She was cut off when one of the women at the table behind them said in a strident voice, “Look, pal, she said she doesn’t want to dance. Make like the insect you are and buzz off.”
Romeo was stopped from turning to view the scene when Mia grumbled, “Someone should tell that guy that being a dick won’t make what he’s packing in his pants any bigger. It doesn’t work that way.”
As usual, her voice was soft and husky, barely rising above the noise of the bar. But there was nothing soft about her expression as she watched the table of ladies trying to dissuade Sir Slurs-a-Lot.
Romeo felt his lips curve into a wide grin. The thing about Mia Ennis was that she was incredibly circumspect. Some might even call her closed-mouthed. In fact, for the first few weeks she’d worked with Deep Six Salvage, he didn’t think she’d uttered more than a dozen words.
Which meant discovering her salty wit and dry sense of humor had been more exciting than unearthing long lost treasure.
Or at least hethoughtit was more exciting. They hadn’t found theSanta Cristina’smother lode, so he couldn’t say for sure.
After carefully picking over the submerged remains of the galleon, they’d determined her cache of riches was missing. Turning their attention to searching Wayfarer Island with metal detectors had only proved that some of theSanta Cristina’screw had survived the wreck and spent some time marooned on the island. Finally, in a last-ditch effort, they’d used ground penetrating sonar and jackpot!
Uh, notjackpotjackpot. They hadn’t found the riches, but theyhadstumbled across a plot of old, unmarked graves.
In one of those graves, they’d uncovered the remains of theSanta Cristina’sfamous captain. The metal buttons found alongside the bleached bones and stamped with the Vargas family crest had told them as much. But better than the bones or the buttons had been the captain’s journal.
Someone had done their best to preserve the tome by wrapping it in oilcloth before placing it inside an old lead box and burying it beside the man. The delicate ledger held the mundane reports of the ship’s activities up until the day of the sinking, and then nothing. Except for one final entry on the very last page.
“Tell me again what the last journal entry read,” Romeo said to her now, needing a distraction from the nearby drama.
He wasthis closeto jumping into the fray and giving Señor Shitfaced a shiner. If anyone deserved five in the eye, it was that guy.
Alex cleared her throat. In a voice filled with portent, she quoted, “Alas, the mighty ship has gasped her final breath. But despair not. Her enormous life force remains. If you are a true son of Spain, you will know where to find it.”
She shuddered and rubbed her arms to flatten the goose bumps there. Romeo felt a chill steal up his own spine. It was like Captain Bartolome Vargas himself whispered across the centuries, telling them they were close.
Below the words in the old journal had been printed a series of careful symbols. Alex had recognized them immediately. Although, to everyone’s disappointment, she hadn’t been able to decode them.
“It requires King Philip’s encryption device,”she’d told them while carefully closing the ancient ledger.“I’ve read about the ciphers used between the king and his sea captains, but as far as I know, no samples of the code have ever been found. Until now...”She’d rubbed a reverent, featherlight finger over the delicate leather cover.
“Please tell me the device is housed in a museum somewhere,”LT had said while squatting beside the deep, sandy grave of the once-acclaimed sea captain. LT, otherwise known as Leo “The Lion” Anderson, was their former lieutenant. He’d been the one to convince them to join him in the hunt for the grand galleon after they bugged out of the Navy.
Alex had shaken her head.“I don’t know. I need to check the Spanish Archives.”
TheArchivo General de Indiasin Seville, Spain—affectionately known as the Spanish Archives—was the somber repository of all the old documents dating back to the time of theSanta Cristina’swreck. If the cipher device still existed, clues to it whereabouts would be found there.
“What time does your flight leave in the morning?” Romeo asked Mason now. He’d agreed to fly Alex and Mason from Wayfarer Island to Key West in his prized single-engine amphibious plane so they could book a flight to the mainland in the morning and then skip across the pond to Spain. Mia had volunteered to tag along on the overnight trip because she’d wanted to file some paperwork regarding their findings with the state. As for Doc? He’d jumped at the chance to spend the night in a place that provided him with some diverting amusements.
“We catch a puddle jumper to Miami at oh-ten-hundred,” Mason said in his thick, Boston accent that turned the wordjumperintojumpah. “Our connecting flight to Madrid leaves at noon.”
“Perfect.” Romeo nodded. “That high-class attorney is supposed to land here at oh-ten-thirty, so we can all head to the airport together in the morning. We’ll drop you and Alex off and pick up our lawyer without having to make two trips.”
“Fuck The Man,” Mason muttered. Talk of their lawyer had naturally brought to mind the certified letter they’d received direct from Uncle Sam.
After Mel Fisher, the most famous treasure hunter of all time, found and excavated the mightyAtocha, he’d spent years battling lawsuits brought by the state of Florida and the federal government regarding who had the rights to the sunken loot. Thanks to Mel’s doggedness and determination, the courts had finally sided with him and determined that riches found both inside and outside state waters fell directly under the Admiralty Law. Which, without going into too much detail, basically meantfinders keepers.
However,the federal government officially owned Wayfarer Island—they’d simply been leasing it to LT’s family for the last hundred and fifty years. So as soon as the Deep Six crew moved their search from the watersaroundthe island to the island itself, the government had been quick to point out that the question of whether Admiralty Law still applied was up for debate.
If Romeo and his partners found theSanta Cristina’smother lode on land, it was going to be a fight over who could lay claim to the wealth. And LT had decided to get out in front of the battle by hiring on an expert in the matter.
According to those in the know, no one came more highly recommended than one Camilla D’ Angelo, Esq.
“Let’s not get our boxers in a bunch just yet,” Romeo cautioned Mason. “Hopefully you and Alex will find King Philip’s cipher device and we’ll decode the journal to discover the crew of theSanta Cristinabrought up the treasure only to dump it in the sea somewhere else. All this posturing by the Feds will have been for nothing then, eh?”
Whatever Mason might have said in answer was cut off by the slurred voice of the drunk. “—gotta act like a bunch of bitchessss.”
“Wow.” Alex scowled. “That guy is the human version of period cramps.”
