need to update the log before I leave. Why don’t you rest on
the couch, and I’ll come to get you when I’m finished,” Landon
suggested.
“I have some notes to review. I’ll jus--”
“You’ll just
rest
on the couch until I come to get you,” Landon
growled.
Joanna narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to argue with him.
But, she decided she didn’t have the energy. She stomped over to the
couch and sat down, folding her hands in her lap.
Landon nodded and spun on his heel to make his way topside.
Stubborn Witch.
He had to smile at the picture she presented sitting
primly on the couch, acting as if her blood wasn’t boiling at being told
what to do.
Landon pulled out the log book and groaned.
Evidently, it had not
been updated over the past few weeks. Closed within the pages of the
log, were scraps of paper that needed to be permanently documented.
Sighing, he pulled the cap from his ink pen and began writing.