“Maybe she just doesn’t like you anymore, man,” Drummer said, tossing a pistachio shell into the bowl at his feet and popping the nut in his mouth.
Thad frowned and looked out at the water. No, it couldn’t be that. He’d felt Maren’s increased pulse when he’d had her cornered at the market. Had watched the way her eyes had dilated slightly and her breaths had sped up when he’d teased her. She definitely still liked him. She was just fighting it for some reason.
“She’s hiding something. I’m just not sure what.”
Drummer harrumphed and rocked back in his chair while he cracked another nut. “You just can’t fathom the fact a looker like Maren isn’t interested in you. Maybe she’s got the hots for me. Ever think of that?”
Thad glanced to his right. Drummer’s red hair stood out in all directions, and his cocky grin curled his lips, accentuating the faint lines around his eyes and the plethora of freckles across the bridge of his nose. “Dream on, Sideshow Bob.”
Drummer chuckled and popped another nut in his mouth. “Maybe she’s ready to go ginger. You know the saying, homeboy. Once they go ginger, they never go back.”
Thad rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s it.”
Drummer grinned and went on chewing.
Water lapped at the shore yards from their hut. Thad watched the fading light over the water and ran back through Maren’s weird reaction during their dive. Several seconds passed before Drummer said, “You’ve still got it bad, don’t you?”
Thad’s chest grew tight, and he rubbed the palm of his hand over the spot. No, that couldn’t be what was bothering him. He’d gotten over Maren a long time ago, and he’d be stupid to want to start something up with her now. If there was one thing he’d learned over the years it was that he and happily ever after did not go together. And yet…he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Frustrated with himself, he pushed out of his chair. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Drummer said as he cracked another nut. “When you see Maren, tell her this ginger’s ready and waiting for her, anytime.”
Thad snorted. “That so isn’t happening.”
Drummer burst out laughing as Thad headed down the beach. “Oh yeah. You’ve got it real bad. This is gonna be fun to watch.”
They dove for five days straight, searching for the wreckage of the Conquistador as Patrick and his grunts mapped the coastline, but so far they’d come up empty-handed. Every day that passed inched Maren’s anxiety a little bit higher. So far Evan was staying away, but if she didn’t give him some kind of news soon, she knew he’d get antsy. And if there was one thing she’d learned over the years about the man, it was that an antsy Evan meant danger.
She tried not to think about that too much as she stood on the edge of the cenote, staring down at the murky water. How the hell she’d let her father talk her into this, she’d never know. She should be with Lisa and Drummer on the Escapade, mapping the sea floor and looking for anomalies, not standing here, staring into what looked like a dark, lurking tomb.
“Blondie? You okay?”
Maren glanced toward Thad, standing feet away, zipping his wet suit. Sunlight glinted off his dark hair as he studied her, and above, palms swayed in the sweltering heat so far inland. But the way his wet suit shimmered dragged at her attention, the way it showcased his toned shoulders, his carved abdomen, his strong, muscular thighs…
“Blondie?”
She blinked twice and focused on his face. “What?”
A slow smile spread across his lips. “You sure you’re up for this? You seem…distracted.”
Oh, holy hell. Maren rubbed a hand over her face. She was distracted. First by what she was about to do, and now by the sex god in front of her. She seriously wasn’t up for this, but she needed the peace and quiet a dive could give her. And if it got her away from her father, even better.
As if the thought had summoned him, Patrick stepped up on her right. “Andy and Jill have already been down in this cenote. Be sure you set the guideline. Even though you’ve both done this before, I don’t want there to be any mistakes.
Andy and Jill were two of his grunts, and Maren knew he’d asked her and Thad to participate in this dive because of the depth he wanted to explore today and because they were the more experienced divers. But she also wondered if he’d done it to keep her interested. Last night, he’d commented about their lack of progress with the Conquistador, and she knew he sensed her frustration. Was he afraid she’d give up and go home? Or was there something down here in this hole that he wasn’t telling her?
She pushed the questions from her mind, strapped on her tanks, and clasped her belt.
“Two hours,” he said as both she and Thad slipped into the water. “We’ve got weather moving in later today, and I want the team out of here before it hits.”
No affectionate parting words. No well-wishes or “be carefuls,” not that she expected them from him. But they would have been nice today, especially considering the last time she’d been in a cenote a member of their team had been killed.
Not wanting to delve into those memories right now, Maren gave her father the thumbs-up signal and looked to Thad. When he nodded, she drew a deep breath and dropped beneath the swirling surface.
Quiet, peaceful, beautiful.
A tomb.
She shook her head. God, she was in a mood. But never before had a water-filled cave opening looked more like a doorway to Xibalba, what the ancient Maya believed was the underworld.
Thad swam up next to her and pointed ahead. Maren nodded and let him take the lead. Flipping on her light, she looked back and watched the daylight disappear at the glittering surface.
The entrance to the cave was shallow, barely five meters, which led through a small narrow passageway full of thick organic silt. There was no way to keep from disturbing the debris, and Maren quickly found her visibility waning. She placed a hand on the guideline Thad was following and eased through the passageway.
