Back on Solid Ground

by Debra Trueman

  Carlos nodded. “Absolutely.”

  Jason walked into the room and took in the scene. “What’s the matter with Stacy?”

  “We missed that part,” Eli said.

  Jason looked back over at Niki. “He’s in love with her,” Jason stated.

  “Definitely,” said Eli.

  “Good,” said Jason. “I didn’t know how I was going to tell him that we weren’t going to give her to our client.”

  “Yeah,” Eli agreed.

  “They look good together,” Jason said.

  When Stacy finally stopped crying, she didn’t let go of Niki. She knew how irrational the attraction was, but she didn’t care. She felt safe in his arms and right then there was no place she would rather be. Stacy squeezed Niki tighter.

  “I haven’t cried this much in one day since my mom died,” Stacy said. Niki was lost in thought as he held her, her head resting against his chest. “I can hear your heart beating,” she said.

  Niki let go of Stacy and looked into her eyes. “You are so dangerous,” he said. He tilted her chin up and kissed her gently on the mouth and this time, Stacy kissed him back. The kiss radiated through his whole body. She was like some magnetic force field drawing him in, and it took everything he had to pull himself away from her.

  Stacy nestled back in against him, and Niki closed his eyes and held her to him. The urge to protect her was tremendous, like nothing he had ever felt. He continued to hold her until she made the first move to pull away.

  “You okay now?” he asked, and Stacy nodded her head. “You ready to go back in?”

  “Yeah.”

  Niki took Stacy by the hand and led her back inside. Neither Eli, Carlos nor Jason attempted to conceal the smile on his face, but Niki was not the least bit self-conscious.

  “We’re working for Stacy now,” Niki told them.

  “Right,” said Jason.

  “Good decision,” said Eli.

  “Excellent,” agreed Carlos.

  They all looked at Stacy. “You won’t be sorry,” she promised.

  Chapter 13

  “We have a lot to do before morning,” Niki said. “Let’s get started.” He handed Stacy a pad and pen. “First of all, you need to make a list of your holdings. We’re just going after your liquid assets right now, so don’t bother with real estate or assets that are not going to disappear overnight. We can deal with those later.”

  “We need the name of the institution and the name on the account,” Eli said.

  “I only know the account number on my checking account,” Stacy said.

  “That’s not a problem,” Niki assured her. “Eli can get that.”

  She looked over at Eli. “You can?”

  “Give me your social security number and there’s nothing I can’t find on you,” he said.

  Niki turned to Jason. “Jason, you call our Swiss and Cayman bankers at home and have them get things started on their end tonight,” said Niki. “This has to go down first thing in the morning.”

  “Give me an idea of how much we are talking about,” Jason asked Stacy.

  “Several million,” she said. “But a lot of it is in stocks and mutual funds. Does that mean I have to sell everything I have?”

  “No. We’re just going to do a bit of rearranging right now so your father can’t get to it,” Niki said. Just the mention of Stacy’s father pissed him off.

  They worked on the details of their plan for the next three hours and Stacy was mentally exhausted.

  “I need food,” she groaned.

  “Yeah, let’s take a break,” said Jason.

  The tribe moved into the kitchen just as Consuela was leaving, and there were wonderful smells coming out of the pots on the stove.

  “Consuela!” Stacy said, and she gave the housekeeper a hug. “Come eat with us,” she said, dragging her back to the kitchen.

  “No,” Consuela laughed.

  Eli looked at Niki and rolled his eyes. “What’d I tell ya?” Eli said, then he put his arm around Consuela and squeezed her.

  “I love my hair,” Stacy told Consuela, smiling.

  Consuela smiled back at her. “Muy bonita,” she said, and then in English, “very pretty.” Consuela turned to leave, but on her way out she walked up to Niki and whispered something in his ear. Niki looked down at Consuela, shocked, and she smiled up at him and nodded her head.

  “What’d she say?” Stacy asked when Consuela had gone.

  “What did you two talk about while Consuela was cutting your hair?” Niki asked.

