Page 90 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

“I didn’t mean to—” he began, but she cut him off with a sharp shake of her head.

“I don’t care what you meant,” she snapped. “What matters is what you did, not why you did it. And now, I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or saying what you think I want to hear. How do I know thatyou’renot the mole?”

His eyes widened in disbelief.

He stepped closer, his hands raised in a placating gesture.

She put her hand on the gun again. He stopped in his tracks and took a couple of steps back.

“Ellie, please. I swear—on your parents, oneverything—I’m not the mole. You have to believe me.”

Her heart hitched at the second mention of her parents, but she forced herself to stay calm. “That’s the problem, Matthew. I don’thaveto believe you. Not anymore.”

The truth was that she did believe him. His words rang true, and she didn’t see any signs of deception. Ellie felt a pang of guilt, but she pushed it down, refusing to let emotion cloud her judgment.

She reached for her dive gear.

“Let’s try to make the best of the rest of the morning,” she said.

Her fingers trembled as she began to work on her equipment. She adjusted the dive mask and regulator, trying to shake off the lingering tension.

They suited up in silence.

The coolness of the sea matched her emotions as she slipped beneath the surface, and the problems faded into light and shadow.

The wreck loomed below like a ghost from the deep, its jagged edges cloaked in coral. Ellie jumped as a shadow moved behind her. A fish, she told herself. But every flicker ofmovement kept her wanting to reach for the knife strapped to her thigh.

Matthew swam ahead, his movements smooth and practiced. Ellie followed, so she always had him in her sights. They explored the wreck together, pointing out schools of fish and hidden nooks in the structure.

For a moment, it almost felt normal, like they were just two people enjoying an adventure. But the undercurrent of tension remained, a reminder that nothing about this situation was as simple as it seemed.

When they finally surfaced, the sun was higher in the sky, its warmth a stark contrast to the cool water. They swam back to the boat, and the sound of the waves filled the void between them.

Their relationship was different now. Might not ever be the same again.

As Ellie pulled off her mask and looked at Matthew, his expression was still fraught with concern. Whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself. And for now, so would she.

Ellie felt a range of emotions. Relief that she didn’t have to kill Matthew. Anger at him and her parents. While they all had her best interests at heart, the sooner they realized that she wasn’t a kid anymore, the better.

Her mind shifted to tomorrow.

Luke.

He was the more likely suspect. She’d seen him hand an envelope to a cruise crew member.

“Are we good?” Matthew asked when they arrived back at the marina.

She shook her head. “This is my mission. I call the shots. Not my parents. If you can’t handle that, leave. I don’t need the distraction.”

“It’s understood. It won’t happen again.”

Still, Ellie couldn’t shake the doubt that clung to her like her diving suit. Matthew might be innocent, but she wasn’t ready to bet her life on it. Not yet.

CHAPTER

TWELVE

Saturday Morning