Whirlpool (Cutter Cay Book 6)

by Cherry Adair

  FIVE

  With the dawn sky lightened enough to get a better visual, Finn ignored the steaming mug of strong, black coffee and the contract he'd been reading on his tablet in the dining room on board Blackstar. Instead, he picked up the Swarovski EL Range-finding binoculars.

  In a few hours the restaurant-style dining room would be filled with his office staff enjoying breakfast before they started their day. He'd been up at his customary four-thirty a.m. Spent exactly one hour in the gym on the pool deck, showered, dressed, and taken two video conference calls from Europe in his office.

  For now, he was alone, sitting in semi-darkness at his favorite table, beside wide windows with an endless view of pale, colorless sky reflected in the still water.

  He'd drink a second cup of coffee, reread the contract, catch up on a few emails and enjoy the solitude before going back to his office for the hour and forty-seven minutes until his breakfast meeting with the Cutters. Between sending the contract back to his lawyers and the meeting, he’d do as much work as someone putting in half a day.

  He was in the midst of a multi-company buyout, and much of his time was spent on phone calls and video conferencing. Thanks to his investment in satellites, and pioneering data link technology he had interoperability with his associates and business partners globally, and unfettered access to secure, jam-resistant data links. So he stayed connected with unparalleled levels of situational awareness at all times. He scheduled his calendar in fifteen-minute increments. Not a moment wasted. Even his leisure time was scheduled.

  He was accused of being an alien life form and having a twenty-five-hour day. He wished. But until that happened, he crammed in as much as he could every waking hour. Finn rolled his shoulders. Ariel Andersen had been a delicious detour, but taking that three day bite out of his work week had set him back.

  Worth it.

  The rush of primal lust he’d felt that weekend in Buenos Aires hadn't lessened one iota. Which was both intriguing and a little bit fucking terrifying for a man who considered himself a scientist, and not prone to wild impromptu love affairs.

  That loss of control must be tempered next time he saw her. They had to coexist, or at least have contact, for a long time, longer than most of his relationships might last. And God only knew, nothing could possibly burn that brightly without incinerating them both.

  He couldn't keep his hands off her. Hell, he didn't want to. She'd disappeared after the incident in the pantry, and he hadn't seen her for three fucking days. Would she make him wait on tenterhooks for eight days as she had last time? She was supposed to be here. On board Blackstar, working. Spending her days overseeing the artifacts, and her nights in his bed.

  The other night they'd had sex - several times - without a condom. The last time Finn had gone bareback was the first time he'd had sex at age thirteen with Bridget Moran in old man Frazer's horse barn. It had been amazing then, but bareback now took sex to another level. He never wanted to wear a condom again. The sensation of Peri - Ariel's slick vaginal walls pulsing around his cock brought new meaning to lovemaking. He'd always enjoyed the act, condom-less took the sensation supernova.

  It would be difficult to ignore her when she stayed onboard, but he needed to rein in his lust. Blackstar was the size of a hotel. Plenty of space for them to keep their distance. Perhaps she'd be agreeable to a once-a-week liaison, and he could... Jesus. He really had lost his fucking mind, given that he’d hauled her into the pantry in front of a hundred guests at the party the other night. He hadn’t given a damn if they heard her scream every time she came.

  Clearly, once a week wouldn’t be sufficient. He needed to check his schedule, see what could be moved around. . . Satisfied that he'd find a viable solution, Finn settled back in his chair. Now that it was light enough to get a better look, he adjusted the focus on the lightweight magnesium-alloy frame binocs to better see the tri-deck megayacht, Tesoro Mio, which seemed to have materialized out of the darkness overnight. He'd noticed it anchored several miles to the south when he'd gotten out of the shower earlier.

  Three people stood on the dive platform. Two already in drysuits. Early to dive, and still cool at this hour. He presumed the tall, dark-haired guy in the black drysuit was Rydell Case, owner of Tesoro Mio. With him were an attractive strawberry blond and a slender redhead in an orange and pink drysuit reaching for her tank.

