Ladyfish Read online

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

  Synopsis

  Can love blossom beneath the waves of the Florida Keys? Or will the shadows that haunt two strangers prove too much to survive?

  Scuba diving instructor Olivia Zuckerman loves guiding tourists under the water almost as much as she loves guiding women to her bed. Coerced into picking up a new trainee from the airport, Oz has no idea that her life is about to change in every imaginable way.

  Daniela Finnsbury-Sterling, Finn to her friends, is trying to break away from an overbearing father, a man intent on making her life fit his plans. Desperate to make her own way, she escapes to Florida to train as a diving instructor. She knows it won’t be easy. She knows her father will do anything he can to force her back into line. Unfortunately, she has no idea exactly what anything will be!

  Ladyfish

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  Ladyfish

  © 2012 By Andrea Bramhall. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-798-1

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, New York 12185

  First Edition: October 2012

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Victoria Oldham and Cindy Cresap

  Production Design: Susan Ramundo

  Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to everyone at Bold Strokes Books. Radclyffe, Vic, Cindy—you guys rock! Without you, Ladyfish wouldn’t be the book it is.

  Louise, I know you end up getting stuck walking the dogs while I’m hunched over my laptop. Sorry, but you demanded I keep you in the manner to which you feel you should be accustomed. I’m trying! Merlin and Jazz—thank you for looking after your other mother.

  Gran, read this copy with the black lines in it, and this copy only!

  Dad—For everything. Thanks.

  Dedication

  Louise,

  Nunc scio, quid sit amor

  From Virgil, Eclogues VIII

  Prologue

  “This has got to be the most boring job in the whole of fucking London!” Mike tossed the clipboard onto the table and leaned back in his chair, propping his dirty work boots onto the table. “She never does anything!”

  “Get your fucking feet off the table.” Jack smacked his feet and picked up the clipboard. “I don’t care how boring this is. If the boss wants us to watch her, we watch her. Do you understand me?”

  “For fuck’s sake! I’m here, aren’t I?” Mike dropped his feet back to the floor, running his hand through his shaggy, greasy blond hair.

  “It could be worse, Mike.”

  “And how do you figure that?”

  “We could be watching that fucking faggot friend of hers.”

  Mike snorted. “You got a point there.” He rubbed his hands over his grime-smeared jeans as he leaned forward to stare closer at the screens. “She certainly is easier on the eye.” He laughed a little harder as his hand edged closer to his crotch.

  “Knock it off, you fucking pervert.” Jack flipped through the pages on the clipboard.

  September twentieth.

  0900 subject arrives at bio lab

  0935 subject went to bathroom

  1200 subject went to cafeteria for lunch

  1232 subject returned to her desk

  1730 subject leaves for the day.

  “Do we still have the shadow on her computer to track what she’s working on?” Jack asked.

  Mike reached for a file at the far end of the counter and passed it to him.

  Jack slid the information from the file and looked through the pages. “Looks like she’s still working on that E. coli bacteria.”

  “Has the old man got her working on the toxin like the American guy? I didn’t think she was involved in all that?”

  “I don’t know, and I find it’s usually best to not ask questions with Sterling. What’s she doing now?”

  Mike peered through the binoculars before answering. “Packing her bags. Looks like she’s getting ready for that holiday he organized for them.” He let the binoculars fall to his lap. “I still don’t get that. Why the fuck does he want her with that puff?”

  “It’s none of your business.” Jack stuffed the pages back into the folder and stared out at the historic buildings along the prestigious Camden Town Terrace. A man jogged down the street with his pug trotting along beside him. Porsches, Mercedes, and Audis were parked in driveways, and people went on with their lives, oblivious.

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. Do as you’re told and don’t ask questions. So are you heading to Florida to watch her?”

  “That sounded like a question, Mike.”

  “He’s got us watching them both twenty-four seven while they’re at home and work. Now he sends them to Miami and doesn’t want them watched. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “He has plenty of people out there without having to send us to keep an eye on the little princess and her queen.” Jack narrowed his eyes and watched Mike closely. “Besides, it’s not like we don’t have important things to take care of. He’s always ten steps ahead of everyone else.”

  Mike rolled his eyes. “So what time do they fly?”

  “They’re on the seven p.m. flight tomorrow.”

  “And how long are they away for?”

  “Undetermined at the moment. Sterling thinks a month should be fine.”

  “Is he still concerned about MI6 sniffing around?”

