Deep Waters (The Security Specialists)

by Jessica R. Patch

  Neither did Caley.

  “I want to talk to Billy Reynolds,” Shep said. “Different line of questioning. Not so nice. He was the boyfriend, but he was hooked up with Darcy. How did that happen? They’re the only two in the footage.”

  “Darcy is too blinded by Kyle Marx to be romantically involved with Billy. But she does come around often enough that knowing him wouldn’t be a stretch.”

  Caley rubbed her temples. A major headache was coming on. Darcy used Billy to help her deliver eggs to Kyle Marx. It made sense to believe that Billy was also the one doctoring logbooks and stealing turtles.

  “If you tip your daughter off about the information we have, he might see her as collateral damage and take you both out. If she’s loyal to him, you won’t be able to talk her into leaving him. Understand?” Shep narrowed his eyes.

  Leo’s face turned white, but he nodded. “Darcy made a mistake. I’ll deal with her about that. But she’s not a murderer. And I want to believe she wouldn’t steal turtles to sell on the market.”

  “She stole eggs, Leo. She stole those babies.” Caley inhaled deeply.

  Leo’s angst matched her own. “I know, Caley. And I’m so sorry. What should I do?”

  “Business as usual. Until we talk to Billy Reynolds and get answers. Then it’s out of our hands and into TBPD’s. I’m sorry that Darcy might go to jail, but what she did was wrong.” Caley turned and marched out of his office, only to feel her knees buckle in the hallway.

  Shep steadied her. “This okay?” he whispered.

  The feel of his arms holding her upright never felt better. She nodded.

  “We’re getting closer, Caley, and now you can keep an eye on the turtles. Make sure no more are stolen.”

  “But where are the ones that were taken? And what if Leo tips off Darcy anyway?”

  “He won’t. He’s hoping this will all go away and donors won’t catch wind. But that’s probably not going to happen. You know that, right?”

  She did. But they still had a gala to put on and there was still hope that if they brought justice to the turtles it would prove how much they loved them. And maybe with the reassurance that they’d vet potential interns more intensely in future, they could keep going. Hang on.

  “Let’s visit Billy Reynolds before I update Wilder and Tom.” Shep popped the umbrella at the door and they took cover from the torrential rain. “Maybe the weather will ease up by then too.”

  Caley was fairly sure nothing was going to ease up anytime soon.

  ELEVEN

  After leaving Leo Fines’s office, Shepherd and Caley tried to track down Billy Reynolds, but he wasn’t at the center, the dormitory or at any of the dive sites. So was he simply off doing his own thing or had he figured out they had the GoPro and bolted? Either way, Shepherd had called Tom and filled him in. He was now looking into it officially.

  Shep downloaded all the footage and photos from the GoPro and emailed them to Wheezer while Caley made a dinner that consisted of noodles and tuna. Wasn’t half bad minus the mushrooms. Miss Whittle wouldn’t be home until bedtime, which was good all around. Someone would be coming again, no doubt. He’d debated moving both the women from the house, but staying here in the bungalow actually gave Shepherd an advantage. He knew the layout and had purchased a few cameras from an electronics store. Perimeters had been set up. He was ready for them.

  Now he was stretched on the futon in Caley’s office. It smelled like her. Flowery. A little fruity. He’d been wracking his brain to find a way to keep this quiet and to save her career, but once they cracked this wide-open, it would make headlines. The town was small. The center was a major tourist attraction. He only hoped the media and the civilians would see that Caley had been dedicated to finding the truth.

  Turmoil twisted inside him. What was this? The opening up of his personal life. The physical contact coming easier, almost naturally, like gaining hold of her in the hallway. It had been instinct to buoy her. And the ferocious need to keep her safe, to be near her, was overwhelming. He inhaled the scent on her decorative pillow lying next to him. What was up with that? He was smelling pillows now?

  He needed to get it together.

