Ride the Tide (Deep Six #3) - Julie Ann Walker Page 0,38

width of her waist.

A look of surprise—and creeping fury—slid over Mason’s features. Wolf felt vindicated on Alex’s behalf, and just a little bit disloyal to his old swim partner.

“Ah, baby girl,” Doc bent to murmur in Alex’s ear, “I heard you had one hell of a day.”

At six and a half feet, Dalton “Doc” Simmons was the tallest of any of the Deep Six partners. With shaggy hair, sea-green eyes, and a lean, mean face that’d been carved by the Mission Mountains wind, he was the kind of man other men called sir, and the kind of man women tripped over themselves to get near.

“That’ll teach Mason.” Chrissy made a sound at the back of her throat that was damn near diabolical. “Talk about a big, steaming pile of quid pro quo.”

Before Wolf could respond, Uncle John and Romeo walked up behind him, each of them clapping a hand on his shoulder. “That’s the last time I trust you to take my boat out.” Uncle John’s tone was teasing.

Technically, John was only LT’s blood relative. But everyone who lived on Wayfarer Island called him “uncle.” John liked to tell people it was an honorary title, like “your grace” or “your lordship.”

Wolf turned to offer Uncle John an apologetic shake of his chin. “I’m sorry as hell about the catamaran.”

John, decked out as always in an eye-bleeding hula shirt, cargo shorts, and flip-flops, shook his full head of thick gray hair and ran a hand over his Hemingway beard. “Bah. Just shittin’ you. My insurance company already sent out a boat to tow her back in. Nothin’ a little patch, some antifoulin’ paint, and a couple of new engines won’t fix. I’m just happy everyone’s okay.”

“Donna’s right,” Romeo broke in. “The news is all over the island. You think it was really the Baitfish Bandits?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I’m hopin’ we know somethin’ solid tomorrow mornin’ after all the uniforms do their thing.” Wolf suddenly felt every single one of the hours of the day and every single drop of the adrenaline that’d coursed through his system. His eyes were gritty in their sockets.

“We reserved some rooms back at the hotel,” Uncle John told him. “Reckoned after the day you’ve had, you’d want a beer, a bath, and a bed.”

“You read my mind.” And when a pair of taxicabs pulled up next to the fencing—their rides back to the hotel, no doubt—Wolf added, “Come here and let me kiss you.”

“Try it”—Uncle John held up a hand—“and you’ll be walkin’ funny for a week.”

“My house is on the way to the hotel.” Chrissy’s tone sounded as weary as Wolf felt. “Can I share a ride with you guys?”

“Whoa.” Wolf turned to her with a frown. “There’s no way you’re goin’ home alone.”

“Excuse me?” She huffed out a breath of indignation.

“We don’t know what today was about. We don’t know who those guys were or what they were about. No way in hell I’m leavin’ you by yourself until we have some answers.”

When she smiled, it was all teeth. “Not even if I tell you that the reason I was beating feet a few minutes ago was because I need a break from your tender charms?”

His chin jerked back. “Me? What’d I do?”

“You mean besides coercing me into granting you my forgiveness when I thought we were all about to die?”

“Here we go again,” Romeo grumbled.

“Fifty bucks on Chrissy,” Uncle John muttered, glancing back and forth between Wolf and Chrissy. If he’d had popcorn handy, he’d have been chewing with avid interest.

“No deal.” Romeo shook his head. “Women always win. Didn’t your mamma teach you that?”

Wolf ignored them both, pasting on his most contrite expression. “You’re right, Chrissy. That isn’t how I should’ve done it. My only excuse is I didn’t want to slip off into the great beyond with you hatin’ my guts.” He swallowed uncomfortably. “Do you hate my guts?”

“Maybe.” She let her eyes roam over him. “But it’s hard to know for sure since the package they come in is pretty okay.”

Never had he been more happy to hear the phrase “pretty okay” in reference to himself. Also, he recognized an olive branch when it was extended his way, and decided to extend one of his own.

“You can take your forgiveness back if you want to.” He waited for her response with bated breath.

“No.” She grabbed her face, her thumb and forefingers rubbing her temples. “Today put things into perspective. I don’t want to waste any more