Read In Deep Waters for Free Online Page B

other part knew she didn't belong.
    Ben stopped spinning and set Madison down. Kayla noticed a large scar on his back and a smaller one near his left shoulder. Ugly white gashes contrasted against Ben's dark skin. She couldn't imagine what had caused such terrible scarring.
    "Come here, princess." Wolf appeared and called for Madison. Kayla noticed he'd tucked in his shirt and shaved. Maybe not all the crew was as uncivilized as she thought. "It's time for school."
    "School. School. I love school." She skipped into the big man's arms. "Can I send an e-mail to Grandma and Grandpa?"
    "Yes, and I bet they sent one to you." Wolf picked her up, not caring she was dripping wet. "See you at lunch, boss."
    "Thanks." Ben watched Madison leave, his eyes filled with love. "We set up a daily preschool for Madison. The crew takes turns watching her, too."
    "She's a lucky little girl to have all of you who love her so much."
    "I'm the lucky one. Between Madison and my crew, I've got it made." He pointed at the water. "Did you see the dolphins?"
    A pair of dolphins swam next to the ship. Jumping alongside the bow, the two put on an entertaining show. She envied their ability to swim so freely amid the waves and wondered what it would be like. She stood at the rail. "I've never seen a dolphin this close."
    "It's an amazing sight." Ben approached her. "When I was a kid all I ever wanted to do was swim."
    "I've never swum in the ocean." Another dolphin joined the pair and Kayla smiled. "My mother drowned in the water, and Dad worried about the same thing happening to me."
    "I don't blame him."
    His gaze caught hers. Time stopped. The noise from the engines faded into the background. In that instant, he wasn't a pirate. He wasn't a salvor. He wasn't a father. He was just Ben.
    He looked away.
    She was happy he did. He might be attractive--drop- dead gorgeous, to tell the truth--but that didn't matter. She wasn't here to find a boyfriend; she was here to find a ship.
    And some answers.
    Kayla scratched her feet. The sun had dried her skin, and her feet itched again. Her legs felt weird, too. Tight. Hot. She clutched the railing.
    "You okay?"
    "I'm fine."
    As Ben leaned toward her, she caught a whiff of his scent--sea and soap with a little sunscreen mixed in. Nothing exotic or expensive. It was all Ben, and she liked it. A little too much.
    Kayla sat in one of the plastic deck chairs. She needed to rest her legs. Maybe she'd gotten too much sun. Or too much Ben.
    He kneeled at her side. "Do you need anything?"
    You. Her stomach felt like a whirlpool, swirling around and around. She took a breath and exhaled slowly. "No, thanks."
    "Your face is pale."
    She shrugged it off, ignoring the concern in his voice. She didn't know which Ben--pirate or father--cared. For all she knew, he wanted to find a way to get rid of her.
    Give the man a break. He's not that bad.
    At least she hoped not.
    She was having a hard enough time dealing with him. No matter how hard she tried, she didn't get him. She understood his love for his daughter, but the rest was a mystery. She had enough mysteries in her own life. She didn't need another one.
    Kayla noticed the jagged scars on Ben's back again.
    Whatever had happened to him must have been painful. "How did you hurt your back?"
    "An injury."
    The way he shrugged off her question told Kayla he didn't want to discuss it.
    A minute of silence passed. She wished she could see the dolphins and not Ben. An unfamiliar ache squeezed her heart. Kayla reminded herself he was a pirate. He would take what he wanted, then sail after the next prize. She didn't want to care. But for some reason, she did.
    "I was in the navy."
    His voice was so quiet it took her by surprise. "Is that how you got interested in salvage?"
    "It got me started. I was a navy diver." He spoke with a detached, almost eerie tone. "I got injured during a dive."
    "You don't have to--"
    "There was an explosion."
    "Those scars are...shrapnel?" The thought of Ben