Part 6 (1/2)

aSounds lethal,a he said.

aSometimes. Most often you just get a cold dunking and a bashed boat.a A powerboat came up on their left, pa.s.sing them in a brilliant cloud of spray.

aLooks like no one told him about deadheads either,a Hawk said.

aYou get used to them, like wind storms and fifteen knot currents. Comes with the territory.a aLike car wrecks.a Angel flinched in the instant before she controlled herself.

aYes,a she said. aLike car wrecks. We keep driving anyway.a Hawk saw Angelas ghost reappear, pain written for a second across the smooth skin of her face. Then the ghost was banished once more.

aWhat do you consider a safe speed?a he asked.

aRight now?a Angel turned slowly, measuring the sea surrounding the boat.

aThereas good visibility,a she said. aThe wind is down. The tide is running but not boiling.a Hawk looked as well, measuring her perceptions against his own knowledge of water and racing hulls and his own reflexes.

Finally Angel gestured toward the power-boat surging away from them.

aAbout what heas doing,a she said.

One black eyebrow lifted, but Hawk said nothing as he brought the boat up to speed again.

aThere arenat that many deadheads,a explained Angel. aAnd most of them are flagged as soon as theyare found.a aIs that what those are for?a Hawk asked.

He gestured toward a handful of meter-length rods with a sharp point on one end and a bright triangular flag on the other.

Angel nodded. aIf we spot a deadhead, we flag it.a aThen what? Notify the Canadian equivalent of the Coast Guard?a aNope. Usually a log scavenger will pick up the flagged stuff. With the price of lumber so high, a log is worth several hundred dollars.a aWhat if no one picks it up?a Hawk asked.

aThen the flag makes the deadhead easy to spot and avoid, even at twice this speed.a aBe nice if all of lifeas little trouble spots were so neatly posted,a said Hawk, his voice sardonic.

aThe flags only work if you have the sense to heed them,a Angel said, her tone as sardonic as his.

Are you listening to your own advice? she asked herself in silence. There are flags sticking out all over Hawk, but I keep seeing past them to the man beneath, hunger and intelligence, heat and strength, all that made life valuable.

And danger. I see that too. Clearly.

Angel didnat underestimate the danger inherent in Hawk. Nor did she fear it. She respected it.

Danger always existed, as much a part of life as love. To have the one you must accept the other. Grant Ramsey had taught Angel that . . . love and death.

The learning had nearly destroyed Angel. She didnat know if she was strong enough to risk learning again.

She knew only that she was going to find out.

7.

Angel directed Hawk toward a quiet stretch of water by touching his arm and pointing to the right. During the run up the Inside Pa.s.sage, neither of them had attempted to talk over the unleashed thunder of diesels.

Smoothly, Hawk brought the boat into calm water in the lee of a gray headland. He put engines in neutral and waited, testing the amount of drift. There was very little.

With an easy motion, Hawk slid out from behind the helm. When he stood up, he was so close to Angel that she could smell the clean scent of his aftershave. His eyes were a clear, crystal brown with surprising flecks of gold. His mustache was as black as the center of his eyes.

Angel wondered what it would feel like to have that mustache against her skin. She wanted to know if it would be rough or soft or a tantalizing combination of the two.

Would his mustache be cool beneath my fingertips, or would it have the same heat that the rest of Hawkas body has, a heat that touches me even though Iam not touching him?

The intensity of Angelas silence and speculations froze her, overriding even the need to breathe. Then she saw Hawkas pupils dilate suddenly as he became aware of her appraisal.

Angel retreated, looking away from the hard, sensual line of Hawkas lips. She wanted to say something, anything, because she sensed that he was looking at her as completely as she had looked at him.

No words came to her.

With downcast eyes, Angel brushed past him and sat behind the helm of the powerful boat.

Hawk bent over her and the boatas controls, knowing from her quickly indrawn breath that his presence disturbed her. He was careful not to touch her. He had seen her retreat as clearly as he had seen the consuming sensuality of her appraisal.

Though Hawk controlled his desire to stroke the rapid pulse beating visibly in Angelas throat, he couldnat deny the sudden coursing of blood through his veins, the adrenaline and heat as the chase began. None of what he felt showed in his voice or his body.

Like the prey, the predator was capable of measured retreat, knowing always that retreat was temporary.

aHave you ever handled anything as powerful as this?a asked Hawk, his voice low, almost intimate.

Angel kept her eyes on the gauges in front of her.

aNo,a she said.

The word sounded ragged to her ears. She breathed deeply, evenly, calming the erratic race of her pulse.

aNo,a Angel repeated. aDerryas boat was about half this size and a quarter the power.a aWas?a aHe sold it a few months ago.a What Angel didnat say was that it had been sold without her knowledge. Sold to pay off debts that had piled up in the last year of Derryas undergraduate education.

Angel would have given him the money if she had known he needed it. At least, she would have tried. But Derry was determined not to take any more from her, even though she could think of nothing she would rather spend money on than his future.

aYou didnat approve,a Hawk said flatly.

aOf what?a aDerry selling his boat.a aIt was his to sell.a Angelas voice was calm. She was in control again.

aBut you loved taking it out on the water,a Hawk said.

Angel looked up, caught by the harsh current of emotion in Hawkas voice.

aYes,a she said.

aLucky for you I came along,a Hawk said, straightening. aOtherwise you might have had to sell your pretty little . . . smile . . . to get a ride.a aThe people who take me out pay for more than a smile,a said Angel, deliberately giving Hawk an opening.

aIall bet.a Hawkas voice was laced with contempt.

aYouall lose.a Angel watched his face impa.s.sively while the silence stretched.

aIam a licensed fis.h.i.+ng guide,a she said calmly.