The Cursed

“What about the guy you were questioning earlier?” Hannah asked Dallas. “Did you find anything out from him?”

 

 

“A few things,” he said. He looked over at Kelsey. “I hope your buddies over at the U.S. Marshals’ office have plenty of money for witness protection,” he said.

 

“I’m willing to bet that they’ll have money to stop the Wolf,” she said.

 

“Basically, what I’ve gotten out of everything today is that our guy is big and strong and has blue eyes. He also knows how to dive. He has a private boat or access to one, because he wasn’t out with any of the dive captains I spoke with. They gave me some leads on other boats that were in the area that day, and the Coast Guard is looking for them now,” Dallas said. “That’s going to be tough, though. The boat could be unregistered, or he could just paint out the name and call her something different. And there are miles of coast and open water to cover. The killer could have headed into the Florida Straits or into the Gulf to make for port on the west coast of the state, up the panhandle to another state entirely...even to Mexico. Hell, he could have headed up the entire east coast to New England.”

 

“Or he could be down on the docks past Front Street,” Hannah said. “This guy is obviously one of the Wolf’s key men here. He’s the one who does the dirty work.”

 

“He goes by Machete,” Dallas said.

 

“Whatever his name is,” Hannah said, “I’m willing to bet he’s in so deep, he’s still around.”

 

“That’s a good theory,” Dallas told her. “And I hope you’re right—that he’s here in the area somewhere and we can find him—but it’s still just a theory.”

 

“He’s not leaving. The Wolf wants something, and that something is here. That means Machete will be here, too, until he’s caught, killed or finds it,” Hannah said determinedly.

 

“One problem,” Kelsey said.

 

“What’s that?” Logan asked her.

 

“If we find Machete and he’s as much in the dark as the others, we still won’t have the Wolf,” she said.

 

“Yes, but the Wolf’s local army is disintegrating,” Dallas said. “He lost one man at the scene of the accident, we’ve taken two more off the streets here and I believe—now that we have names—we’ll pick up the other two tomorrow or the next day. That means he’s down five men.”

 

“He’ll just recruit five more,” Kelsey said.

 

“It’s not that easy to find the right people,” Dallas reminded her. He looked at Hannah. “We’re going to get him. So who should I dial for some dinner? Your people will start arriving for the tour soon.”

 

She quickly rose, feeling like an awful hostess. She’d forgotten that they would need dinner.

 

“I’m sure I can throw something together,” she said.

 

“Hannah, we’ll call for delivery,” Kelsey said. “It’s already six-thirty.”

 

She nodded. “Yeah, sure. We can call Joe’s. Pizza, subs or pasta. They’re not gourmet, but they’re good, and most of all, they’re fast.”

 

They called Joe’s. It was strange. As they were ordering, Hannah felt almost as if they were a couple, although she realized one night of sleeping with him did not mean they were in a relationship. And she doubted Kelsey or Logan had any idea of what was going on between the two of them.

 

In some ways, last night seemed as if it had happened long ago. Maybe she’d dreamed it.

 

When the food came, she set it up in the back room where they could look out over the pool and patio. It was beautiful out there, lush with croton bushes, palms and more. She had a sea grape tree and a banyan, an avocado and two banana trees, all of them making the pool area almost irresistibly inviting.

 

“It’s strange,” she commented, twirling a forkful of linguini. “I can go days without hopping in the pool, but now that I shouldn’t be out on the patio, all I want to do is swim.”

 

“Of course,” Dallas said. “Forbidden fruit always looks the most luscious.” He smiled at her.

 

Was that all it was? Were they forbidden fruit? she wondered. Thrown together in the midst of a tension-filled life-or-death situation?

 

Or had she really fallen for him?

 

“Well, when this is over, I’m diving straight in,” Kelsey said. “I love the ocean, but when you’re hot and sticky, there’s nothing like a freshwater pool. And this yard is amazing.”

 

“Did you put the pool in, Hannah?” Dallas asked.

 

She shook her head. “Our uncle put it in about a decade ago. Kelsey and I were in our teens, and he was already running it as a bed-and-breakfast. We’d come and tell ghost stories to the guests, along with cleaning for him, and he’d let us have the run of the place.”

 

“Ronin O’Brien, his name was,” Kelsey said. “Our parents were great, but Ronin was cool. Being here was fun.”

 

“I apologize if this is a rude question,” Dallas said. “But, Kelsey, did you mind that Hannah got the house? I guess he didn’t have children of his own?”

 

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