  “Just girl stuff,” Stacy said vaguely. “Why, what did she say?”

  “Something about our children being beautiful,” he said, thoroughly annoyed.

  “Bullshit!” Stacy exclaimed.

  “I swear to God,” Niki said, holding up his hands.

  “You need to stay away from Consuela,” Eli told Stacy. “You’re a bad influence on her.”

  “I am not a bad influence, and why would you say that?” Stacy said, offended.

  “It’s nothing you do on purpose,” Eli said, grabbing a beer out of the refrigerator. “It’s just the way you are,” he said.

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” she said, irritated. “If you didn’t want Consuela and me to become friends, why did you stick me down there with her in the first place?”

  “I guess we didn’t realize that you befriend everyone you speak to,” Eli said sarcastically.

  “Well I haven’t befriended you, have I?” she shot back.

  “Oh, you have too,” he said, reaching over and messing up her hair.

  Stacy pushed his hand away. “I am not a bad influence,” she said, pouting.

  “So Consuela cut your hair?” said Jason, checking it out. “It looks good,” he told her. “Maybe I’ll get her to cut mine.”

  “Thanks,” she said grumpily. She went to the refrigerator and stood there holding the door open while she decided what she wanted to drink.

  Eli moved over and rested his arm heavily around her shoulder and peered into the refrigerator with her. “You mad at me?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Go away, Eli,” she said, trying to remove his arm. He made it too heavy to move.

  “I’m just giving you a hard time,” he said. “You’re just so much fun to tease – you always take the bait.”

  Stacy grabbed a beer and tried to get out from underneath Eli’s arm, but he wouldn’t let her go, and the more she struggled, the harder she laughed. Eli closed the refrigerator door and walked Stacy across the kitchen in what had turned into a headlock. Stacy was trying to get away, but she couldn’t budge Eli’s arm.

  “Help!” she laughed.

  Niki, Carlos and Jason were watching and laughing, making no attempt to intervene and help Stacy.

  “Now,” Eli said, “I want you to tell me that I am your friend.”

  “Let go of me!” Stacy said. She had stopped struggling because she knew it was useless.

  “Say it,” he said.

  “Dammit Eli, let go of me!” she said.

  “Not until you say it,” he said.

  Eli wasn’t going to back down, and her side was killing her from laughing, so Stacy finally relented. “You’re my friend,” she said.

  “What? I didn’t hear you,” he said, turning her around so she was facing the others.

  She was laughing so hard that it was difficult to talk. “You’re my friend!” she said louder.

  Eli unlocked his grip on her head and let go. “There,” he said, straightening her up. “Was that so hard?”

  Stacy slugged him in the chest. “And thank all of you for coming to my rescue,” she said to the others, fixing the neckline on her shirt.

  “Let’s eat,” said Carlos. He fixed a plate and handed it to Stacy, then fixed one for himself.

  “Thanks, Carlos,” Stacy said, taking a seat at the table. “How in the world did you end up being a bad guy?” Then she looked around the table and said, “These guys must h
ave corrupted you.”

  Carlos laughed out loud. “Stacy Trent,” he said, “you are a delightful addition to our household. And if you weren’t already going to have beautiful children with Niki, I’d marry you myself!”

  Everyone roared except for Niki. He turned to Stacy after he finished choking on his beer. Just looking at her made him smile.

  “What did you say to Consuela?” Niki asked.

  “Nothing that would make her say that, I assure you.” Stacy was amazed at the strength of the attraction she felt for this guy. It was way past lust or desire. There was something almost transcendental to her feelings for him.

  “Did you tell her that I kissed you?” he interrogated.

  “Well, yeah, but I never said I liked it.”

  “Oh, you liked it,” Niki said confidently, his green eyes penetrating hers. Stacy turned red. “You’re blushing,” Niki said in confirmation. “See, you liked it.” He picked up his fork and went back to eating.

  “She’s actually embarrassed,” Eli said. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

  “Shut up, Eli,” Stacy said, irritated. “And don’t be ganging up on me,” she said, looking from brother to brother.

