“Zoe should be here,” Dimitris said as he used his brush to carefully dust the silt from the same area.
Nikos paused from his photo taking, nodding at his son. The Odysseus’s motor shut off, and they were surrounded by silence, until the radio crackled oddly, Denéa’s voice saying, “There’s something wrong with the—”
The four waited. Finally, Nikos pushed his talk button. “Denéa?” After a few seconds, he radioed a second time.
Still no answer.
Dimitris gave a thumbs-up. “I’ll go check,” he told them.
“I’ll go with you,” Remi said.
He nodded, as did Sam, still aiming the light on the treasure, while Nikos went back to taking photos of their initial find.
As much as Remi wanted to stay and see what else they might uncover in their initial search, she also wanted to be there at the briefing of the national archeologists. It was important to her to make sure that they not only planned to give the proper credit to the much smaller Fourni crew, but that they also would let them lead the expedition—not that she doubted they wouldn’t comply, since the Fargo Foundation was sponsoring the search.
She was about to follow Dimitris, when Nikos tapped her leg. She looked back, saw him holding the gold coin toward her. He reached for her dive bag, slipping the coin inside, then said, “Zoe.”
She nodded, then started her ascent, pacing herself with Dimitris. When they reached the first decompression stop, she glanced down, saw Sam and Nikos working away below. It was remarkable how far they’d come since their first visit to the Mediterranean and the Fourni archipelago all those years ago. This find would mean a lot to Dimitris and Zoe as well as their children, not only because of what the finder’s fee would bring to them, but also realizing what had been a lifelong dream of Zoe’s grandfather.
Finding the treasure.
She had to imagine that Tassos was looking down, cheering them on.
Remi and Dimitris both checked their watches, then continued their ascent to the next level, seeing the hulls of the boats above them. The much larger Odysseus was moored right up against the Asteri, while a much smaller speedboat was tethered behind the former vessel. When they finally broke the surface, Remi half-expected everyone aboard to be watching for them. Cheering, even. After all, this was the find of a lifetime.
Even Dimitris was surprised. He removed his face mask, looking up at the boat. “Rather anticlimactic.”
“Very,” she said.
“Let’s get that radio fixed so we can have a proper celebration.”
They swam to the ladder. She took off her BCD and tank, handed them to Dimitris, then removed her fins, holding them by the straps as she climbed the steps. About to throw them on the deck, she happened to look up as a gray-haired man stepped out of the cabin.
Adrian Kyril.
And he was pointing a gun directly at her.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
Before Remi could warn Dimitris, he hefted her gear onto the deck, making a loud clatter as he hauled himself up next to her.
As Adrian’s attention shifted from her to Dimitris, she pulled her dive knife from its sheath, slid it between her fins, then dumped the sheath into the water. When Adrian’s focus rested on her once more, she said, “You’re the last person I expected to see. It’s been a while.”
“Isn’t it a pleasant surprise?” He smirked.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’d think that’d be obvious, Remi Longstreet.”
“Fargo,” she said, resisting the urge to throw the knife at him right then and there. She carefully set the fins and hidden blade onto the deck.
“Fargo. Of course. You’d think I’d remember, considering I’ve spent the last decade reading about the two of you.”
“I’m flattered.”
His nostrils flared as he scrutinized her, his dark gaze narrowing. “You don’t seem to have aged at all.”
“And you look at least ten years older.” She glanced past him and saw Fayez and Ilya. “Where’s Manos and Denéa?”