Guilty Pleasures

by Donna Hill

  They looked at each other.

  “No turning back now,” Eva said.

  “Not a chance. Let’s get to work.”

  “I’ll call Jinx and Rita. Is an hour enough time”

  Jake nodded. “We should be well under way by then.”

  Eva pulled the toss-away cell phone from her purse and dialed Rita’s room. “Be ready for the first round in an hour.”

  17

  The quartet met at the entrance to the casino. They hadn’t been out to sea more than a couple of hours, and already the blackjack and roulette tables, and the one-armed bandits, were experiencing heavy traffic. The sights and sounds were similar to those of any of the major casinos in Atlantic City or Vegas. Lights flashed, money changed hands, and laughter and drinks flowed.

  Jake, Jinx, and Eva were dressed in their crew-member attire: white button-up shirt, with the ship’s insignia on the sleeve, black vests, and matching slacks. Rita was the hook. She wore white, a deep V in the front of her summer dress exposing just enough cleavage to be tempting to the eye. Her shoulder-length auburn weave was pulled away from her face and neck and held on top of her head with a gold barrette.

  They each had the standard headsets for communication among employees, except that theirs ran on a separate signal. Rita’s was a single earpiece with a high-powered microphone, courtesy of Jinx.

  “Remember,” Jake said before they separated, “blend in and look busy.”

  Jake took the casino floor, Eva went to the upper deck, Jinx took the lounge, and Rita combed the sky pool, all with the intention of getting a lay of the land, identify any potential problems, and of course, to spot Xavier Suarez.

  For the next few hours they rotated floors, covering all fourteen levels.

  “What if he’s not here” Jinx spoke into his headset from the Promenade Deck. He walked across the deck, stepping around the waves of passengers heading to the game rooms.

  “Hey, if he ain’t, I’m gonna have the time of my life on this ship,” Rita responded from the bar. She caught the eye of a man who looked a heck of a lot like Don Johnson in his youth. He winked. She winked in return.

  “He just walked in,” Jake hissed into his microphone.

  “Where are you” Eva asked, looking around from her station near the spa. She pressed her finger to her earpiece.

  “Panorama Deck.” He glanced at the numbers embossed on the pillar. “Level ten. Rita, make your way up here.”

  “Excuse me. Can you tell me where the sauna is” a lithe female draped in a flimsy gauze wrap and a two-piece bikini asked Jake.

  Jake blinked, for a moment forgetting that he wore the crew uniform. “Oh, sure, um, it’s on the sixth level. You can take the escalator to your left or the elevator a little farther down the hall.” All that studying of the layout was paying off early.

  Her blue eyes rolled hungrily over him. “Thank you. Um.” She put a red-tipped nail to her lips. “What time do you get off Maybe we can have a drink together later.”

  “Who the hell is that” Eva blasted into his headset.

  Jake winced. “Sorry, miss. It’s against policy.” He smiled apologetically.

  She pouted. “That’s too bad.” She ran her tongue across her lips then walked off.

  “Jake! Jake Kelly!” Eva barked, knowing full well that he was giving her that charming smile of his.

  “Would you relax It was a passenger asking for directions.” He chuckled to himself.

  “She was asking for a lot more than directions.” Eva rolled her eyes as she trotted up a flight of stairs, turned left down a long, busy corridor then toward the escalator.

  “Play nice, children,” Jinx said, making his way to the tenth level.

  Rita arrived first. She spotted Jake, who walked in the direction of Suarez. Jake tipped his head slightly to the right to point Suarez out to Rita as he passed. Suarez took a seat at the bar. Two men flanked him.

  Rita gave an imperceptible nod. Took her earpiece out and stuck it in her bag. Her eyes roamed the room. Jinx entered from the far right. Eva came up on the elevator.

  “He’s the one in the white shirt with the two bulldogs on either side of him,” Jake said into his headset for Jinx and Eva’s benefit.

