Unfathomed

by Anna Hackett

  As several more crossed to join their friend, Morgan smiled. “Cute little guys.”

  Soon, they reached the edge of the sparse trees, and the helicopter was visible ahead. Morgan waved for him to get down and they crouched behind a tree. The trip back hadn’t felt anywhere near as long as their escape run the night before.

  They scanned their surroundings. Zach could only see the pilot, who looked like he was asleep in the cockpit of the chopper.

  “No sign of Wirth and her guards.” Morgan lifted her handgun. “Let’s do this. Fast and quiet. I’ll take care of the pilot, and you get in the back and get the dive gear.”

  Zach nodded. She moved fast, and he moved behind her, trying to move with the same stealth.

  They slowed as they neared the helicopter, coming in from an angle where the pilot wouldn’t see them.

  Then Morgan sprang. She wrenched open the cockpit door, reached in, and yanked the pilot out. He fell into the dirt and opened his mouth to scream. Morgan hit him in the face with the butt of her gun. He dropped back on the ground, blinking. She hit him again, and he was out cold.

  Damn. “Beautiful, smart, and efficient. And scary.” Zach smiled at her. “You are incredible.”

  A flash of vulnerability crossed her face in the early morning light. “No one’s ever thought so before.”

  “Then they were idiots.”

  She smiled now. “Save the flattery for later. Now move that fine butt of yours.”

  Zach opened the door of the helicopter, and climbed in.

  “We need to make it quick,” Morgan reminded him.

  He went to the back of the aircraft and started pulling open storage cupboards. The dive gear was neatly stacked in one corner. It was all top-of-the-line, and he gave a low whistle. He handed it out to Morgan.

  “Look at this stuff,” he said. “Streamlined, lightweight tanks, and full-face masks with integrated communications.”

  “Pays to be a bad guy,” she replied dryly. She set the gear down, checking the air in the tanks. “This is nice.”

  Zach also grabbed a backpack and stuffed anything useful that he could find—food, ammunition, first aid kit—inside. He leaped out of the helicopter, and they divvied up the gear.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  Soon, they were jogging back into the trees. Zach half expected to hear shouts and the whistle of bullets whizzing past him.

  But there was nothing but some birds calling in the quiet morning.

  They’d made it. They grinned at each other as they headed back to the pool.

  ***

  Morgan checked the tanks, and laid out all the dive gear beside the pool.

  Like Zach had said, the gear was top-of-the-line. Nothing but the best for Silk Road. Her jaw tightened. The group really needed to be stopped, one way or another.

  She glanced over at Zach, who was standing beside the pool, staring down at the water. He looked tense.

  “You okay?” Her shoulder brushed against his.

  “It could be dangerous down there.”

  “We’ll take it slow.” She gripped his arm. “And I’ll take care of you, Dr. James.”

  There was something in his eyes. “Because it’s your job?”

  Her heart clenched. “That’s part of it.”

  “What’s the other part?”

  Her mouth went dry.

  “We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, Morgan. Silk Road people are somewhere nearby, hunting us and this treasure. Declan may or may not be able to find us, and we’re about to dive in a dangerous, flooded cave. Tell me.”

  She tilted her head, her stomach tight. “I’m not good with words.”

  “So show me.”

  There was so much swirling in his eyes. She fisted her hands in his shirt, and yanked him closer. Their mouths fused, and she poured everything into the kiss. All the volatile emotions she felt for this man.

  “Zach.” One tortured word, torn from her.

  “I know.” His voice was deep and rough. “I have to have you.”

  He backed her up, under the overhang. She found herself spun around, and she pressed her hands against the rock wall to steady herself. His hands were at the waistband of her trousers, tearing them open. He shoved her trousers down, and then she heard the zipper of his shorts.

  She knew they didn’t have time for this, but as his hands moved over her bare ass, she also knew she needed it. More than anything.

  The next thing she knew, the large head of his cock was prodding her, and he thrust inside.