  As he focused on her laughing face, he felt as though he'd been kicked in the chest. So much for his resolution. Could he clear more time to spend with her now that she was back within his orbit? He had to. At least long enough to get her out of his system.

  "Well, hell," Finn murmured, watching Ariel fasten her tank, then give a jaunty wave in his general direction before jumping off the platform. "Cheeky."

  He knew damn well that from that distance she couldn't see inside Blackstar to observe him sitting at the window. But she'd waved anyway, as though she felt him watching her. He understood that Case would come under the same government regulations as himself and the Cutters. Which meant she had to check on Case, too. But Finn didn't like how friendly she appeared to be with the guy.

  Damn it to hell, he was annoyed at how annoyed he was seeing her embrace another man.

  He'd get an even better look at her later through his telescope on the top deck when she resurfaced. He didn't need 10X magnification to prove to himself that three days hadn’t diminished his craving for the intoxicating fragrance of Casablanca lilies, the sweet taste of her mouth, or the way her lips curled into a delicious, kissable, contented smile after she came. And before she came again.

  "It’s the butt crack of dawn. What could you possibly be looking at? Zane Cutter came up behind him as Finn sat transfixed, long after his redhead disappeared under the water.

  Blackstar, the closest ship to Tesoro Mio, probably blocked the new arrival from view from the Cutter ships. "You're here early." He pointed out the window, as the youngest Cutter sat across from him. Zane was an affable guy, with none of his three older brother's intensity. Britt, his chief steward appeared with a coffee pot and two mugs. The tall, Norwegian blond poured fresh coffee for both men. Finn smiled his thanks. “Tesoro Mio. Arrived during the night."

  "No shit?" Zane swiveled his head to look out the window. "Crap, that son of a bitch always knows where we are? He's a god damned parasite with radar."

  Finn shrugged. "No secrets when there's this big a salvage and this amount of money to be had."

  "True. All we need now is for the Sea Witch to show up. Wait until you experience that redheaded little thief’s antics. She's another pain in the ass."

  "The only redhead I've seen is Miss Andersen. She's over there diving with Case as we speak."

  "Holy crap. The ocean is littered with redheads." Zane added sugar to his mug, stirring it while watching Tesoro Mio as if it was about to rise from the water like a breaching whale. "Logan will have a fucking heart attack if we end up with Case and Sea Bitch at this salvage."

  "No way to keep it under wraps. We knew people would come out of the woodwork." Finn sipped his coffee. "I’ve never understood why you guys haven't sicced the authorities on her and been shot of her. One theft would've been enough. The second time, I'd have had her taken away in cuffs."

  Hands wrapped around his mug, Zane shrugged. "You'd have to ask Nick that question. He maintains she's harmless. She's a P.I.T.A., but so far, she hasn't stolen anything of enormous value. She's just a nuisance, and always around like a damned magpie."

  "Last I checked, piracy is a crime in most jurisdictions. Perhaps the magpie should be prosecuted.” There was more to this than met the eye. Finn wouldn't be so sanguine if the female pirate stole from him. Then all bets would be off.

  "Who are we talking about?" Maggie Berland asked, as she and her husband Ben joined them. The couple were on Zane's dive team. Finn had met them several times over the years in his business dealings with Zane.

  "Case showed up in the dead of night like the fucking bloodsucker
he is. Just speculating if Sea Bitch will show as well," Zane responded, taking the binocs from Finn, and adjusting the central focusing ring to get a better look at the other ship.

  “Our government oversight agent, Ariel Andersen's over there. She has red hair. . . " Finn hoped to hell they weren’t one and the same.

  Zane shook his head, glasses to his eyes. "That's not Sea Bitch, hair's the wrong red. Maggie?” He handed her the glasses.

  "That's not her. We'd spot her boat before seeing her, anyway. She'll show. Sooner than later. Mark my words."

  Zane glanced over at Finn. "I'm starving. Can I have a pre-breakfast breakfast?"

  Finn smiled. "Ask Britt for whatever you like." His scheduled break was over. "I have work to do before the meeting." He got to his feet as Britt approached with menus. "Maggie? Ben? Pre-breakfast breakfast?"

