"G'wan." Dar shooed him off. "Yes or no, sixty seconds."

The man snorted, then turned away again and spoke into his shoulder.

"Don't you get a stiff neck after a while like that?" Kerry whispered to Dar.

"You start doing it even when you aren't wearing the d.a.m.n thing," Dar whispered back. "Like in the supermarket. There ya are, buying milk next to a guy talking to his arm."

"Is that like 'talk to the hand, buddy, talk to the hand?'" Kerry snickered as she moved her fingers in a puppet-like motion.

Dar shook her head. "These guys are like cartoon characters."

She indicated the guard approaching them again, his bodybuilder's physique flexing like a Macy's balloon.

"Mr. DeSalliers says he doesn't have time to play games with you," the man announced.

"All right." Dar lifted a hand. "Hasta Manana, jacka.s.s." She turned and started back down the dock. "If he changes his mind, we're in slip 30."

"Bye." Kerry waggled her fingers at the men before she ambled after Dar. She caught up to her partner after a few steps and they strolled along together. "So," she commented. "Now what?"

Dar glanced down at the keychain watch looped through her belt. "Give it a minute."

It really was a big game, of sorts. Kerry had gotten used to the delicate and sometimes not so delicate maneuverings of the boardroom. This didn't seem that different.

"Ms. Roberts!"

Kerry clucked her tongue. "Ooh, you're good."*155 Dar paused and looked over her shoulder, her eyes hidden behind sungla.s.ses despite the rain. Ah. DeSalliers himself was trotting down the dock after them, his blue blazer getting spotted with rain. Dar turned fully and waited, having gotten what she'd asked for. "Yes?"

"Ms. Roberts, Ms. Roberts." DeSalliers sighed. "You know, I think we really did start off on the wrong foot." His att.i.tude, completely reversed from the morning's, was almost friendly. "All we do is keep getting more and more hostile. Can't we turn this around?"

Dar regarded him warily. "You're giving me bulls.h.i.t whiplash."

"Please," DeSalliers continued, "let's just go inside, out of this blasted rain, and talk."

The risk seemed acceptable, Dar reasoned, considering everything. "All right," she agreed.

"Great." He started to lead them back toward his boat. "I'm sure we can come to a better understanding of each other, if we just put a little effort into it." Only then did he seem to notice Kerry's continued presence. "Sorry. I don't think we've met?"

Kerry promptly extended a hand. "Kerry."

"Ah." DeSalliers took it and pressed it briefly. "And you are?"

"Dar's American Express card," Kerry replied smoothly. "She never leaves home without me."

Dar had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from smiling.

"We're partners," she supplied succinctly.

They pa.s.sed the two guards, both of whom glared at Dar as she brushed by them. Dar ignored their att.i.tude and followed DeSalliers up the long gangplank to the deck of his boat, stepping neatly down after him onto the vessel.

Kerry eased off after Dar, looking around the deck of the big boat as they moved around toward the cabin. The deck floor was covered in plush-looking, all-weather Astroturf, and there were two more guards who were braced on either side of the deck, hands clasped behind their backs. They were big and healthy looking, and reminded Kerry irresistibly of cattle. "Moo," she uttered, under her breath. She saw Dar's shoulders twitch in a silent laugh.

They followed DeSalliers inside the cabin and found a s.p.a.ce as ostentatiously well-appointed as the exterior deck suggested. It was full of dark leather furniture and teak wood, and smelled very masculine. On one side there was a bar, complete with a ceiling- mounted gla.s.s rack with pivots. Across from the bar was an entertainment center with a circular viewing lounge. Toward the rear was a s.p.a.cious galley, and behind that, a closed door that led to the more private areas of the boat's cabin.

The windows were so tinted that light barely penetrated. Most 156*

of the illumination was provided by recessed fixtures near the walls, and one searingly bright beam that splashed over the dining room table, highlighting a crystal vase with a single, perfect red rose in it.

"Please, sit down," DeSalliers said as he crossed to the bar.

"Can I get you both a drink?"

"No thank you," Kerry replied. She waited quietly near the door, looking around.

Dar was circling the cabin, examining the oriental-themed, framed mats on the walls. "Nothing for me, thanks." She stopped in front of a small painting near the galley, leaning forward a little as she recognized the style. Her eyebrows rose behind her gla.s.ses.

"Nice piece, isn't it?" Their host spoke up behind her. "I have a much larger one in my home. Truly captures the majesty of the sea."

Dar straightened. "Very nice." She pulled off her sungla.s.ses and turned, chewing on the earpiece as she regarded DeSalliers.

"I'll pa.s.s your compliments on to my mother."

The man froze in place. His brows contracted fiercely, giving him an almost comical look as he paused in the act of pouring himself a gla.s.s of what appeared to be scotch. "Excuse me?"

Dar's thumb gestured over her shoulder at the small painting.

"That's my mother's work," she replied mildly. "Seascapes are a favorite theme of hers."

DeSalliers put down the gla.s.s and rested his hands on the bar.

"Well, well," he murmured. "You are a veritable Pandora's box of surprises, aren't you, Ms. Roberts?" He picked up his gla.s.s and swirled the contents, circling Dar. "I send out an inquiry expecting, at best, some rich brat tooling about the Caribbean, and what do I come up with? The CIO of the largest computer services organization in the world." He paused. "What a surprise."

Dar shrugged. "We're even. I go out tooling about the Caribbean on a simple vacation, and what do I come up with?

a.s.sholes chasing my boat, breaking and entering my hotel room, and vague, useless threats sent by courier," she countered. "What a surprise. All I was expecting was reasonable weather and a few spiny lobster."

