by Donna Hill
She barely made it through the academy, suffering several bouts of bronchitis and a life-threatening case of pneumonia. But she made it—only to be relegated to a desk job due to health concerns.
She toughed it out for four years, being the dutiful working wife until she read a bulletin about recruitment for the FBI. Physically it was the best thing to happen to her. The grueling training that she was put through actually helped instead of hindered her health. The increase in pay afforded her the best nutritionist, and through hard work and determination she made it up the ranks to Special Agent with her own staff and responsibilities.
But all her years of scraping and scrapping for attention had molded her into a nail-eating, hard-nosed bitch of a woman. She bloomed when she could crunch her high heel into the back of another. Her cheeks glowed when she solved a case and sent criminals away for the rest of their lives—guilty or not. She had something to prove.
Yet for all her victories within the agency, the very nature of her sex kept her in place. She soon learned she would only go so far standing up.
It was Jerry who opened the door for her in more ways than one. He not only showed her what great sex was really like, but he repaid her favors with favors of his own—giving her the prime cases and seeing that her pay scale was bumped up regularly.
It was a shame that she’d have to screw over Jerry too.
Lenora took off her high heels and kicked them to the side. She looked for her purse. She was dying for a cigarette.
Stan wrinkled his nose when the first cloud of smoke filled the air. “M-must you”
He actually has the nerve to look annoyed. “Must I what” she asked, full of innocence.
“Smoke.”
She ignored his question. “You need to go down to the front desk and arrange for a rental car.”
“It’s already t-taken care of. We can p-pick it up from the rental office in the morning.”
“Good.” She continued to smoke.
Stan shook his head and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. It was almost ninety degrees, and Lenora had the air-conditioning on low. He was sweating like a bull.
He turned on the water and went over his plan.
* * *
A few minutes of peace, Lenora thought as she listened to the water run. She stubbed out her cigarette and stretched across the bed, tossing an arm across her eyes.
Just as she was beginning to relax, her cell phone rang. She jumped up, snatching it off the nightstand. She checked the incoming number.
“Yes.”
“I’ve made contact.”
Lenora breathed a sigh. “Good. Just do what you do best, and I’ll meet you where we planned.”
“You’ll have my money, right”
“Didn’t I say that I would Have I ever gone back on my word”
“Just checking.”
Lenora chuckled. “You are much too paranoid. Everything will be fine. I have them by the short hairs.”
“I never would have believed it of Eva.”
“Nothing in this life surprises me. You and I are perfect examples of what’s possible.”
The water in the bathroom shut off. “Gotta go. Keep your eyes open, and let me know the minute anything looks funny.”
“I will.” Traci hung up the phone. She stood in the walkway for a moment, thinking. What Lenora offered would set her financially straight for quite some time. But she was small potatoes compared to Xavier Suarez. She smiled.
28
The swim had helped to clear her head, although it did nothing for her hairdo. In the poolside dressing room, Eva wrapped a towel around her damp hair and one around her body. Absently she looked down at her stomach. Flat as a board. But that wouldn’t last much longer. In a few months, it would grow round, her back would ache, her breasts would swell, and her nose would probably get wide.
She wouldn’t be the sexy, curvaceous woman whom she saw in the mirror today. She’d be fat and pregnant.
All her life, her looks and her body had been her ammunition, and she used them at will. How many times had Jake told her that he adored her body, how perfect it was Would he ever be able to look at her the same way again, with the same hot lust in his eyes
And what of their love life She was a sexual woman, needing to get laid as often as she needed to eat. She’d heard the horror stories of couples whose sex life diminished to near zero after having children. Was that what was in store for her and Jake—if they even stayed together
A chasm of emptiness suddenly opened up inside her. Not being together with Jake The unthinkable rocked her back on her heels. She grabbed the edge of the sink. Jake was everything to her. Everything. She tried to see into a future without him in it, and she couldn’t do it. She stared harder into the mirror, and his reflection might as well have been right there beside her own, grinning that sly grin and making her blush like a virgin.
All her life she’d searched for some purpose, some validity to her existence. She’d found it in him and now in the child she carried. She wasn’t going to lose either one.
She turned away from the dressing room mirror and hurried out. It was time she got back in the game.
* * *
Eva pushed open the door to the cabin.
Jake, Jinx, and Rita jumped in surprise.
“Girl, where have you been” Rita demanded.
Eva said, “Everybody but Jake Kelly I want out of here right now.” Her arm was outstretched toward the open door.
Jinx and Rita looked at each other, then cast furtive glances at Jake as they approached the door.
“You look totally ridiculous giving orders wrapped up in towels,” Rita whispered as she crossed the threshold.