  She moaned, her palms flat against the rock. He thrust inside her, heavily.

  “You’ll feel me.” His voice was a growl. “Even after I slide out of you, you’ll know I was here.”

  He leaned forward, nipping her shoulder. She pushed back against him.

  “This isn’t just sex, Morgan. I belong here. I’m going to be inside you again. You’re mine.”

  She was shoving back against him now, straining toward a fast, hard release. His fingers were biting into her hips, and he was powering inside her like he wanted to claim her. Electric fear skated through her. For the first time in her life, she wanted to be claimed.

  “I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.” His tone darkened. “I’ve never committed to a woman because I’ve been too afraid of the bad blood in my veins. Afraid I’d hurt her. But you…I can’t stay away from you.”

  His hands slid down her belly, his thumb finding her slick clit. He rubbed it, and she flew apart. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out, and as pleasure cascaded through her, he groaned his own release.

  With both of them spent, he pulled out of her, and she bit her lip, feeling his withdrawal. He turned her around, and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. “There is going to be an ‘us’, Morgan. Just giving you some warning.”

  Her chest went tight. “You like adventures,” she said. “You told me you love to travel, and dig, and dive. Not to be tied down.”

  “Well, I guess I’m ready for another kind of adventure,” he said.

  Warmth flooded her. She wanted to trust it and she wanted to trust him. “Um, I can strip down a gun and throw a knife dead on target. I know a dozen different ways to kill a man, but I’m really bad at relationships.”

  His thumb brushed her wrist. “I’ll go easy on you.”

  “I’ll try to push you away, or I’ll screw up. You’ll get tired of me—”

  “Hey, enough of that. I’m a patient man, and we’ll learn together.”

  She remembered the dark words that had torn out of him earlier. “Zach, you’ve only mentioned a little about your father, but you aren’t like him.”

  His jaw tightened. “I look like him. Every time I look in the mirror, I see him.”

  “You escaped. You’ve made something of yourself, while he beat up on a small boy he was supposed to protect.”

  Zach stayed tense and silent.

  She tangled her fingers with his. “Maybe it’s time to stop running and realize there’s nothing to run from anymore.”

  Something moved through his gaze. “You going to stick around and help me with that?”

  “Maybe I will.” Morgan straightened. She glanced at the water and the dive gear. It was time to focus on the task at hand. “But right now, we have another adventure to deal with.”

  He scrounged up a smile, dimples winking. “You’re talking about diving, right? Not another intense quickie?”

  “Yes, diving, smart ass.” She held out a wet suit for him. He pulled it on, and while he grabbed his BCD jacket and tanks, Morgan pulled her own gear on.

  He settled his full-face mask over his face. “Testing. Can you hear me?”

  His voice came through the speakers in her mask. “Loud and clear.”

  Flashlights were mounted on either side of the mask, and she flicked them on. Together, they waded into the pool.

  Zach nodded. “Let’s go find s
ome treasure.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  As they sank down into the water, Morgan looked at the rocks below them.

  In some places, they looked round and curved, and in others, sharp and pointed, just like the tsingy. Beautiful rays of light speared into the water, but as they swam deeper, the blackness encroached.

  Complete and unforgiving.

  They descended farther, and now the only light came from the lights on their masks. Morgan had done some cave diving before. Even though it was interesting, she always preferred the open ocean and being surrounded by endless possibilities, not caged in by rock walls.

  The cave narrowed, and became more horizontal. She saw the gap ahead narrowed, and was flanked by giant slabs of rock. Thankfully, they still had plenty of room to maneuver.

  In places, she could see sandy patches dotting the rock floor. The cave widened again, and now, pillars of rock extended from the floor to the roof. As the light cut through the water, illuminating the colonnade, she got the feeling of being in an underwater church.

  And then she spotted the bones.

  Wow. Numerous brown-colored bones lay, partly buried in the gravelly bottom. Several large skulls lay on the sand, large, empty eye sockets staring upward, unseeing.