  There was a bright flash followed by a huge clap of thunder and a tree in front of the house went down. Stacy screamed and ran to the middle of the kitchen and was standing there with her arms wrapped around herself. “I don’t like this at all,” she exclaimed. “And I can’t believe you brought me to this stupid island during a hurricane!”

  “You’re inside,” Jason said. “What are you so scared of?”

  “That,” she said, pointing out the window.

  “It’s awesome. Just enjoy it,” Jason said.

  “What is it with you and bugs and storms?” Niki asked.

  Another clap of thunder, and this time the lights went out. Stacy screamed again.

  “Shit,” said Eli, getting up from his chair. He went to a kitchen drawer and pulled out a flashlight. “I’ll be downstairs,” he said, grumpily.

  “I’ll go with you,” said Jason.

  Carlos got up and he and Niki cleared the table, then Carlos went over to Stacy and put his arm around her. “How about we go watch a movie and take your mind off the storm,” he suggested.

  “There’s no electricity,” she said.

  Carlos waved his hand. “Eli will have it right back on. How’s your wound?” he asked, as they walked out of the kitchen.

  “It’s not too bad.”

  The lights came back on just as they got into the living room, and shortly afterwards Niki, Eli and Jason showed up.

  “That generator sucks,” Eli said. “We’re going to have to replace it before it’s over.”

  Carlos turned on the TV and flipped through the movie channels.

  “Silence of the Lambs,” Eli said. “It hasn’t started yet. Let’s watch it.”

  “I hate scary movies,” Stacy protested.

  “Bugs, storms, scary movies,” said Niki. “What else do you hate?”

  “Oh, fine,” Stacy said. “Watch whatever you want,” she said, and she slumped down onto the couch between Niki and Eli.

  Eli looked over at Niki. “Hey,” he said, getting his brother’s attention. “What about the meeting tomorrow? There’s no way we’ll be able to fly out with this storm.”

  “We need to talk about that,” Niki said. When he had everyone’s attention, he continued. “What are the chances that our client planted that bomb?” Niki looked from one to the other. “Because it’s going to make the difference of whether we hand over the diamonds or not,” Niki said.

  “Diamonds?” Stacy said, confused.

  “You weren’t the only spoils of that heist,” Eli informed her.

  Carlos took the lead. “Assuming there was no bomb, what would we do?” he asked.

  “We would hand over the diamonds, but keep Stacy,” said Niki.

  “Absolutely,” said Carlos. “And the fee?”

  “Reduce it by the amount we were paid to kidnap Stacy,” said Niki.

  “Correct,” said Carlos. “Now,” he continued, “if we knew for certain that the client planted that bomb, what would we do?”

  “We’d find him and kill him,” Niki said.

  “Other than that,” Carlos said dismissively. “What would we do with the diamonds?”

  “Keep them, obviously,” said Niki. “But we don’t know if he did it or not.”

  “Then we have to give him the diamonds,” said Carlos.

  “Right,” Niki said, looking out at the storm. “But it’s not going to be tomorrow.”

  “Definitely not,” they agreed.

  The movie started and Stacy started fidgeting in the very first scene. She had pulled her legs up underneath her and was making scared noises while she buried her head in her hands.

  “What is your problem?” Eli said, irritated. “Nothing even happens here.”

  “I can’t help it. I told you I don’t like scary movies,” she said defensively.

  “Well I hope you’re not going to do that for the whole movie,” he said.

  She wiggled around some more trying to get situated. “I need a blanket,” she whined. “Will you go get me one?” she asked Eli.

  “No! Go bother Niki,” he told her, pushing her towards his brother.

  Niki looked over at Stacy. “You are the biggest baby,” he said, pulling her closer. He put his arm around her and she nuzzled into him so he could protect her from Hannibal Lecter.

  “There,” she said satisfied, then she fell asleep almost immediately.

