Make Her Pay by Roxanne St. Claire Read Free Book Online Page A

jewels, including the dent where one had been lost.
    Her fingers trembled with awe, and her shoulders rose and fell as her breaths were obviously tight and quick.
    Still holding it, she pointed at the spot where he’d found it, as if to say they should look for more.
    No way. Part of his job was to protect the treasure, and this piece was a major find. With an easy snatch, Con took the medallion from her, getting a fiery look through her mask.
    He tugged four times on his hose.
    She twirled away and kicked hard, straight up. He unzipped the pouch on his weight belt, slid the medallion in, then bent over to pick up his detector.
    She was already being pulled onto the dive platform by Kenny and Dave, and a group was gathering on the main deck, the excitement and noise palpable the minute Con popped through the surface.
    “What did you get?” Alita called out.
    “Hand over the goods,” Charlotte said as she climbed down to the platform, a cloth spread out like a baby’s receiving blanket.
    “Gold or jewels?” Dave demanded, his voice rising with excitement.
    Con hoisted himself to the platform and looked at Lizzie, who was shaking out her wet hair after pulling off her mask.
    “What?” she said, a little hostility in her voice. “Just show them.”
    As he unhooked his air hose and flipped up the mask, Flynn Paxton came across the deck, the first time he’d made an appearance since Con had arrived. He had the same sun-bleached hair the divemaster sported, but his looked more salon-styled than surfer dude.
    “What do we have?” He lifted sunglasses as he strode to the dive platform.
    Alita put her hands on her hips and gave Con a glamour-shot smile. “We have beginner’s luck, that’s what.”
    “No beginner’s luck,” he said quietly, unzipping the pouch and kneeling down next to where Lizzie sat. “I just brought it up. Lizzie found it.”
    He felt her bristle, but she didn’t say a word. He reached in, slid the piece out, then looked at her.
    “Lizzie had first hands,” he said.
    Her expression softened momentarily.
    Paxton clunked clumsily onto the platform. “Nice work, Lizzie.” He seized it out of Con’s hands and waved the medallion. “You brought us good luck, Con! Welcome aboard.”
    “Hey!” Lizzie choked, grabbing Paxton’s arm. “Be careful. It’s a hundred and fifty years old!”
    “We don’t know that yet, Lizzie,” he said.
    But Lizzie did, Con thought. She knew exactly what the piece was.
    Con stood and turned to where Charlotte held out the cloth. “Let’s handle it with the appropriate care, Mr. Paxton.”
    Ignoring the chastisement, Paxton put the piece in the cloth, bending close to it. “What is it?”
    “A religious artifact,” Con said. “Hard to tell until that crust is gone, but it looks quite distinctive.”
    “I don’t know what it is,” Kenny said, joining them with a brand-new hat, still folded from being in a box. “But I recognize greatness when I see it. That right there could pay for this whole excursion. Here you go, Ms. Dare.” He handed her the cap with a flourish. “You are officially a Gold Digger.”
    For a moment, she just stared at the cap, then looked at Con.
    He nodded. “Take it. You earned it.”
    She did, reluctantly. “It was kind of a tie,” she said softly, still looking at him.
    Paxton nodded to Charlotte. “Start the cleaning and conservation process,” he ordered. “I want to get it off the boat.”
    “There’s a lot of chloride on this,” Charlotte said quickly. “I need twenty-four hours, then you can take it.”
    “Fine.” Paxton glanced around as though sizing them up, and landed on Con. “You sleep in the lab tonight-we’ll get a cot. I’m not taking any chances until we get this thing off board.”
    Kenny shot Paxton a disgusted look. “No one’s going to take it.”
    “I’m not worried about the crew,” Paxton said. “But after what happened on my dad’s boats last summer, we’re not taking any chances.