Redemption (Desire Never Dies)

by Clara Grace Walker

  He patted Darla on the shoulder and set down his pool stick. “We’ll take this up later. I need to talk to Mindy about something.”

  “Seriously?” She scowled. “You know, you’re still a rude jerk sometimes, Nick.”

  “I know. It’s part of the job description.” He didn’t miss her pout or the stamp of her foot as he walked away, but acted as if he did, and made his way to Mindy. She still stared at him, twisting her white-blonde hair around her fingers.

  “Are you a mind reader?” she asked when he got close. “How did you know I wanted to talk to you?”

  “There’s no such thing as mind readers, but I’m fairly good at deciphering body language.” He looked around the room again, noticing her do the same. Their common ground was clear. She didn’t trust these CRC kooks either. “Feel like dipping your feet in the pool?”

  She nodded, relief loosening her facial muscles. “I’d like that a lot.”

  As soon as they were out the door, he noticed Rory following, but glanced back only once, just enough to ascertain the guy lagged a few feet behind. “We have an escort,” he whispered.

  She nodded. “I noticed him follow us out. He’s the only staff member here I trust at all. And I still wouldn’t tell him anything I wanted kept secret.”

  He said nothing further until they reached the pool and sat at the edge, stepping out of their flip flops and dangling their feet in the cold water. His flesh raised all the way up his legs. “Pool’s not heated,” he noted. “Might still feel refreshing on a hot day like this though.”

  Across the pool, Rory had slouched into a lounge chair and closed his eyes.

  “I think I’ll spend my relaxation time out here from now on.” Nick spoke loudly enough for Rory to hear.

  Mindy followed his gaze across the pool. “Rory’s a zombie bot, but he’s harmless. He was in my room right before I saw it.”

  This was what she wanted to tell him. He saw the need clearly in her eyes. “Right before you saw what?”

  She glanced back at Rory, who appeared to be napping, and lowered her voice further. “I saw three people carrying a body out into the woods the second night I was here.”

  “Damn!” The curse came out in a whisper. Letting Jamie and Charlotte come here had been a huge mistake. “Carole was probably right. Regina probably didn’t kill herself.”

  Mindy gaped at him, mouth wide open. “You mean you believe me?”

  Her surprise puzzled him. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I believe you?”

  “Earl didn’t.”

  “You told Earl?”

  “Yes. But he thought I was suffering from withdrawals.”

  Hurt sounded heavily in her voice. Nick felt sorry for her. He wished now he’d been a little kinder during their exchange in therapy. “I’m sorry,” he said. And she became the second person he’d apologized to his entire adult life. “It hurts to have someone you love lose faith in you.”

  “How would you know?”

  He thought of his late wife Janelle, and how she’d paid Rod one hundred thousand dollars to keep their affair quiet, rather than trusting Nick to forgive her. “You might be surprised to learn how human I really am.”

  She looked him over, still guarded, but less unsure. “Thank you for believing me.”

  “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.” He patted her on the head, the way he might his own daughter. “And I’m sorry Earl didn’t believe you. Try not to hold it against him. I’m sure he’d much rather believe you’re having withdrawals than think your life might be in danger. If the guy came all the way here to see you, you can be sure he still loves you.”

  “You think so?” She sounded surprised.

  Nick laughed. “We men are simple creatures. If the guy didn’t love you, he’d be off somewhere else with someone else.”

  She said nothing, just splashed her feet in the pool while staring at them. Funny, he thought, how getting to know a person put a different perspective on things. She wasn’t the spoiled pop princess he’d mistaken her for. “I need you to do me a favor,” he said.

  “What’s that?” She continued staring at her feet, kicking up droplets of water.

  “Don’t say anything else about the body. It isn’t safe here.”

  She looked up at last, confusion clear in her eyes. “I’m a major star. It’s not like they can just carry me off into the woods and no one’s going to notice.”

  “They could say you drowned, or tripped and fell, or that you killed yourself, the way they did with Regina.”

