A Man to Remember

by Engels, Mary Tate

  "Confession?" He studied the notion. "Yes, I guess so. You should know what we're up against. Perhaps I should have told you before now. But as it is, maybe it isn't too late. Come on, Alyse. It's time to talk." He moved silently beside her and placed a gentle hand on her neck.

  They sat side by side on the settee bench, knees together, groping for the right words, for a handle on feelings.

  "Isn't too late for what?" Alyse asked. His shadowed face was grim and immovable. "Jake, I've seen you angry at me but never so serious."

  "Our situation is very serious, Alyse."

  "Dammit, Jake. This isn't a sudden new development. You've known all along. Don't get sanctimonious on me now."

  "You're right." He nodded, tight-lipped. "Our time together is limited. I've been terribly unfair to you, Alyse. Hell, more than unfair." He leaned forward, elbows on widespread knees, big hands dangling between them. "I've risked your life along with mine. And what I'd like you to do is get off the Skye Command at the next little town up the coast, take a bus across the peninsula to La Paz, and fly home."

  Alyse's tone was brittle and full of scorn when she responded. "So it's time to get rid of Alyse, huh?" She stared at him, her eyes wide with shock and anger. "Looks like it's the beginning of the end for us, babe. It's been nice knowing you, kid, but this is the end of the line."

  "Something like that." He couldn't look at her.

  She hopped up. "I think I need a beer for this one. No, maybe something stronger. How about a gin and tonic?"

  He nodded.

  With angry, jerking motions Alyse clanked the bottles on the cabinet and began mixing them drinks.

  He glared at her, perplexed by her reactions. She hadn't even heard him out. Why the hell was she angry? Wasn't this what she wanted? Freedom? To be free of his entanglement? To go back home?

  "Look, Alyse —"

  "Don't 'look Alyse' me, Jake! Why did you come up with this brilliant plan all of a sudden? Why didn't you leave me in La Paz in the first place? Or San Jose when I tried to escape? But no! You insisted that I come along with you! Why, Jake?" She twisted a lime into each glass with a flare and handed one to him.

  "Why?" His voice was low. "One reason. Selfish. I needed you, and you were handy. I didn't want to let go."

  She flinched at his cruel words. "And now that you don't need me anymore, you're willing to dump me, is that it?" She lifted her glass in a mock toast. "Here's to dumping Alyse!"

  "My God, Alyse! You don't know what you're talking about."

  "Go ahead, Jake, drink! Celebrate my departure."

  "I don't want to dump you, Alyse. I want to protect you by getting you away from me. Don't you understand? I'm dangerous!"

  She smiled seductively and slithered across the cabin and sat next to him. "I'll say you are, Jake Bronson, but I've known that from the beginning."

  "Alyse, don't —" He moved her hand from his thigh and stood to pace the small cabin area.

  She was struggling with her emotions, vacillating between dying to hear what he had to say and not wanting to know his secrets. She was now involved, and he was determined that she should know. And she was equally determined not to leave him, regardless of what he said.

  "You know, Alyse, you're really funny," he said with a gesture. "All this time you've been on my back to reveal all and tell you everything. And now, when I'm ready to expose myself, you're dodging me. Why, Alyse?"

  She lifted large blue eyes and answered slowly. "Because I'm afraid of what I'll learn about you, Jake. Afraid I won't like it. And afraid I'll . . . well . . . lose you."

  The muscles in his jaws tensed. "When you hear what I have to say, you'll be anxious to leave me."

  She lifted her chin defiantly. "Oh, no, Jake. You're wrong. I've come through some pretty rough times with you. Now I'm here to stay."

  "There are still some heavy risks, Alyse." He sat across from her.

  "But, Jake, we're on our way out now. We'll be in U.S. waters soon."

  "We aren't there yet. The authorities are still after us, and until we hit international waters, there are all kinds of possibilities."

  "But none for us, is that it, Jake?"

  His voice grew stern. "This is no light matter, Alyse. It reaches beyond you and me. Please, just listen to what I have to tell you."

