Treasured Secrets (33 page)

Her stomach did a sickening twist when she told them about firing her spear gun at the priest, and as soon as she mentioned he'd fallen overboard, their focus turned towards finding him. The knots in Rosalina's stomach only released when the police returned to their boat and raced towards the marina.

She turned to Archer, wrapped her arms around his waist and tried not to look at the pools of blood, drying at her feet.

Nox expected to die. To close his eyes and block out the pain would be heaven. But the agony kept him awake instead. The spear protruded from his stomach like a mast without a sail. Fish slithered all around him. Over his hands. Against his cheeks. At first he cringed against it, but as the hours passed he no longer cared.

Islands slipped by and he tried to paddle towards them, but each movement sent excruciating pain down his legs. Fearing he might pass out, he gave up trying to swim. Soon he was taken out to sea on the warm current. He waited to be rescued, expecting to see helicopters overhead at any moment. But they didn't come.

He marvelled at his ability to float, having never swum before. It was a miracle. As was his survival. His blood spilled into the ocean and yet the fish failed to bite. He wondered if his disease was saving him from being eaten alive. Once again the hand of God was saving him.

He was surrounded by ocean, nothing but blue water, dotted with small white caps and blue sky marred by the occasional cloud. He could do nothing but wait. Wait to be eaten by sharks. Wait to die of dehydration. Wait to be rescued.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

Night came and the blackness enveloped him. The stars were as brilliant as the jewels he'd seen on the Calimala treasure. Anger welled within him. The treasure had been within his grasp. He had absorbed the power of the ancient gold. He punched the water and screamed until he could scream no more.

Nox closed his eyes and dreamed of owning the treasure. Once he'd treated his disease and bought himself a perfect set of shiny white teeth like he'd seen on television, people would look at him with pride, marvel at his success and admire his wealth. They'd all be jealous of him.

For one day and one night he drifted.

Enormous cruise ships passed close by. So close, he called out to them, but they couldn't hear him. How could they? His parched throat ensured his voice was barely a whisper.

The relentless sun burned his face and scalp until blisters became large, festering welts. He tasted blood when his lips cracked and he sucked on the thick liquid as if it were an elixir.

Late on the second day, the sun's harsh rays tunnelled into him like laser beams. He couldn't bear the heat any more. As he tore his shirt from his body, each touch of the spear sent driving pain down his legs. Reaching behind his back to rip the fabric apart drove him to the point of delirium.

He considered the vial of mushroom powder in his ring and knew he was just one mouthful away from ending it all. But the fact that he was still alive empowered him. He had been saved for a reason and he believed he was still destined for greatness. The shirt finally broke free of the spear and he pulled it over his head. He was aware his stomach would now succumb to the same burning fate as his face, but the reprieve would be worth it.

The sun passed in a great arc above him, the heat penetrating the flannel material, creating a suffocating sauna. His hot breaths were steady as he waited for the end.

Whenever that would be. However it would come.

Rosalina felt Archer's reluctance as he walked along the hospital corridor. All she could think of was that the last time he was here, he was an eleven-year-old recovering from decompression sickness who had just seen his dad killed by a shark. It was like they'd come full circle.

But this time, when they left here, it would be with good news. At least, that's what she prayed for. Jimmy and Alessandro had made it through their surgeries. Hopefully that meant a full recovery for both of them. That's what she needed to focus on, not Archer's stony look.

She tugged on his hand. ‘Hey…relax. They're going to be okay.' For Archer's sake, she pretended that his obvious anxiousness was for his mates.

He simply nodded and clenched his jaw further.

She had imagined the hospital would be a hive of activity, but it wasn't. Not in this area anyway. Even the air was still and the only sound she could hear was Archer's breathing. They arrived at Jimmy's door and Archer stiffened at her side.

She knocked on the door once, then pushed it open and stepped into the room.

