Into the Deep

Even an innocent. Even Nikki.

And he would be responsible.

He reached a decision. With a quick glance over his shoulder to check for traffic, he executed a U-turn. Even if it meant spending the night beneath one of those moss-covered trees, somebody had to watch out for her, no matter what she said. Because she had no idea who she was dealing with.

But he did.

FOUR

Ben arrived at the dock for work early the next morning. He wedged the front tire of his bicycle through the steel rack at the end of the pier and threaded the bike chain around the frame. A wide yawn took possession of him for a moment, and he was too exhausted to fight it. He’d finally fallen asleep, against his will, sometime after four. An angry resort groundskeeper had mistaken him for a transient and kicked him awake at seven. Though he’d been chased off the resort property, a quick inspection of Nikki’s building showed nothing out of place. At least, the door hadn’t been broken down or anything.

He unstrapped his backpack from the bike and shouldered it as he stepped onto the wooden pier, heading for the dive shop. Actually, he felt a little stupid for spending the night there. His fears in the darkness last night seemed unreasonable today with bright sunlight sparkling on the constantly moving waters of the bay. Nikki was probably right. Her being here was a coincidence. More than a million tourists visited Key West each year. Plus, he worked for the biggest water sports shop on the island, and they maintained a top-notch Web site. Anyone wanting to find out about booking an excursion long distance would naturally contact them.

But what about that note?

Ben’s step faltered as he passed a twenty-two-foot sailboat getting ready to leave the pier. Okay, the note could be explained, too. Somehow the Reynosa people had found out about Nikki’s visit. Or…maybe they’d witnessed the encounter on the pier. He’d long suspected they were keeping close tabs on him. Yeah, that was probably it. They jumped on the opportunity, decided to use her as another scare tactic to force him to act.

But there was no way they could know for sure he had the flash drive. They were guessing, hoping to force an admission out of him. The best thing he could do was treat this attempt like the others, and ignore it. As long as he didn’t confirm their guesses, he and Nikki would both be safe.

His course of action decided, the confidence returned to Ben’s step as he continued down the pier. Up ahead, he saw activity around the Sally Jane, the larger of the two dive boats owned by Key West Water Adventures. He bypassed the shop and went to the edge of the pier.

Tyler, co-owner of the shop and dive master on the Sally Jane, stood in the boat, snapping a diving cylinder into white plastic tank holders. On the dock, a cart with one more cylinder waited nearby. Ben dropped his backpack on the pier and grabbed it. When Tyler turned around, Ben handed the tank into the boat.

“Hey, man. You’re here early.” Ben nodded at the nineteen cylinders already secured. “I would have helped if you’d just waited a minute.”

“No problem,” Tyler assured him. “I wanted to get a jump on the day. Now that you’re here, could you grab the weight belts? We’ve got eight divers this morning, all renting equipment.”

“Sure thing.”

Ben scooped up his backpack and tossed it onto the empty metal cart. He started toward the shop, pulling the cart behind him.

“Oh, yeah,” Tyler said. “When I came in this morning there was an envelope on the floor. Had your name on it.”

Ben stopped. Though the early morning sun was already working overtime to warm the air, a chill cooled his core. He turned. “My name?”

Tyler nodded, unconcerned. “Somebody must have shoved it under the door. It’s on the counter.”

Without another word, Ben hurried toward the shop. He left the cart in the center of the floor while he scooped up a manila envelope from the edge of the counter. Careful block letters spelled out his name in blue ink.

Fingers trembling, Ben bent open the metal clasp and unfolded the flap. A single piece of paper had been slipped inside. A sentence of Spanish scrawled expansively across one side.

Trаigalo al Mallory Square en la puesta del sol.

The second note in two days, but this one had the unmistakable sound of a demand. Bring it to Mallory Square at sunset. No doubt what it the note referred to.

Ben turned the paper over to look at the back side. When he did, his heart skidded to a stop.

The door behind him opened. He whirled, and then leaped forward to grip Tyler’s shoulder. “Can you handle the morning dive without me?” He hadn’t meant to shout, but his voice filled the small dive shop.

Tyler’s eyebrows arched. “Sure, Ben. I’ll give Jason a call. He can always step in on short notice.” Concern colored his boss’s features. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. No.” Ben shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve got to go.”

He scooped up his backpack and shoved the door open with his shoulder. He stuffed the paper in the pack as he sprinted down the pier toward his bicycle.

Nikki’s resort was located near the center of the four-mile-long island. Ben arrived there in a matter of minutes. He didn’t bother bringing the bike to a stop before jumping off in front of Building C. By the time the bike hit the side of the building and came to an abrupt halt in a flowering shrub, Ben was already beating a fist against Nikki’s door.

“Nikki, it’s Ben.” When she didn’t appear immediately, he pounded the wood harder. “Come on, Nikki. Open the door.”

A sound came from inside. A scrape, and then the dead bolt turning. The door opened inward. Nikki stood inside wearing a pair of stretchy sweats and a rumpled T-shirt, a blue coffee mug in one hand.

Her lips twisted sideways. “This is becoming a habit, Ben.”

Relief washed over him. She was okay. With an effort, he restrained himself from wrapping his arms around her in a protective hug. Instead, he took a step forward.

She didn’t move. Her hair, inches from his nose, smelled of soap and flowers. A clean smell, outdoorsy and fresh.

“May I come in?” Her head started to shake, but he spoke again quickly, before she could deny him. “Please, Nikki. I need to tell you something important.”

Her sigh delivered a whiff of coffee-scented breath before she stepped back. “All right, but I don’t have long.”

He brushed past her and edged around a chair in the entry. What in the world? When she closed the door and turned around, she saw him looking at it.

“I, uh, propped it under the door handle last night.” A flush colored her cheeks. “You had me pretty spooked.”

“Good. You should be.”

He entered the condo and plopped his backpack down on the breakfast counter. She went into the kitchen and stood on the other side, watching him with a cautious tilt to her head.

“I’d just about convinced myself that you were right, that you being here is nothing more than a coincidence.” No need to mention his night spent outside her door. He slid the pack’s zipper open and pulled out the paper. “Until I found this waiting for me at the dive shop this morning.”

Nikki held his gaze as she took the paper. When she looked down, she gasped. Color drained from her face. “It’s a picture of me. This…this was taken last night.”

Ben looked at the black-and-white photo. It had been printed on regular paper by a computer printer. Even so, the quality was quite good, not grainy at all. In it, Nikki reclined on a lawn chair, a cell phone held to her ear. Her lips curved into an attractive half smile, and her eyes held a faraway look, her attention focused on whomever was on the other side of that phone. A stab of jealousy surprised Ben. Who commanded her attention so thoroughly?

He shook away the question. Behind her in the photograph, the patio door stood open. Through it, he glimpsed familiar-looking furniture. A quick look over his shoulder verified his guess. The picture was taken here, just outside on the patio.

“I thought so.”

“I…I heard it. The camera.” She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and gave a shaky nod. “I remember hearing a noise that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place what it was. Now I know. It was the sound of a camera taking a picture.”

“There’s more.”

He took the paper from her and turned it over to let her read the note on the back. Her eyelids narrowed as she translated, then looked up at him.

“What are they talking about, Ben? What do you have that these people want?”

“Nothing.” His protest met a stony expression. He spread his hands. “Honest, I don’t have it.” He swallowed and lowered his eyes. “I did have it. Briefly. But they don’t know that.”