Sunken Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 4)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Rowan took pity on her uncle. “The kind who lose their costumes as the night progresses,” she supplied. “At least that’s what I think they’re referring to.”

  “That would be the one,” Anthony confirmed.

  “Do we have any reason to believe he’s met with foul play?” Nick’s eyes were on Quinn when he asked the question.

  “I don’t think so,” Quinn replied. “I think it’s far more likely that he hooked up with someone and lost track of time.”

  “Which puts us in an interesting position,” Nick noted. “Okay, we’ll give it the day. If we return to The Bounding Storm and he still hasn’t come back, we’ll alert local authorities. If he does come back on his own, I expect him to be removed from the team.” His gaze was pointed when it landed on Andrea. “He’s your man, but he clearly can’t be trusted.”

  Andrea balked. “He was simply blowing off steam.”

  “This is an important find,” Nick reminded her. “I have no problem with divers blowing off steam. I do have a problem with them shirking their duties. I expect you to deal with this when he turns back up, Andrea. It’s your team.”

  Andrea nodded curtly. “I’ll handle it.”

  “Great.” Nick turned his focus to Anthony. “I will be going down in the submersible today. I want to see the cannon you found and scope the site. We’ll discuss the best way to get the cannon up this afternoon.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” Anthony beamed as he flicked his eyes to Rowan. “Are you going to join us today? I can’t say I won’t enjoy seeing you in a wetsuit.”

  Quinn made a growling sound as he glared.

  “I was just kidding,” Anthony added hurriedly. “You need to learn to lighten up a bit.”

  “Ms. Gray is going in the submersible with me,” Nick supplied. “I want her to take photos of the site. I think they’ll be a nice conversation piece when we’re finished.”

  “She’s going to take photos from inside the submersible?” Anthony was perplexed. “Won’t those turn out … um … ugly?”

  Now it was Rowan’s turn to make a face. “They’ll be great. Don’t worry about it.”

  Anthony held up his hands in mock surrender. “I wasn’t trying to offend you.”

  “Your mouth is just all over the place this morning,” Quinn grumbled, shaking his head. “Have you ever considered not talking?”

  Anthony’s lips curved. “What fun would that be?”

  “A lot for the rest of us. Let’s get going. We’re burning daylight and an undersea adventure awaits.” Quinn held out his hand to Rowan. “You’re about to see a whole new world, Ro. I think you’re going to like it.”

  “Is it wrong that I’m excited?” Rowan asked, giddy.

  “Not even a little. I’m excited for you.”

  “THIS IS A LOT smaller space than I was expecting.”

  Rowan glanced around the tiny submersible – it wasn’t much bigger than the bathroom and closet combo in her quarters, which was tiny – and did her best to tamp down the claustrophobic feelings threatening to overwhelm her.

  “I told you.” Nick watched Rowan’s busy eyes with a smirk. “You’ll be fine. Just remember we’re not going so far beneath the surface that you’re in any danger.”

  Rowan wasn’t convinced that was true. “What happens if this thing stops working?”

  “Then we would call for aid and the ships on the surface would raise the sub.”

  “Oh.” That was an easier answer than Rowan was expecting. “What happens if they can’t raise it?”

  “Then we would have to put on diving gear and head to the surface ourselves.”

  “Is that something we’d be capable of doing?” Rowan challenged. “I mean … what if the big window cracked and water started seeping in? What would happen to us then?”

  Nick fixed Rowan with an amused look. “How would the window crack? We’re not at crush depth.”

  “No, but … what if a shark decided to ram his head into the window and cracked it?”

  “I believe you watch too many movies,” Nick said dryly. “You clearly inherited that from your father. When we were kids, he used to come up with elaborate scenarios like the one you just whipped out for no apparent reason. It used to drive me crazy.”

  Rowan spared a glance at the captain of the submersible, but he was in his own little box and sported a pair of headphones as he focused on his job. “Can he … ?”

