Treasure Tides Part 12

"If you ask me, there's something down there that someone's trying to hide," Landon grinned. "d.a.m.n, we're good."

"I see a diving trip in our near future," Kurt said. "I'll get the equipment together and tanks aired up. Tomorrow should be a good day to go out, but we need to keep this low key. It needs to look like we are just out enjoying the harbor. I'll bring some poles, and maybe we'll catch dinner while we're at it."

"Sounds good," Royce said, looking at his watch. "Sean, what is Joanna's ETA?

"I just got a text saying she's in town and waiting for you at the market. She said she needs new shoes," Sean grinned. "Good luck with that."

Royce groaned. Joanna could shop for hours. She made him crazy... picking up things to purchase, carrying them around, and then putting them back for one reason or another.

The other men shook their head in sympathy.

"Can you leave these with me, Landon?" Sean asked. "I want to memorize the details before we go out into the harbor tomorrow."

"Sure, I had copies made this morning, and we've actually had one permanently mounted so we can hang it in Kurt's shop."

"Ok, we need to get started gathering enough gear for tomorrow. Let's plan to leave from Shem Creek at nine o'clock in the morning," Kurt said as he headed toward the door.

"Kurt," Royce said, looking rather serious, "You may want to get the kids out of town, sooner-rather-than-later. I'd like to see Becki leave as well. It could get rough around here."

"Agreed, I'm not sure I can get Becki to go, but I'll do my best," Kurt a.s.sured Royce.

"Maybe we should take the decision out of her hands," Royce suggested.

"Right, have you ever seen a tiger caught by its tail?" Landon asked. "That's one fight none of us can win."

Royce grimaced, "Stubborn, woman."

"Yes, and that's putting it mildly," Landon agreed. "But, she's our stubborn woman, and if you are just looking for a diversion, you need to look elsewhere," he warned as yellow specks flashed in his eyes.

Royce got the message loud and clear.

"That's not the case, trust me," he a.s.sured her champions.

"We are," Kurt said. "Make sure we don't end up regretting it."

With that final warning, the two men took their leave.

Royce didn't blame Kurt and Landon for being cautious. In fact, he was glad Becki had the two men to watch over her. But, she was his responsibility now, and he didn't want her around with Vamps, Witches, and Werewolves converging on the City.

ART would soon wrap up their mission in Charleston. The team would then relocate to the next projected recovery site, and then the next. The missing collection was a.s.sumed to be comprised of seven coins. According to the latest intelligence reports; Rome, Las Vegas, and Kentucky were being considered as possible sites.

If Royce's team didn't get this situation under control soon, the council would be sending someone to watch over their shoulders. Royce hoped the Council would keep their distance for the time being.

Royce grabbed his shades and cell phone off the desk. It was time to go meet Joanna. d.a.m.n he had missed her. Hopefully, she had finished with her shopping because Royce definitely needed a drink.

CHAPTER SIX.

As Becki crossed the bridge into downtown Charleston, she was reminded, once again, of all the reasons why she loved this City. The water...the breeze...the bridges...the harbor; this was her "happy place". She had fallen in love with Charleston as a child while vacationing here with her family.

The day was perfect with beautiful blue skies, like a gift from Heaven after the storm had pa.s.sed. Sleep would not come after Royce had gone this morning. Her mind was all jumbled with thoughts.

Royce had made it clear that he wanted to be the only man in her life. He wanted to be the one to take her out to dinner, walk on the beach, and-- well other things. He had been so s.e.xy this morning, whispering those things in her ear as he had her pressed up against the kitchen counter. Whew! She had better concentrate on her driving.

The first thing on her agenda this morning was a walk through Waterfront Park. Then she would make a quick pa.s.s through the Market on her way to pick up candy for the girls from the candy shop on the corner. After that little ch.o.r.e was out of the way, she would squeeze in a quick trip to Victoria's Secret.