  “It’s amazing,” she said.

  “An ancient graveyard,” Zach said, looking around. “These probably belong to long-extinct creatures.”

  Morgan lifted a skull, almost as big as her own. “Not sure I would have wanted to run into this guy.”

  “Must be from one of the giant lemurs.”

  She set it back down and they kept moving. Soon, the cave started to narrow again. Morgan swam first, Zach right behind her. She checked her air gauge. “If the cave goes much farther, we’ll have to turn back, or we won’t have enough air to get to the surface.”

  All of a sudden, Zach bit out a curse. Morgan spun and saw rocks falling from the roof. She kicked hard, knocking Zach out of the way.

  A rock struck her shoulder, knocking her sideways. She bumped into the rock wall, and felt another rock hit her back, striking her tank.

  Morgan tried to swim and realized she couldn’t move. The rock had pinned her tank against the cave wall.

  “I’m stuck,” she said.

  “Shit!” Zach appeared and reached past her, tugging at the rocks. He dropped back, floating in the water. “No luck. They won’t budge.

  He leaned forward again, attacking the large rock pinning her. It wouldn’t move. He kept at it, and she could hear his fast breaths through her comm link. He was just wasting his oxygen.

  “Zach. Stop.”

  He did, his face just inches from hers.

  “Zach, you need to go.”

  “And leave you?” His eyes narrowed.

  “Yes. It’s the only—”

  “Fuck that.” His hands cupped either side of her mask. “Never.”

  Fear ate at her. Morgan rarely felt fear. From the day she’d lost her father, she’d learned to curb it, ignore it, control it. But now, she felt fear greater than anything she’d ever felt, because she knew Zach wouldn’t leave her.

  She had to convince him. “I don’t want you to die down here.”

  She felt his fingers brush against her cheek. “Right back at you. I’m falling in love with you.”

  God. Morgan felt hot and cold, afraid and elated, all at once. “Zach—”

  “So, screw your rules. When we get out of here, I’m going to hold your hand, carry your bags, take you on dates, and give you unlimited orgasms. I’m going to make you fall in love with me. Got it?”

  She felt tears pricking at her eyes. She wanted that. So much.

  But for now, she needed to keep the stubborn man alive.

  With renewed focus, she turned the problem over in her head. “I’m going to slip out of my gear.”

  Now she saw concern in his eyes. “You can use my octopus.”

  The spare regulator attached to his BCD. “On your tanks alone, both of us breathing, we won’t make it to the top. I’ll hold my breath as long as I can and you pull me—”

  He shook his head. “You’re the stronger swimmer and better diver. You should pull me.”

  Her stomach did a slow roll. The thought of him drowning and her having to pull him behind her, lifeless, made her feel ill. The truth was, though, however they did it, they were unlikely to both make it to the surface.

  And the stubborn fool wouldn’t leave her.

  “Or,” he said. “We continue on.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Want to live dangerously, Miss Kincaid?”

  No, but it was better than staying stuck here. “I want to live.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Come on, Morgan. We’re together and that’s all that matters to me.” He pressed his mask against hers. “I want to kiss you so badly.”

  She groaned. “That’s good incentive. You can kiss me when we get to the other end.”

  Morgan took a deep breath, then disconnected her mask. She slipped free of her gear. Instantly, Zach pressed his second regulator to her mask, and she breathed deep.

  They started swimming, kicking strongly, and moving as fast as they could, deeper into the cave.

  They kept going and going. Finally, Zach’s tank was showing empty.

  She took another deep breath and disconnected from his tanks. She could hold her breath a long time and she kicked, single-mindedly moving ahead, praying for a miracle. An air pocket, a dry cavern, anything.

  Her lungs started to burn, and beside her, she felt Zach jerk.

  His air had run out.

  She urged him to keep swimming, and saw he was struggling not to take a breath. He was losing strength, his movements uncoordinated. She grabbed the back of his wet suit and kept powering forward, dragging him behind her.