  “If he wants, but that’s Larry Danes. He doesn’t care for gossip so he’ll tune us out. That’s why I picked him for this particular trip.”

  “Oh.” Rowan settled, if only marginally. “So we’re not in any danger of dying, right?”

  Nick tried to bite back a chuckle … and failed miserably. “You’re not in any danger of dying. I wouldn’t have invited you if I thought that was the case.”

  “Okay, well … .” Rowan leaned back in her chair, forcing a nonchalant look as she rested her hands on her knees. “So … do you come here often?”

  Nick’s chuckle was so loud and warm it reminded Rowan of her father. The realization was enough to jolt her, and when she looked to her uncle she had tears in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Nick instantly sobered and reached for her hand. “If you’re afraid, I can have the submersible turned around and take you back to the dock.”

  Rowan shook her head. “I’m not afraid. You just reminded me of Dad when you laughed like that. He used to do the same thing when he thought I said something especially goofy.”

  Nick relaxed his shoulders, his smile watery. “Your father loved you a great deal.”

  “Not enough to stay,” Rowan pointed out. “Do you think he’s really out there somewhere?”

  “I do, but I wish I hadn’t told you that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s clearly given you hope … and an insecurity complex. I don’t want you questioning your father’s love for you. It’s cruel and I’m sorry you’re going through it.”

  “But if he left … .”

  “He might not have had a choice,” Nick pointed out. “We have no idea what was going on with him at the time of his disappearance.”

  “Yes, but you would think that he would’ve told me if there was something wrong,” Rowan pressed. “You would think that he would’ve found a way to reach out to me if he were still alive … even if only to put my mind at ease.”

  “You would think.” Nick ran an affectionate hand down the back of Rowan’s head. “Like I said yesterday, I believe your father is alive. I have faith. As for the other stuff … I guess we’ll need to wait until that works itself out.”

  Rowan wrinkled her nose. “That was an odd way to phrase it.”

  “I’m an odd guy.” Nick offered up a playful wink before pointing. “We’re getting closer to the ocean bottom. Now you can see what we’re dealing with.”

  Rowan snapped her head to the window, abandoning the conversation about her father and focusing on an entirely new world. “Look at that.” She leaned forward, practically pressing her face against the window and openly gaped at the sights. “It’s like a movie.”

  “It’s better than a movie,” Nick countered. “It’s real … and it’s magical.”

  “It really is.” Rowan didn’t care that the bottom of the submersible was probably dirty. She didn’t care that she possibly looked like a loon when she pressed her forehead to the window. All she cared about was the seemingly magical world on the other side of the glass. “This is … unbelievable.”

  Nick watched her rather than the scene unfolding in the ocean. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s more fun seeing it with you.”

  Rowan smiled, although she didn’t move her eyes from the window. “I’m glad you’re here, too. This is just … amazing. I’ll never forget this moment.”

  Nick chuckled. “Me either.”

  AN HOUR LATER, ROWAN’S enthusiasm was still rampant, but she managed to collect herself long enough to snap some photos. The glass
on the front of the submersible was clear so she had no problem grabbing a series of beautiful shots.

  “There’s Quinn.” She pointed, excited, when a figure in a wetsuit turned in their direction and waved.

  “How can you be sure that’s him?” Nick asked, genuinely curious. “Does he wave a certain way?”

  Rowan shook her head. “He carries himself a certain way, though. I can just tell it’s him.”

  Nick watched her as she waved back at the man in the water, enjoying the way her face lit up when Quinn moved closer to the submersible’s window and pressed his hand to the other side of the glass. They weren’t sharing the same oxygen and yet they were participating in something wonderful … together.

  “You love him,” Nick noted, smiling as Quinn swam off to begin his search.

  Rowan balked. “We haven’t been dating that long. I told you that last night.”

  “That doesn’t mean you don’t love him,” Nick argued. “Sometimes the greatest loves are the ones that hit us over the head and take over our lives out of nowhere.”

  Rowan turned a curious look to her uncle. “Have you loved like that?”

