“For you, it might only have been a nickname, but for me, it was Dad shifting his attention from me to you.”
“Godpop 1 loves you. He wasn’t shifting his attention to me, he was just being nice.”
“Too nice, and I despised you for it. He had a daughter, yet any time your mother would call, he and Mom would drop everything and take off. Just because your father saved Dad’s life—that meant nothing. They were all SEALs and your dad was doing his job when he died. But it was as if Dad blamed himself and he needed to make it up by being nice to you, like you were somebody special. So, with the help of some friends, I decided to change everyone’s opinion of you.”
It was hard for Swan to believe what she was hearing. She’d never known that Georgianna harbored such feelings. Granted she hadn’t always been overnice and had a tendency to be moody, but Swan hadn’t detected animosity like this.
“What did you do?” Swan asked her.
Georgianna smiled like she was proud of what she was about to say. “I set up an espionage operation out of your shop with the help of Rafe and Horacio. Then, with Rosie’s assistance, I made it appear that the secret information being sent to China was being done through your jewelry.”
“What!” Swan couldn’t believe it. Her head was spinning from all the shocks she’d received tonight.
“I have to admit I put together a perfect plan. This guy I was sleeping with at the time assisted me by tipping off naval intelligence with what you were supposedly doing. They did their own investigation and my team and I made sure everything pointed at you. It should have been an open and shut case and you were to be arrested and charged with espionage.”
As if she was tired of standing, Georgianna moved to sit on one of the benches. She frowned over at Swan. “Everything was going according to plan until the final thread of the investigation reached Director Levart’s desk.”
“Godpop 3?”
“See what I mean? You have three godfathers and I don’t have a one,” Georgianna said in a loud voice, pointing a finger at her. “You don’t deserve such love and loyalty, and I intended to tarnish their image of you.”
* * *
Flipper’s watch vibrated and he glanced down at the text message. Here. N place. Coop got layout of boat.
He texted them back. 1 N cockpit. 4 others. 2 hostages.
He quickly received a reply from Viper. Eliminating cockpit.
Got 4 in scope. That particular text came from Bane, a master sniper.
Flipper knew that although everyone was in place, timing was everything. Georgianna had no idea her words were being recorded so he wanted to let her talk before making his move. Then there would be no way she could deny anything.
From listening to what the woman was saying, it was obvious she had mental issues. That could be the only reason to have such a deep hatred of Swan that Georgianna would go to such extremes. Georgianna assumed she’d had the perfect plan for Swan’s downfall and Flipper was glad things hadn’t turned out the way Georgianna intended.
Before inching up the ladder to listen to what else she was confessing, he texted the message: Will give signal.
* * *
Swan shook her head. It was obvious Georgianna’s jealousy had blinded her senses and fueled her hatred. Didn’t the others see it? Why were they following her blindly? Swan glanced over at Jamila and could tell by the look in her cousin’s eyes that she was wondering the same thing.
“When Director Levart saw the report, he refused to believe you could be guilty of anything, especially betraying your country.”
Thank God for that, Swan thought.
“He requested a thirty-day delay before agreeing to take any actions against you. Even after we made sure the investigation clearly spelled out your role in everything. There was no reason for you not to be charged,” Georgianna said.
She paused a moment before continuing. “Unknown to me and the others, Director Levart went to your other two godfathers and they put their heads together to see what they could do to prove your innocence. They decided to send one of their top SEALs to find out what he could and to prove your innocence.”
Swan drew in a deep breath. Oh no, please don’t let what Horacio said tonight be true. Please don’t let David turn out to be someone other than what he said he was.
Georgianna’s next words ripped into Swan’s heart.
“The SEAL they sent was Lieutenant David Holloway. I guess you didn’t know that all the time he spent with you was nothing more than an assignment. You meant nothing to him, Swan.” Georgianna laughed as if she found the entire thing amusing while Swan’s heart broke.
“Imagine how amused I was to find out just how taken you were with him, while not knowing the true purpose as to why he showed up here on the island. You were played, Swan,” Georgianna was saying in between laughter. “But don’t worry. I sent some other members of my group to take care of him for you. I think he’s dead by now.”
Suddenly a deep voice at the back of the boat said, “As you can see, I’m very much alive.”
* * *
Swan gasped just as the others did. Standing with legs braced apart and wearing only a pair of swim trunks with a utility combat belt around his waist, David looked like a mad badass. It was obvious everyone was shocked to see him, especially Georgianna, who had assumed he was dead.
“Drop your gun,” he ordered Horacio, who was still holding his weapon on Swan and Jamila.
“How the hell did you get here?” Horacio asked, enraged.
“I swam from Swan’s home.”
“That’s impossible!”
“Not if you’re a SEAL master swimmer,” David said. “Now, do like I said and put your gun down.”
“And if I don’t? It will be a shame if I kill Swan or Jamila before you can get to anything on that belt you’re wearing,” Horacio sneered.