The water this shallow was warm, like bathwater, and they swam for a bit; then the tunnel opened to a large room that plunged to at least twelve meters. The visibility cleared some, enough so Maren could make out freshwater tetras and catfish swimming around. Huge stalagmites rose from the floor of the cave, and the walls seemed to grow from the bottom of the cave floor. Monumental columns surrounded them, as if carved and created by ancient architects.
From just a look, it seemed like this was the end of the line, the walls rising and towering above, closing them in, but Maren knew better. Thad turned and signaled to her, and they dove again toward another tunnel farther down.
At fifteen meters, the water grew blurry. The halocline zone, where fresh water and salt water mixed. It would clear again, but the effect of swimming between the two layers messed with Maren’s mind…as if there weren’t enough other things messing with it.
Refocusing, she swam on. The next tunnel was narrower, and she had to work to keep her tanks from hitting the ceiling above. It was a constant struggle to stay off the floor of the cave and keep from stirring up debris while maintaining a safe distance from the walls and ceiling of the passageway that could snag and damage her equipment.
They swam for what seemed a long time, weaving in and out, through tunnels, over and around stalagmites that erupted from the cave floor. At one point they swam through a massive chain of stalagmites that looked like shark teeth lined up in neat and linear rows. Maren retrieved her underwater camera and snapped a picture, knowing Isabel would never believe her if she tried to explain what she’d seen.
Twenty minutes into the dive, the tunnel opened again to another enormous cavern littered with more of the ever-present stalactites and stalagmites. The deeper they went, the colder the water grew, and she could tell they were now hitting the saltwater zone. As if by magic, everything became crystal clear with that typical blue hue associated with the Caribbean. Bleach-white limestone walls rose around them, sparkling when their lights r
eflected off their surfaces. The floor of the cave was easily visible, and Maren swam down to take a closer look.
Littered in the soft sand and limestone silt of the cave floor, she recognized bone fragments, pieces of broken pottery, glints of metal sparkling in the artificial light. Her heart beat faster when she realized this was a virgin cenote, undisturbed by the pleasure divers who frequent the sinkholes of the Yucatan. She glanced back at Thad, who was watching her with an amused expression.
History. She was looking at something that had lain undisturbed for possibly hundreds of years. No wonder Patrick wanted her to see this.
Thad secured the second guideline and gestured toward another cave to their right. Maren eyed the dark opening and drew a deep breath from her regulator. From here on out, they’d be blazing a new trail. Why that left her uneasy, she didn’t know.
She checked her gauges, found her air was still good, and gave Thad the thumbs-up signal. With the spinning wheel in hand, Thad took off again, and Maren followed, her camera at the ready in case they found anything of interest.
Normally, Maren loved diving, but something about this just felt wrong. She couldn’t pinpoint why. She told herself it was because of what had happened to Colin, because she’d heard those voices the other day on her dive, because of everything she was worried about…but none of that felt right either.
They swam for another thirty minutes, through small and large tunnels, around stalagmites and across large, open rooms. She stowed her camera as her nerves inched up. The beauty was lost on her. The longer they swam, the more she just wanted to get out. She checked her dive watch and realized they were getting close to the end of their bottom time.
She signaled for Thad, but he didn’t see her. He’d already headed into another tunnel. Frustrated, Maren swam after him. Something brushed her ear, and halfway through the tunnel, she paused and looked back.
The dark silhouette of a diver swam across the arc of light from her headlamp, and then disappeared.
Her pulse shot up. They weren’t alone down here. Someone was in the cenote with them.
Memories from nine years ago swamped her. Caused her breathing to quicken and her heart to race.
She kicked hard to join Thad in the next room. This one wasn’t very big but wide enough that she could swim up next to him. She grabbed his arm and tugged. When he looked her way, she pointed back the way they’d come.
He frowned, looked at his dive watch, and shook his head.
Dammit, he thought she was telling him their bottom time was up. And though they were getting close, that wasn’t their biggest threat at this moment.
She tugged him hard and pointed toward the tunnel. A muffled boom shook the cenote, followed by debris shooting every direction.
Rocks slammed into her body and cracked against her mask. A hand closed around Maren’s ankle, followed by what sounded like her name being yelled underwater.
Through murky water, she glanced up just in time to see a stalactite break free from the roof of the cave. She tried to move, but it felt like she was swimming through syrup. The giant rock hit her back, knocking into her tanks, pushing her down to the cenote floor. Pain ricocheted through her limbs, and she groaned. Her regulator dropped from her mouth. Debris swirled as she tried to right herself. The rumbling continued, and other stalactites broke free, tumbling through the cloudy liquid, straight for her.
Frantic, she searched for her regulator in the thick silt, finally found the tube, and followed it to the mouthpiece. She popped it back in her mouth and drew a breath.
No air filled her lungs.
No. Oh shit. My tanks…
She looked up at the falling rock, still searching for her octopus. She felt like she had a sixty-pound stone anchored to her back. The other stalactite barreled close, and she twisted to the right, just barely missing it. The ground shook again. Pulse roaring in her ears, she trailed her hand through gravel and debris. Dammit, where was it? She knew it was hanging off her tanks, but she couldn’t reach it.
