Nemesis: Innocence Sold (35 page)

Not for the first time, the SEAL’s views collided with his own view of the law, although he himself always interpreted the latitude afforded by the law very broadly. But in this case Dirk refrained from arguing. After his uncontrolled attack on the professor and their clear statements regarding the pursuit of Stanko, any continuation of this discussion would have been pointless.

Mark seemed like he still expected to be contradicted; then he leaned back, smiling. “Welcome to the dark side,” he said in a perfect Darth Vader imitation.

CHAPTER 32

An exchange of words that was steadily increasing in volume roused Sandra from sleep. She recognized Daniel’s voice, which sounded unusually angry. Unfortunately, she couldn’t even begin to make sense of the argument, which proceeded in English, but the English curse, which was followed by a German variant that had come from Tom, was unambiguous. The front door slammed shut, and then there was silence. Before she could decide whether she should get up, Daniel entered the room wearing a guilty smile. “Sorry, Sandy. I’ll have a soundproof bedroom built into the next house.”

“It doesn’t matter; it’s plenty late, anyway. Was that Tom? What’s wrong?”

“A little difference of opinion with regard to how a message from the boss is to be interpreted. Forget it.”

She was gradually developing a regular early warning system for Daniel’s evasive maneuvers. “No way. What did Mark say?”

Daniel sat down on the edge of the bed and laid a hand against her cheek. “He’s worried because of our encounter with this Paulsen. But I can take care of us and have no intention of changing our plans. Tom didn’t like that. He’d have preferred to lock us up in here.”

“I didn’t even know we had plans.”

Daniel bent his head forward and kissed her. Before she could nestle against him, he drew back. “That would have been my first choice, but to make it happen I’d have had to shoot Tom and your brother first. So we’ll go to plan B. It’d be best if you hurried. There’s coffee in the kitchen. The sooner we get going, the better.”

Plan A would have appealed to Sandra, but she put her faith in plan B being equally seductive. Unfortunately, she knew Daniel’s grin too well already. He enjoyed keeping her in suspense, but she could live with that.

Forty-five minutes later, Sandra looked with disbelief at the speedboat rocking in the gentle waves of the Travemünde harbor. “Don’t tell me that’s yours.”

“It is. I admit it. Do you want to keep staring at it, or are you going to get on board?”

Daniel sprang lightly onto the bow and held out a hand to her. Sandra landed much less elegantly beside him and gratefully reached for his hand. He pointed to something that looked like a round pane of milky glass in the floor. “Down there’s the cabin, which sleeps four, and washing and cooking facilities. How about a little joyride?”

Sandra cautiously climbed from the bow to the helmstand. With growing excitement, she surveyed the cockpit, which reminded her of an airplane. “Are you sure this thing floats? It looks like it could fly across the water.”

“You’re pretty much right about that. This is a 315 CCR Crownline speedboat.”

Men!
Sandra rolled her eyes. “Great, then I know everything I need to know. Why’s everything open—aren’t you afraid someone will steal it?”

“I’m paying more than enough for the berth; the least they can do is get the lady ready to take out for me once in a while.”

Curious, Sandra opened the hatch that led to the interior and whistled enthusiastically. “A microwave, a refrigerator, and a TV? Fantastic. But what are you waiting for? Tell me what to do, and we’ll cast off.”

Daniel followed her and put an arm around her shoulder with surprising seriousness. “That’s what I love so much about you. That enthusiasm and always being eager to help.”

She nestled close to him and grinned. “You mean I should lie down in the front there like a decoration and let you do everything? Or there?” She indicated the padded bench in the stern, which seemed as comfortable as the armchairs in the cockpit.

“If so, then only with me,” he said, winking. “If you’re cold, you can find a sweater that fits you below.” He immediately interpreted her furrowed brow correctly. “You’re the first woman I’ve brought on board. I mean, for my own sake.”

“Does this boat belong to the team?”

“No, but I don’t mind letting friends use it when I don’t have time. Can you cast off without falling in the water?”

“Sure.” Without difficulty, she stepped ashore again and carried out the task. “And now?”

“Come back over here; I’ll take care of reversing out. Do you think I’d leave that to a woman? My little lady’s sensitive.”