  Caley Flynn was off-limits. That’s why he’d put a stop to her monologue about his bravery, goodness and sacrifice for country and clients. She said every word with conviction and it was unraveling a cord in Shep that needed to stay coiled. Tight. He couldn’t let her words connect with his heart.

  One, it was hard to believe. And the minute he made a mistake in front of her, she’d see it wasn’t true and abandon him.

  Two, Wilder would never have it. And he wouldn’t disobey a direct order. Even if Wilder was his friend, he was also his boss.

  How could Caley think she was nothing more than a mission? He’d wanted to shake some sense into her. Kiss it into her. Each day it was getting harder to keep her at arm’s length.

  But he hadn’t given her any indication to believe something else. Not really.

  Let her think she was a mission. A favor to her brother. It would be easier that way. Easier to disconnect. To keep up the wall that was crumbling so fast his head spun.

  Frustration built in his chest and he grabbed the Bible lying on the side table. Caley’s Bible. He flipped through it, a rainbow of highlighted passages meeting him with each flip.

  A woman who loved God’s word. Cared about doing the right thing. Not for penance or to prove she was worthy, but because she knew she was loved no matter what. And because she was just good.

  He paused on a pink highlighted passage.

  But God shows His great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

  He noticed a note in the margin written in Caley’s handwriting: “Thank You, God, for loving me even though I’m not perfect and sin daily.”

  Caley Flynn? Sin daily? At all?

  Chaplain Chastain always said, “All people sin. If we say we don’t sin, we’re deceiving ourselves.” He couldn’t quite remember what scripture that came from.

  But Caley’s sins couldn’t hold a candle to Shep’s. His were greater. His wild lifestyle. Stealing. Lies. Hatred. The random fights where he’d hurt people. The list could go on and on. He hadn’t been that man in years, but he couldn’t help but think that God might change His mind about Shep. Cut him loose at some point.

  The knock on the door frame startled him. Caley stood there, questions in her eyes.

  He held up her Bible. “You don’t mind me reading this, do you?”

  “No. Of course not.” She padded inside and plopped beside him. His first instinct was to draw her to his chest and hold her. Make her feel safe. And to feel content himself. “What are you reading?”

  “The one about God loving us even when we were still sinning.”

  “One of my favorites. Dying on the cross. The ultimate act of love. Knowing every sin we’d ever commit. And doing it anyway.” Her eyes took on a dreamy expression.

  Shep shifted on the couch, faced her. He had to know. “Caley, what are your sins?”

  She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “A man who would rather crawl into a hole than open up to me wants me to open up to him?”

  She had a point. But he wanted to know everything about her. The good. The bad. The ugly. If there was any bad or ugly to be found. And that was strange and new for him. He’d never cared to get to know a woman emotionally. But Caley Flynn was no ordinary woman. “Sorry. That was too personal.”

  She rubbed her lips together and gave him a soft smile. “I hated Meghan’s murderer. Wouldn’t forgive him. For one.”

  “Seems justified.”

  “But it’s not.” Caley took the Bible from Shep, flipped through the pages. “‘Love your enemies,’ Luke 6:27.” She flipped again. “‘But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.’”

  “You forgave him?”

  “I did. Some days I’m tempted, though. To let that
hate resurface. Takes a lot of prayer and focus. And I was mad at God for allowing it to happen. But now, I’m not so much mad as I am sad she’s gone, and confused.”

  “I was mad at God for a long time. Before I finally gave my life to Him. Mad that He gave me a loser father who didn’t even care enough to let me know who he was. And mad because my mom was a junkie who mostly worked stripping. Mad that a good family didn’t want me. Even when I acted out. I was just really, really mad.”

  Caley grinned. “Shepherd Lightman. You just opened up to me and I didn’t even have to put a gun to your head or ask you to.”

  He had no idea what to make of that.

  “I’m sorry you never felt wanted or loved. But God always wanted you. Always loved you. Look how strong you are because of what you went through. God molded you through those tragic events. But even so...” She melted him with her compassion. Those watery blues connecting with his, reaching into the depths of who he was, to his insecurities.

