AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aziza
Michael freaking Cooper told me he loved me! Me!
He may love you, but he’s totally going to kill you!That man… Damn. He fought, and loved, dirty. Then again, so did I. I throttled the Zodiac from the yacht to where Kai had anchored the tender.
“Aziza…” Kai’s voice was drenched with caution and dripping with concern as I tied up alongside of him. “What are you doing?”
Why did men always ask the obvious? I was in a wetsuit with a raft full of diving equipment. What did he think was going on?
“Well, I didn’t bring the boys sandwiches, if that’s what you were thinking,” I muttered. Then I spelled it out, because his forehead was still scrunched in confusion. “I’m diving the wreck.”
“But…”
“Don’t even try to fight me on this,” I warned as I quickly prepped my gear.
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare fight you on anything, but I’m going to have to tell Coop and Nik. They’ll be setting off charges.”
“Safety first, of course,” I acknowledged with a nod. Then I added, “Just wait until I’m in the water.”
Otherwise Coop might talk me out of it again.
I finished my prep and rolled back off the side of the heavy-duty rubber boat with a splash. As I’d promised Coop after the skydiving situation, I kept my comms on and heard each and every one of his curses when Kai alerted him to my approach.
“Please, Coop. You have a job to do. So do I.”
“Keep alert on your way down,” Nik interjected. “We spotted two large bull sharks.”
“Roger that.”
My nerves fluttered as I controlled my descent. I was going farther down than I typically went and using equipment I wasn’t as familiar with. The rebreather would allow me to stay deep for a longer time than a traditional open system. The closed system also didn’t emit air bubbles, which meant it was much quieter, both to the surrounding sea life as well as for me. Too quiet. Voices from the past, no longer drowned out, now flooded my ears and surged through my mind.
Soon the wreck came into view. Despite my best intentions, I had trouble keeping my focus on anything else. The shell of the Esmeralda had been taken over with coral and sea life, but in my mind the grand yacht would forever be exactly as she’d been when I was a child. Elegant. Strong.
She’d been my home for months as I’d sailed with my father and grandfather. So many countries, and even more days at sea. It all had become a blur after she’d gone down. But now, as I swam along the topside, I remembered the days with clarity. Playing games with whomever I could guilt into spending time with me, having tea with my stuffed animals. It hadn’t been all bad. But I wasn’t here to resurrect those memories. I was here to bury the one I’d never forget.
A school of fish crowded the captain’s bridge as I approached. Toward the bow I had minimal visibility of Coop and Nik working an underwater torch as they cleared the debris surrounding the vault. The large, inclined windows of the bridge had been busted out, allowing me to pass through them.
“I’m at the bridge. Going in,” I stated over the comms, then braced for another litany of curses or a diatribe on how insane I was being. But none came.
“Be safe,” Coop said in a tone of voice I knew well. I couldn’t help but smile, knowing I had his full support, now that he’d resigned himself to the fact that I wasn’t going to be swayed or stopped. “Please.”
“I will. I promise.” I swam toward the opening leading to the hall. Beyond that would be the stairwell. Thanks to all the games of hide and seek I’d played with the staff, I knew each and every room and corridor.
“I’m here if you need me,” Coop added.
Warmth rushed through my veins. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought for one second you wouldn’t have my back.”
Navigating passageways as a ten-year-old had been effortless, but swimming them with the rebreather and backup tank was awkward and clunky. The depth of the wreck didn’t allow natural light to filter down through the portholes and windows. I swam with a flashlight poised in front of me like I was clearing the rooms with a weapon.
My equipment snagged on hall sconces, buckled walls, furniture remnants. The stairwell curled down dark and tight like a coiled snake. I steeled my nerves as I descended into its dark throat. The narrow space closed around me, constricting.
I reached out, grasping the edge of the banister and pulling myself through, eager to get to the openness of the salon. It had functioned as a living room and had been huge when filled with air and light, but submerged with murky water, I could scarcely move through it.
I edged through the place where I’d watched Jadd kill my father, memories flooding me. A pelt of algae had replaced the carpet, which had dissolved away, blood and all. But the ghosts still hovered, good ones and bad. Circling me like sharks, their shadows floated amidst tatters of furniture and movement of fish.
I scanned my flashlight toward the galley, catching the light on the counter where Chef Jess had started leaving me two fresh chocolate chip cookies every night, knowing I would sneak down to rummage for a snack. Tamping down a sudden wave of grief, I tried not to think of all the crew members I’d come to love who had perished the night of the wreck.