  Rita surveyed the passengers. Checked out the two bartenders. She opted for the seat on the opposite side of the round bar. Suarez would have no choice but to notice her. She ordered a Scotch on the rocks, took out a pack of cigarettes from her purse. She reached for a book of matches in the circular ashtray on the bar counter. Lit her cigarette and blew a long plume of smoke into the air.

  Her drink arrived.

  As she raised the glass to her lips, she looked over the rim and directly into the eyes of Xavier Suarez. Her “G”-spot hit a high note. He was gorgeous. The blurry pictures that Jake had of him were a disservice.

  His skin was the color of burnished bronze, and his face was chiseled. Dark soulful eyes, almost black with thick sweeping lashes that looked as if they’d been painted on with an artist’s brush. His mouth was lush, his bottom lip full, the top kissed by a thin inky black mustache. The thick head of hair was raven black as well and combed back from the wide forehead. Raw, sexual energy radiated from him in waves.

  Suarez took a cigar from the breast pocket of his snow-white shirt and cut off the tip with a deadly-looking object. The man to his right quickly took out a lighter and lit the cigar. Suarez barely acknowledged him. The bartender set a bottle of brandy in front of them and filled three glasses before returning his attention to the other customers at the bar.

  The man on his left leaned close to Suarez, whispered something in his ear. Suarez pursed his lips and then slid his eyes in Rita’s direction. She boldly stared back at him, leaned a bit forward to flick ashes in the ashtray and give him a momentary peek at her cleavage.

  Rita watched his lips move but couldn’t make out what he was saying. She sipped her drink. The man to his right signaled a passing waiter. Moments later, the three men rose and walked out into the adjacent dining room, Suarez leading the way.

  “Elvis has left the building,” Rita murmured after replacing her earpiece under the guise of fixing her earring.

  “He’s being seated at a banquette in the dining room,” Eva said, walking into the elegant room. She picked up a discarded tray from the cart and walked around, recovering used glasses from the table. “All the way in the back,” she whispered.

  “Notice any other players” Jake asked, surveying the space as best he could, hoping to spot any likely bodyguards. He slowly walked toward the bar, around the tables with his hands tucked behind his back as if overseeing the activities.

  “There’s a guy standing near the elevators. Been there for a while,” Jinx said. “Short, kinda stocky. Dark suit, no tie.”

  Jake retraced his steps and headed for the elevator. When he was in front of it, he pressed the button, checked his watch, frowned, shook his watch. “Do you have the time I hope my shift will be over soon.” He flashed an affable smile.

  The man’s eyes narrowed as if clicking a mental picture of Jake. “No,” he responded with a thick accent.

  “Thanks, anyway. Enjoy your cruise.” He stabbed the button again, glanced up at the numbers, then hurried off.

  “He’s definitely one of them,” Jake said, walking toward the escalators. “That makes at least three that we have to concern ourselves with. I’m going back to the room. The ship’s passenger list should be accessible now. Gonna find out what room Suarez is in. When I do, I want Eva to go by there and see if we have anyone guarding the front door.”

  * * *

  Jake returned to his cabin and flipped open the laptop. He loaded the spy program he’d perfected and began searching for the ship’s manifest. Within moments, the entire list of more than two thousand passenger names appeared along with their room assignments. He grinned. “Technology.”

  He scrolled the list and after several moments realized that Suarez’s name was not on it. Conc
ern carved several lines in his forehead. He searched the list again, thinking he may have missed it. He didn’t.

  “Damnit.”

  He put on his headset. “Suarez’s name is not on the list,” he said into the microphone. “He must have registered under another name.”

  “What should we do” Jinx asked.

  “Rita, is he still in the restaurant” Jake asked.

  “Yes, they’re being served now.”

  Jake thought for a moment. “Okay, listen. Get yourself a table in the general vicinity if you can. Keep an eye on him. If they leave, let Eva know, and Eva, you find a way to follow them without being obvious. Jinx, keep an eye on the guy by the elevator. Chances are when Suarez is ready to leave, they’ll all leave together.”

  “And what are you going to be doing, sweetheart” Eva cooed.

