Page 42 of Vanishing Legacy
Cash picked up the black full-face dive mask. “Oh, I love these.”
“Me too. Can you hand me my wetsuit?”
He found the smaller and held it up. When she didn’t take it, he looked up. His breath caught at the sight of Alana in a modest royal blue one-piece swimsuit. The sunlight caught her sleek black hair as she gathered it into a high ponytail and secured it with a band from her wrist.
“Um, here you go.” He swallowed.
“Can I ask you something?” Alana pulled her wetsuit up over her toned arms.
He worked to get his feet through the tight ankle holes. “Yeah, of course.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
He furrowed his brow. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Aren’t you worried about the possibility of finding your ex-wife’s body in the car?”
Cash’s face tightened. He took a deep breath. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s been so long, I guess it’s hard to imagine we’ll find anything at all.”
Alana nodded and tugged the back zipper of her suit. “Whatever happens down there, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks. It means a lot that you and Oak would be willing to try.”
He finished suiting up. The cool neoprene wetsuit clung to his body. Now if only the snug suit could hold his roiling emotions inside.
No way they’d find Sonia’s car. Not after all this time. But then, what would he do if they did?
ELEVEN
Once again, Alana found herself on the hunt for a dead body.
Only this time, she didn’t have the full force of the LAPD dive unit behind her. She hadn’t expected body recoveries to be a part of working for the Elite Guardians. Generally, if a dead body was involved, then the bodyguard hadn’t been a very good one.
But hey, she’d take the cool embrace of the Atlantic Ocean over swimming in that icky Forsyth Park fountain any day.
Alana’s heart raced as she took her first freefall step into the crystal-clear water and swam down. At the end of the dive line, she turned and looked up. Cash was silhouetted against the backdrop of the deep blue ocean. The filtered sunlight outlined his body and highlighted his strong physique.
He stepped in and swam down. Scuba bubbles floated around him like tiny, delicate clouds, rising lazily to the surface. As she took in the sight of him, a flood of heat jetted through her body.
Stop that. Now was not the time for a physical reaction to what was nothing more than a girlish crush. Her first girlish crush, because she was so not like that. Her stomach did not do flip-flops around a guy. There were no insects flying around her belly. She would not gush over Cash just because he was a loving, caring, kind, strong, intelligent, handsome father. Did she just say handsome?
Well, that was beside the point. Her heart only betrayed her because Cash was the first man who fit her so well. Both single parents with exceptional children. Both experienced divers. Both former law enforcement. Well, in Cash’s case, he was military, but still very similar. Did he still have his service dress whites?
Oh wow. Why were these thoughts drifting through her head right now? She had to stop. Had to focus on her breathing and the task at hand. They weren’t on a recreational dive. They were looking for Sonia’s remains.
Alana paused near Cash and spoke into her wireless device. “Can you hear me okay, Cash?”
“Loud and clear. How about me?”
“I hear you perfectly.”
“This is some high-tech equipment for a boat charter.”
“Oak has connections,” she said. “We can talk later. We have limited time, so we should keep moving.”
Cash gave her the thumbs-up, and they ran through equipment and hand signal checks in case the comms went out. As they descended deeper, the sunlight filtered through the water casting a blue-green hue all around them. The visibility was good, but not as clear as she had hoped. They swam side by side with their dive lights illuminating the murky depths.
They swam closer to the seafloor and came across a sandy area dotted with patches of sea grass. A southern stingray materialized from beneath the sand and zipped off. Its wide wings flapped as it disappeared into the distance.