"So you got mad."
Dar nodded. "I saw red," she admitted. "Or blue, or whatever it is you"re supposed to see when you"re so mad that you lose your mind."
Kerry laid back down. "So we have something in common." She lifted one hand and examined the knuckles, the bruises vivid against her skin. "Does that feel ugly to you, Dar?"
Dar looked into the eyes of her soul and smiled. "No."
Kerry nibbled on her cookie thoughtfully. "Really?"
Dar considered pretending otherwise. She decided she was just too d.a.m.n tired. "Really," she repeated. "I guess it should, but he was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d and he was trying to kill me." She put her hands behind her head and winced as her shoulder popped into place. "I guess it"s that old "fight or flight" thing."
Kerry studied the ceiling. "Have you ever run from anything in your life, Dar?"
Her partner remained silent for a very long moment. "No," she finally said, a note of surprise in her voice. "I almost ran from love once." Her eyes shifted to Kerry"s profile. "But you tripped me up 338*
in time."
"Did I?" In her exhaustion, Kerry felt a willingness to take the conversation to something more comfortable.
"Yeah." Dar seemed equally willing. "I remember sitting at home one night and thinking to myself how much better it would be for both of us if I...if we kept our relationship just business."
Kerry rolled over onto her side and looked at her partner.
"And..." Dar paused. "And I could almost... I could feel, sort of, how that would make you feel if I did that, if I told you to forget it."
"My G.o.d." Kerry rested her head against the cover. "That would have killed me."
Dar was silent again, for a few breaths. "Yeah. I think it would have killed me too," she replied. "Anyway, I couldn"t. I was in too deep and I knew it." She reached over and put her hand on Kerry"s, folding her fingers over her partner"s smaller ones and gently squeezing them. "But I was scared."
"I wasn"t," Kerry admitted with a wry note in her voice. "It was like a dream I never knew I had coming true." She lifted Dar"s hand to her lips and kissed it. "I never looked back."
"I know." Dar felt a huge wave of exhaustion beginning to settle over her. "Lucky me."
"Mm." The blonde leaned her head against Dar"s shoulder. "I think you"re right about DeSalliers," she said, gently changing the subject back. "I know it"s late, but I have to tell you this; I have to."
Dar looked at her.
"I saw...someone. Down there. Under where you were," Kerry expanded hesitantly. "I was terrified for a minute, and then you grabbed me."
"Ah."
They lay there together for a few minutes, deep in thought.
Kerry drew in a deeper breath at last and looked at Dar. "No one deserves to die," she murmured. "But I can"t feel bad about it."
"Except that he did get what he wanted," Dar reminded her wryly.
"No, he didn"t." Kerry reached over to her bedside table, picked something up and tossed it onto Dar"s chest. "d.a.m.ned if I was going to let him get away with this." She eased up onto her elbow and reached for her mug.
Dar stared at the laminated sheet laying on the center of her chest. "Son of a b.i.t.c.h."
"Daughter of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, actually," Kerry corrected. "One of the things you and I don"t have in common." She took a sip of her rum and swallowed it, then leaned against Dar. "So."
"So," Dar repeated, turning the sheet over in her fingers.
"Death is a high price to pay for stupidity," Kerry said. "And*339 I...hate to have that on my conscience. Is there any way we can help them...the rest of them, I mean?" she asked in a serious tone.
Dar"s lips twitched. "I called the Coast Guard for them on the way in," she admitted. "So yeah, I don"t give a d.a.m.n that they sank, but I wasn"t about to disregard a maritime law I had drummed into me from the age of four."
Kerry pulled herself up and gave Dar a kiss. She licked her lips as they parted and gazed into her lover"s eyes. "I feel...really strange about what we did tonight, Dar," she said. "Part of me is freaking out, but part of me-"
"Liked fighting for the greater good?" Dar replied in a casual tone.
