“Evidently, our client wasn’t behind the killing,” Niki said. “Someone torched his house before we could catch up with him.”
“Do you think he was in it?” Carlos asked.
“No way to tell – there was nothing left of it. But I’d bet on it,” Niki added.
“So what do we do now?” Eli asked.
“I don’t know. We need to discuss our options,” Niki said. He saw Stacy walk past in the corridor heading towards the kitchen.
“Stacy,” he called. She swung around and looked in through the doorway.
“Niki,” she said quietly, “you’re back,” and she smiled with relief.
She walked over to the bar and stopped several feet away from him, self-conscious and unsure, and not knowing what to expect. Niki’s eyes were locked on hers and she got butterflies in her stomach.
“Hey, Stacy,” Jason said.
“Jason,” she said, without taking her eyes off of Niki. “How did it go?”
Niki set his drink down and reached out for her. “Come over here,” he told her. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, and he could feel the tension leaving his body. Stacy wound her arms around his neck.
“Excuse us,” he told the others, and he picked her up and carried her out into the hall. He put her down and took her face in his hands and just looked at her. “God, I missed you,” he said. He gave her a long, urgent kiss on the lips, then hugged her again, burying his face in her neck and he just held her. “You smell good,” he said, then he moved back to her lips and kissed her again.
Stacy looked up at Niki with tears in her eyes but a huge smile on her face. She touched him softly on the cheek, then ran her hand through his hair. “I’m really glad to see you.”
“You look beautiful,” Niki said, checking out her face. “You got even prettier while I was gone.”
Stacy leaned against Niki and put her arms around his waist. Any question as to her feelings for him had been answered loud and clear. “I’m falling in love with you.”
“Oh, Stacy,” he said wearily, “I’m so far beyond that, I don’t even know what to call it.” He tilted her head up and kissed her lips, then he picked her up and carried her back to his bedroom.
Niki sat down on his bed with Stacy on his lap, then he lay back, pulling her with him so that she was lying on top of him. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her face down to his and kissed her, then he rolled her over onto the bed and leaned over and kissed her again.
Stacy unbuttoned Niki’s shirt and ran her hands over the muscles on his chest. She was so emotionally overwhelmed that she didn’t realize she was crying.
Niki wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Don’t cry, Stacy,” he said softly, brushing her hair back from her face.
She smiled at him and pulled him down to her and hugged him. “Make love to me, Niki,” she told him. When it was over, they lay tangled together in each other’s arms.
Niki looked at Stacy and smiled. He traced her lips with his finger. “I want to have kids with you,” he said.
She smiled and kissed him. “Be careful what you wish for.”
They lay in bed while Niki filled Stacy in on the trip, and what they had discovered, including the fact that whoever beheaded the man from the bank was still unknown. “We need to sit down and discuss the best way to handle your situation,” Niki said.
“Later,” Stacy said. “I don’t want to deal with it tonight.”
“Neither do I,” Niki said. His eyelids were heavy and he closed his eyes.
“Have you slept at all since you left?” Stacy asked.
“About an hour on the plane,” he said, without opening his eyes.
“I know you’re starving. Let me get you something to eat,” Stacy said, moving to get up.
“No, don’t leave,” he said, holding on to her. He kissed her neck. “I’ll go with you,” he said, opening his eyes. He dragged himself out of bed. “Let me take a quick shower first.”
Consuela had prepared a huge meal in anticipation of the men’s return, and Carlos and Eli were already in the kitchen waiting for the others when Stacy and Niki got there.
“Where’s Jason?” Niki asked.
“Showering,” Eli said. “You smell better,” he told Niki, then he leaned over to Stacy. “You always smell good,” he said, sniffing her neck. Stacy laughed and shoved him away.
Niki went to the intercom and called Jason, “Get your ass down here. We’re all starving.”
“I’m on my way,” he said, then he came back on, “Someone get my plate ready.”
Stacy picked up a plate and started loading food onto it, but Niki took it out of her hand. “Go sit down,” Niki said, “I’ll do that.”
She started to protest, but Niki physically moved her away from the stove so she went to the refrigerator instead. “Does everyone want a beer?” she asked. Everyone did, so she passed them around while the men got their plates ready, and Jason came in just as everyone was sitting down.
“Hi, Stacy,” Jason said, and Stacy got up and hugged him.
“Did you miss me?” he asked.
“You know I did. What do you want to drink?”
“A beer, but I’ll get it,” he said. “I’m so hungry I could eat glass.”
When they were all seated, Stacy raised her beer bottle and said, “I’d like to make a toast. To the safe return of Niki and Jason. And next time, take Eli with you,” she added.
They all laughed and drank to the toast.
Stacy caught Carlos looking at her and she smiled at him, then she tapped her head and shook her finger at him. “I can tell now,” she said. “I blocked you out, didn’t I?”
“Excellent!” Carlos said. He turned to Niki and Jason, “She can tell when I’m reading her mind,” he said proudly.
“No kidding?” Jason said. He looked over at Stacy, “How?”
“I feel it,” she said.
Carlos added, “And now she’s learned to block me out.”
