the Lucky Lady, and his crew had berthed in Atlantic waters for a much-needed engine overhaul. Jordan never stinted on safety; however, the timing left much to be desired.
Jordan gave himself one last look in the mirror before pulling on a shirt. The scar from his recent surgery was red and puckered, but it would eventually smooth and fade like the scar from the knife fight on a dark Portuguese dock, or the raking lines on his shoulder from a broken beer bottle at a rowdy Cuban bar. There were other scars, too, like those from his close call at the San Diego pier. All were now a permanent part of his body and soul.
Jordan’s lips curved slightly upward. The scars would effectively keep him off the cover of any male swimsuit issue. Not that he cared one iota or ever had. Jordan was his own man, with his own set of rules, his own code of honor. Scars came with the territory.
During the passing years, the sea had held his undivided attention—until that night at the pier. Until Aurora Collins had saved his life with her beautiful lips against his mouth. He’d tried to contact her, but was told she was south of the border. Where in Mexico, and what was she doing there? And what had she done with the Castillo gold medallion? The woman had vanished, and with her, the location of his ship.
In the hospital, Jordan had cooperated with the police. They’d assured him Aurora had done the same, but Jordan wanted to speak to her himself. Once discharged, he’d made inquiries about Aurora Collins and the cruise ship on which he’d initially been treated. Even though San Diego was to ships what New York City was to taxis, he’d found her own ship, Neptune’s Bride, and the cruise ship easily enough with the help of police reports. However, the cruise ship was on a run from San Diego to Mexico and was then sailing south to Venezuela. Aurora herself was down in Mexico, traveling by land, not sea.
The police, who hadn’t found any trace of his attackers or any witnesses, told him he was lucky to be alive and suggested chalking up his experiences to yet another unsolved big-city crime. That left him with scars, a hospital bill and a lot of unanswered questions.
Jordan knew one thing. He needed to find Aurora Collins before he could get back to business—back to finding the San Rafael.
I will find the San Rafael.
His vow had been made ten years ago, when he left the family fishing business forever—or what was left of it after a hurricane moved up the coast to New England and sank the Castillo fishing fleet, killing the Castillo family crew. All the men were gone. Except him.
Jordan had managed to cling to the wreckage for two days in hurricane-force winds and waves. His father, his grandfather and two older brothers, along with uncles and cousins, were buried in the Atlantic waters they’d loved so well. Their resting place was fitting, even honorable, although not all the widows and younger children had seen it as such.
After Jordan’s recovery, he and his fiancée, Maureen, had attended the memorial service. Maureen had wept; Jordan had remained dry-eyed. He loved his family passionately and grieved for the dead, but they, like him, knew the risks.
When Jordan later told Maureen the family’s plans, his fiancée was shocked. The majority of the Castillos wanted to use part of the life-insurance payments to buy another ship so Jordan could go back to sea. They would start with a single salvage ship and move their base of operations to Florida. Salvaging paid good money. Those profits would be used to fund a new Boston fishing fleet sometime in the distant future. Right now, there was neither the cash nor the manpower for more than that. The Castillos were a longtime fishing family; it was their enterprise, their way of life, and eventually they would rebuild. But not yet...
Maureen had become hysterical. “You saw your family die! You nearly died yourself. And you want to go back to fishing?”
“Salvaging,” he’d corrected. “We’re going to buy a salvager, not a trawler.”
“Fishing for treasure, fishing for fish...what’s the difference?”
“I’m the last adult male Castillo. I have an obligation to the family. Without my family to crew, I can’t run a fishing fleet, and to be honest, I don’t have the will for it right now. But I can run a single-boat salvage operation. The payoff