On the Hunt - Page 58

Harlan touched his diver’s watch, and two headlights fired up on the far side of the cavern. The sleds, activated by a homing beacon, zoomed over to them. Harlan and Kira undocked their oxygen masks and put them on. Kira quickly positioned Mack on top of her sled, and they piloted their crafts out of the cave.

Less than a minute later, they broke the surface. Kira tore off her mask and hugged Mack close. “You’re the best, Mack. You know that, right?”

Mack knew. His tail wagged furiously.

Harlan pulled off his mask and cruised alongside. “Is everybody okay?”

“Yes, thanks to Mack.”

“Yes, I saw.” Harlan reached out and rubbed the scruff of Mack’s neck. “I suppose we’ll need to take him on all of our expeditions.”

“You know it. But next time he’ll get his own version of a protective mask. Whether he likes it or not. I’m not going to risk him trying to save me and getting hurt himself. He almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Harlan nodded. “I’ll go back to the drawing board and Mack will have his protective shield. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We just weren’t prepared for that kind of hazard this time. You have to admit prehistoric snakes and freak floods aren’t what anyone would consider common threats.”

“I know we can’t prepare for every danger.” She was still shaking as she held Mack even closer. “But both Mack and I have been trained to find bombs and disarm them. We don’t think twice about it. It’s our job. We accept it. And Mack made it through this more bizarre job with flying colors. But we have to do what we can to make any threat as safe as possible for him.”

“That’s what you did,” Harlan said gently. “I watched you. You were ready to give your life to save Mack. You aren’t the only one who almost had a heart attack. Do you think I’d let any of us go through that again?”

She shook her head. “Of course not. I was just so scared for him.” She looked around. “Where’s his sled?”

“It’s heading toward you now. About twenty yards behind you. It’s locked in on your location.”

As it drew closer, Mack jumped off Kira’s sled and paddled toward his own. He climbed onto its top surface and spread out with a sigh of contentment.

“He’s tired,” Kira said. She suddenly remembered something. “Tell me you still have those jewels.”

Harlan patted his knapsack. “Yep.”

“Good. Then let’s get out of here!”

CHAPTER

14

“It was very interesting,” Harlan said when he pulled Kira off her sled and onto the barge. “Those caves reminded me of the caverns I saw in Carlsbad, New Mexico. But the limestone surfaces were darker and more foggy while the waters flowing into them from the sea seemed brilliant and sparkling with life.” He shrugged. “But no huge boxes of jewels yet to tempt Taylor from his life of crime. What a shame. I’m sure he’ll be disappointed.”

“Well, I’m not disappointed,” Kira said as she took off her cap and shook out her hair. “I know it’s there.” She looked out at the sea. “And so does he, or he wouldn’t have sent that cruiser to keep an eye on us. But I’m not eager to have him or his nasty thugs coming around and bothering us. I’d rather wait until we’ve located the majority of the treasure and we’re ready to welcome them with the kind of response they deserve.”

“I agree,” Harlan said. “I just didn’t expect you to be quite so enthusiastic about inviting them into our cozy circle.”

“He’s trying to kill you,” Kira said coldly. “He wants to kill Fiona. You told me yourself that he’d already murdered your brother. It’s not right. How long are we supposed to let him keep trying? We have to stop him. If the treasure will help us do that, then we have to find it right away and use it.”

“I told you that Taylor would come to me. It’s only a matter of time,” he said. “You don’t have to do anything, Kira.”

“Just like you didn’t have to help Mack and me when we were lying there dying on that mountain in Colorado. You don’t make sense, Harlan.”

He gave a low whistle. “You are upset. Since we don’t even know if that was Taylor’s cruiser yet, I don’t think it’s time to start planning to go after him. We’ll talk about it when we get Belson’s full report. In the meantime, let’s get dressed and go over the data reports on today’s journey to the caves with Hannah. Then we’ll go up to the hills and have supper and maybe talk to Kalim and find out if he knows anything new. We’ll have to turn the new stash of jewels over to him anyway and let him check out their history. Does that sound reasonable?”

“You mean that I’m not being reasonable?”

He took one glance at the tightness of her face and shook his head. “I wouldn’t presume,” Harlan said. “I’m just offering alternatives.”

“Perhaps I’m not being as reasonable as I could be,” she admitted. “But neither are you. You’re being entirely too calm about this. And we agreed we’d do this partnership together.”

“I never said that I’d let you run up against Taylor again. Once was enough.” His voice had turned abruptly harsh. “Too much.” He turned to go back to the control room. “We’ll talk later. Forty minutes back at the car. Okay?”

It wasn’t okay with Kira, but neither was arguing with Harlan. Still, it evidently hadn’t stopped her from doing it, she thought wryly. How could she explain that everything he did and said had an emotional backlash with her these days? She had begun to care too much for him. She had to either control it or find another way to handle her own feelings.