  “No, but I know others who have.”

  “I’ve been trying to remember the time before Mom died,” Rowan said. “It’s not easy because I purposely shut out a lot of those memories.”

  “Because it hurt too much to remember?”

  Rowan shrugged. “Because it was easier to forget. At least that’s why I think I did it. Remembering made me sad and, at a certain point, if I got any sadder I think it would’ve been the end for me.”

  Nick licked his lips, tilting his head to the side as he considered the statement. “What do you mean by that?” he asked finally, gently. “Did you ever consider … ?”

  Rowan vehemently shook her head. “No. Not really. I never thought of killing myself or anything. There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed, though. A few times, there were a few days in a row. I recognized the danger in that so I forced myself to stop thinking about the past and look toward the future.

  “All I could do was put one foot in front of the other and keep marching,” she continued. “Sometimes I think I was going through the motions, but it kept me sane. It helped me get here.”

  “And are you happy here?”

  Rowan’s smile lit up her entire face. “I am. What’s not to be happy about? I live on a cruise ship. My boyfriend is smoking hot and always willing to listen to what I have to say. I have friends. I found you. Things are better than they’ve been since … well, since I was a kid.”

  “I’m glad.” Nick said the words and his expression reflected the truth behind them. “I want you to be happy more than anything else.”

  “I’m happy.” Rowan lifted her camera and snapped several photos through the glass, focusing on a group of divers near a cluster of coral. “I’m so happy I’m going to be able to focus on finding a girlfriend for you once we get into a routine after this trip.”

  Nick snorted. “I believe I can find my own girlfriend.”

  “You haven’t done it yet.”

  “I have other things on my mind. More important things.”

  “Like?”

  “Like you,” Nick replied without hesitation. “Once I found out there was a chance I would be able to see you in person, that’s all I could think about. I also have to deal with this.”

  Nick gestured toward the expansive undersea world. “Do you see that over there?”

  Rowan followed his finger with her eyes. “What? That oddly-shaped reef? Yeah, I see it.”

  “That’s not just a reef,” Nick explained. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, it is a reef now. It wasn’t always a reef, though.”

  “What was it?”

  “Part of The Conqueror.”

  Rowan narrowed her eyes, dumbfounded. “But … how?”

  “Nature always finds a way,” Nick explained. “You look at this spot and see beauty. It’s all natural beauty to you, though. I see what once was … and know I somehow need to find what’s hidden beneath the beauty.”

  “Huh. I never really considered that before.” Rowan rolled her neck before taking a few shots of the reef. “You really know your stuff.”

  Nick chuckled dryly. “It’s been a learning endeavor, but I enjoy my job.”

  “I enjoy mine, too,” Rowan said, pulling back so she could stare at the viewfinder on the back of the camera. “I’ve loved taking photos since Dad first put a camera in my hand. It just felt … right.”

  “Yes, I remember the little one you had when you were ten. You were adorable with it. Sure, you were kind of annoying because you kept sticking it in people’s faces, but you were adorable all the same.”

  “Yeah.” Rowan’s full attention was on the back of her camera and it took Nick a moment to realize she’d dropped out of the conversation.

  “Do you see something?” Nick asked.

  “Um … .” Rowan wasn’t sure how to answer. Her heart hammered so hard she briefly thought there was a chance she would pass out. She wouldn’t allow that, though, instead leveraging all her focus on the photograph.

  Nick furrowed his brow. “What do you see?”

  “Um … .” Rowan was flustered. Now didn’t seem the time to bring up her special ability. She couldn’t simply ignore it either. “Well … can you get in contact with the divers?”

  “I can,” Nick confirmed, his expression thoughtful. “You see it, don’t you?”

  Rowan balked. “See what?”

  “The omen.”

  Rowan was flabbergasted. “How can you possibly know about that?”

  “I know a lot more than you give me credit for,” Nick replied calmly. “Your father mentioned your ability before we had our falling out.”

  Rowan did the math in her head. “That can’t be right.”