  "Lord, I don't know where you put all that food you eat. He's like a newborn, has to eat every two hours." Maggie gave Zane a look that showed Finn how much she loved the younger man. The Breland's were like family to Zane, and it showed.

  Maggie smiled at Britt. "I'd just like a large cup of Finn's favorite brew. White and sweet, please. Ben will have his first breakfast now if that won't inconvenience the chef so early?"

  "Enjoy your breakfast," Finn told them before Ben placed his order. "See you in a couple of hours."

  He went straight to his office down the corridor, and opened the dossier his very efficient right-hand man, Walker, had compiled on Miss Ariel Andersen. He'd read through it yesterday. There was absolutely nothing he pretty much didn’t know already in the two pages presented to him.

  After studying at the Argentine Atlantis University in Buenos Aires, she'd worked for the Argentinian government for five years. She owned a piece of property atop a cliff, where she'd built a small, but innovative house.

  Where she came from, and what she'd been doing prior to showing up in Argentina was still under investigation.

  There was no mention of her owning a boat. No mention that she was a stunningly gorgeous, athletic redhead with the body of a goddess. Yet well-honed instincts told him she was hiding something. What, he had no idea. "What are you up to, Miss Andersen?"

  Finn couldn't wait to find out. About to call Walker in, he retracted the hand he'd placed on the phone. He decided against hiring the private detective to dig deeper. He was going to enjoy uncovering all her secrets himself.

  "Impressive first full day, huh?" Drysuit peeled down to her waist, Peri wrung out her hair, the sun warm on her cool skin. She, Ry, Momo and Dante, two members of her brother's dive crew, had just returned from their second dive of the day.

  "You will make us a lot of money I think, piccola Rosa." Dante Acura gave her his trademark charming smile. Tall and wiry, he was sex appeal on a stick. Peri wondered why he held zero attraction for her. Then acknowledged why when her gaze drifted across the water to Finn's obscenely large, black ship.

  Momo Bergson gave her a thumb up as he towel dried his hairy chest. "We'll all make a killing here. Unfortunately, so will the Cutters, if their sites are anything like ours."

  "Maybe, and believe me, I wanted to claim all four wrecks," Peri told him as she finished peeling off her suit. At mid-morning it was far too early to quit for the day, but Ariel Andersen needed to go to work

  She still had to return home, switch runabouts, change clothes, and return to Blackstar before dark. "First, I couldn't afford the good faith payment required by the government, not to mention I figured a salvage of that magnitude would bring out all the vultures, not just the Cutters. There are about fifty nautical miles of wreckage from the four ships. Trying to tackle the entire area would take us about a hundred and fifty years. I had to prioritize which area to salvage first."

  With plenty of time to grid and prep Napolitano, all the boring, arduous work had been done in anticipation of her brother’s arrival. Now each artifact could be attributed to its exact location. Ry was a stickler for keeping all that info in his high-tech database.

  Her brother held out his hands for the baby, and with a smile, Addison handed him over. The child wore the teeniest little blue Speedo Peri had ever seen over his diaper. Ry kissed the baby's head as he adjusted the child as if he were holding a football, his hand looking huge and dark against the baby's narrow back. "Phenomenal. Thanks for doing all the grunt work, Magma. Excellent job by the way."

  Peri shrugged. "Makes a difference not having to waste time charting and setting up the grids." Glancing across the shimmering water in the general direction of the other ships, she shot her brother a grin. "We've had years head start on the Cutters. And we have the most promising wreck out of the four."

  "Hey, you guys," Len Swanapoel, another of Ry's divers, yelled down from the deck above. "Check this out!"

  They all climbed the ladder to see what the South African diver had to show them. The acidic smell of cleaning fluid hung in the still air, and water filled tubs lined the rails ready for coins and small artifacts. "Check this out. It came up in our last haul. Peri, this is one of the items you sent up from 178B. Interesting, ja?"

  Peri took the item from him to get a closer look, then had to tighten her grip as her hands dipped with the weight of it. The artifact, a two-inch-thick slab, about twelve by eight inches, was a lot heavier than it had been underwater and it's covering of gold was as bright as it had been before it sank beneath the waves. "I thought it might be a plate of some kind, but it's too heavy for that. It looks like a whole piece. Not broken off from something larger, right?" Tilting it to catch the light she frowned. "It seems to have an allover print or design. What do you think it is?"