Jimmy's skin was deathly pale. That was the first thing she noticed. Usually his skin was recovering from a hard day in the sun, but right now it looked as if the colour had drained from it. It was a confronting sight and made it even more obvious just how close he'd come to dying. A machine beeped at his side, sounding out his steady heartbeat. Archer stood at the end of the bed while Rosalina slipped into a chair beside Jimmy and reached for his hand. The calluses on his palm were a reminder of how Jimmy liked to live his life. She hoped nothing was going to change.

Jimmy opened his eyes and turned to her. His quick smile was a relief.

‘‘Bout time you got here.' His voice was a ragged croak.

Rosalina laughed. ‘Hey, Jimmy. How are you?'

‘I'll live. You gotta get me outta here. Them nurses are about as gentle as pit bulls.'

Archer laughed this time and came around the other side of the bed.

‘Hey, Archer.' Jimmy glanced at the door as if checking for privacy. ‘Tell me they didn't get their hands on that treasure.'

Archer placed his palm on Jimmy's shoulder and smiled. ‘No, mate, it's all tucked away in the Heron Suite.'

‘Good. ‘Cause the second I get outta here, we're going diving.'

‘Hold your horses there, mate. It's been down there seven hundred years; it can wait a little more.'

‘You don't understand. You know how I said I don't do cemeteries? Well, I don't do hospitals either.'

‘What? No sponge baths?'

‘Are you kidding? Have you seen those nurses? They look like they'd rather sumo wrestle with me.'

Despite how bad he looked, Jimmy put on a brave show. If she closed her eyes or ignored all the tubes and equipment around the bed and attached to him, Jimmy sounded just like he did every day. It made her believe that he really was going to be fine.

* * *

Rosalina and Archer juggled their time between the hospital and
Evangeline
, which was now holding a berth back at the Fliszos Marina in Athens. The days and nights blurred into one and time slipped away like leaves on an outgoing tide.

Four days after the attack, the water police returned to
Evangeline
. Archer welcomed them into the saloon and with every step Rosalina took, her mind flashed to images of Nox lying dead somewhere with a spear sticking out of his belly.

‘How can I help you, officers?' Archer said, as they each pulled out a seat.

Rosalina tried to draw on Archer's relaxed demeanour, because right now, with two men in front of her who could arrest her at any moment for killing a man, she was fighting to hold down the twisted knot in her stomach. It didn't matter how many times Archer told her what she did was justified, the memory of firing that spear gun and watching the weapon pierce the body of the priest, no matter how crazy he was, had the effect of an acid milkshake on her insides.

‘We want to show you some photos.' The taller of the two police officers spoke. It was obvious English was his second language. As he placed a series of 5” x 7” colour photos on the table, Rosalina gasped and covered her mouth. The man in the photo was dead. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes had lost their colour and were ghostly blue. Rosalina snapped her gaze from the photos and met with the police officer's glare. He was studying her, watching for her reaction.

‘Do you recognise him?'

She nodded and swallowed back the lump in her throat.

Archer cocked his head at her, confused. And then she realised, Archer never saw the other priest. The man in the photo was a complete stranger to him.

‘That's the other priest who attacked us. What happened to him?'

The second police officer shuffled a photo from the bottom of the pile and slid it towards her. ‘Was this his boat?'

The boat in the photo was sitting high on jagged rocks. It leant over at such an angle it was a wonder it hadn't toppled right over. As the photo was taken a large wave had crashed over the stern and into the cabin. ‘I think it was the boat. I didn't really get a good look at it. What happened?'

‘We're still trying to piece it together. But we believe he ran the boat aground and either fell overboard or tried to swim ashore. His body was washed up on a beach yesterday. We are still awaiting the autopsy results, but our guess is he drowned. At this point it looks like a terrible accident.'

‘What about Nox?' Archer said.

‘There have been no reports of him being found. We've called off the search.'

* * *

Later that night, after a simple pasta dinner, Archer set his drink aside and reached for Rosalina. His eyes were dark with desire and without a word he swooped Rosalina into his arms. She clasped her hands behind his neck, pressed herself against him and allowed him to carry her to the Hamilton Suite.

