PREDATOR ISLAND (Sea Lab Book 2)

CHAPTER 7

Even with the ocean breeze lighting upon her face, Sarah felt the weight of tension in the air. Generally speaking, she liked the idea of a trip to Cocos Island. She loved scuba diving. That's why she did it for a living. She tried to think of it as a vacation, but something didn't sit right with the pair from Adventure Magazine. She couldn't put her finger on it...yet.

Sarah narrowed her gaze at Savannah Lockhart, placing the journalist under the lens of her microscope. "So, tell me about yourself."

"Well, I lived in the U.K. until I was about five. When my parents got back together, I moved to Texas. Had an English accent as a child until my dad's southern drawl washed it away. Took after my old man in other ways. I like the occasional treasure hunt; I've always had a hankering for emeralds. But despite what Dylan might say, I'm a writer at heart."

"So, you're one of those types?"

Savannah's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, but I know the type. You're an introvert who doesn't like attention, but you've strived for recognition all your life."

Savannah scowled and scrunched her lower lip to one side. Sarah didn't intend to ruffle her; she was just digging to see what made the woman tick.

Savannah balled her fist and pressed it against the table top. Stifled a chuckle. "And you're a scientist who knows everything, and you're not shy. You have these grand hypothesizes that you're not afraid to blab about."

Rachel edged up in her seat and crossed arms. She glanced away and cleared her throat. "You two are hitting it off great."

Sarah eyed Rachel. Then she turned her attention to Savannah. "I'm sorry. I'm usually not so suspicious, or skeptical. I've been through a lot lately, but I don't want to talk about me. There will be plenty of time for that on the way to Cocos. Honestly, I'd like to get to know you before we get there. As far as I'm concerned, you and Dylan came out of nowhere. And boom, here we are, on your yacht in the middle of the ocean."

Savannah offered a grim smile. "Here we are."

"You're a writer," Sarah said. "How did you get your start?"

"To begin with, I wrote short stories and novels when I was a teenager. Ever heard of Wattpad?"

"I'm vaguely familiar with it."

"I haven't done anything like writing a book in a long time." Savannah continued. "After Dylan and I graduated college, my focus shifted to journalism."

"What university did you go to?"

"Southern Methodist."

"I've heard SMU is a good school. What about Dylan? Where'd he go?"

"Texas. Why? You writing an article?" Savannah raised a brow.

"Curious minds what to know."

"First of all, SMU is a great university for a journalism degree. As for Dylan, he's always been a friend of the family—"

"Are you two an item?" Sarah kept a straight face.

"No." Savannah's cheeks reddened and her eyes grew large.

"He is cute," Rachel said.

"Anyway...as I was saying, after college, Dylan and I hooked up and started travel blogging."

Rachel snorted. "So you hooked up?"

"No. Seriously, do you two want me to go on?"

Sarah suppressed a grin. It wanted out, but she tucked it away by drumming her fingers lightly on the table. "Please, go ahead."

"As travel bloggers, we managed to gather a following. In the beginning, we tried our hand at treasure hunting too, following in my parent's footsteps. But we only stumbled across a few small finds. Nothing big. Eventually, my words and Dylan's pictures got picked up by National Geographic. It was just a one time article on whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez, but we got noticed by Chasity Brasswell of Adventure Magazine and the rest is history."

"Wow. Traveling the world on a yacht like this. Sounds like you and Dylan live a life many people can only dream of."

"So do you," Savannah replied. "Sailing the seven seas in a ship called the Atlantis. Protecting the world's ocean. Going toe to toe with Roland Zanderthal and Ocean Blue."

Sarah stopped drumming her fingers. She felt her edge slipping. She didn't like the conversation swinging back to her. She knew sooner or later the topic of Ocean Blue would come up. With a huff, she sat back in her chair and folded her arms.

When she had joined them on the stern deck, she had no intention of being so aggressive with Savannah. She stared out at the waves and the cresting white caps of the Pacific Ocean. Blew a puff of air into the gentle breeze.

"So," Rachel said, finding the right moment to jump in, "let me guess, your boss is pressing for a story on Sea Lab? Especially, after our encounter with Roland Zanderthal."

"We barely know anything about what happened in Australia," Savannah said, "only what was leaked to the media. With everything being so hush-hush, you can imagine how interesting an Ocean Blue story would be. But truthfully, that's not what we're here for. Ms. Brasswell agreed to avoid that topic, and we intend to honor that agreement."

Rachel shrugged. "I thought after the Aussies raided Zanderthal's compound, not much was left unsaid."

"All we know is that Sea Lab traced depleted fish populations around the globe back to Ocean Blue, and that you pretty much shut his operation down. I'm sure there were things that got covered up, but again, that's not why we're here."

"Good," Sarah said. "Because I'm not talking about it...at all."

"Fine."

Rachel shifted in her seat, her eyes darting from Sarah to Savannah. "I've been wondering ever since we pushed off, why Cocos Island? Hawaii would've been a fabulous location to chronicle a dive."

Savannah bit her lower lip and sighed. "The hammerheads, of course."