  Niki was watching the movie, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He had no idea what they were going to do with Stacy after tomorrow. He knew there was no way he was going to hand her over to his client, but he couldn’t keep her prisoner on the island forever either. And the fact remained that Stacy could identify all of them. He didn’t think she would if everything went smoothly in the transfer of her funds, but he couldn’t be certain. Then there was the fact that he didn’t want to let her go. Ever.

  Niki looked down at Stacy. She was curled into a ball sleeping against his chest. He looked over at Eli, who had been watching him.

  “What are we going to do with her?” Niki asked him.

  “I’m all for Consuela’s idea,” Eli said.

  “I’m serious,” Niki said.

  “So am I,” said Eli.

  Stacy slept through the entire movie; and it was still pouring rain when it ended. Niki put a pillow under her head then got a blanket and covered her up, and he left her there to sleep. The men all converged in the kitchen to finalize the plan they would implement in the morning.

  Stacy woke up some time later sick and disoriented. She sat up and looked around and remembered where she was. It was still storming outside, but it was dark. She must have slept for hours. Her mouth was dry and she ached all over, and she was so cold she was shivering. She wrapped the blanket around her and went in search of life.

  “Hello,” she called out in a weak voice.

  “In here,” someone yelled back from the kitchen.

  Stacy wandered to the kitchen and stood in the doorway. “I’m sick,” she said, leaning her head against the door.

  “What’s the matter?” Niki asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  Niki put his hand on her forehead. “Damn, your hot.”

  Carlos moved in to examine Stacy. “Let’s go in the other room,” he said, and Niki, Eli and Jason followed them into the living room.

  “You may have developed an infection,” Carlos said, removing her bandage. He looked at the wound and prodded around, but it looked good.

  “I feel terrible,” Stacy moaned. “Do you have any Advil or something? I have a terrible headache,” she said.

  “I’ll get you something to bring your fever down and that should take care of your headache,” Carlos said, patting her hand. “Your wound looks good, but I’m going to give you something just in case.” />
  Stacy closed her eyes and pulled the covers up to her neck. She had curled up into a ball to get warm, but she was still freezing.

  Niki sat down on the edge of the couch.

  Stacy opened her eyes and gave him a feeble smile. “I feel terrible,” she said. “I’m so cold.”

  “I’ll get you another blanket,” he said.

  “I’ll do it,” said Eli. “Stay with her.”

  Carlos returned and Niki moved aside to let him in. “Here you go,” Carlos said, handing Stacy some tablets and a glass of water.

  She took the pills then laid her head back on the pillow and looked at Niki. “I want to go to bed. Will you take me?”

  “I would love to take you to bed.”

  “I bet you would,” Stacy said, with her eyes closed.

  Niki was thinking of the kiss out on the balcony and he wanted to do it again. He picked Stacy up and she rested her head against him with her eyes closed. He started up the stairs and ran into Eli half way up. Eli piled two blankets on top of Stacy. “You okay?” he asked, feeling her forehead.

  “No. I feel awful.”

  “She’s really hot,” Eli told Niki.

  “Yeah, I know,” Niki said.

  Eli turned to go back downstairs. “Feel better Stacy.”

  “I will,” Stacy said without opening her eyes.

  Niki laid Stacy in her bed and covered her up with several blankets. She pulled them up to her chin and rolled over on her side facing Niki. The room lit up and there was a huge clap of thunder.

  “Will you stay here with me?” she asked.

  “If you want me to.”

  “All night?” Stacy asked.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  Stacy fell asleep and Niki went to the balcony and stood in the doorway watching the storm. The island would be a mess when it finally let up. They would be cleaning the beach for weeks. Niki thought about everything that had happened since the bank robbery. Kidnapping Stacy was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life. Things had become so complicated. He decided that he would fight the attraction, whatever it took, and get over his obsession with her. And somehow, he would get her back home safe and sound.

  Niki sat down on the bed next to Stacy and reached over and felt her head. She was still burning up with fever, but she was sleeping peacefully. He laid down beside her on top of the covers and fell asleep.