  “Even so what?” he rasped, aching to kiss her. Not for the need of physical contact. He wanted to connect with her heart, show her...what? What was this feeling? It terrified him.

  “Even so, I’m sorry. I’m just so very sorry.” She scooted up on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Pouring warmth and hope into his soul.

  “I thought you said no physical contact.”

  “Well, this one is warranted. Out of...friendship. Not duty.”

  He paused, but then he embraced her around the waist, drawing her even closer, her scent undoing him. But not as much as her gesture. He’d been gruff, and even downright mean and rude to her, and here she was always coming back. Always showing him grace. Forgiveness.

  But for how long?

  Shep could love this woman. If he had any idea how.

  She snuggled closer, burrowing her nose into his neck, sending shivers down his back as her lips innocently grazed his skin. “I don’t want to be a mission, Shep.”

  He swallowed the lump in his throat. “What do you want, Caley?” He had nothing to give.

  She pulled away, gazed into his eyes, kept her hands cupped around his neck. Confusion. Pain. Fear. All surfaced in her eyes like a wave, tears building. “I don’t know,” she whispered. She blinked, the tears spilled over and she let go of his neck, removed herself from him, from the futon, and turned away. “I need to go out to the beach by the center tonight. Since it’s stopped raining. Check the nest sites.”

  “Okay.” He wouldn’t press her. It was hopeless. He set the Bible back on the side table. “Just say when you’re ready to go.”

  She nodded and slipped from the room.

  Leaving him.

  A foreshadowing of what would come if he threw caution to the wind and gave it a go. Gave his heart to her. Seemed like she might already own it.

  * * *

  Caley dusted the sand from her backside, covering her wrist to hide the light while checking her watch for the time. After 11:00 p.m. They’d logged eggs and done a few rounds keeping vehicles off the beach. Tourists mostly ignored the signs. It was a hassle every nesting season. A few eggs had hatched, but the bulk would happen in a few weeks.

  “Is this boring you?” she asked.

  “No, it’s kinda cool.”

  She snickered. “See those tracks from the beach to here? A turtle came to lay eggs.”

  “But I don’t see any eggs. Animals get to them?”

  Caley knelt. “No. It’s what we call a false crawl. The turtle more than likely came up to dig a nest and lay eggs, but headlights or lights from windows confused her and she thought she made a mistake, so she went back out to sea.”

  “Can you tell what kind of turtle it was?” Shep asked.

  Caley nodded.

  “How?”

  “The flipper pattern. The tracks alternate. Like footprints. And they’re about thirty-six inches so this particular turtle was a loggerhead. I hate it for her. Can you imagine dragging through sand on flippers, at two hundred pounds? Lot of work. Only to be confused by lights.” Caley sighed.

  “You really love this, don’t you?”

  “I do. And I’m probably going to end up blackballed in this profession when it all comes to light.” What else was out there for her?

  “Does the lady over this center really have that kind of power?”

  “Yes. Arnold Simms was famous in marine biology. Do you know most marine life vets have to work their way into a position like I have? Leo went out of his way to get me here. I’ll never find another job like this.”

  “Maybe we hope for the best.”

  We. She would love to have a husband who was her partner in hope. Carried some of the load. But it couldn’t be Shepherd. She’d almost tossed her promise to herself out the window in her office earlier. What if he’d admitted he cared about her? What would she have done with that? Which is why when he’d asked her what she wanted, she’d told him she didn’t know. Because she didn’t. And she did.

  She couldn’t endure the pain and worry of loving a soldier. Already, he’d been willing to take bullets for her, put his life in danger countless times. And he did that for anyone he was instructed to. One day he might not dodge the bullet. Might not make it across one roof to another. Or out of a salt marsh.

  Caley had to get a handle on her feelings.

  God, I’m in trouble here because...I think I’m falling in love with this soldier man who is unsure of who he is and has a hard time opening up...and You’ve seen his comforting tactics. But I can’t love him. So help me. Take away these feelings.