  She heaved a resigned sigh and leaned back. "Okay, Jake. I think I know what you're going to say. You're smuggling something in the jewelry, aren't you? Or it's in the box itself. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, the way you've been hovering over the damned little thing."

  "Very clever, my little sleuth," he said. "Oh, you're right about smuggling something out." He paused for a drink.

  "What then?"

  "Military secrets. Or, rather, contra-military information."

  "What kind of information?"

  "Rumors have fluctuated for years, rising and falling with the economy, that there was a possible coup being organized in Mexico. The drug cartels want to take over. It is imperative, for our national security and economy that the U.S. government makes sure this doesn't happen. We want Mexico to remain a peaceful neighbor. And yet we must not visibly interfere."

  "Our government? What do you mean?"

  He nodded. "I did some work for the CIA on this subject last year."

  Alyse sat straight up. "Oh, God, Jake! You're a CIA agent? Why? How?"

  "I've kept high ranking contacts since my Navy Seal days and occasionally I do some contract work for them. I'll do a single, high-level, high-risk project and get out."

  "Why?"

  "The pay is very good. I'll make enough on this one project to expand my business."

  Alyse slumped back down on the settee and sipped her drink. "I never figured you for CIA, Jake. Drug smuggler, yes. But government informant?" She ended with a slow shake of her head.

  "You act as though this is worse." He chuckled.

  "It's, well, either one is a form of stealing."

  "What I'm doing is insuring peace. And patriotic."

  "Why didn't you tell the cops in San Lucas that you were working for their own good."

  "That would have blown the whole project. We don't know who all is involved in this movement yet."

  She raised her eyebrows. "How did you find out?"

  "Infiltrated the army."

  "The army? Then you were the deserter they were looking for?"

  "Yes. When things got too tight for me, I had to run and hide. Our sources related that the coup attempt would come from within the military. The only way to determine if anything was being formed was to infiltrate the army, become one of them, and see what, if anything, I could detect."

  "So you were a Mexican soldier? Oh, Jake, I can't believe it. You don't look—"

  He grinned devilishly. "Without the red beard I passed. Not every Mexican is dark-haired, you know."

  "So I'm learning. And you found evidence of rebels in the military?"

  "My findings—photos of damaging documents and undercover activities—are recorded on microfilm hidden in the sapphire necklace. One of the rolled canvases has a series of hand-drawn maps of rebel settlements in the mountains and wilderness areas."

  "So what will our government do with this information you have? Will we have to take action?"

  "Oh, no. Diplomatic sources will merely transfer the information to the Mexican government and let it handle the situation on its own terms. We'll stay as clear as we possibly can."

  "Why didn't you just go straight to the Mexican authorities with your information?"

  "First it must be analyzed by our experts. Then the findings will be secretly shared by sources at another level. There is a considerable amount of diplomacy involved here. Our government controls the situation by learning the secrets in the first place. Then we can reveal the problems and exact locations, but the problems belong to the Mexican government, and it's up to them to solve." He paused to make sure she was following his explanation.

  She nodde
d. "So we won't send troops in to quell an uprising."

  "You must understand that in these dealings knowledge is power. The fact that we knew all about it before the Mexican government did gives us power. It makes them think, 'If the United States knew about this, what else does it know?' "

  "Jake, if you're a CIA agent, why did they leave you behind enemy lines with no way out?"

  "Hold it. Remember, I'm not a CIA agent. I'm an independent contractor, hired by the CIA for specific jobs. This project has been lengthy as well as risky. I've been enlisted in the army for more than six months."

  "But you deserted? Wouldn't that just draw attention to you?"

  He grinned. "Beats getting caught. When I got too close to the truth, things started getting very hot, and I knew I had to get out quick. Because of the sensitive nature of the whole situation, my contacts couldn't just fly down and pick me up. So other arrangements had to be made."

  "You mean, they just said, 'Good luck, great job, you're on your own'?"

  "Not exactly. I was advised to leave as soon as possible."

