Targets Entangled (18 page)

“You fucked that up royally,” Stick muttered as he came to stand next to Daegan. He didn’t need this shit now, but that didn’t stop his friend from running his mouth. It only reminded him of why he usually kept the past to himself. “Her logic is flawless. You know that, right?”

“Did you just eavesdrop on my private conversation?” Daegan asked Stick the question more in warning than to be given an answer he already knew.

“You need to come clean with her, man.” Stick leaned against the bulkhead and crossed his arms as if this was going to be a lengthy conversation. They had better things to do than delve into his psyche. “She was nothing if not honest with you. What made you think she’d want something more after you clearly stated your intentions from the beginning? Either you’ve given Starr a bullshit line so you can keep getting a piece of ass or reality finally hit you that Ferrin could die just as easily as Kayla did.”

Daegan reacted instantly and had his forearm against Stick’s throat before the man could defend himself. From the nonchalant smile on the asshole’s face, he’d goaded Daegan for this exact response and he fell for it. He didn’t lessen his hold as he had his own say.

“You ever talk about Ferrin that way again and you’ll be wishing for the death that you just happened to avoid a couple of hours ago.” Daegan was breathing heavily, not from exertion but from hearing that Ferrin was vulnerable to death. “Now wipe that fucking smirk off of your face before I do it for you.”

“Be smart,” Doc advised Stick, coming to stand next to them. He didn’t seem in the least concerned that a physical altercation had ensued, which meant that he’d heard the conversation between Daegan and Ferrin as well. Shit. Was nothing sacred around this goddamned ship? “I know what you were aiming to do, but that was asking for your own death wish.”

“Did I interfere when you decided to take personal leave to help a woman who’d left you at the altar years before?” Daegan regretted those words the moment they came out, knowing full well how Doc had struggled with returning to his hometown. Daegan shoved himself away from Stick and took a deep breath. “Fuck, that was wrong of me to say.”

“The answer is yes, you did offer advice on numerous occasions that I completely ignored, you shit-for-brains,” Doc replied in a manner that stated there were no hard feelings. “And Stick is doing the same thing, although not with as much finesse. You should listen to him though. He may be rough around the edges, but he has the target in sight. I could tell back in October that Ferrin wasn’t your usual weekend company, so this doesn’t surprise me one bit. What does concern me is the fact that she seems to be a target of this provocateur.”

Daegan took a step back, giving all of them space as he leaned up against the opposite bulkhead. Trigger came around the corner with Diesel and the dog came to sit next to Daegan’s legs, as if the canine knew he needed support. Those large brown eyes looked up at him in commiseration until Daegan patted him on the head.

“What if Starr is on to something?” Daegan asked, unable to get that thought out of his mind. “What if someone is out to set Ferrin up for crimes that we know she didn’t commit?”

“You need to keep her close by if that’s the case. They wouldn’t leave her alive to tell the tale.” Stick looked in the direction of the cabin that currently held Starr and Lieutenant Irvine. “If you were being honest with the boss, then Starr will understand why you want Ferrin with you in your stateroom instead of bunking with the person they are interviewing at this very moment.”

“Be sure that’s what you want though,” Doc warned as he adjusted his low-rise holster. They were all armed now and would be until they returned to the States. In fact, all officers and chiefs were now wearing their personal sidearms. Who knew how long it would take to find this bastard? “Ferrin doesn’t deserve to have the rug slipped out from underneath her because you couldn’t face your past. Trust me. I’ve been there and done that. Facing what you thought was buried in the past isn’t easy, but it’ll sure as hell give you a future if you survive facing it.”

Daegan could have argued that point and said that Doc’s past came in the form of a very live woman, whereas Kayla was dead. He couldn’t even stand here and say for sure that the two of them would have been together after all this time, but he had loved her as much as any teenager was capable of. Ferrin was too much like Kayla, but she was also her own woman with her own mindset. She was right in the fact that he’d been an ass and had repeatedly told her this was nothing more than a brief affair. He wasn’t completely sure where this was headed, but it was his own damn fault that she wasn’t giving him a chance to see if this was something real after all. It certainly felt real and with it came back the fear he hadn’t felt since he’d learned of Kayla’s death.

“What’s with Ferrin’s bunkmate being the first one questioned?” Daegan asked, wanting this danger that they were in to be extinguished so that he could deal with his personal demons. Diesel stood up on all fours and walked over to his owner, as if he knew they were now talking business. “Starr obviously found something in the woman’s personnel file. Does anyone know what it is?”

“You’re about to find out,” Gunny said, rounding the corner with a serious frown in place. Daegan didn’t need an additional dose of shit from him either and relaxed slightly when the man continued walking down the corridor. “Meet me in the team ready room in five minutes, ladies. That is if your quilting circle is about done for the day.”

Daegan decided to use the time limit given to stop in and have a discussion with Chief Jackson. Ferrin most likely wouldn’t appreciate the gesture, but it was under Starr’s very specific directive that he felt comfortable doing so. He veered off up the ladderwell and made his way to the radio room. When he entered he noticed that Chief Jackson and Ferrin were in a deep conversation. Her back was to him, but she turned immediately when Chief Jackson looked his way with what he considered disdain.

“Chief Jackson, may I have a word with you?” Daegan didn’t wait for an answer but instead walked out into the corridor. He could understand Chief Jackson’s concern with a subordinate of his, but there was no reason for the hostility on the man’s face. Daegan was an essential member of Red Starr and as such, he held an important position amongst the crew. With that said, this was Chief Jackson’s department and he didn’t want the man to feel threatened in any way. When he finally stepped out into the passageway and closed the hatch ensuring their privacy, Daegan didn’t hesitate to speak. “I understand your concern, Chief. I’m not looking to cause disruption in your workspace and I don’t take my responsibilities lightly either. Our private life will not interfere with Ferrin’s duties aboard this ship, but I will do what I have to do to ensure her safety.”