  Understanding widened her eyes, along with a touch of fear. “You’re not really an alcoholic, are you?”

  “No. That’s just my cover story. That has to be our secret though.” She nodded, and he continued on. “I wasn’t sure I believed Carole at first. I thought she was upset and in denial over her daughter’s death. But the more I looked into this place, the more suspicious I became. Even without what you’ve just told me. The people running this place are dangerous. Keep your eyes and ears open, and your mouth shut.”

  “I will,” she said. “I want to help you find out what happened.”

  “Good.” Nick stood, stretching and sliding his wet feet back into his flip flops. “We should head back now. Come swimming tomorrow. We’ll talk more then.”

  As they started back toward the treatment center, Rory hopped up and followed. Harmless, maybe, but definitely a zombie-bot.

  Chapter 20

  A setting sun dappled through palm leaves, sending pinkish-orange rays of twilight dancing across the horizon. The view was lovely, Jamie couldn’t help but marvel at the irony; a beautiful place that evoked nothing but frightening memories. The last time she’d been here she and Nick had been held captive by a trio of psychopaths and Nick had been shot. She’d thought nothing could ever drag them back, but she understood how Nick felt about Regina’s death. Every story of a young woman’s tragic end, especially one thought to be suicide, brought back the guilt he felt over Taralynn. Maybe solving the puzzle of Regina’s death would finally heal his hurt.

  Grabbing Charlotte by the hand, she hurried her along toward the rehab facility. “Come on, honey. Daddy’s waiting to see us.”

  Her little girl smiled and started to run. “Maybe daddy can come to the pool with us tomorrow.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but daddy’s working. He has to do his job all day.”

  “But why can’t he spend the night with us?”

  She sighed. Explaining this was going to be harder than she thought. “Daddy needs his sleep at night, sweetie. And so do you.”

  Entering the rec room, she spotted Nick at the pool table, engaged in a game with Mindy LePage. Vince Allan sat at a table, playing chess with a woman in a pantsuit. From the bun in her hair, Jamie pegged her as a staff member. It surprised her to see Vince. Almost as much as it had surprised her to see Earl Grayson walking in the door ahead of her. If Nick wasn’t here to do an investigative piece for Just the Facts, he could most certainly do a celebrity puff piece for The Tattletale.

  “Daddy!” Charlotte spotted Nick and ran eagerly toward his outstretched arms.

  Nick spun around at the sound of her voice, lighting up with joy. “Charlotte!” His gaze travelled next to Jamie, hurrying to catch up with their daughter. He held his arms out to greet them, scooping Charlotte up and kissing her on the top of her head before setting her down and embracing Jamie. “I’ve missed you, too,” he murmured.

  She lost herself for a moment in the warm feel of him. “I think this place needs to institute conjugal visits.”

  He grinned. “I’ll be sure to suggest it. Are the two of you settled in okay?”

  “We’re fine.” The place gave her the creeps. And not just because it was on Key Largo. “There’s a playground over there. And a pool. And some shuffleboard courts. And fortunately for me, Maggie’s here with Isabelle, so Charlotte has someone to play with.”

  He let go of Jamie and scooped Charlotte back
into his arms, tussling her dark curls. She was the spitting image of him in three-year-old, female form. “I hear you’ve been spending time at the playground, munchkin.”

  She squealed with delight. “I met Isabelle there.”

  “Isabelle, huh? Lucky for you there’s another little girl here.”

  “I know.” She nodded, looking and sounding every bit the precocious toddler people proclaimed her to be. “It wouldn’t be very fun without her.”

  “I’ll tell you what, squirt, can you go sit on the chair over there?” He pointed toward a beige recliner a few feet away. “Just for a few minutes while I talk to mommy, and then I’ll spend the rest of the hour with you, okay?”

  “Okay, daddy.”

  He set her down and she marched confidently off in the direction he’d indicated. As soon as she was out of earshot, Nick turned back to Jamie, pulling her into a tight embrace. “There’s definitely something suspicious going on here. This place has a Jonestown vibe to it.”

