“Kurt is being far too modest,” Lange admonished. “He freed me and my crew. While I steered the ship, he fought off the hijackers and saved a piece from your cargo.”
Carina’s face lit up. “You saved the Navigator?”
Austin nodded. “There’s a large object wrapped in canvas sitting on the deck. Might be your statue.”
“I’ll have it moved immediately to a safe place,” Lange said. He called the bridge on his pocket radio and ordered his first mate to round up a work crew.
The mate said that a Coast Guard cutter was on its way and that the shipowners’ representatives were flying in. The captain excused himself and the medical technician went with him, after handing Austin some painkillers.
“I’m curious,” Austin said. “What’s so special about the Navigator?”
“That is what’s so odd,” Carina said with furrowed brow. “The statue is not terribly valuable and may even be a fake.”
“In that case, let’s talk about things we do know about. Like our dinner date.”
“How could I forget your unexpected invitation, especially after your sudden appearance? But first tell me where on earth you came from.”
“Not on earth. On the sea. I was in the neighborhood lassoing icebergs.”
Carina glanced at Austin’s broad shoulders. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he wrestled icebergs. She assumed he was joking until he explained what he had been doing on the Leif Eriksson.
Carina had encountered scores of memorable men in the course of travels around the world, But Austin was truly unique. He had risked his life to save hundreds of people and property worth millions of dollars, fought off hijackers, even killing one of them to rescue her. Yet he was flirting like an impetuous schoolboy. Her eyes roamed over his hard, tanned body. From the looks of the pale scars marking his bronze skin, this wasn’t the first time he had put himself in danger and had paid a price for it.
Carina reached out to touch a circular scar on Austin’s prominent right bicep. She was about to ask if it were a gunshot wound, but, just then, the door opened and a slender, dark-complexioned man stepped into the sick bay.
Joe Zavala’s eyes widened in surprise, and then his lips turned up at the corners in his trademark half smile. He had heard that Austin was being treated for a wound. No one had told him about the lovely young woman who seemed to be caressing his friend’s arm.
“I stopped by to see how you were doing,” Zavala said. “From the looks of things, you’re doing pretty well.”
“Carina, this gentleman is Joe Zavala, my friend and colleague. We’re both with the National Underwater and Marine Agency. Joe piloted the boat that brought me over to the ship. Don’t be alarmed by his piratical looks. He’s quite harmless.”
“Nice to meet you, Carina.” Zavala gestured at Austin’s bandage. “Are you okay? You both look a little banged-up.”
“Yes, we’re quite the couple.” Carina said. She blushed at the implication in her comment and removed her hand from Austin’s arm.
Austin went to her rescue and brought the conversation back to himself. “I’m a little stiff around the ribs. Bad bruising, and scrapes in a few other places.”
“Nothing a shot or two of tequila wouldn’t help,” Zavala said.
“I can see you are in good hands,” Carina said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go see how the crew is doing with my statue. Thanks again for all you have done.”
Zavala gazed at the door after it had closed behind Carina and let out a whooping laugh that was uncharacteristic of his usual quiet-spoken demeanor.
“Only Kurt Austin could find an angel like Miss Mechadi out here in the fogbound reaches of Iceberg Alley. And they call me a Romeo.”
Austin rolled his eyes. He slid off the table, pulled on a borrowed blue denim work shirt and buttoned up the front.
“Captain Dawe holding up okay?”
“He’s reached the end of his joke repertoire and has begun to recycle old ones.”
“Sorry about that, old pal.”
“He says he’ll stand by another day, but then he’s got to go chase Moby-Berg. So you’re not off the hook yet.”
“How’d you get aboard? Last I knew, the pilot’s ladder was cut.”
“They must have dug up a spare. You had a tough time climbing on board. What happened?”