Her fingers closed around the small apparatus. Heart thundering, she pushed it into her mouth. Blew out water and silt. Tried to take a breath.
Nothing happened.
Shit. Shit! Her octopus was damaged too.
Fear consumed her. She wrestled with her harness, her back and shoulder throbbing as she searched the blinding maze of dust for Thad. Her chest grew tight. Icy fingers of terror trickled down her spine. Just when she felt the need to scream, Thad’s masked face came into view.
She gave a desperate signal she was out of air. He looked toward her damaged tanks, then took two deep breaths from his regulator and passed it to her. She breathed deep as he searched for his own alternate air source.
Oxygen filled her lungs, and she beat back the fear, just enough so she could unhook her straps. Once she was free, she looked down and realized her tanks were dented and pinned beneath not one but two stalactites and a handful of rocks. It was futile to try to save them. They’d be no help to her now.
Dread filling her, she handed the regulator back to Thad. He gave her the octopus, since it had the longer hose, and looked toward the tunnel they’d come through. Her gaze followed when she saw the concern in his eyes.
The passageway was blocked.
Oh God… The guideline was crushed, the tunnel impassable. And whoever had been on the other side had set off that explosion on purpose to trap them.
A watery grave…
Zantum Leonard’s words sent a shiver down her spine. She thought of Isabel, of all the mistakes she’d made, of what she was doing now to the people she cared about. Of Thad. The need to escape pushed against her lungs, forced her pulse higher, caused her breaths to come fast and shallow.
Thad touched her arm, shaking her out of her trance. She looked up sharply and caught the intense look in his eyes. He shook his head hard.
He knew she was losing it. If she let that happen, he’d die down here with her.
Pull it together, Maren.
She drew a deep breath, then another. And focused on slowing her pulse so she wouldn’t panic. They were alive. They had a chance.
When she felt steadier, she nodded. She couldn’t let him worry about her right now. She needed him focused so they could find a way out of this tomb. So she could get back to her girl.
Thad checked his cylinder and signaled his air was okay. Fear easing just a touch, Maren nodded again. He pointed toward another cave Maren hadn’t noticed earlier and took off swimming. Maren followed close at his heels.
Debris still swirled, making it hard to gauge where they were, but cenotes in the Yucatan had multiple entrances and exits. The key was finding another one.
Maren’s shoulder and back ached where she’d been knocked to the cenote floor, but she tried to forget the pain as she swam. It was dark—her light source had gone out when she’d lost her tanks—and Thad’s light shining ahead did little to illuminate the rocks and walls around her. She tried her best not to crash into the closing tunnels, but she failed more times than she succeeded.
Just when she was sure they were trapped down here forever, she realized the tunnel was gradually rising. A wave of relief rushed through Maren. They were making their ascent. They had to be getting close to the surface.
Maren pushed the thought from her mind and kicked hard to help maneuver them through the water, but her legs weren’t working. Behind her mask, she blinked twice against a wave of blurry vision and shook her head. She tried to wipe the silt from her mask, but her fingers felt heavy. Tingly. Numb.
Thad’s hands closed around her shoulders, and he pulled her up next to him. His intense gaze searched hers. God, he had the best eyes. So dark and sexy. Why was she always afraid to have those eyes focused on her? She loved looking at him. Loved being close to him. Why the hell was she trying to push him away again?
His light went out, and she panicked for a quick second, then relaxed. Darkness really wasn’t so bad. It was kind of relaxing. She closed
her eyes. Her shoulder knocked into something hard. What was he doing now? Couldn’t he tell she was tired and just wanted to sleep?
Sleep, yeah. That was it. This cave wasn’t that bad after all. As the darkness closed in around her, she couldn’t remember why she’d had such a bad feeling in the first place.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Time seemed to stand still, the sparkling light at the surface teasing Thad and dimming with every kick. His lungs burned, his muscles ached, and for one horrifying moment, he thought they wouldn’t make it.
Then his head broke the surface. He gasped for breath, filling his lungs with as much air as he could get, and pulled Maren up with him. Several seconds passed before his orientation righted. They’d surfaced in a new cenote. Rock walls rose on three sides; the fourth was covered with vines and brush. Against his chest, Maren lay limp, eyes closed.
Shit. Shit…
Thad yanked the regulator out of her mouth and tugged off her mask. “Maren?” Water ran in rivulets down her face. When she didn’t respond, fear almost crippled him. He gripped her shoulders and shook hard. “Maren!”
She jolted and gasped, and the relief that poured through Thad was as sweet as wine.
He tugged the wet suit cap off her head and held her close. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe.” Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she sucked in air. A cough shook her body. “Breathe,” he said again, trying to steady his voice.
Slowly, her grip relaxed, and his heart rate slowed enough so he could think. There was just enough light coming through the vines to create swirling gold and yellow patterns on the ceiling of the cave. He dragged her toward the ledge where the pool met the long, flat rocks and helped her out of the water. She moved slowly, finally rolling over onto her side on the rocks. After dropping his tanks, he unhooked his restraints, yanked off his gloves, and gripped her face.