This was the moment she'd been waiting for. She'd promised herself when she came back aboard
Evangeline
weeks ago that she wouldn't return to the Hamilton Suite until everything was perfect. And right now, with Archer's arms around her and his eyes penetrating right into her soul, nothing could be more perfect. He carried her through the bedroom doorway and with the flick of a few switches, the lights dimmed, gentle notes of music filled the room and the blinds glided shut with a soft hum.

Archer sat her on the bed. His gold pendant dangled from his neck, almost touching her breasts as it swung back and forward. She rode a wave of desire as Archer eased her legs apart and dropped to his knees to meet her at eye level.

Her heart pounded. He caressed her cheek and she pressed her face into his hand. The musky scent of his cologne rose faintly from his skin. It triggered memories of past nights spent in this cabin. She looked into his eyes, making no attempt to conceal her own desire. Archer's breathing deepened and the gold flecks in his dark brown eyes shimmered. Rosalina couldn't wait a second longer. She wanted to ravish him, to steal every bit of his measured control and take him into salacious bliss. She pressed her lips to his. He tasted of champagne and chocolate. Her insides clenched with the thrill of his fingers caressing her neck.

Without warning, he released her. When she opened her eyes, he held his palm forward. Rosalina's heart jumped to her throat at the small black box in his hand.

She looked directly into those glistening, dark brown eyes.

He took a breath. ‘Rosalina, I cannot live without you. When I thought I'd lost you, something died inside me.'

Rosalina couldn't breathe. Archer opened the box and an enormous single diamond glimmered in the dimmed lights. ‘Will you marry me?'

‘Yes.' She laughed. ‘Yes, yes, yes.'

He tugged the ring from the box and her hand trembled as he slipped the stunning diamond onto her finger.

‘I love you,' he said as he wrapped his arms around her and their lips met again.

Much more quickly than Rosalina had expected, Jimmy and Alessandro were released from hospital and were back aboard
Evangeline.
Although Archer hadn't told her, she was pretty sure he'd had to pull some strings to get them released early. He'd arranged for a doctor to visit them every second day and a full-time nurse now had new lodging in the Daydream Suite. For the moment, anyway. Jimmy was quick to recover from his life-saving surgery and didn't waste any time inventing new ways to harass the nurse. The way Jimmy was complaining, she'd probably quit in a day or so. Alessandro, on the other hand, played the injured patient just a little too well for the overzealous Ginger.

Having Jimmy and Alessandro back aboard was like having her family back, especially now that Archer's mother had moved aboard too. Rosalina didn't realise how hollow the yacht had felt without them all, although she had enjoyed having Archer all to herself for a change.

One night, a storm cloud as black as chimney soot rolled over the horizon. Rosalina hugged herself as flashes of lightning blazed across the darkened sky. Beside her, Archer's mother stared trancelike at the burgeoning clouds. Her mouth was ajar, poised between voicing an opinion and numb confusion.
Evangeline
rocked gently under the ebb and flow of the waves curling into the Anafi shoreline.

‘I think we're in for a storm,' Rosalina said, not expecting a reply. Archer's mother had barely spoken a word in decades and her transition from ancient nunnery to luxury yacht had made little difference. She had accepted her room on
Evangeline
as if it were an everyday occurrence and so far, it was impossible to tell if she was happy with the move.

Archer's mother put her hand on Rosalina's arm. ‘The storm has already passed,' she said, her voice a brittle whisper.

Rosalina blinked at the frail old woman and wondered if she'd heard correctly. But as she rolled the words around in her head, she grew certain that Helen had indeed spoken. Rosalina didn't want to ruin the magical moment, so instead of making any comment, she simply turned her palm over and gripped Helen's delicate hand within her own. Her heart fluttered when Helen squeezed back.

Rosalina caught Archer's approach out the corner of her eye, but he stopped and turned around. Rosalina frowned.
Maybe he didn't want to disturb us
. But Archer returned a short time later with a bowl of soup. He pulled up a chair beside his mother and spoon-fed the broth into her mouth.