Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

and threw it back, taking great satisfaction when it boomed onto the aluminum deck and sprayed one of their crewmen. “What do you mean a woman like me ?” She turned on Aidan.
    “You know, one…who is more…refined. What did you say about not provoking them?”
    Swearing erupted aboard the Intrepid and a few colorful names were directed back at Sonya along with a threat or two. She flipped them the bird. “How’s that for refined?” She raised a brow at Aidan.
    Did the man even know her?
    Wes slapped Aidan on his shoulder. “She might be a classical musician, but she has a bit of a rocker in her too.”
    “I know that, but…Sonya, you can’t tell me that you enjoy this?” He indicated the boats, the fishing, the brawling.
    She gave a half smile. “Yeah, I do.” Though she could have done without the dead body.
    The Miss Julie II butted her way between the Double Dippin’ and the Intrepid . Treat’s concerned face appeared. “Are you aware of what you’re doing, Sonya?”
    “Yep.” She nodded, shading her eyes from the high sun glinting off the aluminum boat. She’d left her sunglasses somewhere. She made a mental note to check the cabin later. She’d already searched the boat.
    Treat studied her and her crew for a moment. Wes stood, arms crossed over his chest, Aidan with his jaw clenched, fists at his side, while Peter sat on an overturned bucket, head resting in his hands. “What’s really up? You need help?”
    Sonya relaxed a bit and gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Treat, but looks as though help is on the way.” She indicated the Calypso bearing down on them.
    “You’re in bad shape if you’re looking for help in that quadrant.”
    “Don’t I know it,” she muttered under her breath, forgetting how sound traveled over water when Treat chuckled.
    “Why don’t I stick around, help buffer the worst of them?” He nodded to the Intrepid and many of the other drifters of the same ilk.
    “It’s really appreciated, but I don’t expect you to give up fishing to watch out for me.”
    “Who said anything about not fishing?” He gave her a wily smile. “If you don’t mind me rubbing up against you every now and then, my net can drift freely from the stern.”
    In a sense, Treat would use her as an anchor while he fished. He wouldn’t be tied to her but being able to rub up against her helped to keep him stationary.
    “Just don’t get your net tied up with mine or my boat.”
    He winked at her. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep us from getting tangled.”
    Good, because nobody wanted to be tangled up with her right now.
    The Calypso cut in along Sonya’s starboard side, forcing the Gale Force to back out of the way. “ Double Dippin’ , prepare to be boarded.”
    How she hated those words.
    Wes grabbed one of ropes the Calypso threw over and Aidan grabbed the other, securing the ropes to the cleats, linking the boats together from bow to stern. Peter continued to sit on the bucket, looking as sallow as tissue paper. He hadn’t said a word since losing his stomach contents. She wished she could shield him, send him below deck until it was all over, but she couldn’t do that to the man inside of him, or embarrass the boy in front of his shipmates. No matter how much she wanted to shelter him, there came a time when life dictated the course.
    Garrett swung over the rail, like a buccaneer ready to pillage. “Sonya?” He whipped off his sunglasses and greedily took her in from head to toe. Her breath caught at the intense flare of heat from his worried eyes. Then his gaze swiveled to Aidan and it turned to ice. “Harte.” He took in Peter’s sickly appearance and Wes’s uneasy one. “What’s happened?”
    When she’d radioed for the Calypso she’d been vague over the reason, just gave them her position and instructed them to hurry.
    Judd joined them. “You aware you’re sitting at anchor with your net out?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s going on, Sonya?” Garrett moved in closer to her.
    She leaned into Garrett to keep her voice from traveling to the other drifters circling around her like vultures. One whiff of Garrett’s scent and it was all she could do not to nestle into his strong, protective arms. She had to be tough. A sign of weakness and those vultures would descend. “We caught Kendrick in our net.”
    “Caught?” His eyes narrowed. “Dead?”
    She nodded. “Very.”
    His lips tightened into a thin line. “Okay.” He laid his hand on her arm and slowly