  “I know. They confiscated my cell phone and tablet at the registration desk and I had to have the girl at the front desk place my call to Danny through the landline. I’d bet money someone is listening in on every call we make.”

  His heart sank. Private communication with the outside world was completely out of the question. “I don’t like it. Do you have anyone over there watching you?”

  “Just Patty. She works the front desk and does the CRC seminars for family members. And a couple of security guards, Dex and Jerry. That’s it though. The entire hotel is self-serve, if you can believe that. We have to clean our own rooms and cook our own meals. It’s pretty bizarre.”

  “Just like everything else about this place.” He glanced again around the room. “I have an ally by the way.”

  “Who?”

  “Mindy LePage.”

  “You’re kidding.” She wanted to scan the room for her, but didn’t dare.

  “No. She saw three people carrying a body out to the woods a couple of nights ago. I’m starting to think it was a mistake to bring you and Charlotte here. It might be best if you packed up and left.”

  Jamie’s heart thumped hard in her chest. The rec room, which had seemed so spacious when she first stepped inside, shrank to claustrophobic dimensions. She saw herself back in a bare room, bound and facing death, waiting for Marianne Clarke, Pearl Watson and their hired thug, D-bag, to come and kill her. As much as she hated being back on Key Largo, however, she hated the thought of leaving Nick here alone even more. “We’ll be fine,” she promised. She went over everything quickly in her head. She had a car. And keys to the car. She could leave whenever she wanted. But it would leave Nick vulnerable. “At this point, it would only look suspicious if we left. Unless something happens that would put us in danger, I think we should stay. People do leave here alive and well.” She said it as much to herself as to him. “That comedian, Joey, and his wife were checking out when I arrived.”

  “Fine, but promise me at the first sign of trouble you’ll take Charlotte and get out of here.”

  “I will. I promise.” She didn’t like it though. She wanted them all to leave. Right now. Find someone else to investigate Regina’s death. No matter how selfish that made her.

  Nick looked over at Charlotte, who smiled when she saw him. “I should go spend some time with her. People might start to wonder what we’re up to if we just stand here groping each other.”

  “Right.” Jamie plastered a smile on her face and tried to look happy.

  Chapter 21

  Stepping inside the rec room, Earl saw Vince before anything else. Kicked back in a recliner. Chatting up some CRC staffer.

  His heart dropped. Mindy might as well have reached inside his chest and yanked it out. It was déjà vu. His first attempt at visiting her in rehab all over again. She was within a few feet of him before he could pull his gaze away from the piece of slime she’d taken up with after their split. He acknowledged her, barely nodding his head. “Vince is here? Really?”

  She halted, standing just outside his reach. “Apparently. And what’s with the attitude?”

  Nothing. He loved seeing her in the same room as the man who’d most recently shared her bed. “Did you invite him?”

  “What do you mean invite him? Did you not notice the CRC t-shirt and shorts he’s wearing?”

  Earl looked back at Vince. He’d been so shocked and pissed off, he’d made note of nothing but the guy’s stringy blonde hair and the goofy smile on his face. A second inspection revealed the facility’s initials stenciled in blue down the side of the shorts and across the front of the shirt. Earl looked back at Mindy, not missing the irritated curl on her brow. “Vince is a patient here?”

  “Yes.” She made no effort to move closer. “So you can stop looking wounded. It’s not what you obviously think.”

  “I don’t I like him here as a patient either.”

  “Take it up with Anthony Howard. He’s the one who sent him here. Offered him a record deal if he came.”

  “Of course he did.” Earl saw visions of Anthony’s face on a dart board. The guy was a money-grubbing germ. “This rehab stint is nothing but a publicity stunt of Anthony’s, isn’t it?”

  She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “That’s my guess. A publicity stunt would be just like him.”

  “So how long before you and Vince are hot and heavy again, and you ask me to leave?” It was a stupid thing to say, and he knew it. He couldn’t help himself though. The sight of the guy anywhere near Mindy boiled his blood.

