Guardian Angel - Garwood Julie - Страница 61

"You aren't going to tell all of it, are you?" Jade asked. "There isn't any need, Colin."

Neither Nathan nor Colin picked up on the fear in her voice. Caine did, and immediately glanced over

to look at her.

"Get on with it, Colin," Nathan muttered.

Jade, Caine noticed, was now clenching her hands together. He decided then that she must have witnessed something that had terrified her.

"I was the first to go into the waters," Colin said, drawing Caine's attention again. "After they'd made long, shallow cuts on my legs with their knives, they tossed me off the pier. Nathan understood what

they were up to, though I thank God now that I didn't understand at the time. I thought I still had a chance, you see."

Colin's expression had taken on a gray cast. Nathan looked just as grim.

"Because Shallow Wharf was close by, we spent several days with Jade and Black Harry. Colin didn't know she was Pagan then, of course, and he developed quite a crush on my little sister," Nathan continued.

"Yes, I did," Colin agreed. He turned to wink at Jade. "I'll still have you, Jade, if you'll only give me a chance."

She blushed while she shook her head at him. "You were quite impossible."

"Colin followed her around like a puppy," Nathan said. "When he realized she wasn't at all interested,

he was so disappointed I had to take him drinking."

"I fell in love with two other ladies that night, Nathan," Colin remarked.

"They weren't ladies," Jade remarked.

"No, they weren't," Nathan agreed. "How can you even remember, Colin? You were sotted, man."

Colin laughed. "I remember everything," he boasted. Caine held his patience. He could tell, from their dark expressions, that they needed to jest with each other in order to get through their memory.

Jade didn't have as much patience. "Tommy and I followed Nathan and Colin when they went to keep their appointment. They were so secretive about their plans, I became very curious. I also had this

feeling that something was amiss."

"Who is Tommy?" Caine asked.

Jade literally bounded out of her chair and hurried across the room. "Nathan, you finish this story while

I see to refreshments. I'm tired of talking about this."

Nathan started to call out to her but Colin stayed the action by putting his hand on his friend's arm. "It's still difficult for her," he whispered. Nathan nodded.

"Of course it's difficult for her," Caine interjected, his tone harsh. "My God, she must have watched

you…"

"She didn't watch," Nathan whispered. "As Colin was explaining, I knew what their plan was as soon as they cut Colin's legs. I put up a struggle when they tried to use their blades on me, ended up getting shot for my trouble. My shoulder was on fire when I went into the water."

"They cut us to draw the attention of the sharks, of course. The harbor is always full of the scavangers because of all the garbage that's thrown in. The blood did draw them, like flies to a carcass."

Colin could see that Caine's patience was wearing thin. His brother was leaning forward in his chair with

a grim look on his face. "Bear with us, Caine. This isn't a pleasant memory for us."

Nathan nodded. "It was just past sunset," he began. "I could still see their fins though," Colin interjected. Caine was sitting on the edge of his chair. He now understood the reason for Jade's nightmares. She dreamed about sharks. My God, the terror she must have endured made his heart pound.

"Pagan told Tommy to fetch a boat, then she took his knife and came into the waters after us. The men who'd put us there were sure we were done for and had already left. Pagan… I mean, Jade, got to me first. I was closer, I guess. Anyway, she pulled me toward the boat. A shark got a fair nibble out of my leg when they were hauling me in. Tommy lost his balance and fell overboard. He never resurfaced."

When Colin paused and turned to Nathan, his friend took up the telling.

"I still don't understand why, but the sharks kept away from me. They were in a frenzy and Tommy

had become their target. Jade had gotten Colin into the boat by then."

"I tried to help," Colin whispered. His voice was hoarse. "But I passed out. The next time I opened my eyes, I was on the Emerald. The oddest-looking man I'd ever seen was trying to press me into a game of chess. Honest to God, Caine, I wasn't sure if I was in heaven or hell. Then I saw Nathan sleeping on the cot next to me. I saw his sister, too, and I suddenly remembered everything. It seemed to me that it had all just happened, but I found out I'd been ill for quite some time."

Caine leaned back in his chair in an attempt to ease the tension in his shoulders. He took several deep breaths, then noticed Colin and Nathan were doing the same thing.

"Did she know… when she went into the water, did she know there were sharks?"

"Oh, yes," Nathan whispered. "She knew."

"My God, the courage that must have taken…"

"She won't talk about it," Colin interjected.

"She dreams about it."

"What?" Nathan asked.

"She has nightmares," Caine explained.

Nathan's brother slowly nodded.

"Matthew and Jimbo wanted to go after the bastards who'd tried to kill us, of course," Colin said. "Jade wouldn't let them. She had good reason, though. She wanted the men to report back to their superior that we were both dead. Jade felt it was the only way to keep us safe. It was the right decision, I think. Nathan and I are content to stay dead for a while longer, until we find out who in hell is behind this treachery."

"Hell, Caine, we were sanctioned by our own government," Nathan muttered.

"No," Caine countered. "Your government didn't even know you worked for them. Did you ever report to Richards or his superiors? Were you ever acknowledged…"

"Go ahead and say it," Colin interrupted.

"All right," Caine replied. "You worked for the Tribunal."

"I knew you were going to say that," Colin whispered.

"You can't be certain," Nathan argued.

"Richards didn't know until he was informed of your deaths that you worked for the department,

Nathan. He's investigating now."

"Then he'll be killed," Nathan predicted.

"He's quietly investigating," Caine qualified.