“Don’t try it, Horacio. One of my team members who’s a master sniper has all four of you within his scope. Before you could get off the first shot, you’d be dead.”
“I don’t believe you. There’s no one else out here,” Horacio said. When he lifted his gun to take aim at Swan, a shot rang out, hitting the man in the chest. The impact toppled him to the floor.
Jamila screamed and Swan understood. Jamila had fallen in love with a man who’d betrayed her and then gotten shot right before her eyes.
Suddenly, Rafe dived for the gun that had dropped from Horacio’s hand. Before he could reach it, another shot rang out that hit him in the side. He fell to the floor as well.
“Either of you ladies want to join them?” Flipper asked Georgianna and Rosie.
Rosie looked like she was in shock and ready to pass out.
However, Georgianna looked furious. “You won’t get away with this. No matter what you tell my father, he will never believe you over me,” she said with absolute certainty. “I’ll tell him that you decided to team up with Swan and she turned you against your country.”
“I figured you would lie. That’s why I’ve recorded your little confession to Swan detailing everything. I can’t wait for your father to listen to it.”
Suddenly the boat was surrounded by several naval vessels and sharp beams of light shined on them. A voice through a foghorn said, “Lieutenant Holloway, we are coming aboard.”
A dozen men wearing SEAL gear rushed on board with their guns drawn, immediately taking Georgianna and Rosie into custody. Bane, Viper, Coop and Mac boarded the boat as well. Mac rushed over to check Horacio and Rafe. There really was no need since they were both dead.
Flipper rushed over to Swan and Jamila to untie their hands. More than anything, he wanted to pull Swan into his arms and tell her he loved her. He wanted her to put out of her mind what Georgianna had said about him until she’d heard his side of things. However, he knew when she pulled away from him to give her c
ousin a hug that she didn’t want to give him a chance to explain.
He didn’t intend to let her walk away.
“We need to talk, Swan,” he said, looking down at her.
She glared up at him. “We have nothing to say to each other. Your assignment is over, Lieutenant Holloway. Now leave me alone.”
Fourteen
Two weeks later
“How long are you planning to be mad at the world, Swan?”
Swan glanced over at Candy. Her best friend had returned to the Keys after hearing about what happened and she’d decided to stay. Swan was glad Candy had returned home but she was saddened by what had brought her back.
“I am not mad at the world,” Swan said, taking a sip of her orange juice.
“But you are still mad at one particular man,” Candy said, coming to sit beside Swan on the sofa.
Swan couldn’t deny that was true so she didn’t. “And what if I am?”
“He had a job to do, Swan. He was given orders. Surely you understand that.”
Swan glared at Candy. “I’m sure none of my godfathers’ orders included sleeping with me.”
“I’m sure they didn’t but David didn’t force himself on you.”
“No, but he deceived me.”
“So did the others.”
Did Candy have to remind her? “And I’m not talking to them either.”
That wasn’t totally true since Swan had reached out to Georgianna where she was being held at a federal prison in Orlando. The woman had refused to see her. Swan knew Georgianna was undergoing psychiatric evaluations to see if she was fit to stand trial.
Swan’s godparents were heartbroken and she understood how they felt. Like her, they’d had no idea Georgianna harbored such hatred toward Swan, enough to do what she’d done. With both Rafe and Horacio dead, it was Rosie who was singing like a bird, telling everything she knew for a lessened sentence.
According to Rosie, Georgianna had manipulated a number of the men at naval intelligence into doing whatever she wanted them to do. When you were the admiral’s daughter, you could wield that kind of power. She had even threatened a few with blackmail. She’d deliberately recorded several of the men having sex with her and then threatened to give the tape to her father and accuse them of rape.
Some of the men were not only married but a number were high-ranking military officers. Fearful of court-martial, the men had done whatever Georgianna asked, including falsifying records. So far, more than twelve men had been named in the scandal.
“I take it David hasn’t called.”
Swan drew in a deep breath. She had seen him last week when they’d had to show up at the naval station to give statements. “Yes, he’s called. Several times. But I refuse to answer. Like I told him, we have nothing to say to each other. His assignment is over.”
“And do you honestly think that’s all you were to him, Swan?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does,” Candy countered.
“And you think too much,” Swan said, easing off the sofa.
The first week after the incident on the boat, she had closed her shop while naval investigators did a thorough search of Rafe’s tattoo parlor. She had used that time to take care of Jamila, who was still broken up over Horacio. Jamila had loved him and in a single night had seen him become an abusive monster, a man she hadn’t known. Then in the end, Jamila had watched him die before her eyes.
Swan knew Jamila was going through something that only time could heal. That’s why when Swan had reopened the shop this week and Jamila had asked for extra work hours, Swan had given them to her.
“So what are you going to do?” Candy asked her.
Swan glanced over at her. “About life? Work?”
“No, about David.”
Swan just couldn’t understand why Candy couldn’t accept that David was no longer in the equation. “I’m a survivor, Candy. Although it was hard, I made do after my parents’ deaths and I will make do now.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m getting dressed to go into the shop today. The cruise ship comes into port tomorrow, so business will pick up. I want to make sure most of my new pieces are on display.”