The girls were planning a sleep-over tonight and had given her a list of things they needed from the candy shop. Sugar, of course, was the key element to a successful sleep over. In fact, sugar was the key element to the success of any day. Becki had already decided to treat herself to a caramel apple. Her mouth watered just thinking about a great big granny smith apple smothered with caramel and crushed peanuts. Yummmm! They tasted so wonderful, they should be illegal.

Becki zipped into an open parking s.p.a.ce and headed out to enjoy a short walk through Waterfront Park. Children were already splas.h.i.+ng in the fountain. She wished she could join them for a minute, but it was impossible today. She and the cousins would have to plan a girlsday-out soon. They could play in the water, hang out on the swings at the pier, and watch the dolphins in the harbor.

Becki enjoyed the sea breeze as she made her way toward Savannah's Candy Kitchen via the Market, of course. Charleston City Market had changed over the years; initially it had been the domain of vegetable, fish and meat vendors. Now it was filled with unique shops, a must see for tourists. The Market had survived several generations of vendors and was still the best place to buy sweet gra.s.s baskets.

Becki loved to watch the weavers scattered throughout the market as they worked on their baskets; many of them personally harvested their gra.s.s in the Lowcountry marshes. There was no way she would want that job considering snakes and other critters lurked out in the marsh.

During the past few years, the Market had undergone extensive renovation. Among the many changes, the most notable were the public restrooms and air conditioned areas that had been added. Although it was nice to escape the sometimes oppressive summer heat, a part of her hated to see it modernized to such a degree. In some ways it seemed to over commercialize a historic landmark.

Becki meandered from one section of the market to another browsing through jewelry, gla.s.sware, and art. She spotted a framed photograph that would fit perfectly in her living room. The artist had captured the Cooper River Bridge at sunset. The elegant lines of symmetry formed by ma.s.sive cables as they stood against a background of color were breathtaking. As she moved nearer to the masterpiece, she heard a voice nearby shout a familiar name.

"Royce!" Joanna squealed and as she spotted her big brother, her hero, her larger-than-life champion. Boy, was he in trouble for getting himself captured.

Royce smiled and threw his arms wide open as she ran towards him. He stood watching, waiting for her to jump into his arms the way she had been doing ever since she was a child. There was nothing child-like about the woman running toward him. He wondered where the time had gone. His baby sister had somehow morphed into this beautiful woman.

Becki scanned the crowd and felt her heart drop to her knees. Royce... her Royce! She was unable to tear her eyes away as he threw his arms open wide, only to wrap them tightly around the raven-haired b.i.t.c.h who had launched herself solidly into his arms. Not only did he catch her mid-air, he hugged her tightly spinning her around in circles!

Becki could not believe her eyes. This was the same man who had apologized for being a jerk and had brought her flowers? The kind and considerate man who had stayed with her through the storm and acted like a perfect gentlemen? The one who had cooked her breakfast and told her that he didn't want her to be with anyone else? The jacka.s.s twirling in circles with a death-grip on some big-busted bimbo was the man she had thought was different...trustworthy? Becki wanted to flee from the scene before her, but she seemed to be rooted to the spot.

Maybe she should march right up to the happy couple and introduce herself as the woman Royce had spent the night with! She wondered how the b.i.t.c.h in zebra-print, peep-toe pumps would feel about that little tidbit of information. Clearly, Royce was a far cry from the white knight she had thought him to be.

Becki tried to ignore the burning pain in her heart. She was determined not to shed one more tear- ever again- on white knights that turned out to be nothing but dark lords in disguise.

Das.h.i.+ng a tear from her eye, she concentrated on breathing slow and steady. In and out, keep your head up. In and out, you will survive this. In and out, you should have known better!

Becki kept her distance, ducking behind vendor cases when necessary, and continued to watch Royce with his woman. They were touching each other constantly as if they couldn't keep their hands off of one another. His girlfriend must have been out of town, which would explain why he had time to spend with her over the last few days. She didn't dare get close enough to the couple to hear what they were saying, but she couldn't seem to tear herself away from the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.

"So, have I missed anything, brat?" Royce asked with a grin. He kept an arm wrapped around his little sister as they strolled through the market. It was so good to see her.

"Not much really," Joanna answered. "But we're not going to talk about me right now."

