Dangerous Depths (The Aloha Reef Series #3)

“She’s taking us to it now. We should have it by midmorning. We had to kill another guy who was on the trail. Didn’t you trust us to find it, Mr. Westerfield?”


Westerfield. Bane had suspected Westerfield was behind the sabotage of the plane. It appeared he was interested in more than sunken ships.

There was silence from Logan, then he finally spoke again. “I’m sorry to doubt you, sir. I’d appreciate it if you could pay me as soon as possible. My wife needs another treatment soon.” He paused and listened. “Thank you, sir.”

She didn’t want to feel any pity for Logan. He’d chosen his path in spite of what sounded like unfortunate circumstances. She quickly used the toilet, then went back outside when he ended the call. Maybe Logan would forget to tie her hands again.

Blood had clotted along the cut she’d inflicted on him. He looked her up and down, but he didn’t say anything, and he didn’t tie her hands again. While she didn’t trust either man, she felt safer with Logan. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was later than she’d imagined—nearly six in the morning. Bane and the police were probably long gone from Koma’s cabin. She had no one to depend on but herself. And God. She pushed away the thought of God. He wouldn’t help her now. She moved slowly and tried to plan what to do. If she climbed the tree herself and left them below, was there any way she could get high enough to get out of range of Moe’s gun? She wouldn’t know until she got there.

They moved single file through the forest. Moe’s gun prodded her back occasionally, and Leia picked up her pace. It was going to be at least seven by the time they got to Koma’s cabin. “I need to stop and rest a minute,” she said, leaning against the rough bark of a macadamia tree. Her lungs burned, and so did her legs where brambles had torn her skin. Her bare feet felt like they were encased in cement.

“No time. Let’s get this over with.” Moe took her arm and shoved her forward.

Leia staggered but couldn’t maintain her balance. She fell face forward into the thick vegetation. Inhaling the scent of the wild-flowers, she protested when Moe hauled her to her feet. “Please, I can’t go on. I have to rest.”

He swore and let her fall back to the ground. “Fifteen minutes.”

It was bliss to ease the tension from her muscles. Her mouth was dry, but she was too tired to ask for water. She needed to think, to plan. She shouldn’t waste these precious minutes on unconsciousness, but it was hard to wrap her mind around any possible solution to her dilemma. One thing in her favor was she knew the area. If she could get away from the men, they would have trouble following her through the forest. Her eyes closed.

Moments later she was jerked to her feet. “Time’s up,” Logan said.

She nodded and began to move forward. She had to recover her strength. Praying as she dodged the thick trees and shrubs, she came to the path that led to Koma’s cabin. “This way,” she said.

“That leads to where the old man lived,” Moe said. “We’ve come back to where we first took you.”

“We should have made her tell us when we were here before,” Logan grumbled. “I just want to finish this and get out of here.”

“We’re here now. Just shut your yap so we can get this over with. I can’t wait to get back to civilization.”

Leia’s steps lightened now that the end was in sight. She hurried along the path. From here she could see Koma’s cabin. It looked deserted. She stepped around the edge of the cabin. “It’s back here.”

“You’re getting smart now. No games,” Moe said.

Leia was practically running by the time she hit the backyard. She didn’t want to be alone with either of the men. While they hadn’t made any advances, she didn’t like the way Moe looked at her. She reached the base of the tree where Koma had built his meditation platform. She put one foot in the fork of the tree and began to climb.

“What are you doing?” Moe grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “I told you—no funny stuff.”

“It’s in a chest in the tree stand,” she said. “I’ll get it for you.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

“It’s there. Look, what do you have to lose? Just let me get it so I can go home.” His green eyes, as clear as glass, locked with hers. She found it hard to believe a man with such beautiful eyes could be all evil. “Please, I just want to get this over with.”

He dropped his hand. “Logan, go up with her.”

“I can get it. I don’t need any help.” Leia’s hope began to slip away. With someone up there with her, she had no chance of escape.