He laughed and avoided her jab and started the engine. The motor awoke with a gentle purr. Daniel steered them into the harbor without incident and laughed when Sandra distrustfully kept an eye on a large Scandinavian ferry. “Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to harm them, and they’re not going to harm us. After all, we’re off work now, and we’re going to enjoy every minute. Agreed? Forget Paulsen and his dirty deals for a little while. Tonight Tom and I are going to pay a visit to his property, and then we’ll see.”

Sandra nodded. But it wasn’t until they had left the harbor behind and Daniel accelerated with obvious pleasure that all thoughts of her job disappeared. She enjoyed the warm sunshine and fast ride across the waves. The cockpit windshield protected them from the cool wind created by their passage, and everything was perfect. Like Daniel, she spurned the armchairs, standing wide legged, and enjoyed the speed and the struggle to stay balanced. It wasn’t long before Daniel’s arm was around her waist, and she let herself be drawn closer to him. “This is great,” she said.

“That’s what I think, too. Look over there. I’ll take us closer.”

When Daniel had brought the boat around in a wide curve, a bluff lay directly in front of them. The sun conjured up different colors, from brown to red, on the face of the bluff, and the cliff above the beach and the fallen trees created an idyllic but strangely raw, almost dangerous, picture. Daniel stopped the boat and grinned with satisfaction. “I thought you’d like this. When it’s warmer, you can drop anchor near the beach and grill.”

The thought appealed to Sandra. She almost nodded, but then it was as if she had awakened from a dream. A few days ago no one had taken her suspicions seriously, and now she was working with absolute pros, and instead of lonely nights in front of the television, she suddenly had a boyfriend with a fascinating but also extremely dangerous job. On top of that, he appeared to have more money than she would ever be able to earn. “If I’ve understood it correctly, the duplex belongs to you? And then this. A Navy officer doesn’t make quite that much money, does he? Why are you doing all this? And why with me?” When she noticed how aggressive she sounded, she spread her hands helplessly and retreated.

He looked at her with an impenetrable expression; then he backed up the boat slowly. “That’s two points at once. Let’s start with the last one. Why not with you? Haven’t you come to understand how much you mean to me in the last few days? If you want a scientific explanation for that, I have to pass. It’s really time you buried your self-doubt. How do you think you got the job working for Stephan? Why do you think Dirk and Sven immediately took your theory seriously? Is it the fault of your asshole of an ex-boss that you don’t have any self-confidence? Or what? Wake up, Sandy. And now hold on, because I’m damned angry, and I’m not going to continue this conversation before I’ve calmed down.”

As the boat accelerated and the bow rose out of the water, Sandra held on to the cockpit windshield. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Daniel’s unapproachable expression, and although she should have been thinking about how she would react to his criticism, she enjoyed the view instead. His blond hair was blown back by the wind. The blue eyes in his tanned face blazed with anger, yet he was casual and in complete control as he navigated the boat across the Baltic Sea. She must be insane not to enjoy every minute with him. She understood the meaning of his words and laughed. That had been damned close to a declaration of love. What more did she want? Not ten minutes later, Daniel ended his high-speed run and steered slowly toward a harbor.

“Niendorf. I’m hungry,” he said without looking at her.

Without her help, he moored the boat at a jetty and looked at her with his head tilted. “Have you thought about what I said?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Do you trust me enough to let me decide our brunch plans?”

After she had nodded, he effortlessly sprang ashore and hurried to a building at the end of the mole. It wasn’t until he was out of sight that she let herself sink into one of the comfortable armchairs with a sigh. She didn’t have the slightest clue as to what was awaiting her, and her experience in dealing with offended men was limited to her brother, with whom she often made up easily. “Damn!” She struck the armrest with the flat of her hand. Other than a burning sensation, she got nothing out of this.

Daniel returned, threw a paper bag on the bench in the back, and cast off. It wasn’t until the coast was only a distant line on the horizon that he cut the engine and let the boat rock on the gentle waves.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, and I didn’t want to interrogate you. I don’t care whether you have money or not,” Sandra said.

“That’s not the point. Of course you have the right to ask me anything you want. Well, not about our missions and that stuff, but otherwise I have no secrets. I don’t understand why you constantly cast doubt on your abilities. And as if that weren’t enough you also cast doubt on what there is between us. Damn it, Sandra, even Stephan and Mark immediately realized what you mean to me. Why do you think I wanted to spend my vacation working for the LKA? Because of you and only you. I could have helped Dirk unofficially.” He leaned forward and kissed her until she forgot what she had wanted to say. “Convinced?” he finally asked.