  “I have no intention of getting hot and heavy with Vince again.” Hurt colored her voice, even through the indignation. “But you can leave now if that’s the way you feel about it.”

  She turned to leave, but not before he caught her by the arm and turned her back around. Her eyes had started to mist. Even so, she held his gaze, jaw clenched tight. “Okay. I’m an idiot,” he said. “Just let me get my shoe off and I’ll eat that, since I can’t actually get my foot in my mouth.”

  “Is there a problem?” The deep, male voice seemed to come from nowhere.

  Earl had been so focused on Mindy and Vince, and the twisted feeling in his gut; he’d failed to take note of the other newcomer. Like Preston and Rod, Earl recognized him from news stories now four years old, and this time, he didn’t mind saying so. “Nicholas Beck. Don’t tell me the tabloid business has driven you to drink.”

  “No. My late wife’s murder did.” He stared at Earl, his dark eyes teeming with anger. Earl pulled himself up to his full height, still managing to come up a couple of inches short. “If you don’t mind, Mindy and I are having a private conversation.”

  “I don’t mind at all, as long as you play nice.”

  Earl looked from Mindy, whose open jaw revealed a hint of surprise, but not enough to hide the grin creeping into the corners of her mouth, then back to Nick. “I’m sorry, Mindy. I didn’t realize Nick Beck was your father. No wonder you claimed not to know.”

  A hearty laugh burst out of Nick. “You’re funny. But not so funny I won’t connect my fist with your jaw if you make her cry again.” He turned to Mindy. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “It’s okay, Nick. I can handle Earl.”

  “Alright then.” He grinned at Mindy and threw another scowl in Earl’s direction. “Keep her happy or I’ll have to go polish my shotgun.” He smiled and headed back to a hot redhead holding a dark-haired little girl. Obviously his.

  Earl shook his head. “So Mr. Tabloid’s your big protector now?” She watched him with his wife and child, not smiling the way he’d expected her to. “I’m sorry,” he said. He’d let his jealousy goad him into behaving like a jerk. He reached for her, wanting to feel her forgiveness in the crush of her lips, but she stepped away.

  “Let’s sit down,” she said. “People are starting to stare.”

  “Sure. We’ll sit. But first, let me apologize properly.” He reached out for her, and this time pulled her into his arms, taking the
kiss he’d been wanting since he entered the damn room.

  Chapter 22

  Mindy thought about pulling away, but didn’t. Earl felt so damn good. Warm. Masculine. Safe.

  She couldn’t keep his love forever. He would leave someday, either because she wouldn’t tell him her secrets, or because she finally did. But he wasn’t leaving now. So she allowed herself the luxury of his kiss. Stroking the inside of his mouth with her tongue, she felt every moment in suspended animation. He tasted salty and hot and smelled like he’d just stepped from the shower. As he tightened his grip on her his hardening desire throbbed against her abdomen. She remembered that happiness; just long enough to wish Earl would stay forever. Not bother her about her secrets. Or not hate her if he knew.

  Closing her eyes, she blocked out the fluorescent lights of the rec room, with its people and guards and security cameras. She pictured the two of them in Earl’s bedroom, getting ready to turn in for the night, Pretzel in his dog bed in the corner; Snickers and Lollipop squabbling over the same corner of the bed. Earl holding onto her, refusing to let her break them up until he’d kissed her just one second longer.

  Earl pulled away smiling, his dimples cresting the edges of his beard. “I’m forgiven then?”

  “I suppose.” She found him so infuriatingly difficult to stay mad at. “For now. Just don’t let it happen again.” They made their way to the loveseat and she allowed Earl to pull her close. “I’m sorry about the whole Vince thing,” she said.

  “Why?” He said it like he meant it, but the scowl returned to his face. “You didn’t invite him here. It’s just more of Anthony’s bullshit. That guy loves playing God and fucking with people’s lives.”

  “I meant I’m sorry about ever hooking up with him in the first place.”

  He looked away from her, staring at Vince. “It’s not like you need to apologize for that either. We weren’t together anymore. You were free to do as you pleased.”