  "And you devised your own way out, with a story about a dying aunt. And using me."

  He looked away from her delving blue eyes. "It was a good plan, you'll have to admit."

  "And Emilio? Did he know about you?"

  "Yes. He's a contact, supportive of the Mexican government."

  Alyse rose and placed her empty glass in the sink. "Quite a story, Jake. I thought I had you figured, but obviously I didn't. Not CIA."

  "You make it sound like a dirty word," he said harshly. "I'm proud of my work with them."

  "I can see how you used me, every step of the way, Jake. How you needed me to make it look like we were a couple. How you needed my brother's boat to make it look like we were on vacation. Your life was at stake, and that's a pretty strong reason."

  He walked to her. "Now yours is, too, Alyse. Because of me, you're in great danger, and that's why I want you to leave."

  She wheeled around to face him. "Okay, let me take the jewelry box back to James in California for you. Let me make the connection. You be the decoy, and I'll meet you later in San Diego."

  "No way. It's much too risky for you to have the box."

  "You were going to let me leave Cabo San Lucas with the box."

  "That was different. We were in dire straits. As long as I'm capable, I can't let you risk it. What I want is for you to go, to leave me alone to bring the Skye Command in by myself."

  She folded her arms. "Not a chance, Jake. I'm staying with the Skye Command."

  "I'd rather bring it in alone. The risk for you is too great."

  "Jake, why are you telling me this now? Why are we having this conversation? It seems a little late to me."

  His brown eyes grew darker. "Because I trust you, Alyse. And I care what happens to you."

  She moved around the table and placed her palms on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding beneath the thin shirt. "That's exactly why I can't leave you, Jake. I care about you too."

  "Alyse, I want to protect you."

  "Let me think for myself this time, Jake. I want to stay with you." Her hands scaled his chest to frame his face and pull it down close to hers. "And that is that."

  "Alyse, don't put this on a personal basis."

  "It's already on a personal basis, Jake. And I want to be with you. I want you in my arms, Jake." Her whisper was lost against the fierce pressure of his lips.

  With a low moan he lifted her up to mold her slim form to his lean planes, to feel her breasts and belly and thighs pressed tightly to his battered, aching body. His lips caught hers hungrily in a deep, sweet kiss.

  "One night away from you, Jake," she murmured breathlessly, "and I thought I'd die. The idea of you beaten and miserable in that awful jail made me realize even more how much I care for you."

  One of his hands was braced beneath her buttocks; the other was stretched across her back, stroking every inch of it, caressing and loving the slender curves. "Alyse, this is a mistake. Every time I touch you makes it harder for me to let you go."

  "Then don't ever," she murmured as they sank together onto a berth in the boat's bow. "Never let me go."

  They undressed quickly, the urgency to touch, to caress, to love growing with every kiss. Alyse marveled at her intense passion for Jake. She should feel differently now, she kept telling herself. Now that she knew the truth about Jake, now that she knew who he really was and what he was doing in Mexico. Now that she knew what kind of man Jake was. Adventurer. Patriotic. Honest, when absolutely necessary.

  He was the same man she had loved on Balandra Beach, the one who had led her through wonderful days in La Paz, into adventure in the Sea of Cortes. He was the one who'd been beaten in jail and whose bruised body needed her gentleness, her love. At least, right now he needed her. She pushed his shoulders flat down and hovered over him, sensually kissing his clean-shaven face.

  "Jake, I'll make you glad I stayed. I'm going to take good care of you, so good you'll never let me go." She reached into her makeup case and retrieved a moisturizer. "Turn over," she ordered.

  Obediently he flipped to his stomach. "This isn't going to make me smell like a bunch of flowers, is it?"

  "Of course not. It's just mild and smooth. Made to replenish your body oils. It'll relax you, make you feel good." She poured a dollop of cream into the pocket of her palm and smeared it across the muscular ridges of his shoulders.

  "Ah, your hands feel like satin," he murmured.