  “Show me,” Nick prodded, moving closer. “Show me what you see.”

  Rowan pointed to a spot on the digital image. After a long beat, Nick saw what she was referring to.

  “That’s it?”

  Rowan chewed on her bottom lip as she nodded. “She’s going to die. You probably don’t believe that but … .”

  “You would be surprised what I believe.” Nick rested his hand on Rowan’s shoulder to steady her. “Don’t worry. “I’ve got everything under control. I’ll get her out of the water. In fact … I’ll get them all out of the water.”

  “I’m pretty sure this is Andrea,” Rowan noted. “I can’t see her face up close, but I recognize the hair.”

  “I believe you’re right.” Nick rolled his neck as he reached for his radio. “Don’t worry. We’ll get them out.”

  “What are you going to say?” Rowan was understandably nervous. “You’re not going to tell them about me, are you?”

  “Of course not.” Nick shook his head. “There’s a reason you keep your ability secret. There’s also a reason you should keep hiding it. Only tell those you trust completely. As for this, I’m in charge. I can do whatever I want.

  “Trust me,” he continued, rolling his neck. “I’ve got everything under control. You don’t have to worry about anyone finding out your secret. I won’t let it happen. That’s one thing you can always rely on me for.”

  18

  Eighteen

  “What’s going on?”

  Anthony’s agitation was evident as he stalked toward Nick once everyone regrouped on the dock.

  Quinn, perhaps sensing trouble, smoothly stepped in front of Rowan. The move wasn’t lost on Nick, and if the man didn’t already like his niece’s boyfriend, he would be absolutely over the moon about him now.

  “I wanted to talk strategy,” Nick said calmly, his eyes landing on a confused-looking Andrea. “In fact, it’s close enough to lunch that I thought we would order something delivered here and come up with a plan to lift the cannon.”

  Rowan was confused. She didn’t even remember seeing the cannon. Of course, Nick was doing all of this to protect her s
o she couldn’t very well call him to task in front of witnesses.

  “That could’ve waited an hour,” Anthony pressed. “You didn’t have to pull us up early.”

  “And yet I did.” Nick refused to be pulled into an argument. “We’ll meet at that group of picnic tables over there in thirty minutes to discuss our next step. I’ll order food.”

  “That’s it?” Anthony was incensed, something Rowan didn’t understand.

  “That’s it,” Nick confirmed, turning his back to Anthony and fixing Quinn with a pointed look. “You know the area relatively well, right? Perhaps you can help me pick a restaurant.”

  Quinn was too smooth – and smart – to offer up an argument. “That sounds fine.”

  Nick led the way toward a spot in the shade, Quinn and Rowan following. No one questioned why Rowan was part of the discussion – something Quinn was thankful for – but Quinn could sense her agitation and was uneasy.

  “What happened?” Quinn asked as soon as they were away from the rest of the group.

  “Rowan saw an omen in one of the photographs she took of Andrea,” Nick replied. “I thought it best to get everyone out of the water so we could consider our options.”

  Quinn’s mouth dropped open. “Um … what do you mean about an omen?”

  Nick lobbed a sympathetic look in his direction. “I love that you’re protective of Rowan. You need to work on your poker face, though. That was horrible.”

  “He knows what I can do,” Rowan supplied sheepishly. “He says I could do it when I was a kid. I don’t really remember doing it for the first time until I was a little older – until it was my mother – but I’ve purposely blocked a lot of that out.”

  Quinn instinctively stroked the back of Rowan’s head to offer solace. “It’s okay. You can tell anyone you want. It’s your secret, after all.”

  Rowan shrugged. “It’s weird. Until today, I thought you were the only other person who knew.”

  “Well, since he already knew, it’s not a big deal.” Quinn pressed a kiss to Rowan’s forehead while locking eyes with Nick. Something deep passed between them – warning, gratefulness, worry – but they both kept brave faces for her benefit. “So Andrea has the mark. We need to figure out why.”