Protector, Lover...Husband?: In the Dark / Sure Bet / Deadly Exposure

“Alicia?” she exclaimed. “Why…why would she be around here? There’s not much to attract a woman of her reputation at a place like Moon Bay…but then again, there’s not much here for you.” She stopped speaking suddenly, staring at him. “I see. Great. You would have told me about this ‘technicality’ in the divorce, but only because it would have been convenient while you were here. You came to meet Alicia.”

“No,” he told her.

“You liar,” she accused him softly. “Get out—now.”

“I didn’t come here just to meet her.”

“David, I’ll call security if you don’t leave.”

He arched an eyebrow, fully aware that “security” at Moon Bay meant two retired cops who were happy to putter around the grounds at night in retooled golf carts. There had never been serious trouble at Moon Bay—until today. And then they hadn’t bothered with security; they had called the sheriff’s department immediately.

“David, get the hell out.”

“Alex, will you listen to me—I think Alicia is dead.”

An eerie feeling crept along her spine. How could she be jealous of a corpse?

But she had been jealous of Alicia. The woman was—or had been—a free spirit, intelligent, beautiful and filled with knowledge, curiosity and a love of dangerous pursuits that nearly equaled David’s own.

Could she be dead? That would be terrible.

But it wasn’t sinking in. At the moment, Alex felt betrayed. She had to admit, it had felt nice to have David following her as if he was desperate.

“Alex?” he said, and his tone seemed to slip under her skin, no matter how numb she was suddenly feeling.

Then he walked over to her, put his cup down, and his hands went to her shoulders again, the whole of his length far too familiar against her own, his eyes piercing hers in a way she remembered too well. “Damn it, Alex, believe this—I don’t want you ending up dead, as well.”

They were talking about life and death, and all she felt was the texture of his jacket, the heat emanating from him. She breathed him in and remembered the way his hands could move. He was almost on top of her, and she felt a physical change in herself, a tautness in her breasts, with way too much of her body pressed there against his.

She wanted to shove him away—hard.

She managed to get a hand between them and place it firmly on his chest, pushing him away from her, and slipped from the place where she had been flush against the counter.

“Talk, David. Do it quickly. I have a nine o’clock dive in the morning, which means I have to be at the docks at eight.”

Her voice sounded tight and distant. She wasn’t sure if it was the effect she wanted or not. She should have been concerned, she knew, about Alicia. She had known the woman, after all, even admired her. But she hadn’t liked her.

But that didn’t mean she would have wanted harm to come to her. So why wasn’t she more emotionally distressed? She was just too numb, unable to accept the possibility.

“Alicia called me a few weeks ago. Do you remember Danny Fuller?”

“Of course. He came here frequently, and he was charming.” He had been. An octogenarian, the man had been in on the earliest days of scuba diving and helped in the later development of some of the best equipment available. He had loved dolphins, and that had naturally endeared him to Alex. “Yes, I knew Daniel fairly well. I was very sorry to hear he died about a month ago, at a hospital in Miami. Of natural causes.”

“I know.”

“They were natural causes, right?”

“Yes. But Alicia was with him a lot at the end.”

“I can see it—him dying, and Alicia quizzing him about everything he knew until he breathed his last breath,” Alex murmured. She hesitated. Alicia Farr was—or had been, if any of this was true—everything that she had not been herself. She found herself remembering the woman and the times they had worked together. Alicia was the epitome of a pure adventuress, courageous beyond sanity, at times. She was also beautiful.

Even before the last year, she had frequently appeared at David’s side on TV and in magazines. He, naturally, thought the world of her.

He’d slept with her, certainly. But before or after the divorce? Alex had never been certain.

That must be why she was feeling so icy cold now. Good God, she didn’t want the woman to be dead, but still…

“It’s probably true that she pursued him mercilessly,” David admitted. “But he also sent for her, so I guess she was the one he wanted to talk to in the end. At any rate, soon after he died, she called me. She said she was on to the biggest find of the century, and that she wanted me with her. And something she discovered had to do with Moon Bay.” He seemed to notice the way Alex was staring at him. “Actually, I had already been toying with the idea of coming here, so it sounded fine to me. She set a date, and said that she would meet me here. Whether she made that same arrangement with anyone else or not, I don’t know. But when I tried to get back to her, to confirm, I couldn’t reach her. Then, when I got here, she was a no-show. I figured she’d gone ahead to check things out. You know Alicia when she’s got the bit between her teeth. I still thought she’d show, though. But I did notice that the place seemed to be crawling with a strange assortment of visitors, including Seth Granger, Hank Adamson and your new friend—John Seymore. And then…I heard that you’d found a body on the beach.”

For several long moments, Alex just stared at him, not at all sure what to think, or where to start. She felt chilled. She had found a body, and it could have been Alicia’s.

No. Easier to believe Jay had been right. That she’d seen someone playing a sick—and very convincing—trick on someone else.

“Maybe Alicia just decided that she didn’t want you in on her fabulous find after all. Maybe she’s already off on her expedition,” Alex said, her voice sounding thin.

“And maybe someone else found out what she had and killed her to get it—or before she could set up an expedition to recover the treasure, so they could get it for themselves.”

“If there was really a body, it’s gone now,” Alex said. “And Sheriff Thompson—”

“I’ve spoken with him. He hasn’t seen Alicia, and your corpse hasn’t reappeared.”

“Then…then you don’t really have anything,” Alex said.

“What I have is a tremendous amount of fear that a friend and colleague is dead—and that someone may now be after you. Alex, maybe there’s someone out there who thinks you saw something, and that could put you in danger.”

Alex shook her head. “David, I’m not going to start being paranoid because of the things that might be. If Alicia is dead, and someone was willing to kill her for what she knew, wouldn’t you be in far more danger than I am? What about your own safety?”

“I can handle myself.”

“Great. Handle yourself doing what? Waiting? Watching people?”

“I have friends looking for information now.”

She stared at him. He had friends, all right. P.I.s, cops, law enforcement from around the world. And he was serious.

A slight shiver raked along her spine. If all this was true…

“All right, David. I appreciate your concern for my welfare. And I’m very sorry if Alicia is…dead. I know what she meant to you.”

“No, actually, you don’t.”

He walked up to her, angry again, and she tensed against the emotion that seemed to fill him, though he didn’t touch her.

“There was never anything intimate between Alicia and me. She was a good friend. That’s all.”

She didn’t look up at him as she raised her hands. “Whatever your relationship…was, it’s none of my business. As I said, thanks for your concern. I’ll be very careful. I’ll keep my eyes open, and I swear, if I hear anything, I’ll tell you. Now, may I please go to sleep? Or try, at least, to get some sleep?”

“I can’t leave you.”