Treasure Tides

Chapter ELEVEN

Royce sighed in frustration and dropped his head in his hands. Where the hell was she? They had been looking all night…scouring the waters around her last known location.

The sun had risen an hour ago, and still they had not made any headway.

Royce dropped Becki a text message to let her know they were still working, and she might have to take the girls to the airport.

Becki had responded, Luv U B Safe. I will take care of girls.

Royce smiled and sent, Luv U2 thx.

“Royce,” Landon yelled. “You need to get up here…now!”

Royce sprinted up the steps hoping to find out what Joanna had been up to. What had she been thinking? Her renegade behavior needed to stop. She was part of a team and needed to start acting like it. Unfortunately, he would have no choice but to ground her. Maybe a few weeks in an office, with nothing to do but file paperwork, would give her time to reflect on what it means to be part of a TEAM.

Royce’s mind was made up as to the necessary course of action. He was even more than ready to explain to Joanna why it had come to this. As he reached the top step, Royce was stunned by what he saw; a very beautiful, very familiar, very pissed-off Witch. Unfortunately, it was not the Witch he had expected.

She was seated on one of the captains’ chairs in a deceptively relaxed pose. If the sparks shooting from her eyes were any indication of her disposition, it was going to be bad.

“Tammy,” Royce acknowledged warily.

“Dad,” Royce nodded toward the distinguished well-built gentleman.

The fact that his father, Aaron, was present told him the potential for disaster was imminently near. Royce was unsure whether his father was here to protect him from Tammy, or here to back Tammy up when she kicked his ass.

“Son, what is going on here?” Aaron asked tightly. Royce felt the scales tipping slightly toward the probability of the latter.

“I’m not sure I know,” Royce admitted warily scrubbing his forehead. “I’m working on figuring it out.”

“Why is Wolf-boy here?” Tammy asked. She was obviously in a foul mood and not in the mood.

Landon stiffened instinctively and then relaxed as he wisely stifled a laugh. Joanna had called him “Wolf-boy” the first day they met. The apple obviously didn’t fall far…. He had been taken aback when the distinguished pair suddenly appeared on the boat, not knowing whether they were friend or foe.

Witches were notoriously short tempered and not inclined to mingle with Were. Likewise, Werewolves did not suffer the presence of a Witch voluntarily. As soon as he scented them, he had recognized their connection to Royce and Joanna.

He had known that Joanna’s mother was a Witch. However, this beauty was no ordinary Witch. In addition to being a former council member herself, this particular Witch was married to one of the most respected, heavily decorated, and highest ranking Special Ops Commanders to ever serve.

Joanna and Royce had failed to mention a few small details of their heritage. Joanna might believe she had put him out of her mind, but he would enjoy making sure she would never forget him. And then, he would show her that she couldn’t live without him.

Landon cautiously approached the couple, extending his hand in greeting. “It’s my pleasure to meet both of you. The name is Landon, I’m--”

“A true friend and invaluable asset to this mission,” Royce interrupted, moving to stand at Landon’s shoulder. He stood ready to intervene if Tammy decided to be difficult. “We’ve been working together to locate the coin.”

“What does that have to do with Jo?” Tammy asked. She had been trying to push past the block Landon had thrown up. She was very good at probing without her subjects ever knowing she had peeked inside their mind. Landon must be an extremely powerful Were to have felt the probe, much less to have been able to successfully block it.

Royce hesitated before responding, “He and Joanna… well, that’s something you will have to discuss with her.”

Tammy’s eyes flashed. White sparks seemed to dance out of her eyes, and thunder sounded overhead.

DENIECE GREENE

Sean’s voice suddenly boomed over the radio, “Holy shit, Royce. Holy shit! It’s worse than we thought!”

Royce reached for the radio clipped to his belt intending to flip the speaker off so that he and Sean could speak privately.

Tammy was instantly in front of him. Her hand rested oh-so-softly on his arm, “Don’t even think about it,” she commanded.

Pressing the talk button, Royce answered, “What do you mean, Sean? And did you forget to tell me to expect company?” He waited anxiously for the next transmission, hoping Sean would get the message that he was not alone.

“Oh no,” Sean groaned. “I didn’t realize where they-- Shit! I’m sorry, man. Really, I tried to distract them--”

“I can hear you, Sean,” Tammy reminded him bluntly. “It would behoove you to remember where I spent the last twenty years, and whose company I kept.”

Sliding an arm around his wife, Aaron said, “Now Tammy, don’t be like that. He was just doing his job. He was also trying to keep you from worrying,” he reassured her, casting a steely look at his son. “Sean had to follow orders; he works for Royce you know.”

Tammy seemed to deflate at Aaron’s words. “Right now, all I know is that my baby’s missing, and these Special Forces hot-shots can’t seem to locate her. If that isn’t bad enough, there is a freaking Werewolf helping them try to find her!” Tammy said with tears in her eyes.

“Royce has everything under control,” Aaron comforted her, “Right son?”

“Working on it,” Royce assured him tightly. Moving a few paces away from the group he asked, “Sean, what do you have?”

“Well, I was scanning cams along the battery where Joanna had been earlier in the day. She was looking out into the harbor. I amplified the voice feed and went back to a conversation between a mother and child that took place just before Joanna pulled her disappearing act. Royce, the little girl is talking about seeing a ship in the harbor. I’m telling you man, I see nothing at all in the harbor. Then the mother and her daughter leave to get ice cream and Joanna glances out into the harbor toward Castle Pinckney. The next thing you know, she yanks off the shades and does a double-take toward the harbor. I see her mutter something… I’m trying to decipher it now…and the next thing you know, she is headed for cover, and poof, she is gone. The time-stamp was about an hour before her text message to me.”

“Have him to send me the video,” Tammy suggested from directly behind Royce. Damn! He had forgotten about her bionic ears.

Judging from the way Landon was rubbing the back of his neck, he heard the conversation as well.

“Well, hell,” Royce muttered. “Send me the damn feed Sean. Tammy wants to take a look at it.”

“It’s on your phone now,” Sean said. “I’ll keep scanning and let you know if I can pick up anything else.”

“Ok, let me know if you get another hit,” Royce said, referring to Joanna’s GPS implant.

“There’s a big-screen below. Let’s tie the feed into it. We all need eyes on this,” Landon suggested.

* * * *