The Reef

him. “Organized. Turns me to mush.”
    “Lorraine, there are important people flying in from all over the world in the next day or two. We have to prepare.” When she only continued to beam at him, Hayden glanced at Matthew. “Can I impose on you for a lift back to Nevis? I think Lorraine needs to lie down.”
    “Buck and LaRue’ll help you pour her into the tender, run you back.” He held out a hand. “It’s good to have you on our team.”
    When the tender skimmed back toward the island, Tate leaned against Matthew. “They look wonderful together.”
    “I guess I can see why you kept tossing his name in my face. He catches on fast and he focuses in on what’s most important.”
    Resting her head on Matthew’s shoulder, she watched the tender’s light grow smaller. “He’s the best in the field, and his name carries a lot of weight. Lorraine’s not small potatoes either. Having the two of them onboard cloaks the whole operation with efficiency and respect, and scientific purpose.” She let out a satisfied breath. “And the more influential people who know about the Isabella and theamulet, the more impossible it is for VanDyke to interfere in any way.”
    “Let’s not lower our guard just yet. We’re a lot better moored here, off island, miles from the site.”
    “VanDyke’s skulking off with his tail between his legs. He can call out every politician, every institute and official in his pocket. It won’t change things now.” Turning, she wrapped her arms around him. “I know you’d rather have handled things differently, but this is the best way for us.”
    “Doing it this way was more satisfying than I thought. We win, he loses. All the way around.” He reached in his pocket, took out the amulet. “It’s really yours now.”
    “Ours.”
    “Rules of salvage,” he murmured and slipped it around her neck. “I think when he had it made for her, he chose a ruby as the heart, for passion. The diamonds around it for endurance. The gold for strength.” Gently, he kissed her brows, her cheek, her lips. “Love needs all those things.”
    “Matthew.” She closed her hand around the stone. “That’s lovely.”
    “I thought you might want to wear it for the wedding.”
    “I would, yes, if I didn’t have something else I treasure even more. It’s a little gold locket with a pearl.”
    Absurdly touched, he ran a finger down her cheek. He had to clear his throat before he could trust his voice. “You kept that?”
    “I tried to throw it away a dozen times, and never could. Nothing I’ve ever brought up from the sea was more precious to me. Not even this.”
    “We’re going to make it work.” He kissed her lightly. “You’re my luck, Red. Why don’t we go in? Hayden’s right about that long day coming up.”
    “I’ll be right along. I want to go over my records, make sure everything’s perfect. Shouldn’t take more than a half hour.”
    “You’re going to be practical when I was planning on driving you crazy?”
    “Make that twenty minutes.” She laughed and gave him a nudge. “I really need to be sure all my documentsare in order. No way I’m going to look half-baked when the rep from the Cousteau Society shows up.”
    “Ambitious and sexy.” He nipped her bottom lip. “I’ll wait for you.”
    “Fifteen minutes,” she called after him, then hugged herself.
    Everything she’d ever wanted was only a step away. The man she loved and a life with him, a career suddenly on fast-forward, the museum that would showcase their work.
    She closed her hand around the amulet, shut her eyes. And after four hundred years, perhaps Angelique would finally be at rest.
    Nothing, she realized, was impossible.
    She walked over to pick up the bottles and glasses she and Lorraine had left behind. The quiet footsteps behind her had her chuckling.
    “Fifteen minutes, Lassiter. Maybe ten if you don’t distract me.”
    The hand that clamped around her mouth was damp and smooth. Her own had jerked up to claw at it even before true alarm registered.
    “There’s a gun at your back, Tate.” The sharp jab just above her kidneys had her going still. “Silenced. No one will hear if I shoot you right here. If you scream or call out I’ll kill you, and anyone who runs to your aid. Do you understand?”
    The voice, the threat were sickeningly familiar. She could only nod.
    “Be very careful.” VanDyke shifted his rough grip from her mouth to her throat. “You can be dead in an