Another thing they had found out was that Horacio had been fired from the cruise ship months ago but hadn’t told Jamila. He had moved into Rosie’s place while the woman had been gone. The duplicity of the people she’d thought she knew simply amazed Swan.
“And I need to be on my way,” Candy said. “I promised my folks we would go out to dinner tonight. You can join us if you like.”
“Thanks for the invite, but I’ll pass. I just want to have a relaxing evening here tonight. I might go swimming on the beach later.”
Swan had called Jamila and told her she would bring lunch from their favorite sandwich café. However, there were no clients in her shop when Swan got there, so she decided to do something she usually didn’t do, which was close for lunch.
Normally, the shop remained open and she and Jamila would alternate lunch duties. But today she wanted to check on Jamila, talk to her to see how she was faring. Although Swan had been there for Jamila last week, they hadn’t had a real honest-to-goodness talk since Jamila had admitted to being her cousin.
“What are you doing?” Jamila asked when Swan put up the Closed sign and pulled down the blinds.
Swan smiled over at her. “New store policy. From here on out, we will close at noon for lunch.”
“What about the sales you’ll lose?”
Swan shrugged. “Sales aren’t everything. Besides, it’s just for an hour. Come join me in my office.”
“All right, let me grab some sodas out of the refrigerator.”
A few minutes later, she and Jamila were enjoying their lunch when Swan gave Jamila a long look. “How are you doing?”
Jamila shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Trying to move on. I loved Horacio so much only to find out he wasn’t the man I thought he was.”
“I know the feeling.”
“No, you don’t.”
Swan snatched her head up, frowning. “Excuse me?”
“I said you don’t know the feeling, Swan. David Holloway was nothing like Horacio. David intended to save you and Horacio would have killed me if that woman had ordered him to do so. Big difference.”
“But like you, I was betrayed.”
“How?” Jamila countered. “Your godfathers sent David Holloway here to prove your innocence and he did.”
Jamila put her soda can down and then added, “And another thing. What man takes a chance and swims across the ocean to save a woman? Do you know how far from land we were? Think about that.”
Swan had news for her—she had thought about it. She could never forget how David had appeared seemingly out of nowhere on that boat, looking tough and ready to kick asses while wearing nothing more than an outlandishly tight pair of swim trunks with a military belt around his waist. Even when she’d been in what seemed like a dire situation, that hadn’t stopped the woman in her from noticing how dangerously sexy he’d looked at that particular moment.
“When I mentioned what an astounding feat he’d accomplished to his friends,” Jamila said, reclaiming Swan’s attention, “they said that’s why they call him Flipper. Did you know that’s his code name as a SEAL?”
Swan wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Yes, I knew he was called Flipper. But no, I didn’t know it had anything to do with him being a SEAL because I didn’t know he was one. I assumed Flipper was his nickname.”
Swan forced from her mind the day she’d asked him about those dolphin tattoos. He’d told her then they represented Flipper. That had been the day they’d made love in this office. Right here on this desk.
She wished she wasn’t thinking so hard about that now.
She looked over at Jamila. “Why are we ta
lking about me instead of you?”
“Because I think you should and because I think I should,” Jamila continued. “Talking about your situation actually helps me believe that not all men are jerks and that there are some who still possess real honor, Swan. Whether you want to admit it or not, David Holloway is an honorable man. He couldn’t help being attracted to you any more than you could help being attracted to him.”
Swan stuffed the wrappings from her sandwich into the empty bag. “Now you sound like Candy.”
“Maybe there’s a reason why I do,” Jamila said, stuffing her own wrappings into a bag. “It might be because Candy and I can see things that you refuse to see. I often think about what could have happened to us had David and his friends not shown up when they did. Do you ever think of that?”
Swan drew in a deep breath. “I try not to.”
“I think you should,” Jamila said, standing. “Thanks for bringing lunch. It will be my treat the next time.” She then walked out of the office.
Swan stayed in her office after Jamila left, trying to put their conversation out of her mind. She was working on her computer, verifying inventory, when her office phone rang. “Thank you for calling Swan’s. How may I help you?”
“Hello, island princess.”
She smiled upon hearing her godfather’s voice. “Godpop 2. How are you?”
“I’m fine. I just wanted to check on you. So much has happened and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
She had spoken to each of her godfathers and had thanked them for believing in her. They had taken a risk with their individual careers to do that. “I’m fine. How is Godpop 3?”
“He’s fine but as the director of naval intelligence, he has his hands full with the investigation. It seems that more names are popping up in this scandal each day.”
“And how are Godpop 1 and Barbara?”
“They are as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Learning about Georgianna was a shocker for all of us. We had no idea. When we decided to send Lt. Holloway to prove your innocence, the three of us weren’t sure just what he would uncover. The only thing we knew for certain was that you weren’t guilty of anything.”
An Honorable Seduction Page 13