  Jack snorted. “Not really. They haven’t got anything on him.”

  “What are they looking for?”

  Jack’s ha
nds paused, the pages stilled between his fingers. He looked at Mike.

  Mike swallowed audibly.

  “These sound an awful lot like questions, Mike. You sure are getting nosey now, aren’t ya?”

  Mike shook his head quickly. “No, no questions, Jack. Really. I’m just real bad at phrasing my statements.” He straightened in front of the screens and grabbed the clipboard. He didn’t move as Jack stood and moved about the room. Sweat slid down his forehead. He didn’t turn his head as the floorboards creaked beneath Jack’s feet. Jack moved around the dingy flat examining the light fittings, lamps, telephone sockets, behind the monitors, binoculars, radios. He silently screwed the silencer onto the barrel of his Glock.

  “Stand up.”

  Mike shook as he stood, scraping the chair across the bare floorboards.

  “Take your shirt off.”

  Mike’s hands trembled as he reached for the hem of the stained T-shirt.

  “Jack, there’s really no need to do this.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Jack said, his voice low and menacing. “Take your shirt off.”

  Mike lifted his sweat-soaked shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor with trembling hands.

  “Turn around.”

  Mike turned slowly to display the microphone taped against his skin.

  Jack ripped it from his chest and used the butt of his gun to smash it to pieces.

  “Where are the other devices?”

  “Jack, please.” The butt of the gun slammed into his mouth and he fell to the ground. He spat the stringy red saliva onto the floor and tried to stand again.

  “Where are the other devices?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Cameras?”

  He shook his head.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.” The bullet ripped through Mike’s skull. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  Jack flipped open his mobile phone and clicked a button.

  “Sir, it’s Jack. Yes, sir, I’m sorry to disturb you. I think we may have a problem.”

  Chapter One

  Oz woke to the gentle caress of fingernails gliding down the naked skin of her back, teasing their way beneath the sheet and skimming across her hip until she caught them and stilled their advance.

  “What time is it?” Her voice was husky with sleep and her eyes still refused to open.

  “A little after seven.” The soft whisper sent shivers down her neck until the words penetrated her brain and she sat bolt upright in bed.

  “Shit.” She jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom, stubbing her toe on the doorframe as she did so. “Ow, shit.”

  “Oz, what’s wrong?”

  “I gotta be on the dive boat in thirty minutes,” she said, her mouth foaming with toothpaste as she rushed through her morning routine.

  “You mean you’re leaving?”

  “Shelley, you know I gotta work. I’ve got beginners out on the reef today.”

  “But it’s my last day here, Oz. I thought you’d want to spend it with me.”

  Oz threw water on her face and dragged her fingers through her hair. Aiming for endearingly tousled and arriving at slightly damp bed head, she grabbed a towel and stalked from the bathroom in search of her clothes. She managed to find her shorts, tank top, and sandals in the living room. Her panties were nowhere to be found, so she dragged her shorts up her legs without anything under them. Shelley slid her arms around Oz’s waist as she attempted to lure her back to bed.

  “I gotta go, babe. Have a great flight home.” She kissed her quickly on the check as she escaped the octopus-like arms and headed out the door. She didn’t bother to look back, her mind already on the day ahead, the tourist’s bed already forgotten.

  Fortunately, the hotel was only ten minutes from the dive center and all her gear was already there. She ran the short distance and hit the front steps of the dive center as the cell phone in her pocket began to ring. She ignored it and pushed open the door.

  “What the hell time do you call this?” Rudy stared at her, his hazel eyes flashing angrily under his ball cap. His jaw was heavy on the stubble, his skin a dark tan. He was pushing forty, but a desk hadn’t done a great deal of harm to the muscled physique he had developed when they were both in the navy together, and the white tank top showed off his strong arms and pecs. She didn’t look at his legs. She never did. Seeing his prosthetic leg brought back far too many memories for her. “I hope she was worth it. You can pick up the new zero from the airport. Flight gets in at eleven. I’ll get you the details later.”

  “Aw, man, Rudy. You’ve got to be kidding?” She picked up the storage box full of her gear. “I’m like, five minutes late. You’ve got me on the early boat again tomorrow, and you know damn well picking someone up from Miami at that time means it’s gonna be after one before I get to bed. Why can’t you send Clem or Mac?” She headed down to the boat moored on the jetty knowing it was no use arguing with Rudy. She knew she would be the main trainer for the new zero to hero, the course that took candidates with no diving experience whatsoever and made them dive instructors in just six months.