Here it comes. Royce braced himself for Joanna's wrath.

"What the h.e.l.l happened out there Royce? I couldn't believe it when you disappeared! Dad kept insisting you would surface soon. He forbade Mom or me to use our magic to find you. He said it wasn't worth the risk. He was afraid that we might give away your position and put you in greater danger. Needless to say, Mom wasn't too happy with that decision."

"I can imagine," Royce commiserated.

Joanna's eyes sparkled with mirth as she added, "He had to buy her a new condo and let her totally redecorate it to keep her occupied."

Royce laughed, "He'll probably send me the bill."

"I'm glad you're back," Joanna said, tightening her arm around him.

"Me, too," Royce said dropping a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. She may be all grown-up, but she would always be his baby sister.

"I've been looking into the cloaking spell, and I think I've found a way around it. I have to be fairly close to the coin for it to work; and you know I can't touch the coin after we find it. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but it's spelled to repel Witches," she whispered, being careful to keep her voice low. "We can move it mentally if there are enough of us, but no one knows what happens if we actually come into physical contact with it. I don't want to be the one to find out either," she s.h.i.+vered. "Merlin was an extremely powerful wizard and sometimes a bit over-the-top. I'm not up for being the guinea pig on this one."

"You won't be going anywhere near that coin. I'll make sure of it," He whispered softly. "I would never live through the wrath of your mother if I let anything happen to you."

As Royce whispered to the other woman, Becki felt like throwing up! He had kissed her like that this morning, whispered to her in that s.e.xy voice, and made her fall in lo--. She stopped that train of thought dead in its tracks.

Unaware they were being watched, Joanna pushed away from Royce and proceeded to enlighten him that he was not responsible for her actions. Neither would he be responsible for any resulting consequences. "You listen to me, Royce. I do what I do. I go where I go. I make my own choices, take my own chances, and make my own mistakes. If something happens to me, it won't be because you let it happen. It will be because it was my choice, my decision."

"You're wrong about that, Joanna," Royce argued raising his voice. "I protect my own. You are my responsibility."

"No! You are wrong. We all know the risks involved, and we choose to keep doing what we do. It's in our blood, our destiny. Don't continue to carry that baggage, Royce." Joanna softened her tone, "Tara knew what she was doing. It wasn't your fault, and you could not have prevented it." She touched his face gently forcing him to meet her eyes. "She didn't want you to prevent it," she said with tears in her eyes.

Why was that b.i.t.c.h crying? She was the one whose heart had just shattered into a million pieces. Becki stood frozen as she clearly heard Royce proclaim, "I protect my own..." and follow it up with "You are my responsibility."

Becki had seen quite enough, too much really. She crept toward the exit. There was no need to watch any more or listen any further.

As the woman he was falling in love with ran away, Royce dropped his forehead to meet Joanna's. "I know Jo, but it doesn't make it any easier. I'm working on it. I promise."

"Let me know how I can help you," she begged, wanting her bigbrother to be happy again.

Her offer to help sent s.h.i.+vers of dread through him; time to divert her attention. He straightened, tucking her arm through his. "Want to hear about a girl I met?" he asked, knowing that would get her nosiness stirred up.

"Spill it," Joanna prompted with a quick grin.

Becki's trip through the candy shop was a blur. As she shoved her car into reverse, she reevaluated her opinion of this perfect day. It had actually turned out to be a perfectly lousy day. She just hoped she could make it home before she had a complete melt-down.

She would drop the candy off at Kurt's house, go home and have a good cry, and then get ready for work. Breathe in. Breathe out. Traffic turned out to be a nightmare on the way to Mt. Pleasant. Between construction areas and less-than-competent drivers, it took almost an hour to get to Kurt's house. Just as she pulled into his driveway, her cell phone beeped with a text message. She stared at the message on her screen; Hope ur day is going well C U soon.

What the h.e.l.l? She responded with an angry FU but then reconsidered and hit the delete b.u.t.ton instead. Flinging the phone angrily into her purse, she s.n.a.t.c.hed the sack of candy and made her way into the house.

