by Rebecca Deel
“Can’t say I’m crying over the loss of a murderer,” someone muttered.
“The second murderer hurt your co-worker, Chip. This man wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone else. He’s a stone-cold killer with an agenda that could include sinking this ship with all of us on board. Don’t alarm the passengers. Come up with a good cover story fast and get going. Winestock has your group assignments.”
Once the employees left the security office, Winestock leaned against his desk, arms folded across his chest. “Was it wise to tell all that information? Might start a panic.”
“Would you rather work in the dark?” Joe asked.
The chief grimaced. “Not if I can help it although I did it often enough in the Navy.”
“They needed to know this wasn’t a drill,” Nico said.
“Yeah, I get it. I want to help search but someone has to be in the office while the teams search the ship.”
“Search the security office and detention cell plus the other rooms on this corridor. We’ll cover the other half of the deck.”
Winestock nodded. “I can do that. Any word from Fortress on the security footage?”
“Not yet. Besides the potential bomb, we have another problem to handle.”
“The human trafficking group?”
Nico nodded. “They’re ready to make a tactical strike, one where they’ll reap a big profit.”
Winestock cursed. “Guess that takes precedence over security footage.”
“We need security badges so we don’t alarm passengers more than necessary and the ship’s personnel won’t stop us from accessing restricted areas.” Two minutes later with badges in hand, Nico led his team into the corridor. He assigned areas to search. “Move fast. Time is running out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Worry gnawed at Sam’s gut as she worked side by side in the engine room with Joe. The moment they stepped inside the room, color had drained from his face. She felt sure the heat or strong odors caused that reaction. “What do you need?” she asked as they moved to search the next part of their grid.
“A long vacation with you on a beach or in the mountains. Anywhere I can feel a breeze on my face as long as it isn’t on a ship.”
She smiled. “I like both ideas. Are you nauseated again or is your head hurting?”
“Both,” he admitted. “I can’t afford to be down, Sam.”
“I’ll be back in one minute.”
Sam jogged to the breakroom she’d spotted down the corridor. She grabbed a soft drink and returned to the engine room. After handing him the drink, Sam gave Joe two mild pain killers. Once he’d swallowed the pills and guzzled part of the cold liquid, she placed an anti-nausea patch behind his ear. “You’ll feel better in a few minutes.”
He dropped a quick kiss to her mouth. “Thanks.”
A simple touch that made her heart turn to mush. Although she longed to indulge in more long kisses with Joe, the situation was too dire to steal a few minutes for themselves. Sam turned back to the task at hand. The safety of thousands of passengers depended on their work. They continued the search but came up empty in their area. The rest of their team also found nothing.
“Next deck,” Nico said.
Again, they split up and searched the deck in a grid pattern. Still nothing.
Four decks later, Sam froze when she saw a tube attached to a flashing digital timer. Chill bumps surged up her spine. “Joe.” Her voice came out strangled. Even as she watched, the clock counted down the minutes until detonation. The bomb was set to go off when they docked in Puerto Vallarta.
Joe swiveled and looked in the direction she pointed. Grabbing a flashlight from the pocket of his cargo pants, Joe aimed the beam at the tube, timer, and wiring. His expression darkened. “Find Nico and Ben.”
Sam hurried to the corridor and sprinted for the last place she’d seen Shadow’s leader.
Nico spun on his heel when she entered the room he and Mercy were searching. He’d automatically moved in front of his wife, hand on his weapon. “Find something, Sam?”
She nodded. “Joe said we need Ben.”
“I’ll get him,” Mercy said.
Nico followed Sam to the enclosed observation area. Her gut clenched when she saw Joe on his back underneath the table, examining the device.
Their team leader crouched. “What do we have?”
“Not sure. This isn’t like the other bombs Ben and I handled in San Diego.”
Ben ran into the room with Mercy on his heels. He set his equipment bag to the side, got on his back and slid under the table, flashlight in hand. The EOD man was silent a moment as he studied the tube, timer, and wiring. “Sam, find out if Martin has a sealed container to handle hazardous material.”
“What does that mean?” Mercy asked. “Isn’t this a bomb?”
“It definitely is. This device will spew a chemical instead of shrapnel.”
Sam spun on her heel and sprinted for the stairs. What kind of chemical lurked in that tube? A nerve agent? Many children were on this vessel. The thought spurred Sam to run faster.
She hit the door of the infirmary at a dead run. “Dr. Martin!”
The physician came out of his treatment room, alarm on his face. “What’s wrong? Is it Joe?”
“Do you have a sealed container to handle hazardous material?”
He frowned. “Yes. Why?”
“I need it right now.”
Martin walked to the locked room where he kept his supplies. A moment later, he returned with a dusty square box that he handed to Sam. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later.” If she was able.
Sam ran back to Joe and Ben. She glanced around the room. “Where are Nico and Mercy?”
“They returned to the search.” Joe took the box from her. “He wanted her away from here. Can’t say that I blame him.”
“We can’t afford to assume this is the only chemical device planted on board the ship.” Ben pointed at one end of the tube. “See this, Joe?”
“Yep.”