  Come on. She couldn’t believe that she could finally start falling in love with a man and then lose him.

  Zach went limp. Despair screamed through her when she realized he’d drowned. No!

  Morgan kept kicking. She couldn’t bear to look at him. The burning in her lungs reached breaking point and her vision blurred, splotches of light dominating her vision.

  They were out of time.

  ***

  Zach felt lips on his.

  He knew those lips. He lifted his head, sank a hand into her wet hair, and kissed Morgan hard.

  She was wet, and his own skin was wet. He nipped her lip. “Heaven is far wetter than I imagined.”

  “Thank God, Zach.” She gave a watery laugh. “Are you okay?”

  He opened his eyes. She was leaning over him, misery on her face. He cupped her cheek. “I’m okay.”

  She released a shaky breath. “I’ve been doing resuscitation for the last ten minutes.” Her chest hitched. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  He sat up and pulled her into his lap. He slicked her wet hair back from her face and held on tight. She burrowed her head against his chest, and he felt her shaking.

  God. He held on tight to his tough, strong woman, and knew he never wanted to let her go. Reluctantly, Zach lifted his head. He saw they were in a cavern, their legs still resting in water while they sat on a rocky shore. “We made it.”

  “I didn’t think we were going to.”

  He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “We made it, thanks to you.”

  She cupped his cheeks firmly. “Let’s not do that again.”

  They stayed there, holding each other for several minutes. When they finally broke apart and stood, Zach’s legs felt a little shaky. He watched Morgan pull out her gun and dewater it.

  “Will that still work?” he asked. “Won’t it backfire, or something, if you use it?”

  She arched a brow at him. “It doesn’t have gunpowder in it.”

  “Right.”

  She shook her head. “If we’re going to, you know, be together, we’ll have to bring your gun knowledge up to speed.”

  He gr
inned. “Yes, Miss Kincaid. And if I’m a naughty student, you’ll have to discipline me.”

  A laugh broke out of her. “You nearly died a few minutes ago, and you’re already thinking up lurid fantasies.”

  “Yep. Will you wear a tight pencil skirt and sexy glasses?”

  She turned to face the tunnel ahead. “Focus, Dr. James.”

  Zach stared at the dark cave ahead, and that was when it dawned on him that they could see. The light wasn’t great, but a pink glow lit the cave ahead. “Why can we see?”

  “No idea. Let’s find out.”

  They walked on, the rocks crunching under their feet. The walls of the cave were damp, and twinkled with a faint sparkle of light. It made Zach think of glitter.

  “This reminds me of the underwater temple we found in Cambodia,” Morgan said. “On a previous job.”

  “You were on that expedition?” Zach had read about Treasure Hunter Security discovering an ancient temple in the mountains around Angkor.

  Morgan shivered. “Yes. There was also this giant snake.”

  “No dangerous snakes in Madagascar. And no giant ones that I know about.”

  “Good.” Suddenly, she pulled him to a stop. “Jesus, look.”

  Zach turned his head. The cave opened up into a small cavern, and translucent pink stones were nestled inside, standing upright in a circular pattern.

  They’d found the temple.

  ***

  Morgan just stared at the massive stones looming ahead of them. The rocks gave off a faint glow.

  It looked nothing like a Greek or Roman temple, with elegant columns and smooth walls. Or the intricate architecture of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

  This temple almost looked natural, like the Earth itself had set these rocks in place, in an era far older than time itself.

  As they walked toward the structure, a feeling of peace and tranquility washed over Morgan. She frowned, her muscles relaxing of their own accord. The place exuded a quiet, calming energy.

  “It almost looks natural,” she said.

  Zach nodded. “A lot of megalithic temples do. The prehistoric people carved into rocks, used natural stones. But this was definitely made by man.”

  She watched Zach’s face as he walked around, touching the translucent stone. Wonder. Awe. The man was in his element, doing what he loved.