  “Going to get friendly with the security team near the safe.”

  “Be careful.”

  “I will. I’ll use my charm.”

  “Then we’re really up shit creek,” Rita teased.

  “Very funny. Get busy, everyone.”

  Jake signed off and then went back to the computer. He pulled up the ship’s diagrams. The security office was on the lower deck. It was the hub of the ship. The room was constantly manned by no fewer than four technicians. Their job was to ensure that the security system was operational at all times, from credit card processing to door entries to monitoring the cameras in the casinos and changing the access codes daily. The ship safe was on the fifth level, directly behind customer service. Jake had yet to figure out how he would get into the safe if indeed that’s where Suarez was keeping the stash. He’d pretty much figured that the process for changing the codes followed a sequence. He’d almost narrowed it down. From what he’d been able to determine, not only was the code changed daily, but twice per day—once in the morning at eleven and then again at eight. What he had to do was nail down the pattern. He was close. He could feel it. His fingertips tingled and his dick vibrated. Everything hinged on him getting it right, and he would get it right. He had no intention of explaining to Eva from behind bars how he’d screwed up. Or worse.

  A cell phone rang.

  He looked at the two phones on the bed. It was the phone from Lenora Ingram.

  He breathed deep, picked it up.

  “Yes,” he said the word in a serpent’s hiss.

  “There’s been a change of plans,” Lenora said. “You’re going to meet me in Mexico instead of Miami.”

  Jake briefly shut his eyes as he listened and knew they were screwed for real.

  18

  Eva made herself look busy as she moved around the myriad travelers, keeping a surreptitious eye on the mark. What concerned her even more than keeping Suarez on the radar was the look of hunger that hovered in Rita’s eyes every time her glance slid in Suarez’s direction. She’d seen that look before. Many times. Rita’s lust, when unchecked, could be detrimental to everyone. She’d lose focus on the job and allow herself to become distracted by her libido.

  Eva understood. Both of them desperately sought something, something that would allow them to feel worthwhile and whole. She’d been lucky. She’d found Jake. He filled the abyss in her soul. Rita remained on the quest.

  Eva had begun to think that as much as she didn’t particularly care for Jinx as “the one” for her cousin, that maybe Rita saw something in him that she absolutely couldn’t.

  She watched Rita lick her lips while her eyes grew dark. No doubt, Suarez was a gorgeous man. But they were there to do a job.

  Eva made her way over to Rita. She turned off her headset so that her end of the conversation wouldn’t reach Jake and Jinx.

  “Good afternoon,” Eva said. “Enjoying your trip so far ”

  Rita turned her attention to Eva. She smiled.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Remember why we’re here,” she said quietly as she leaned forward and put two empty glasses on her tray.

  “I do,” Rita said in a faraway voice.

  “Rita,” Eva said. “It’s a job. Nothing more.”

  Rita’s gaze snapped in Eva’s direction. She lifted her glass to her lips, finished off her drink. “I know that.”

  Eva gave a short nod and walked off.

  Since they were little girls with no real family to speak of and no male figure in their lives, they’d been joined at the hip, not only as cousins but also as kindred spirits, seeking validation for their existence. They learned early that being attractive females was more than an asset. It was power. They learned to wield it from a simple smile to mind-blowing sexual escapades. They used whatever was necessary to achieve their ends and to smother the fires of need.

  For Eva the fire was physical. As long as she could satisfy her physical desires through sex, she felt as if she could face the next day. She was turned on as much by the job as by the act itself.

  Rita’s need was as much physical as it was emotional. She never could separate the two. She saw her unknown father in every man she met and sought his love and approval. Her physical lust often morphed into an emotional attachment—that was not only dangerous, but stupid as well. There was no room for stupidity on this trip. One of her flights of fancy nearly got her killed.

  About two years earlier, Eva and Rita decided on an overdue vacation, leaving men, work, and troubles behind. As much as Jake poked his lip out about her leaving him for a whole week, he agreed that the time away would do her good. He assured her that he’d stay out of trouble in her absence and that maybe she’d be able to show him some new Caribbean moves upon her return.

