Murphy chuckled. "He has a big heart beneath all that bluster."
I dug my fork into the crab salad and twirled it around. Movement out of the corners of my eyes caught my attention, and I looked out on the view from the deck. The calm night allowed the water to be like a mirror that perfectly reflected the cloudless sky. Stars dotted the eastern sky and twinkled down on us. I leaned one elbow on the table and sighed.
"Something wrong?" Murphy asked me.
I smiled and shook my head. "No, everything's right, and that's what's got me thinking."
He put down his utensils. "Oh?"
I sighed. "I'm. . .I'm sorry for how mean I've been. You've been trying to help me all day today, and I've been-well, I've been a jerk."
He chuckled. "It's the jet lag. Don't let it bother you too much."
"But it does bother me, and I have to get this-" Our eyes met and his caught me in their brilliance.
The depths of his eyes showed a deep affection that I could have mistook for-well, for love. His playful grin made me want to smile. His stupid antics made me want to laugh. Even his jokes, on retrospect, were funny. My heart fluttered at the possibility that maybe I cared about him. Maybe a little.
"Like what you see?" he teased.
I blushed and stared down at my plates. "T-that depends on what I see."
He leaned over the table and set one of his hands over mine. "I hope it can see that I l-"
"Who the hell did this?"
We both started back from the quiet, tense moment. The loud, angry voice was from someone at the front of the shack. The revelers quieted down and even the music died.
"What seems to be the problem, Mundo?" I heard Casa ask.
"Someone wrapped their boat around my engine, and I want to know who did it?" Mundo growled. Judging by his voice I guessed he was a small giant with a short temper.
Casa tried to calm his riled guest. "I will look into it immediately, Mundo, but won't you-"
"No! Now who owns that damn boat with the old diesel engine?" Mundo shouted.
I whipped my head to him and glared. "You just had to double-park, didn't you?" I growled.
He grinned and shrugged. Nothing about him bespoke of fear. "It was the only spot down there," he defended himself.
Large, heavy footsteps pounded the rickety boards of the deck and shook all the tables. The dancers scrambled through a side door that led to the rear of the shack. A hulk of a man rounded the front corner of the shack and marched towards us. He was a good six foot-five with shoulders as broad as I was tall. The man wore a torn white shirt jacket and matching pants. His arms and legs were adorned with spikes and chains. Behind him were four men dressed in similar fashion, and they wore bandannas around their heads. They were the biker gang of the water ways.
Murphy turned to the behemoth and bowed his head to our 'guests.' "Good evening, Mundo, what can I-"
"It's your damn boat, isn't it, Murphy?"
"Perhaps, but I'm sure it was just an-"
Mundo grabbed Murphy's collar and lifted him out of his seat. He shoved his face into Murphy's and snarled. "No 'perhaps' about it. You're always causing trouble, around here, Murphy, and this time's the last time."
I jumped to my feet and slammed my hands on the table. "Let him go," I ordered the giant.
Mundo's eyes flickered to me and widened. I cringed when lecherous grin slid onto his lips. "What do we have here?" he mused.
Murphy frowned. "Don't even think about it, Mundo," he warned the behemoth.
Mundo returned his attention to Ken and chuckled. "What are you going to do about it, writer? Write me out of one of your stories?"
"No, just this one."
Ken grabbed the man's arm and twisted with more strength than I thought he possessed. Mundo cried out and released him. Ken dropped to the ground and swept one of his legs into both of Mundo's. The giant crashed to the ground beside our table and his spikes became embedded in the boards. The other gang members cried out in anger and rushed Ken. He slammed his fist into the first two, and they collided into the ones behind them. The whole bunch fell onto each other, and their boss. Ken climbed over them, grabbed my hand, and pulled me through the side door and into the kitchen part of the shack.
Mundo roared behind us and I heard him stand. The whole place was in a panic. People grabbed their bottles and purses, and rushed for the front entrance. The kitchen and waitering staff hurried to process the bills before the patrons rushed out without paying.
"Over here!" Casa hissed. He stood in the far back corner and held open a hatch that led to some stairs.
"I owe you one!" Ken quipped as he led me down the steps.
"Don't mention it. Really. I don't want anyone else finding this thing," Casa called behind us. "And try to stay out of trouble for a night, Murphy!"
CHAPTER 5
The stairs led to the rocks on which the shack stood. There was a short tunnel at the bottom that had been blasted, leaving rough walls and scarring. Our feet clapped against wet, hard stone and the sound echoed off the walls. The way was lit with oil lamps that hung from the ceiling.
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