She smiled at Carlos, “I can’t have you running around in my head learning all my secrets.” She looked over at Niki and he smiled.
“I think you should become my apprentice,” Carlos suggested.
“And what might that entail?” she asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, “spending a great deal of time with me.” He winked at Stacy and waited for Niki’s response.
“That’s not gonna work,” Niki said, without looking up, and Carlos and Stacy laughed.
Stacy looked over at Niki. “Eli said you have diving equipment. Can we go tomorrow?”
“You dive?” Niki asked, surprised.
“It’s been a couple of years, but I used to a lot,” she said.
“Do you have a dog?” he asked, and Jason laughed out loud.
“No,” she said, confused. “What does one have to do with the other?”
“Nothing,” Niki said. “I just wanted to know.”
Stacy looked over at Jason and he shrugged his shoulders then she went back to Niki. “So you want to go diving tomorrow?”
“I would love to go diving with you,” Niki said. “We need to get you a wet suit though. Consuela might know where one is.”
“Don’t send me to ask her,” said Eli. “She doesn’t like me any more.”
“What are you talking about, you’re Consuela’s favorite,” Niki said. “She loves you.”
“Not any more. Stacy turned her against me,” Eli said, and Niki laughed.
“I didn’t say anything!” Stacy said, defending herself. “Come on Carlos, take up for me.”
“Eli made Stacy cry this afternoon and Consuela lit into him,” Carlos explained.
“Our Consuela?” Niki said.
“Yes. Apparently, our Consuela is not as unassuming as she used to be, no doubt due to someone’s influence,” Carlos said, motioning his head toward Stacy.
“Why’d you make my girlfriend cry?” Niki asked. “I ought to
kick your ass.”
“Oh, is it official then?” Eli said. “She’s your girlfriend now?”
“Yeah, for now,” Niki said. “But I’m gonna get her pregnant so she’ll have to marry me.”
Stacy choked on a swallow of beer and went into a coughing attack. She got up and went to the sink and Niki followed her.
“You okay?” Niki asked, patting her on the back.
“I swallowed wrong,” she said. When she finally stopped coughing she thumped him in the chest. “Don’t tell them shit like that!”
He moved in close to her and leveled his eyes on hers. “It’s true,” he said.
Stacy wanted to march him right back to the bedroom and prove him right, but instead she turned him around and directed him back to the table.
“Where were we?” Stacy asked.
“You getting pregnant,” Eli said.
“Before that,” she said, irritated. “Oh, I know . . . a wetsuit.”
“We might have one in the junk room,” Niki said.
The group sat at the table for an hour after they finished eating, talking and catching up on what had gone on during Niki and Jason’s absence.
Finally, Niki leaned over on Stacy’s shoulder, “Let’s go to bed,” he said.
She ran her hand through his hair. “I’ll help clean up in here and I’ll meet you back there.”
Niki stood up and pulled Stacy’s chair out from the table. “No way. You’re coming with me,” he said, and they walked hand in hand back to his bedroom.
They lay down together and Niki pulled Stacy close to him and he was out within minutes. Stacy had her head on Niki’s chest and she could hear his heart beating and feel his steady breathing. She was thinking that a week ago, she didn’t even know this man; and here she was, if not in love, in ridiculously serious like. And the last thing that went through her mind before she fell asleep was that nothing ever felt so right.
Stacy and Niki woke up early and had coffee in the round room then they went in search of a wetsuit. Stacy led Niki upstairs and she went straight to the junk room.
“I won’t even ask how you knew where to find this room,” Niki said, rolling his eyes. “You probably know the house better than I do.”
There were several wetsuits hanging in the closet and Niki pulled out the smallest.
“This should fit you,” he said, holding it up next to Stacy.
They went back upstairs and got their gear on and headed toward the beach.
“We’ll take the fishing boat over to the cliff side of the island,” Niki said. “It’s a great place to dive.” He checked out Stacy in her wetsuit. “You look really hot,” he said, and he pulled her to him and kissed her.
They circled around the south crescent of the island and anchored the little boat on the western side of the island along the cliffs.
“We don’t have to go too deep over here to see some incredible marine life,” Niki said. “Once you feel comfortable with it, we’ll go down and explore the caves, but that’s 90 feet starting out,” he said.
“No, I’m not ready for that yet,” Stacy said.
“If you need anything while we’re down there, motion to me,” Niki instructed.
“Okay,” she said. “Give me a kiss.” Niki kissed her before she put her mask on. They got their tanks on and she waved to him then fell backward off the boat into the water.
They dove for thirty minutes and Niki motioned for them to go up. “What do you think?” he asked.
“It’s incredible!” she said, excited. “I think it’s even better than Hawaii.”
“You want to go longer?” he asked.
“Definitely!”
Her enthusiasm for the sport matched Niki’s and he was psyched to have found someone who got as much enjoyment out of it as he did. They went back under and swam around the reefs checking out the fish and coral, the lobsters, crabs and eels, and the occasional barracuda. After almost another hour, Stacy pointed to her watch and Niki shook his head and held up 10 fingers, and Stacy nodded in acknowledgment.
