Phantom Prospect. Alex Archer

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СКАЧАТЬ you mean?”

      Hunter held up his hands. “I know something of what Jax came from. She’s got a history all her own. You, I don’t know about. Only what Cole told me. And that wasn’t very much. Except that he’s very fond of you.”

      A stiff breeze blew across the bow of the ship. “We’re really not a couple, if that’s what you’re hinting at.”

      Hunter shrugged. “None of my business if you were. But he still had no right to ask you to do what he did.”

      “I don’t take it personally. It seems to be in Cole’s nature to run toward danger.” Annja looked at the swirling surf. “It seems to be mine, too.”

      “Yeah? What’s that mean? You go looking for trouble?” Hunter wore an amused expression on his face.

      Annja sighed. “Trouble usually has a way of finding me on its own without any help from me. As a result, I get into a lot of bad places. Crazy stuff, sometimes.”

      “Like a boat looking for sunken treasure being stalked by a giant man-eating shark?”

      “That’s actually a new one,” Annja said. “But it takes all kinds.” She looked toward the stern. “You and Cole talk yet?”

      “No.”

      “You should. The boat’s too small for any bad blood to ferment. It’ll end up costing us all in terms of our safety.”

      Hunter sighed. “It’s always been like this.”

      “Why?”

      “Natural competition? I don’t know. Sometimes it’s just the way brothers have to be.”

      “That’s ridiculous,” Annja said. “Families don’t come with instructions that read ‘must always be at odds with one another.’”

      Hunter leaned against the railing. “Fact is, I need him and he knows it. I blew my inheritance on treasure hunting. It’s only been with Cole’s help I’ve actually made something of myself. That tends to grate on my ego a fair amount.”

      “I imagine it would.”

      Hunter sighed. “I’ll find him. We’ll get this squared away.”

      Annja patted his arm. “Glad to hear it. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have a quick nap. Wake me if the shark comes back.”

      “You’ll know,” Hunter said. “The whole boat will be in a panic.”

      “Does that concern you?”

      “Of course it does. I’ve got a major hunt going on here. The last thing I need is people freaking out over a fish.”

      “Even one that eats them?”

      “They need to keep their heads in the game. Forget about the shark. It was probably a freak occurrence. Probably long gone by now.”

      “Didn’t seem so a few minutes ago when it showed up on the scope.”

      “We don’t know if that was the shark. Could have been something else. Maybe a whale.”

      Annja raised an eyebrow. “We would have seen a spout when it breached the surface of the water.”

      Hunter started to say something and then thought better of it. Instead, he pointed at the stern. “I’m going to go find Cole now.”

      “See you later.”

      Annja let him pass and watched him work his way down the steps to the deck. He and Cole might be brothers but there were a lot of differences between them.

      Annja took a deep breath of salt air and felt herself yawn. A nap would do her some good. She made her way down to the crew compartments. The corridor led her back to her room and she pushed the door in, falling into the bed with a muffled sigh. The pillow cradled her head and, within a few seconds, she felt herself falling into a deep sleep.

      As she slept, her body seemed to relax, her muscles almost melting into the bed. Annja realized that she was truly exhausted and needed the nap badly.

      Until something made her start and come awake.

      A noise.

      She kept her eyes closed. Her stomach knotted up and she risked cracking an eyelid. She could just make out a shadowy form rummaging through her bag. The daylight had faded outside the porthole and the coming evening made it difficult to see exactly who it might be.

      Annja frowned. She hated thieves. There was one way to solve the mystery and she steeled herself to suddenly surprise the invader.

      Adrenaline flooded her system. Annja checked to make sure her sword hung where she could pull it out if need be. It was ready, hanging in the dim mist that waited between her awake and dream worlds.

      Annja steeled herself and then, with a shout, she came fully awake and launched herself off the bed.

      She felt something crash into her from behind. A bright explosion of stars caromed around her head as tears flew from her eyes. Blackness rushed to greet her and Annja sank back onto the bed, consciousness already a vague memory somewhere far off in the recesses of her mind.

      “ANNJA?”

      Annja opened her eyes. The bright light made her wince. “Ouch.”

      “Kill the light.”

      Darkness returned and Annja blinked her eyes open again. “What the hell happened?’

      “You tell us.”

      She recognized Cole’s voice. “I was napping. I heard something. Someone was in my room. I was going to surprise them and, when I did, something or someone else clocked me from behind. That’s the last thing I remember.”

      Hunter growled. “This isn’t good. A shark attack and someone attacking a guest on my ship. All within two days.” He paused and looked at Cole. “We can’t afford this kind of distraction.”

      “I know it.”

      Annja put a hand to her head. “Any chance I can get some water?”

      “Yeah, yeah, sure.” Cole handed her a glass of something cold. “Take it slow, though. That’s a nasty bump you’ve got on your head.”

      Annja ran her hand over the growing bulge on the back of her skull. “Concussion?”

      “Can’t really tell. Maybe a mild one.”

      “Add it to the scorecard,” Annja said. “I’ve had more than a few in my time. Every time I do, it only reminds me how much they suck.”

      “Are you nauseous?” Cole peered into her eyes. “You might be sick.”

      “You get any closer and I will definitely.”

      Cole leaned back. “You can’t be that badly injured. СКАЧАТЬ