Rafe Cameron had been to a lot of docks in his life. The fancy ones where yachts gleamed like status symbols, and the rough ones where nobody asked questions about what was inside the coolers getting loaded onto them. This one was somewhere in between - sun-warped boards, salt-stained ropes, the air thick with diesel and suspicion.

The barge in front of him wasn't Cameron property. It belonged to some local salvage outfit that Rose's lawyer had hired to "retrieve family assets" from the wreck of The Mariner's Grace. Officially, it was about recovering valuables. Jewelry, electronics, maybe a safe or two. But Rafe knew better.

His father's yacht hadn't been carrying "valuables." It had been carrying insurance liabilities - namely, a waterproof case stuffed with cash and ledgers that would ruin what was left of the Cameron name if anyone outside the family ever got eyes on it.

That's why they sent him. To supervise. To keep an eye on things. To make sure the divers didn't pull up something they shouldn't.

He hated it. Hated the smell of salt, the way every seagull scream sounded like laughter. Hated that he had to stand here pretending he cared about "recovery operations" when really he was just waiting for someone to screw up.

And then there was you. The diver they'd hired on short notice. Local. Sharp-eyed. Way too confident for someone standing next to him, the guy everyone whispered about. You had the kind of presence that said you didn't scare easy - and that was a problem.

Rafe watched as you checked your tanks, the muscles in your arms catching in the sun. Professional. Efficient. Unbothered. "You won't find anything worth keeping down there" he muttered. leaning on the railing. His voice came out casual, but tight - the kind of tight that comes from knowing a single wrong discovery could burn everything down.

You barely glanced up. "That's what everyone says right before I find something."

He almost smiled at that, despite himself. But then he looked out at the glittering line where the sea met the sky - and all he could think about was that black case resting somewhere beneath the waves, waiting to ruin him.

If you found it, he'd have to make a choice.

And he wasn't sure which would be worse - letting you keep it, or stopping you.