  "It's gold for sure, probably covering some kind of stone. While I can't read it, I think this is writing. A shitton of it. Doesn't look like Spanish though."

  "Hmm. Could be writing." Ry peered over Peri's shoulder. "Maybe. Probably just a linear design of some kind. Still, interesting."

  "I think it's text of some sort." Peri quarter-turned the tablet. "Doesn't look like Italian either. Maybe I'm holding it upside down. Nope, that doesn't make it any more legible. Maybe after it's completely cleaned we'll be able to identify the language."

  "Whatever it says, or whatever it depicts, this is an exciting find." Ry clasped his sister's shoulder. "Maybe this'll give us a clue as to why the armada headed south instead of north."

  "And why there was an Italian ship sailing with three Spanish ships." As much as she was dying to stay, clean and X-ray the two-foot, almost square, slab, and see what it revealed, she couldn't hang around much longer. "Speaking of heading south- I need to go in. I have to report back to Theo about the Cutters, and I want to get Sea Witch stocked and ready." She smiled. "I think it's time for her to make her debut tomorrow." If Finn and the Cutters don’t do anything drastic to stop me.

  Ry gave her a stern look. "Report in tonight when you leave them. Will you go home, or come back to us?"

  "It would eat up my day commuting between home, Blackstar and you. I'll just anchor Sea Witch tomorrow so I have more dive time. I can't wait to get an update on our slab."

  "I'll do some research," Ry told her, taking the gold piece from her. "See if we can figure out what you have here. He clasped the back of her head and drew her in to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Stay on your toes in the enemy camp, Magma."

  She loved her brother more than any other human on the planet. What she didn't adore was the warped reflection of herself he projected back at her without even trying. The uncomfortable swirl in the pit of her stomach was back. Peri didn't like feeling guilty. There was no way she could go through with her planned end game now that the conscience Ry had drummed into her for years had reared its ugly head.

  Well hell.

  Barefoot, drysuit peeled down to his waist, the hot, late afternoon sun evaporated droplets of water off Finn's skin as quickly as it dripped from his hair. He'd gotten the call from Security within seconds of returning from his first dive of the day off Blackstar Two. W
orking alongside his dive team, unearthing artifacts, was how he relaxed. The pressures of his life disappeared when he was sixty-feet under the water.

  Or immersed in Ariel's sleek body.

  About time she showed up. She'd come directly from Tesoro Mio where he'd observed her spending the better part of her morning diving with Rydell Case and his team. Diving wasn't part of her job description. She should've been here with him—

  Shit. Was Case fucking her? Finn prodded the new emotion as one would a painful tooth as he jogged up the stairs. He didn't like the feeling. Didn't fucking like the thought of that kind of possessiveness crossing his mind. It was as annoying as it was distracting.

  He valued the ninety-minutes a day he'd designated to dive, and being pulled out of the water early was annoying. But he'd been thinking about her nonstop for fucking days. Distracted by thoughts of her. Distracted by his own distraction.

  He would discuss with her the windows of time he could open to accommodate their future trysts. Surely to God, the more time spent with her, the less diverting she'd be?

  Finn reached the next deck. Located with easy access to the dive platform, this deck was designated to the processing, cleaning, cataloging and photographing of the artifacts as they were brought to the surface. Security was on high alert due to the treasure already salvaged. But then Finn always had tight security surrounding him. His K&R insurance policy demanded it.

  The diver's and tech's cabins were on the same level as processing. The doors on all three sides of what had been the solarium were open wide to catch the breezes and dispense the chemical fumes.

  The late afternoon was hot and still, perfect diving weather. Finn was in no mood to play referee, but he wanted- hell- needed- to see her.

  Girding himself for an unpleasant confrontation, the sight of Ariel stole his breath and blew every other thought from his brain. She stood toe-to-toe with one of his techs, watched closely by his head of security, Seth McCoy.