As she opened the door, her eyes landed on the vase of flowers. They were still sitting on the table where Royce had placed them last night. She stalked to the table and picked up the offensive reminder of her foolishness. Last night had been a joke, an absolutely ridiculous illusion.

The girls were thoroughly engrossed in a movie. Which worked out perfectly, as it alleviated the need to explain why she was ruining a perfectly beautiful bouquet of flowers down the garbage disposal...one by one.

Becki turned off the garbage disposal... along with her emotions concerning Royce.

"Hi, girls," she said, pasting on a smile. "I've got the goods for you!"

She loved her cousins and loved spending time with them. They always made her feel better.

Mandy had already informed her that they had lunch plans together at school next week. She had given Becki instructions to pick up lunch at the local sandwich shop by 11:30. Lunch period began at 11:50. When Becki asked if she was supposed to stay and eat with her, Mandy responded, "Sure, you are the cool cousin."

Becki didn't feel so cool right now. She just felt upset and disappointed.

"Yessss," Leann said as they all ran toward the sack of candy. She stopped long enough to give Becki a hug. "Thanks," she added.

"You're welcome. Where is your dad?" Becki asked, hugging her back.

"He ran to the dive shop to pick up some diving gear so he could go diving with Landon tomorrow," Clarissa answered as she dug through the sack investigating their candy options.

After making sure all the items on her list had been included, she moved over to hug Becki too, "Thanks. Are you ok? You seem a little sad today," she said s.h.i.+fting her eyes to the empty spot on the table where the vase of flowers had been. Obviously, she was a little more observant than Becki had given her credit for.

"I'm fine; don't you worry. I'm fighting a headache. That's all," Becki a.s.sured her, picking up her purse and sliding her sungla.s.ses on.

"OKay...," Clarissa answered, clearly not swallowing the lie.

"You girls have fun and take it easy on your dad tonight! I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"K. Bye, Becki. Thanks again," they all called at once as Becki stepped out the back door.

Becki had heard Kurt's truck pull into the driveway while she was talking to the girls. He was in the process of unloading regulators-- more regulators than he and Landon would need. Was he having a party that she had not been invited to?

"What 'cha got there?" Becki asked.

"Oh, just some gear. Landon and I are taking a couple of buddies out exploring tomorrow," Kurt answered nonchalantly.

"It's supposed to be beautiful. Where are you diving?" Becki hinted. She loved going out with Kurt and Landon. They knew where all the good places were. Sometimes they would dive an area where the locals believed a s.h.i.+p had sunk in the early 1900's. They would spend the day burning air and looking for treasure.

"Oh, we don't have an exact destination in mind. Royce and Sean are going out with us, maybe a couple more. I'm not sure yet."

Becki stiffened. "I didn't realize you and Royce were so tight," she said sarcastically.

Kurt glanced up frowning, "You ok with us going out? I thought you and Royce were kind of dating."

"Royce and I are not dating...or anything else for that matter," Becki said shortly.

"Did something happen?" Kurt asked, putting the inventory on hold. He was anxious to help Royce clear up the coin mess, but he had better be treating Becki right.

Becki saw it coming-- a million questions she just didn't have the energy to answer right now. Uncle Kurt would be all p.i.s.sed off on her behalf and probably drag Landon in to it, too. She didn't want to ruin their trip tomorrow. She would keep her troubles to herself this time. She would end up blubbering all over him and making him uncomfortable anyway.

"No," she forced a laugh, "just PMS." It wasn't true, but she knew it was guaranteed to back him off in a hurry.

Sure enough, he back-peddled as if it were contagious. "Ok," he said, as he added a pair of fins to the rapidly growing pile of gear. "Are you working today?" he asked in a subtle effort to change the subject.

"Yes," Becki answered with a smile, "and I need to get a move on."

"Do you have any vacation time you could use next week?" Kurt asked out of the blue.

Becki frowned, "Vacation time? What's that?" she teased. "No. Actually, I've picked up a couple of extra s.h.i.+fts next week. Why? Do you need me to run the girls somewhere?"