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The team peered over the side of the RHIB, but it was too deep for them to get a clear view.
“You’re going to have to get in the water if you want to see anything,” Koa pointed out.
Damn. He was right. Dane let out a long breath. Was it worth it? Did he really want to get wet?
Cain seemed to be reading his mind. “You’ll regret it if you don’t. It will haunt you.”
“Fuck.”
Cass’s grin lit up her face. She didn’t smile often, but when she did, it cheered the whole team. Most of the time, Cass looked fierce. It was probably because she had one bright green eye and one deep brown. It made it hard to read her mood. “Goin’ for a swim,” she chortled.
“Yeah.” Dane went back over to the RHIB and stripped off his gear. The coolness of the water was going to hurt his back. Never mind wearing wet clothes after. Still, Cain was right. He’d be haunted if he didn’t check for people in trouble. He stripped off his tactical gear and uniform down to just his pants then dove in.
The water was a big shock compared to the heat of the sun. He’d been sweating under his body armor. Under the water, he clenched his teeth and looked around. His vision was blurry, and his eyes stung from the salt. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust, but finally he could see a bit.
Was that a shadow? He came up, filled up his lungs again, and dove down using powerful strokes. His back hurt, but his certainty there was something down there kept him swimming downward.Shit, was there something attached to the anchor chain?
He swam upward, broke the surface, and sucked in air. “I can’t get deep enough to see, but I think there’s something down there. I need a mask or something so I can see better.” He looked to Slake.
“Sorry, they cleared all the spare dive gear last week and haven’t returned it yet. Standard maintenance,” Slake said with a frown.
Jace hopped over to the speedboat. “Let’s see if Owens keeps a spare mask.” He started picking up the cushions and checking the storage boxes at the rear of the boat. With no luck above deck, he disappeared below.
Dane treaded water, trying to keep his back from tightening up. It was going to hurt like a bitch later. He was having second thoughts about this whole thing when he heard a yell.
Cain and Tac jumped over to the speedboat. Cass and Koa swung their weapons up, aimed at the boat.
“What is it?” Dane demanded.
Cass shook her head.
A minute later, Jace emerged and spoke with Cain and Tac. Cain pulled out the sat phone and made a call. Jace turned toward Dane. “Dude, you were right. The boat is registered to Craig Owens. I found a kilo of off-white powder, likely drugs. Cocaine or meth or even heroin. And there was a small pool of blood. It looks like someone cut themselves or was cut on the edge of the storage bin that was under the seat. The blood looks like it soaked into the drugs so that’s why he must have left it behind. Could be from the shipment last night.”
“Shit.” The shadow on the anchor suddenly clicked into focus in his mind. “A body.”
“What?” Tac asked.
“There’s… I think there is a body attached to the anchor chain. I couldn’t figure out what it was at first. Just a shadowy lump, but as soon as Jace said blood, it clicked. It’s a body.” He didn’t bother saying what they were all thinking.Owens. His stomach knotted. This wasn’t good.
Tac nudged Cain. He turned while still on the phone. Tac pointed at Dane.
“There’s a body attached to the anchor chain. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s a body,” Dane called. Then he said a small prayer he was right. If it wasn’t, he’d look like a big freaking idiot, but his gut was telling him he was right. It was a body.
Cain nodded. He’d gotten the message and relayed it to whoever was on the other end of the phone and then hung up. Dane swam to the RHIB. Tac and Cain got back on board, and they pulled Dane out of the water.
“One of our cutters is on the way. They’ll have dive gear.” Cain handed Dane a towel.
Koa asked, “Which one?”
“Spencer Wallace.”
“Thank God,” Cass murmured.
They liked the skipper and the XO of theWally, as it was called. Frank Valentine, the CO, was always good to them when they were training with his guys. They’d gone on a few rescues with him, too, and he always treated them with respect. His second in command, XO Nathan Calder, was also a good guy.
“Calder say when they’d get here?” Dane asked. It was a good bet that Cain spoke with the XO.
“About an hour. Might as well take a seat and dry off.”