“I don’t want any harm to come to Ferrin either, but you do realize that coming forth with your relationship might very well have placed her into more danger?” Chief Jackson took the time to look up and down the corridor, safeguarding their conversation. Daegan didn’t like where he was going with this. “No one seems to know what this person wants or what their objective is. He or she has committed murder, tampered with this ship and then stepped it up a notch with trying to blow us to hell and back. Who knows what the next attack will be, but it seems to me that whoever this is doesn’t want us to reach our destination or carry out his or her mission.”

“I’m in agreement, but Ferrin had nothing to do with any of it and my coming forward protected her from being accused unjustly like Chuck Farrell had been. I’ll continue to do so, but I’d like for us to work together in keeping her safe.” Daegan held out his hand in offering and waited patiently, meeting the man’s dark, concerned gaze. They both wanted the same thing and it was a win-win situation. “You’ve already lost one radio maintainer to this Tango’s actions. Let’s make sure you don’t lose another.”

“Very well, then,” Chief Jackson stated, firmly returning Daegan’s handshake. “I’m changing the shift rotations around and Ferrin will be working days starting the following morning. Right now Roger and Spivey will be taking over her shift while I finish my conversation with Ferrin. A lot of work didn’t get finished last night that needs to be seen to without delay.”

“If you’re cutting Ferrin loose for the day, I’d like to speak with her before you do.”

Daegan hadn’t realized it was already zero six hundred. They’d all been running on adrenaline and as for Ferrin, Lieutenant Irvine had interrogated her for most of the early morning hours. Exhaustion had to settle in at some point and he didn’t want her anywhere near Nina Cornwell until he found out why the woman was being questioned by Starr. Chief Jackson gave a curt nod of his head before he opened the hatch to the radio room and called out for Ferrin. Daegan didn’t like the discolored blemishes underneath her eyes or the fact that her pallor was a little too faded. He hadn’t noticed it before and now he was kicking himself for allowing her to return to her shift, regardless what Starr’s directives had been.

“I want you to gather some of your things and then catch a few hours of sleep in my stateroom.” Daegan shook his head before Ferrin could argue with him, her lips already thinning in annoyance. It was his own fault that they were on such different pages and he needed to be the one to fix it. “If you do that for my peace of mind, we’ll have that conversation you mentioned earlier. No holding back on my part.”

“Telling me about your past isn’t going to change who you are, Daegan,” Ferrin said in a tone that he couldn’t decipher. He hadn’t liked it when she put distance between them back in October and he sure as hell didn’t like it now when he was exposing such a vulnerable part of himself. He wasn’t a bad person and she was making him out to be a callous son of a bitch who didn’t respect women. Hadn’t he always been honest with the women he slept with and wasn’t he going the extra mile with her? Listening to his own thoughts had him cringing and remembering Stick’s words from earlier only added to Daegan’s self-discovery. Fuck if he wasn’t a son of a bitch. He sighed with relief anyway when she finally relented. “Fine. I’ll sleep in your stateroom today, but then we’ll renegotiate once I’ve got my head on straight.”

Daegan slowly nodded his head and could only watch as Ferrin turned back and entered the radio room. Now wasn’t the time to say or do anything that might change her mind. He was already late and the more he was able to discover, the more information he would be able to relay to Ferrin later today. He wanted to rule out that she was a factor in this murderer’s plan and the only way to do that was to find the person responsible—ASAP.

‡

F
errin came awake
slowly, blinking her eyes in order to adjust to the dim light that she’d purposefully made sure was off when she’d fallen asleep earlier. The events of the night came back in waves and she pulled the pillow over her face, wanting to shut out reality and Daegan’s damned light a little bit longer. The subtle woodsy fragrance that was left by him invaded her senses and she figured she couldn’t win either way. Every aspect of her life was now out of her control; control being the one thing she needed to keep her sanity.

“You’re going to have to eventually pull that pillow away from your face if you want any updates on what we found out today.”

“Did you find the person responsible, Sherlock?”

Ferrin didn’t care if her voice was muffled. Daegan could still make it out and she wasn’t ready to look at him. He was changing the rules and as much as she thought that was what she would have wanted…now she wasn’t so sure. It was confusing, and adding that on to the fact that someone was mixing her up in his or her diabolical plan to kill the crewmembers aboard this ship wasn’t helping.

“No,” Daegan answered in a very matter of fact tone. His voice was coming from behind the partition and she turned her head underneath the pillow so she could sneak a peek of him when he made an appearance. Sure enough, he was standing in the opening with nothing but a towel around his waist. He rested a forearm against the frame, tilting his head to meet her eyes. “But there are some facts that came to light today that I think you might be interested in hearing about.”

That got Ferrin’s attention and she finally pulled the pillow away from her face and stuffed it behind her head. Starr and Lieutenant Irvine had still been questioning Nina when Ferrin had gone to her cabin to retrieve some clothing and toiletries. She’d hoped to have some answers before she caught some sleep, but no one had any additional information. Captain Hensel, who’d stated he wanted to make sure that she was all right, had even stopped her in the corridor. It had been an uncomfortable discussion and she was grateful when Daegan’s name wasn’t brought up.

“If we’re going to talk, I’m going to need some caffeine and you’re going to need to get dressed.” Ferrin tossed the blankets to the side and sat up, her hair falling over her shoulder. Daegan’s blue eyes followed it and the way they darkened had her thoughts going to what he’d said to Starr earlier. She wasn’t ready to have that conversation, so she looked back and tried to find her hairband. It was nowhere in sight but there was a cup of coffee on the side table. “Is that for me?”