  Shep brushed the sand from his jeans. “I want to check on Billy Reynolds again, see if he’s back at the dormitory, unaware that we’re on to him, that Tom is on the hunt for him too. He might be willing to cough it all up and confess given some incentive.”

  Scary incentive.

  “Then what?”

  “If he confesses, he goes to jail for more than digging up and selling sea turtle eggs. And you hold the gala anyway. Unless you’re told not to.”

  “Like you said, I can only hope for the best. Try to trust God to work for me. One way or the other.”

  They walked next door and Caley unlocked the doors, then entered the dormitory. She knocked on Billy’s door. No answer. “We don’t have curfews, as you know, but it’s late. For a Wednesday night.” She knocked again and turned the door knob. It opened.

  The room was dark. “He might be out.”

  Shep frowned. “He’s been gone since we found the GoPro. I don’t like it.”

  Caley only hoped he hadn’t been tipped off and fled. He couldn’t go far. Tom and the TBPD would find him—and Darcy Fines and Kyle Marx now that they had the footage in their possession. “I don’t like it either.”

  Back outside, Caley yawned and stretched. “Sometimes checking nests kills my back.”

  “You haven’t had much sleep. Tonight, you need to rest. I’ll keep watch.”

  “I know you will,” she murmured. “Thank you. But I need to check my emails and see if the grant came through.”

  “Check it now.”

  “I can’t. Light. Even the smallest source makes a difference.” She walked along the beach, heading for the center.

  “If you get the grant, what does it mean?” Shep asked.

  “New lab equipment. Funds to update tanks and increase our staff. Put a new marine life vet on board. It means a lot. If we can keep them from pulling out when they find out turtles and eggs have been grossly mishandled.” Her joy deflated. She didn’t see any way around this. “I appreciate you, Shep, being quiet and working with Tom at the Turtle Bay Police Department to skirt around the media.”

  “It won’t stay quiet once everyone is found and questioned. Once truth starts coming out.”

  “Just say ‘you’re welcome’ okay?” She playfully punched his arm as they strolled down the beach, neither mentioning they’d passed the center twenty feet back.

  “You’re welcome.”


  They walked a little farther. The tide was high. The water raced across their bare feet. “We should get back. Tomorrow is going to be jam-packed with overseeing the setup for the gala.”

  They doubled back. A light flashed. Turning, Caley shielded her eyes from the blinding lights. A spotlight? Headlights?

  The rev of an engine sent her pulse skittering.

  A huge lifted four-wheel-drive truck raced right for them.

  “Run!” Shep hollered.

  Caley made a dash for the water but Shep yanked her away. “They have us if we go in the water. They can sit out here and wait.” They blasted across the beach, the truck gaining on them. Her calves burned as she ran in the powdery sand, shells cutting into her bare feet. “Up ahead!”

  They charged up the beach, hoping for cover among the condos and businesses that lined the shore. The truck sprayed sand.

  Caley’s breath came in pants. She was desperate for air but adrenaline kept her legs moving at a pace she’d never imagined she could go.

  Shep looked back, dove onto Caley, knocking them forward and landing them a few feet away with a thud. Shep rolled them under a raised boardwalk leading to a condominium’s private pool area.

  Under the boardwalk, shells and debris cut into Caley’s back. Shep hovered over her, shielding her, his weight pressing against her.

  The truck’s engine grew quieter until it couldn’t be heard anymore. Only her ragged breath, Shep’s even breathing and the sound of ocean waves. She touched her face. Her glasses were missing. Must have been hurled off in the tackle. A tackle that had saved their lives.

  Reality set in and she shivered underneath the warmth of Shep’s body. “They were going to mow us down. That was no scare tactic.”

  Sweeping a mass of hair from her face, Shep’s eyes blazed. “They know you have the GoPro. They probably assume you have taken or will take it to the authorities, exposing them.”

  Caley closed her eyes. “Which means I’m expendable. Get me out of the way permanently and deal with the aftermath later.”

  “Not gonna happen, Caley. I won’t let it.”