“Turn the wire cutters away from that end. If the metal touches the tube here, the contact will trigger the device. We’ll be taking a bath in this stuff. When we detach the tube from the table, keep it level. We don’t know how volatile the chemical is. Might do nothing if we stand it upright since he had to bring this on board a ship. Let’s not find out if we’re wrong. Ready?”
“Go ahead.”
Sam waited, heart in her throat, until Joe and Ben removed the device. Joe slid out from under the table, took the tube from Ben, and slowly moved the tube into the box and sealed the container.
Some of Sam’s tension eased. One device down. Hopefully, no more devices were on board. Martin’s box was small.
“Back to work.” Ben took the hazardous materials box from Joe and headed for the door with smooth, easy strides. “This may only be the beginning.”
After the Fortress team finished the search of that deck and the next, Nico received a call from Winestock. He glanced at Ben. “Security team two found another one.” He told Joe and Ben the location. “You two and Sam head to Deck 8. The rest of us will search the next deck. I hope the searchers didn’t miss another device.”
Twenty minutes later, the second bomb was dismantled and secured in the box. Once Joe sealed the container, the security team and the operatives relaxed.
Ben turned to the security team’s leader. “Good work.”
The woman beamed. “Thank you, sir.”
“Call me Ben.”
“Come on, Sandy,” one of her teammates called. “We have to search the rest of the deck.”
“See you later, Ben.” With a smile, Sandy rushed off with the rest of her team.
Joe laughed. “I think perky Sandy is sweet on you, my friend.”
The EOD man rolled his eyes. “She looks like she’s twelve and she works on a ship with a route down the west coast, a long way from Nashville. I’ll pass.”
“She might be w
orth the effort.”
“Don’t push your luck, Gray.” His gaze tracked to where Sandy had left the room with her team. “What would a woman filled with sunshine want to do with a man living in the shadows?”
A woman filled with sunshine might be exactly what a man filled with darkness needed. A woman filled with sunshine must live in Nashville. Ben deserved more than an empty life.
The operatives returned to the rest of their teammates and resumed work. The search of the ship concluded without another device being found by the operatives or the security teams.
“Let’s hope this is the last of the nasty tricks,” Trace murmured. “What should we do with the box?”
“Return it to the infirmary,” Sam said. “Martin keeps the box in a secured room with his medicine supply. The box should be safe until the feds take possession of it.” She glanced at Joe. “The doctor will need another hazardous materials container. Think the feds will have one?”
“Doubt it.” Amusement gleamed in his eyes. “I’ll let Nico contact Maddox. The boss loves dealing with feds.”
Sam grinned at Joe’s wry wit. Brent Maddox hated working with the federal agencies. Operations involving federal agents usually went south at the most inopportune time.
“Let’s break the good news to Nico.” Joe wrapped an arm around Sam’s waist and guided her to the elevator.
“No stairs?”
“Not this time.”
She ran an assessing gaze over him once they were inside the elevator. Joe was still too pale and he looked exhausted. He needed downtime. Once they briefed Nico, Sam would convince him to rest until the Pacific Star docked.
They located Shadow’s leader in the security office, conferring with Winestock who looked ill.
Sam’s eyebrows rose. “Are you feeling all right, Chief Winestock?”
A head shake. “I may never be okay again. This man planned to set off chemical weapons inside the ship. We could have lost everyone on board and that would have been on me. I’m in charge of security. I may not wait for my pink slip. I might submit my resignation. I don’t understand how the killer got the weapons on board the ship.”
“I have some ideas on that,” Nico said. “We’ll talk after my team and I discover who is to blame.”
Winestock’s fist clenched. “I’ll tell you one thing. Hollingbrook needs to send the security teams through PSI. We need more training and more personnel. If he doesn’t get ahead of this, the next time a terrorist sabotages one of the cruise ships, the attack might succeed.” His knuckles whitened. “If you and your team weren’t here, this ship would have been doomed.”
Nico clapped him on the shoulder and turned to Sam and Joe. “Find more devices?”
Joe shook his head, winced slightly. “We secured them in Martin’s hazardous materials box. Ben took the box to the infirmary where the doctor locked it up until the feds take possession.”
“The Pacific Star needs another hazardous materials box, Nico. Unless the feds travel with one routinely, Martin needs one before the ship leaves port.”
“I’ll find out from Zane if Fortress has assets in the area. If not, he’ll make arrangements to have one delivered.” Nico paused. “Are you okay, Joe?”
A faint smile curved Joe’s mouth. “Do I look that bad?”
“You look as though a good gust of wind could blow you over.” He leaned against Winestock’s desk. “You’re off duty until we dock.”
“If something comes up, let me know.”
Nico lifted his chin in acknowledgment. “Sam, I need him on his feet as fast as possible.”
“I’ve done all I can. It will take time for him to heal.” Time they might not have.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Joe walked with Sam to the suite, nauseated and suffering with a pounding headache. Although the patch Sam placed behind his ear had helped, it wasn’t enough to get rid of the feeling he was going to hurl any second.
The light pouring into the suite’s windows made him want to dive into a deep, dark cave and hide until the misery had passed. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option at the moment.
