Captain's Paradise by Kay Hooper

ring.” Raven studied her brandy thoughtfully. “I’m here with some friends. We checked the marina a couple of hours ago and found we’d just missed Siran’s boat. Where is he, Dane?”
    “Unless I’m much mistaken,” Dane said, “he’s with your friend of a friend. If her name’s Robin Stuart, that is.”
    Raven blinked, then smiled. “How did that happen?”
    “Seems she wasn’t just looking into white slavery; she fell into it. Managed to jump ship in thedead of night. By a great stroke of luck, Michael was in the vicinity. He fished her out of the water.”
    Raven sighed. “Teddy will be relieved.”
    “Don’t celebrate yet,” Dane warned her.
    Raven half closed her eyes. “The slavers?”
    “Afraid so. Michael and Robin came to see me this afternoon asking about Edward Sutton’s yacht. They had a pretty good idea that was the boat Robin escaped from. I’d say it was a case of out-of-the-frying-pan for Robin; she just happened to be rescued by the one man who’s able to—and highly motivated to—put Sutton out of business for good. Sutton’s an old enemy of Michael’s, and he’s holding someone very dear to Michael as bait to draw him out.”
    “Who?”
    “His sister. My guess is that since this is personal to Michael, he’s on his own. No backup.” Dane shook his head a little. “He’d storm hell if the devil had his sister; that’s about what he’s doing now. The odds aren’t good, Raven.”
    “Then we’ll improve them,” she said grimly.
    After a moment Dane smiled. “Okay. What do you need from me?”
    In his office in a larger East Coast city, Daniel Stuart slowly closed the folder on a surveillance report he had just received from one of his agents. He was frowning, and hesitated for a moment before reaching for his special phone, and dialing a special number. The call would be routed through several area codes before finally reaching the mobile phone at the other end of the connection. It was after midnight. He heard a dozen clicks, then the ring signal. At last, the phone was answered.
    “Yeah?” a voice grunted.
    “Where are you?” Daniel asked without preamble.
    “Too close to home. Miami.”
    “That’s where the ladies went?”
    “Three of them. Raven Long, Kyle Kendrick, and Teddy Steele. One of the company jetstouched down a few hours ago. And they almost lost me, dammit.”
    “I did warn you that they sometimes move fast. Any sign of their husbands?”
    “No, and I don’t think they came down here to join them. The women checked the marina, asking the harbor master about the
Black Angel
.”
    “Michael’s boat?” Frowning, Daniel ran long fingers through his steel-gray hair. “Any idea why?”
    “No. But I can find out.” There was wry humor in the deep voice. “Raven Long just left the condo where Dane’s living at the moment.”
    Daniel half closed his eyes. “This is getting hellishly complicated, Skye.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    “If those ladies have taken off after Michael …”
    “Yeah. Well, there’s something going on, that’s for sure. I think the ladies are on their own this time, and they’re moving very fast. An interesting surveillance, I’ll say that.”
    “Find out what you can from Dane.” Daniel sighed. “And let me know immediately.”
    “Right.”
    Daniel cradled his receiver and sat for a moment, thinking. There was no need, he decided, to alert Hagen; it wasn’t the women that other federal honcho was interested in. But Daniel felt distinctly uneasy. None knew better than he what Michael was up against, and if those ladies were trying to find him …
    He stared at the phone, hoping Skye would report in to him
very
soon.
    “Why did you name her
Black Angel
?” Robin asked.
    Michael, standing at the wheel in the dimly lit bridge, didn’t answer immediately. He watched the boat’s instruments and gazed ahead into darkness. He hadn’t said much since they’d left the marina hours earlier, and Robin had gone