A little silence fell. Kerry dropped back against the pillows without taking her eyes off Dar. She inhaled sharply. "Greater good." The words felt interesting in her mouth and she played with them a little, tasting their meaning. "Is that what we did?"
Dar shrugged. "I don"t know. It"s something my father used to talk about all the time-doing things for other people, or acting when it"s not in your best interests just because it"s the right thing to do." She reached over and combed through Kerry"s disheveled hair with her fingers. "It"s what the folks in the military do, if you think about it."
"Depending on who"s defining "right" this year," Kerry replied with a touch of wry skepticism. "But I know what you mean." She put her arms around Dar. "Did you like doing that?"
Dar returned the embrace as they listened to the wind howl.
"I"m not very good at it," she said. "I"d much rather take care of my own best interests than anyone else"s."
Both eyebrows raised, Kerry leaned up on her elbow and looked at her partner. "Dar, that is such a lie," she stated flatly.
"You put yourself on the line for me after we"d barely even met."
Dar put a fingertip on Kerry"s nose. "That"s because you are my best interest."
Wasn"t really much she could say to that. Kerry curled up next to Dar and shook her head. The wind was getting stronger outside, and she heard a loud bang as something hit the building. She put thoughts of the greater good out of her mind for the moment. "Are you scared?"
"Of the storm?"
Kerry shook her head. "Of what might happen. I mean...we were involved in a lot of not so legal things last night."
"No," Dar replied. "I"m not afraid."
"Really?"
"Really." Dar closed her eyes. "I"m too tired to be afraid."
Kerry took the hint and pulled the covers up over Dar"s long frame, tucking them in around the two of them. She put her arms 340*
around Dar and laid her head on her partner"s shoulder, feeling Dar"s muscles relax almost immediately despite the raging noise outside. The heartbeat under her ear evened out and slowed, and she concentrated on counting its rhythm.
They would weather the storm; they always had, a muzzy internal voice reminded her. Kerry thought about that, losing herself in the flicker of the nearby candle as the winds blew around them.
THE HOTEL WAS warm and clammy inside as Kerry ventured into the lobby. The power was still out, but the staff had risen to the challenge and put out a table full of relatively tasty-looking foods for the guests to pick through. Her eyes roamed the room, and stopped as she spotted Andrew seated on the porch, his hand curled around a cup. "Ah." Kerry grabbed a m.u.f.fin and walked out to join him. "Hi, Dad."
Andrew looked up at her. "Morning, there, k.u.mquat," he greeted, as his eyes drifted past her shoulder. "Where"s mah kid?"
"Sleeping." Kerry sat down and nibbled her m.u.f.fin. "She was so tired last night, I thought it would be better if I let her get some rest while I scrounged breakfast for us."
Andy nodded in agreement. "She done things to be tired from,"
he said. "She okay?"
"I think so."
"Took them fellers up to the hospital. Looks like them b.a.s.t.a.r.ds put a few cracks in Bud"s head, but the docs took a few x-rays and let them go on after that. Then Ah came back down here and bunked out with some of the marina folk," Andrew volunteered.
"You could have come up to our room," Kerry scolded. "We had plenty of s.p.a.ce up there."
"Nah." Andrew took a swallow of whatever was in his mug.
"You two young ladies deserve your privacy."
Kerry propped her chin up on her fist. "Dad, we were just sleeping." She grinned at him. "I"m glad Bud"s going to be okay."
"Yeap, me too."
"Does he know it was you who pulled him out of the boat?"
"Yeap."
Kerry studied his profile. "Not really happy about that, was he?"
"No, ma"am, he was not." Andrew turned and looked at her.
"But how would you be knowing that all?" He set his cup down and studied his tablemate. "They say something to you?"
Kerry nodded. "Yes, and Dar told me a little," she said. "I almost kicked Bud in the nuts a few times until he finally calmed down and stopped saying mean things." Her fingers played with*341 the edge of the table. "What was up with that?"