  “You’re more than twenty minutes late and you damn well know it. Besides, you’ve only got to go to Key West airport. She’s on an internal transfer. Now, get your ass on the boat and stop arguing with me. You’re already giving me a headache and it ain’t even eight o’clock yet.” He moved past her to untie the boat from the dock.

  She passed her box over to the boat hand and jumped nimbly onto the deck, grinning at Carlos as he stowed her gear at the aft of the boat for her.

  “Jesus, Oz, you’ve only been here five minutes and he’s chewing his shorts already.”

  “Rudy’s always chewing his shorts. It’s his main source of fiber.”

  Carlos laughed as he hurried over to grab other boxes of gear as they were passed over by other deck hands. Oz checked to make sure nothing was missing before they pulled out, then looked at all the divers on the boat, knowing she needed to go and chat with them, put nerves at ease, answer questions, build up the excitement. I’m getting way too old for this shit. She strapped on her smile and picked up her dive briefing file.

  “Hey, everyone, if you’ll all gather around, I’ll go over today’s dive site.” She waited while they all huddled around and stared at her avidly. She flipped open her folder and pointed to a picture of the site.

  “Hi, everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Oz, and I’ll be your dive guide and instructor for the day. Today we’re diving The Elbow. It’s situated between twelve to thirty-five feet, which is four to eleven meters, making this a real easy dive. There are some amazing coral formations and tons of sea life to see. There’s also an amazing Civil War shipwreck. It sank in eighteen sixty-six and was a seven hundred and fifty-two ton steamer. Now it’s home to some of the most amazing elkhorn coral I’ve ever seen. There are some scattered remains of a couple other wrecks about too. They aren’t in as good a shape, but we’re guessing they were a tug and a barge.” She pointed to her map as she spoke, indicating points of interest and depths. “When we get in, we’ll descend and hold at around eight meters for most of the dive. This way it’s easier to keep our fins off the reef and the ocean floor. The more sand we kick up, the less we’ll be able to see, so it makes things nicer if we do it that way. We’re going to circle around the reef, and once we get back, we’ll ascend as a group.”

  She tapped two fingers against her lips. “If I do this, I want to know how much air you have left in your tank. I need you to check your gauge and let me know.” She held her hands up and made a T shape. “This sign means one hundred bar.” She made a fist. “And this means fifty bar.” She held up one finger. “Each digit is telling me ten bars. You all have two hundred to two hundred and twenty bar to start with, so that should be pretty easy to gauge. When you tell me a number, always tell me the lower option. So if you have one hundred and fifty-five bar, you tell me one fifty. Not one sixty. Are we all clear?” S
he waited for a round of okays. “If I point at you and do this, I’m asking the question, are you okay? If everything is okay, repeat the signal back to me. If not, indicate that you want to go up by pointing your thumb up toward the surface. Should this happen, we all go up as a group. We resolve whatever the problem is, and then decide on the course of action from there.” She met the eyes of all six people around her. “Does anyone have any questions?” They all shook their heads, and she didn’t notice anyone looking particularly anxious. “Okay, let’s get into our wet suits.”

  She walked over to the storage boxes tucked under the benches around the back of the dive boat. She retrieved her own and pulled out her wet suit. She reached for the button of her shorts to strip down to her swimsuit before remembering that she hadn’t had the chance to change before getting on the boat. She ducked into the small, cramped head and quickly slipped into the black and gray neoprene skin before hitting the deck again.

  “Yo, Oz, you better get the gang together. We’re about ten minutes out.”

  “How’s the current?”

  “Minimal. Hardly any chop on the surface. Should be totally calm down there today. You wanna do a quick check?”

  “Thanks, Mac. I don’t think I need to jump in today to know the water’s perfect.” She stared at the surface of the water before turning back to the passengers. “Everyone get ready. It’s a great day for diving.”

  Chapter Two

  Finn waited until the aisle was clear before getting up to grab her rucksack and camera case from the overhead bin. The Nikon D7000 inside was her pride and joy.

  “I got it, Finn.” She smiled at her best friend Pete as he retrieved her bags and handed them to her before grabbing his own and slinging the strap over his shoulder. He slid a navy blue baseball cap over his curly blond hair and pushed on dark, wraparound sunglasses. “Are we ready to show Florida a thing or two?”