DeSalliers sighed. "I thought we were trying to get on a better footing."

Dar spread out her hands, both of her eyebrows lifting. "I come up from a d.a.m.n dive, and the next thing I know, your half-witted goons are chasing my a.s.s down."

"Now, Ms. Roberts..." The man held a hand up soothingly. "I realize now we came at you the wrong way."

"You mean, after the intimidation tricks didn't work, then you decided to find out who you were chasing?" Kerry commented from*157 her spot near the doorway.

DeSalliers shot a glance at her and apparently decided the gracious host scam wasn't working. "Let's cut to the chase."

"Finally." Dar chewed on her sungla.s.ses again, then she sauntered over to the nearest comfortable leather chair and sprawled in it. Kerry caught the almost imperceptible signal and joined her, perching on the chair's arm.

"Okay." DeSalliers adapted again, taking the chair across from them. "Here's the deal." His entire att.i.tude changed, becoming tough and businesslike. Almost like Dar, in fact. "I have a piece of ocean on which I own the rights of salvage. You dove that piece of ocean and removed something from it. I want it."

Kerry took the lead. "Okay. First off, you didn't mark the salvage site." She ticked off her fingers. "You didn't post a buoy, you didn't put up a diver flag, and there were no tags on the wreck."

He took a sip of his drink. "We were about to."

"But you didn't," Kerry said. "So how were we supposed to know you were going to salvage it? ILS doesn't hire psychics."

"That's not the point," DeSalliers said with a frown. "The fact is, you were down there."

"What's so important about this wreck?" Kerry asked. "I saw it.

It's an old fishing freighter with more coral than steel."

"That's none of your business."

"Then," Dar picked up the conversation, "for your records, we picked up a conch sh.e.l.l and brought it topside. You don't have salvage rights on marine invertebrates or their calciferous exterior structures."

The man's fingers drummed nervously on his knee, which jiggled slightly with tension. "I'm very sorry," he remarked quietly, "but I don't believe you."

"Why not?" Kerry asked suddenly. "Excuse me, but what the h.e.l.l would we care about marine salvage? We're nerd sport divers."

She stood up and paced. "That's what I don't understand about this entire scenario. What makes you think we give a rat's patootie about whatever junk you're searching for?"

DeSalliers gazed at her through hooded eyes. "Who are you?"

Dar leaned forward and caught his attention. "What are you looking for?" she asked in a low, vibrant tone. "If it's what we took from the sea, we'll tell you."

His dark eyes bored into hers. They stared at each other for a long moment. "I can't tell you," DeSalliers finally said.

Dar started to get up. "Waste of time."

"Ms. Roberts," he also stood, and held up a hand, "I mean it. I can't tell you, not won't."

"You don't know what it is," Kerry realized. "You have no idea 158*

what you're looking for, do you?"

DeSalliers relaxed back into his chair with a disgusted sigh.

Dar settled back and crossed her ankles. "I'm not getting this."

She shook her head. "How the h.e.l.l can you stake a salvage claim on an unknown object?" she asked their host.

He rubbed his temples. "Did you ever get hoisted on your own petard, Ms. Roberts?" he inquired. "Hung out to dry by your own reputation?"

Dar considered the question. "No," she replied. "Not yet, anyway."

Kerry walked over and knelt next to his chair, resting her arm near his. "Talk to us, Mr. DeSalliers. Tell us what the heck is really going on. Maybe we can help." She gave him a quiet, sincere look.

"We're better friends than enemies, believe me."

He hesitated, then took a breath, as if to speak.

The door slammed open and one of the guards rushed in. "Sir!

Sir! He's out there! They're diving the wreck!"

"s.h.i.t." DeSalliers jumped to his feet. "I'll kill that little b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Cast off!" He started to leave the cabin, then apparently remembered his guests. "Sorry. Hope you enjoy the ride."

Dar and Kerry were both on their feet and heading for the door.

DeSalliers popped through it before they could reach it, and the guard slammed it shut, facing them with an air of muscular menace.

"You ladies better sit on down," the guard said gruffly.

Dar handed Kerry her sungla.s.ses. "I suggest you move," she replied to the guard in an even tone. "We're leaving."

"Sit down," the guard repeated, pointing.

Dar advanced on him. "Move." She pinned him with an ice- cold gaze.

"Lady or not, I'm gonna break your a.s.s if you don't sit down,"

the guard told her.

"Try it." Dar didn't miss a beat. She felt her body react to the danger, adrenaline kicking in and bringing a surge of blood to her skin as she came up over her center of balance. The guard was twice her size, but in that moment she could have cared less. He was between her, and safety for her and Kerry, and he was moving. The boat engines rumbled to life. Dar's hands flexed, and she let the dark energy inside her uncoil as she started for the door.

The guard reached for her, cursing. They grappled briefly, then he threw Dar against the wall, coming after her with one hand extended and the other curled into a fist.

Dar grabbed his hand and swiveled, lashing out with a sidekick that caught him right in the jaw. His head snapped back and she jerked him off balance, then whirled and levered him over her shoulder, throwing him to the floor. With a snort, she grabbed the*159 door handle and yanked it open, just as Kerry hopped over the stunned man and joined her.

They looked out to see the dock receding, blue water between them and it. Two guards were scrambling toward them. "Feel like a swim?" Dar asked, already starting for the stern railing.

"Anywhere you go, I go." Kerry dodged an outstretched arm and they both bolted across the deck, hearing DeSalliers' yell behind them as they leaped to the railing, then dove off together into the churning water.

Chapter.

Fourteen.