A server came up to them with a pitcher and offered them a drink. Andrew held out his mug and they refilled it, then the server handed Kerry a cup as well.
"Thanks." Kerry took a cautious sip, relieved to find somewhat tepid fruit juice. She sensed Andrew wasn"t comfortable discussing Bud with her, and decided not to push the subject. "I thought I saw cereal in there. Did you eat yet?"
"Ah did," he told her. "Went down and checked out the boat.
Hull got banged up a bit, but nothing big. Should be fine to head back with."
"Thank you," Kerry said. "Did anyone say if DeSalliers" boat was brought in?"
"No, ma"am."
Kerry gazed quietly at him. After a moment, Andrew met her eyes. "Sorry if I b.u.t.ted in where I didn"t belong," she told him.
Andrew"s expression softened and he blinked a few times.
"Wasn"t that, Kerry," he answered. "Just somethin" that burns my shorts, and Ah don"t like chatting about it."
"Okay." Kerry nodded. "Are you flying back home?"
"Yeap," Andy said. "Ah figure you two got things all squared away now. Got a flight back out tonight. They ain"t reopened the airport yet," he informed her. "Still cleaning up. Storm wracked up some fuss, but not a whole lot outside the marina."
Kerry studied the horizon, which was clear and cloud free. "It"s funny. I almost feel like last night was a dream," she mused. "But I know it wasn"t."
Andrew c.o.c.ked his head in a listening att.i.tude.
"I"m glad you came out here after us," Kerry said. "Thanks."
A smile tugged at the scarred face across from her. "S"what a father"s for, ain"t it?"
Kerry stared off past him, her eyes distant. "Only if you"re very lucky." She exhaled, dusting the m.u.f.fin crumbs off her fingers. "I"m going to grab something for me and Dar." Pushing against the table, she stood up, suddenly wanting to be out of the sun and back with her partner. "Maybe we can find you for lunch?"
Andy got up and patted her on the shoulder. "Lemme give you a hand with your grub, k.u.mquat," he said. "We maybe need a chit chat, and Ah want to see mah kid."
Kerry smiled, feeling the tension between them ease a little.
"Okay, Dad. It"s a deal."
They went inside to the table, which didn"t have much in the way of plates. Andrew improvised by appropriating a basket of flowers, dumping the flowers, and standing helpfully behind Kerry as she filled it. They were halfway down the table when Kerry"s path was intercepted, and she looked up to see the police captain 342*
politely blocking her. "Oh. Good morning," she greeted with wary cordiality. "Guess you had a busy night."
"Most certainly, yes, Ms. Stuart. That we did," he replied with courtesy. "I am glad to see that you are safe. Is Ms. Roberts safe, as well?"
"Very much so, yes," Kerry told him, noticing his eyes flicking over her shoulder. "Oh, I"m sorry. This is my father-in-law, Andrew Roberts. Dad, this is Captain Alalau, of the St. Thomas police."
Andrew issued a moderately cordial greeting. ""Lo."
Alalau gave him a brief nod. "Sir." He turned his attention back to Kerry. "Might I ask, Ms. Stuart, if you and your friend Ms.
Roberts could find a moment to chat with me later on today?
Perhaps over lunch?"
Uh oh. Kerry didn"t think they were in trouble. She figured criminals weren"t invited to lunch, even in the Virgin Islands but given all that had happened so far, one never knew. "Um...sure,"
she agreed cautiously. "I"m sure that would be no problem at all."
"Excellent." The captain smiled and bobbed his head at her.
"Please, enjoy your breakfast. Unfortunately, the power will most likely be out for the rest of the day, but we are working on restoring it." "Thanks." Kerry watched him walk off. "Hm."
"Nice feller," Andrew drawled.
"Very nice." Kerry sighed, dumping a last few items into their basket and snagging a Thermos of juice. "C"mon. Let"s go wake Dar up and tell her the social agenda"s changed."