Wicked Nights (Men of Discovery Island 2)
“Piper.” Her name was a growl. Sheets rustled, and his feet hit the floor with a thump. Screw being dignified. She picked up her pace. She was done here.
15
IT TOOK THE rest of the morning for Cal to do the math. He’d done some swimming, followed by some thinking. Then more swimming. He had the contract all to himself, and his hands were going to be plenty full as he brought more former SEALs on board—but his place felt empty without her. Hell, he felt empty. Piper had filled a void he didn’t realize he had.
When he gave in and went looking for her, Piper wasn’t at home, nor was she at the dive shop. Carla, however, was, scrolling through pictures on her phone of their last dive.
He didn’t waste time with preliminaries. “Where is she?”
“Where is who?”
He wasn’t buying her sweet, innocent look.
“Your boss? The woman who signs your paychecks?”
“Funny,” she said, “I’d heard you were my new boss now.”
“Would that make you take orders from me?” A man could hope.
“Nope,” she answered, shooting him a saccharine smile. “Not in this lifetime.”
“You don’t want to know what I want with her?”
She shook her head. “The only thing that matters to me is what she wants with you.”
“I can work with that.”
“Are you going to chase after her and admit you screwed this all up?”
“I’m not apologizing for winning the Fiesta contract.” Never. Maybe?
Carla made a give-it-up gesture.
“But I should have told her about my offer to buy out Del’s share as soon as I realized what had happened,” he admitted.
“Because?” she prompted.
“What is this, therapy hour?”
“Do you need it to be? You are a guy.” She eyed him appraisingly.
He had no idea what that meant. “And?”
“You need to tell her how you feel.” She held up a finger when he opened his mouth. “I’m sure you believe your reasons for buying out Del are the best, but think about it from Piper’s perspective.”
“You feel very secure in your job,” he announced.
Carla beamed. “Piper and I go way back.”
He eyed her. This was Carla, after all. Good to know Piper had someone at her back, but nothing about Carla made this easy. Or quick. “I’d like to hear her perspective. I’d also like to tell her a few things. Ask a question or two.” He paused, then went for gold. “Please?”
“She’s taking the ferry over to the mainland.”
“She’s leaving?”
He turned and headed for the door.
“The ferry leaves in fifteen minutes,” she called after him. “You can fire me after you get her back.”
Yep. That was definitely gloating he heard in her voice.
16
CAL BROKE EVERY traffic law on his way down to the ferry dock. The side streets weren’t made for speed, but he pushed eighty on the Harley. If he laid down his bike, he wouldn’t get there in time, but he couldn’t bring himself to ease up. Piper was at stake here. He tried to imagine staying on Discovery Island without her, and it wasn’t a pretty picture. He had no idea how it had happened, but he’d fallen for Piper Clark.
Ten blocks. Two traffic lights, six stop signs and two four-way stops. And then he had the ferry dock in his sights. The heavy boat rode low in the water, loaded up with cars. He was close enough now to make out the tourists on the upper decks, chatting and laughing as they snapped their final photos of Discovery Island. The ramp was still down and he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t completely out of time. He parked the Harley in a no-parking zone, so sue him—and vaulted over the turnstile.
“I’m not riding,” he hollered at Mary Beth, the woman working the ticket booth as he sprinted toward her. “I need to talk to Piper and then I’ll be back.”
He’d known Mary Beth forever. The older woman and his mother were friends and members in the Red Hat Society. Some of their antics scared the piss out of him. A spur-of-the-moment cruise to Cabo with tattoos came to mind. Since Mary Beth and his mother talked, she probably already knew his business anyhow, and could cut him some slack.
She flashed a thumbs-up as he barreled past and indeed seemed disinclined to call for security.
“Ten minutes,” she hollered after him. “That’s all you’ve got.”
He’d make ten minutes be enough time.
He sprinted onto the ferry, heart banging against his ribs. The ferry had two levels, plus the car hold. It also had a gift shop and a snack shop, in addition to all the off-limits, personnel-only areas. Think, he told himself. If you were Piper, where would you be?