  They booked one of those quick getaways online and landed in Montego Bay in Jamaica. The lush scenery, tropical breeze, and gorgeous men made the brochure and Web site pictures look like pure misrepresentations.

  “We should have done this a long time ago,” Rita had breathed in wonder when they stepped out of the airport terminal to be met by row after row of men who seemed to want no more than to make a woman happy. She draped her straw bag over her shoulder, slipped on her dark shades to dim the blinding sunlight, and sashayed over to an Adonis of a man who posed casually against the side of a taxi.

  Eva trailed two steps behind her.

  “Maybe you can help me,” Rita said, looking up into his eyes. “My cousin and I need a ride to our hotel.”

  Briefly he glanced past Rita to take in Eva. He smiled, all dazzling white and even against skin that was as smooth as milk chocolate and dark as midnight. The white gauze shirt was open almost to the waist, revealing thick chest muscles and rippling abs. His hair reached the middle of his back, the lustrous dark locks held in place by a leather tie at the nape of his neck.

  “A man’s duty is to make a woman’s life easier,” he said, his accent like music, his voice a gentle rumble.

  Even Eva had to admit to herself that he was one gorgeous specimen.

  “I can take you anywhere you want to go. This island is a part of me, and there is no place on it that I do not know … intimately.”

  Eva could almost hear Rita’s heart pumping in her chest.

  They got into his cab and soon learned that his name was Jon. He’d been born and raised on the island and made his living as an artist and cabbie. He invited them to “see his etchings” at his bungalow later that evening. He was expecting friends over for a show of his new works.

  Of course Rita agreed.

  When they arrived at his opening, Rita became quickly swept up in his charms and instead of spending the night in their hotel, Rita spent the night with Jon.

  Their hot and heavy fling flourished in the ensuing days, with them spending all their time together. On the surface it seemed harmless enough, and Eva kept herself occupied with shopping and sightseeing. But things took an ugly turn shortly before she and Rita were scheduled to depart for the States.

  “He wants to come back to New York with us,” Rita said over breakfast at an outdoor café.

  The forkful of mango that E
va lifted to her mouth stopped midway. “What”

  “He wants to come back to New York, stay with me for a while, see how he likes it.”

  “You told him no, didn’t you”

  Rita looked sheepish, a sly smile curving her lush mouth. “No.”

  The fork dropped to the plate. “Rita, you don’t know this man. How can you even think of having him come and live with you” She looked around, realizing her voice had risen in alarm, and she hoped no one else noticed. Apparently the softly playing steel drums muffled her concern.

  Rita pursed her lips. “I do know him. He’s wonderful, and he makes me feel wonderful.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Just because the sex is good is no reason to think you actually have a relationship. You can’t be serious.”

  “I already got his ticket.”

  “Have you lost what’s left of your mind”

  “Did I say that to you when you met Jake”

  Eva blinked several times. Yes, her and Jake’s initial meeting was over the top, but that was different, and she told Rita as much.

  “Why is it different, because it’s you Since when did you have a lock on making a relationship work You have some kind of psychic ability that I don’t know about”

  “It doesn’t take a psychic to tell you that you don’t move a total stranger into your house.” She paused when she saw the stern look of determination light Rita’s eyes. When she got that look, the more you pushed, the deeper she dug in her heels.

  Eva took a breath, eased back. “Hey, you’re a grown woman. If that’s what you want to do, you’re right: Who am I to say different Maybe he’s the one.” She shrugged her sleeveless shoulders.

  “He is, Eva,” she said with the childish joy of a love-drunk teenager. “You’ll see.”

  And they did.

  Two nights before they were scheduled to leave, Jon apparently asked for money, said he needed it to take care of some business before they left. Rita balked, said she’d spent all her extra money on his ticket and that her credit card was at its limit. That didn’t sit too well with him, and his gentle cajoling turned belligerent—then violent.