Eva made a face, shut the door behind them, drew in a breath, and marched across the room to stand above her husband. “You sit right there and listen to what I have to say,” she said, wagging a finger of warning at him. “I want us to get one thing straight Jake Kelly—I love you. I want us to work, and I want this baby.” She stomped her foot in punctuation. “Yeah, I know I should have told you I wanted to stop taking the pills, and I didn’t. I didn’t because I knew what you were going to say. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I’m not sorry I’m pregnant with our baby. Ours.”
She huffed and began pacing in front of him.
“I know I’m not going to be beautiful and sexy in a couple of months.” She turned to him. “But you’re not always going to be beautiful and sexy either.”
Jake bit back a smile.
“I know it’s going to be hard. But we can do it. We can do anything, together. You said so, but only about work: the con, the next job. This is bigger, so much bigger and so much more important than any of that. And maybe, just maybe this baby is what we’ve been looking for all along—some roots, some sense to this life.” She blinked back tears.
“Can I get up now”
She swallowed over the knot in her throat and slowly nodded her head.
Jake rose and stepped up to her. “When you get fat and ugly, I’ll still think about lovin’ you.” He grinned, and she gave him a tap in the ribs. He moved closer. “When you get old and gray, I’ll still love every inch of you.” He cupped her cheek in his palm. “This is not about the baby. It’s about me and stuff I haven’t been able to let go, stuff I believed I would pass on to any kid of mine, and I never wanted to take that chance.”
She looked up into his eyes. “What do you mean”
He took her hand. “Come ’ere, let’s sit down and really talk.”
They sat side by side on the bed, and Jake poured out his heart, set his fears and his faults at her feet, and hoped that she wouldn’t crush them.
“My father was a beast of a man: cold, brutal, and distant. He thought beating your ass on a regular basis was good parenting. Said it would make me and my brother men.” He laughed harshly and shook his head. “And my mother after taking her own beatings would tell me, ‘You’re just like your father.’”
“… and it scares me … that I might be just like him.”
Dark shadows moved across his eyes as he stared off into a past that was never completely behind him.
Eva took his hand. “Look at me.”
Slowly he raised his gaze and looked into her eyes.
“Fuck him,” she said simply.
A flicker of confusion then mild amusement skipped across Jake’s features. It would take Eva to break it down to the bare basics.
He snapped his fingers. “Just like that, huh”
“Yeah.” She popped her fingers too. “Just like that.” She leaned in. “Your father was a bastard, and I’m sure he’s rotting in hell, but you survived it. You may not be a model citizen, but you survived. That has to mean something.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for this Our lives will be changed forever.”
Eva smiled. “I have no idea, but I want to try.”
“I guess if we can get away with the stuff we’ve pulled over the years, raising a kid should be a piece of cake.”
She pulled the towel from her head then the one wrapped around her body. “I hear that pregnant women have the best orgasms.”
“Is that right” he murmured, leaning close to nibble at her ear.
She sighed. “So I hear.”
“Why don’t we check it out for ourselves Just to be sure.”
“Yeah,” she purred as his mouth teased a nipple. “Why don’t we”
* * *
Eva and Jake lay curled in bed together, simmering from the afterglow. Jake tenderly stroked her spine, feeling her warm breath brush against his chest.
Eva had stood by him at every turn, even when she disagreed. The more he thought it out, the more he realized that the only way to let go of the past was to take a step into the future. That’s what he intended to do.
He was going to get them out of this mess and start over, start fresh. He smiled as Eva nestled closer. They would certainly have some stories to tell their kid when it grew up. But who would ever believe them
* * *
Eva walked around the compact cabin while Jake outlined the updated plan. She nodded in agreement as she paced.
“I think you need to stay as low-key as possible with Traci wandering around,” Jake added once he’d finished with the scenario.
Eva twisted toward him. “I need to be there. Part of this whole plan was my idea too. I’m not going to let that … woman interfere. I’ll just deal with her.”
“Do you think she may have called Sebastian”
“It crossed my mind,” she said, a furrow of concern inching across her brow. “But she and Sebastian didn’t part on the best of terms. She’d really have to come up with a doozy of a reason to call him.”
“What if she does”
She twisted her lips in thought. “I’ll think of something.”
A cell phone rang. They both went for their phones. It was Eva’s.
She looked across at Jake, her eyes wide with alarm. “Sebastian,” she mouthed.
“Sooner’s come rather than later.”
Eva pressed the XW icon on the phone.
“Hello”
“Eva, it’s Sebastian.”
“Hey, Bass. How are you”
“Not so good. When will you be coming back I know you said about a week. But we have some discrepancies with the inventory.”
Her heart slowed. At least that was something she could deal with.
“What kind of discrepancy”
“We got a call today from our supplier in Hong Kong. They were asking did we get the double shipment that you ordered and wanted to know when they would be paid. I have no idea what they are talking about, and there are no records of any recent shipments from Hong Kong.”
The ship suddenly gave off a loud horn blast.
“What in the world was that Sounded like the horn from hell.”