Chapter 22
The black helicopter came in low from the northwest and dropped its cargo on the landing strip. The four men were heavily armed, and they split into groups of two and headed in opposite directions towards the villa, then the helicopter disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Jason hit the intercom, “We’ve got company,” he said, but Carlos and Eli had heard it too and were already on their way down. They met in the kitchen and Jason was checking out the alarm switch plate. “We’ve got two separate areas where the alarm on the fence has been tripped,” he told them. He pointed to the map of the island, “Here and here.”
“Any chance it could be Stacy and Niki?” Eli asked.
“I don’t think so,” Jason said. “They would have had to split up and I can’t see Niki doing that.”
“Okay,” said Eli. “Jason, you take the north breach and I’ll take the east. We’ll drive to this fork,” he said, pointing on the map, “and I’ll go on foot from there.” He turned to Carlos, “You stay here and wait for Niki and Stacy. And arm yourself heavily.”
Jason got on the walkie-talkie, “Niki are you there? Niki,” he repeated. “They must be in the water.”
Eli disappeared and returned within minutes, loaded down with automatic and semi-automatic weapons and divided them between himself and Jason. They were in the Land Rover in less than five minutes, and Jason was flying down the path. The road was washed out completely in places because of the recent storm, and he had to swerve several times to avoid large limbs and fallen trees. They got to the fork in the road and Eli got out and headed in the direction where the alarm had been tripped. Jason drove north with his M-16 resting on the passenger seat.
The men who had taken the north track had split up. One would pass up the villa and come back at it from the north and the other would take it from the south.
Jason came around a curve and he saw someone dive into the jungle. He picked up the M-16 and aimed it out the passenger window and let off several rounds, then he jumped out of the Rover and took off on foot after the man.
The man turned around and shot at Jason, and Jason ducked behind a tree until the firing stopped, then he ran towards the shooter while he fired the M-16. The man yelled out and then there was silence.
Jason caught up to him and knelt down beside him. He felt the man’s neck for a pulse, and when he didn’t find one, he went through his pockets looking for identification, but they were empty. Jason took the man’s weapons and ran back to the Rover.
“Eli,” he called on the walkie-talkie.
“Yeah, I heard gunfire.”
“I got one. Where are you?” Jason asked.
“At the eastern most point on the perimeter road where those palm trees grow sideways. I haven’t found anything,” Eli said.
“I’ll be there in a couple of minutes,” Jason said. “Wait there.”
Niki and Stacy came to the surface and they heard gunfire.
“Shit!” Niki said. “Get in the boat, Stacy!”
They threw their gear up into the boat and climbed in and Niki headed for the south crescent. He got on the walkie-talkie, “Eli! Jason!”
Jason picked up, “We’ve got company. A helicopter came and went, and there were breaches in the fence in two different areas. I got one, so there’s still at least one more out there, probably more. I’m picking up Eli now. We’ll scout the perimeter road starting south to north on the east side.” Eli got in and Jason took off again. “Where are you?”
“Almost to the southern tip. Do you think it’s safe to dock in the boathouse?”
“I wouldn’t. We haven’t checked it yet,” Jason said.
Niki thought about it. “We’ll dock on the beach south of the boathouse and head back to the villa by the treeline.”
Jason and Eli talked among themselves and then Jason got back with Niki. “Eli’s going to meet you outside the boathouse,” Jason said.
&
nbsp; “All right,” Niki said. He turned to Stacy. “After we dock, stay right with me, and Stacy, I mean right with me, okay?”
“Okay, I will,” she said, visibly shaken.
“We’re going to head back toward the house up by the treeline. If we come up against anyone, I need you to do exactly what I tell you to do. If I tell you to run, you run. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
They had passed the southern tip of the crescent and were heading north towards the boathouse. Niki drove the boat a bit farther then turned it toward the beach. They went as far as they could with the motor on, then he cut the motor and he and Stacy got out and he pulled the boat onto the sand.
“Are you ready,” Niki asked.
“I’m ready,” she said.
He pulled out his pistol and took the safety off. “Let’s go,” he told Stacy.
They walked up to the treeline and headed towards the house. When they got to the boathouse Eli wasn’t there and Niki took it as a bad sign. They went farther and some birds flew out of the jungle, startled by something moving in the foliage up ahead. Eli was finally coming up from behind them.
“Stay with Eli,” Niki told Stacy. “Do what he tells you to.” Then he cut through the brush and disappeared into the jungle.
Eli caught up with Stacy. “You okay?” he asked, quietly.
She nodded without speaking, but she felt like vomiting.
“Here,” Eli said, handing her a pistol. “It’s ready to go. Don’t be afraid to use it. These people don’t play games.”
“Okay,” she said.
Niki could hear whoever he was following rustling in the brush up ahead. He had caught up to within ten feet and the man was still unaware that Niki was behind him.
“Hey asshole,” Niki said, running at the man. The guy spun around with his gun pointed at Niki, but Niki was too fast. In one motion, he knocked the man’s arm up, then twisted him around and broke his neck. The man’s gun discharged and Niki could hear Stacy scream from down below. Niki leaned over to make sure the man was dead, then he went through his pockets and took his weapons just as Jason had done.
Back on Solid Ground Page 16