As soon as the door was secured, Sam urged Joe toward the bedroom and closed the curtains again. “Rest. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Joe captured her wrist. “Where are you going?” With all the problems popping up on this floating death trap, he didn’t want Sam out of his sight. Whoever targeted the cruise line was growing desperate and Sam was part of the team thwarting his efforts. The Fortress operatives and Mercy were prime targets for revenge.
“To get you another soft drink, water, and ice. I’ll be back in two minutes.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Sam placed her hand over his heart. “Give yourself a break. You heard Nico. We need you in top form, fast. I’m not going far and I’ll leave the door open. You’ll hear if I run into trouble.”
Once again, Joe had to check his automatic denial of her request. Sam was a well-trained operative. She could handle a simple trip two hundred feet down the corridor. He brushed her lips with his and released her.
Joe followed her to the door and watched her progress. In less than two minutes, she reappeared, bottled water, soft drink, and a container of ice in her hands.
Sam frowned. “You’re supposed to be resting,” she said as she drew near.
He shrugged. “You’re my first priority.”
“And you’re mine.” She nudged him inside the suite and led the way to the bedroom. “While you sip the soft drink, I’ll make a couple ice packs.”
Joe sat on the side of the bed and broke the seal on the drink. All he wanted to do was stretch out and close his eyes for a few minutes. Maybe then the nagging headache would ease. He’d forgotten how much he hated concussions.
Sam returned with the ice packs. “Lie down and I’ll arrange the ice packs for you. Did the patch help?”
“Not enough. The overhead lights and smells triggered the nausea and headache. Working with Ben to dismantle the chemical weapons made the symptoms worse.” Joe unlaced his boots. He groaned as the back of his head sank into the pillow. Man, it felt good to lay flat.
A moment later, Sam slid an ice pack wrapped in a washcloth behind his neck and draped the other over his forehead.
“I feel like a wuss,” he muttered. “I’ve had concussions before and they’re no picnic. This one, though, seems worse than the others.”
“You hit the wall hard. Martin also doesn’t know you have a high tolerance for pain. The concussion may be more severe than the doctor thought.” Sam’s lips pressed against his in a lingering kiss before she pulled away and walked toward the door.
“Stay with me.”
She smiled. “Can’t. You’re too great a temptation for me, Mr. Gray, and you need sleep.”
He needed her more. “You need a nap as much as I do, probably more.” He knew Sam. She watched over him all night with a cat nap here and there.
“I’ll sleep on the couch. Call out if you need me.”
“Promise you won’t leave the suite without waking me.”
“You have my word. Let go and sleep, Joe. No one will slip past me.”
Although he longed to hold her in his arms as he drifted off, the beautiful medic was a temptation to him as well. Joe needed to be mobile and functional. His gut said this killer was just getting started and Sam and his teammates were in the line of fire.
When Sam left the bedroom, he willed himself to relax. Sam was safe inside their suite where he’d hear if something happened. The ice packs and soft drink eased his discomfort enough for Joe to fall asleep. Sometime later, he woke to the sound of Nico’s voice. Was the ship ready to dock or had something else prompted Shadow’s leader to come to the suite?
Joe removed the packs of melted ice and carefully sat up. The room didn’t spin and he didn’t feel like throwing up. A definite improvement. After tying on his boots, he stood, breathing a sigh of relief. So far, so good. If the headache and nausea rema
ined at bay, he’d be better able to protect Sam, Mercy, and his teammates.
He walked into the living room where his team leader sat in a chair. Mercy was on the couch with Sam. “Anything new?”
Sam jumped up and came toward him. “How do you feel?”
“Better.” Ignoring their interested audience, he wrapped his arms around her and eased Sam to his chest. She fit perfectly in his arms. “Did you rest?”
She nodded.
Joe tightened his grip, pressed a kiss to her mouth, then sat with her and Mercy on the couch. “Where are we, Nico?”
“Thirty minutes from port. The feds are waiting for us to dock.”
“Do we know who they sent?”
“Same bunch we dealt with in San Diego minus the SDPD detective and the Coast Guard. The FBI sent another agent with Brock this time.”
Joe grunted. “Hope this one is more competent than Brock.”
“Not holding my breath. Communications from the Maldonado group are heating up. They mentioned the name Hollingbrook.”
Joe blew out a breath. Not what he wanted to hear. “The company or the man?”
“Both.”
“Think they’re the ones responsible for killing Janine Hollingbrook?”
Nico frowned. “It’s possible, but that’s not their standard procedure. They prefer to grab and go. I would have expected them to grab Janine and take off with her if they had a vendetta against Hollingbrook. Make him pay through the nose for his daughter’s safe return.”
“They never would have returned her, though.”
Mercy turned to stare at her husband. “Why not? They want money. If he paid up, why wouldn’t they release her?”
“You’re right about the money. Hollingbrook would have paid them but the human trafficking group would have sold Janine to the highest bidder for a quick, tidy extra profit.”
His wife shivered. “That sounds so cold.”
“It’s an ugly business, love. They profit on human suffering.” He turned his attention to Joe. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
“Explain.”