“Are you going to continue if I say no?”

His deep laugh made her beam. “Try it. What would you think about a picnic on the high seas?”

“Good idea. The Baltic makes me hungry somehow, and if I can’t have you I’ll take whatever you’ve bought.”

“Wait till it gets warmer; then we’ll go up to Denmark and sleep on board. And now”—he reached over her shoulder and grabbed the white bag—“you’re going to get to know the best fish balls on the Baltic Sea. There’s beer, too. For you, with, for me, unfortunately, without alcohol.”

Astonished, Sandra noticed it was already after twelve. The time had flown by. Grinning, she took the beer. “Tough luck you can’t drink alcohol at the helm, huh, Captain?”

“Wait until you’ve gotten your boat license; then we’ll take turns.”

“How did you know I was thinking about that?”

“It was written on your face. Anyway, it’s no problem. You’ll learn the practical side with me, and the theory won’t take long. I’ll watch DVDs while you deal with knots and right-of-way rules. I like that.”

Sandra crumpled the paper that came with her roll and threw it in his direction, hitting his shoulder. “Damn. It’d be better if you said nothing and drank your brew.”

“Ungrateful beast. Anyway, German alcohol-free beer is still a lot better than what passes for beer in the States. How do you like your roll?”

“It’s great. How many did you buy?”

“Enough. And? Have you put away your self-doubt for the time being?”

Sandra nodded with her mouth full, still feeling silly.

“Good. Until we’d completed school, my sister and I had to work for everything we wanted to have beyond the basics. Other than a normal allowance, we received no financial support. You can’t imagine all the side jobs I had or how often I fiddled with the motor in my old Ford so it’d run the next day. After we finished school, our inheritance from our grandmother was paid out to us. Enough that we no longer had to work, but not working didn’t occur to us. But it was possible for us to make our lives somewhat more comfortable. For example, by buying something like this boat. And the duplex in Ahrensburg belonged to a construction company that went bankrupt. Dirk came up with a nice idea that pays off. The neighboring house is rented out to a family, with three children, who pays considerably less rent than the average in Ahrensburg. But before you consider me just a benefactor, I save taxes, and the bottom line is I get reasonable interest on the capital I’ve invested instead of paying rent myself. Do you want to know anything else? Because I have a question of my own: Can’t you move into my place? There’d be enough room, and I’d like coming home to you.”

She liked the idea and was aware of the insecurity with which he waited for her answer. She still remembered how he had mentioned how difficult it was for the SEALs to develop lasting friendships outside the team, and she realized that despite his friends and his ability to enjoy every minute, he was sometimes just as lonely as she was. “You mean when I’m not out myself . . . ,” Sandra said before she nodded and became serious. “Sounds good, but we still need to work some things out. I cannot live on your dime.”

His grin, which she loved so much, flashed. “I thought that was coming, but we’ll come up with something. Do you want the last roll?”

“You better believe it; that’d be your fourth, but only my second. You can turn around and buy yourself another one.”

On the way back to the Travemünde harbor, Sandra told Daniel about the moment when she had admired his laugh in Stephan’s photo. “Perhaps I fell in love with you then.”

“Doubtful; in that case you wouldn’t have forced that spinach pizza on me.”

“I guess you’ll never forgive me for that, will you?”

“Ask me in fifty years. Would you jump over and secure her?”

Sandra was already about to climb onto the bow again when Daniel whistled quietly. Alarmed, she turned around. “There comes help. Just throw him the line.”

Him? Puzzled, Sandra looked along the wooden walkway until she noticed a brown-haired man coming toward her with a smile. “Where did he come from all of a sudden?”

“Ask him. I’d be interested in the answer, too,” Daniel said, nodding to their unexpected helper.

The man was already close enough to the boat that he had caught the exchange of words. Although he continued to smile, his eyes remained serious. “I was standing back there by the truck with the fish rolls, waiting for Anna and Lena, when I saw you. But if you want to know why I’m here, I have to pass,” he said while he tied the line to the bollard. He held out a hand to Sandra, which she gratefully took; swaying, she fought to keep her balance on the wooden walkway.