  With curious fingers she rubbed and deep massaged each taut muscle, following the sinewy cords that shaped his back. She marveled in the tough resilience of his skin as she glazed him like satin sliding along supple leather. She gloried in the renewed vibrancy of his well-honed but bruised body. Her fingers walked the rocky stretch of his backbone all the way to his lower spine. She pressed the heels of her palms on the horizontally stretched muscles, squeezed splayed fingers over his buttocks.

  Then she continued along his strong thighs, the sensitive backs of his knees, the knotted muscles of his calves. She touched him everywhere, even the soles of his feet. Occasionally he'd groan softly as she touched tender places.

  "Does that hurt, Jake? And this? Sorry, I'll be careful."

  "No, it's good, all good."

  Finally she slid a hand under his taut belly, low. "Turn over," she whispered. "There's more."

  He revolved and gave her a dreamy smile. "Oh, yes, yes."

  Her hands slid over him, caressing every muscle. "My God, Jake. What's this? I don't mean to hurt you." She gingerly circled a bruise beneath his ribs.

  "Easy . . ." He moaned as she found other sore spots on his long frame.

  Precise but gentle fingers followed the sandy curls down his middle until the hair fanned out to encircle the heated prominence of his desire. She touched him everywhere.

  Finally, at the last possible moment, she straddled him. His hips surged forward, and she rose to accept his power. "Come to me, Jake. Satisfy me. Now and forever." With slow deliberation she forged them together, closing herself tightly around him.

  His groan of pleasure was audible as they merged in hot combustion, rocking, reveling, exploding together. Exhausted and satiated, Alyse slumped down onto his strong frame. She stretched her body along the length of his and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, Jake," she murmured into his chest.

  Jake clamped her to him. He rolled onto his side, tucked her into his arms, and held her close for a long, long time. "Alyse, mi preciosa, I'm so lucky to have you."

  Her voice was soft but firm. "I won't leave you, Jake. Don't try to make me."

  His hand stroked the nude length of her from breast to hip, then back again. "I couldn't stand it if you got hurt because of me."

  "Let me be the one to decide my own risks. You are my dream, Jake."

  "Make your own dreams, Alyse. Don't let someone else do that for you."

  "Jake, I love everything about you. I love you—
"

  "No, Alyse." He objected as if saying no would stop the emotion. "You're infatuated with the intrigue. Now that you know all about me, the mystery is gone."

  "And you think my feelings will stop now that I know about you?"

  "In time."

  "What will happen to us, Jake? In time, when we get home?"

  He sighed. "I'll go back to my dull life as a boot maker in El Paso. And you will make your own dreams come true."

  "My dream is you, Jake. But I understand if you don't love me."

  "Alyse, I know only that I wouldn't be good for you."

  She lay quietly against him. She had her answer. It wasn't the answer she wanted, but it told her the truth: that he didn't love her. It told her Jake Bronson would be a man to remember. That was all.

  They cruised for several days along the Pacific coast of the Baja, hiding in secretive coves. Nights were spent in each other's arms, loving until they were exhausted. They were bright, halcyon days and moonlit nights, never to be forgotten. They were times to be remembered forever. She was a woman to love; he was just a man to remember.

  On the last day out and a few miles from international waters a Mexican patrol boat spotted and chased them. Orders to stop were shouted through a bullhorn. Jake calculated their chances and decided to outrun it. With reckless abandon Alyse agreed.

  At breakneck speed they reached international waters but in the process took several shotgun blasts to the aft. The magnificent Skye Command limped into port at San Diego, escorted by the U.S. Coast Guard. Names were given, and calls made, even before they docked.

  Suddenly they were surrounded by Coast Guard officers and being questioned. Alyse felt everything slipping away. Precious time alone with Jake was gone. After their isolated life in the Baja and aboard the Skye Command, reality was wildly hectic.

  They were forced apart. Alyse cast frantic eyes at Jake. He had questions to answer for the authorities. A stretch limo awaited her.

  Frantically she forged her way to his side. "Jake. What now? Is this it?"