Eva chuckled nervously. “Oh, uh, I have the television on. The uh, History Channel. Anyway, I’ll take care of all that as soon as I get back. It’s obvious that they must be mistaken.”
“Hmmm. I certainly hope so. Because if I find out that someone on this staff is lining their pockets, heads will roll all up and down Seventh Avenue.”
“How is everything else going with the line”
“Hectic, to say the least. You are definitely missed. And it’s getting harder for me to be in two places at one time. Your cousin picked a fine time to get ill. How is she, by the way”
“Coming along day by day. Thanks for asking. Have you found another architect”
“I’m still interviewing and paying rent on a space that I can’t use. It’s really draining the budget.”
“You’ll find someone, and all of this will be a forgotten headache in no time.”
“From your lips.”
She could hear the noises of the studio in the background and could pretty much see the chaos and comings and goings of the designers. She had a moment of nostalgia. Quiet as it was kept, she really liked her job. She liked the normalcy of that part of her life. She would miss it dearly.
“I should let you get back to being Florence Nightingale, although it is beyond my capabilities to see you in that role.”
Eva laughed. “You take care, Bass, and I’ll see you soon.”
“You do the same and give my regards to Rita.”
“I sure will. Bye.”
She disconnected the call.
“Well”
“So far, Traci hasn’t called, but the order that I placed for the zirconia for this gig of ours popped up. I really didn’t think the vendors would call.”
Jake chewed on his thumbnail. “He can’t get into your computer, can he”
She shook her head. “No. Thank God it’s password protected. I was holding my breath, thinking he might ask me for the code.”
“Small favors,” he murmured. “There’s not much you can do about it from here.”
“True.” She plopped down in the chair by the bed. “I really feel bad about leaving Bass in the lurch like this. Things are so tough for him right now.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“At least if I was there … maybe I could help. If he can’t get the financing he needs, he may actually lose the business.”
“Is it that bad”
She nodded.
They were silent for a moment, each caught up in their private thoughts.
Jake snapped his fingers and looked at Eva. A slow smile crept across her mouth as she watched the wheels spin in his head.
29
Rita wandered around the casino until she found an empty seat at the roulette table. Games of chance weren’t really her thing, but she’d give it a shot.
She hadn’t seen Xavier since earlier that morning, and there were no messages from him on her phone either. That worried her. It was imperative that she gain access to his room, and she couldn’t very well do that if someone else was beating her time, namely Traci Jennings.
She placed her bet and watched the wheel spin.
“I didn’t think this was your kind of game,” a voice from behind her whispered.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Well, hello. I’d given you up.”
“Never.” Xavier glanced at the roulette wheel. “I have been very busy. Things that needed to be taken care of before we dock in Miami.”
“I see.”
“Would you care to join me for a drink … before dinner”
“I would. Thank you. I wasn’t doing very well over here anyway. And being in your company is just the thing to lift my spirits.”
He took her elbow.
“Come. I have a table reserved.” He escorted her to the top deck of the ship to the glass-enclosed restaurant. They were quickly shown to their table.
Rita looked out onto the calm seas and the ink-black sky dotted with millions of tiny stars.
“This is beautiful. I didn’t realize there was a restaurant up here.”
Xavier smiled. “I told you: it is my responsibility to please a lovely lady such as you.”
Rita actually blushed. “You always know what to say.”
“If only I did.” His expression grew serious. “I’ve been thinking a lot of you.”
She reached for the goblet of water. Light danced off its polished surface, making the glass opalescent. “Have you Is that a good thing”
“It depends.”
“On what”
“On your answer to my proposition.”
“Oh” Her brows arched over widened eyes of curiosity.
He steepled his fingers beneath his mouth. “I have important business in Miami. It will take several days. I have a home there.”
Her pulse quickened.
“I’m inviting you to stay as my guest while I am in Miami.”
She lowered her lids and toyed with her glass. “A guest What kind of guest”
He smiled at the loaded question. “The kind who benefits from my benevolence.”
“A guest with benefits—interesting concept.”
“It will give us a chance to get to know each other. And then”—he shrugged slightly—“who knows.”
“Do you want an answer now”
“After we eat, after you come to my suite and share my bed. Then you can decide.”
A hot flush raced straight to her head and pounded against her temples. Her underarms grew damp. She reached for the water and then changed her mind.
“You seem to have this all figured out,” she said, struggling to maintain calm in her voice while her thoughts raced.
“Everything in my life is carefully planned. Something you will learn, should you take me up on my offer of hospitality.”
Her throat had gone so dry, she thought she’d choke if she tried to swallow. This time the goblet of water made it to her lips. She took a long slow drink. This may be her last chance to get into his room, but were they ready Jake swore up and down that it could be pulled off. But the plan was for tomorrow, not tonight. She needed to be sure that everything and everyone was in place.
