Hustle
Page 5
She scowled at the closed door. ‘How am I supposed to get dressed?’ she shouted at it.
‘Why not use your body? You use it for everything else!’ She heard him shout back through the closed door.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes, making her even angrier with herself. She’d never gotten herself into this kind of mess before. It was all his fault. She dropped her head onto the pillow in defeat. What the hell is wrong with me? I should be able to handle this. But she was alone in a foreign land and out of her depth. She was venturing into something she knew nothing about, fumbling and making mistakes in a new world. His world.
Chapter Seven
According to the clock on the nightstand, Ellie had been staring at the door in silence for over five hours. Jacob had not returned. She’d had lots of time to think about her options. She needed to get out of the cuffs and off this boat before they docked in Costa Rica.
The boat had gone silent two hours ago when the engines had been turned off. She’d heard the splash of the anchor being dropped, and then nothing after that. She was pretty certain he’d gone to sleep somewhere else on the boat.
She’d realised that Jacob was a danger to her, and not just because he was planning to drop her off in a third-world prison. When she was around him, he made her head swim to stupid places. The effect he had on her rational mind was her biggest threat.
It was time to get off this boat and as far away from him as possible.
She glanced around her. The only things close enough for her to reach were the pine bedside tables on each side of the bed.
She shuffled across the bed to the one on her right, swinging her legs off the side of the mattress and sitting up. The small cabinet had two drawers in it. She opened the first drawer¸ finding a Rolex, a notebook and some cufflinks in it.
Shaking her head at the opulence of the small trinkets, she opened the second drawer. With a grin, she picked up the woman’s hair clip that she found at the back of the drawer. It had gems dotted along one side, but the other half of it was a long pin. That’ll do the trick.
She glanced at the door, listening for sounds of Jacob, but the boat remained silent.
Okay, time to do what I’m good at. She moved up the bed a few inches to get a closer look at the lock on the handcuffs. They weren’t police-issued. She rolled her eyes. He probably picked them up from a sex shop. The lock was a basic generic kind that a cheap suitcase key would open. She peered into the keyhole and pushed in the end of the pin, feeling around until there was a click. She pressed on the pin, and the handcuffs swung open, freeing her from them. Well, that was easy.
She moved silently off the bed. She reached across it and grabbed her clothes, moving them to her side of the bed.
After peering at the door again, she quickly stripped off her bikini. Feeling vulnerable as she stood naked in the cabin, she grabbed her black panties and pulled them on. Next, she picked up her bra and put it on, quickly fastening it behind her back before snatching up her jeans and tugging them on.
Her eyes flicked over the door as she fastened her jeans. Did he lock that, too? She picked up her black T-shirt and pulled it over her head while trying to recall if she’d heard a lock click into place. She was pretty certain that it hadn’t. She picked up her burgundy jumper and pulled that over her head, too, enjoying the comforting warmth of the red wool. She glanced around. There were no shoes. I need to get to my bag. She checked the room for anything useful, and then plucked the key out of her bikini pocket. She studied the metal compass for a moment before slipping it into the side pocket of her jeans, feeling relieved that she hadn’t lost it. Next, she shoved her bikini into her back pocket. I might need that again.
Holding her breath as a shiver of fear shot down her spine, she silently walked to the door. She pressed her head against it. There was a low growling sound coming from the other side. Did he bring a dog with him? She shook her head. That was insane, but then for all she knew there were more people on this boat.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she decided that it was now or never. She turned the brass door handle until it clicked, and she slowly opened the door.
In the short corridor outside the room, Jacob was slouched in a chair, sleeping. She watched him for a moment, listening to the deep growl of him snoring. Jesus, the poor woman he marries will need earplugs. The good news was that his loud snores would cover up any noises she made while escaping.
She stepped out of the room, careful not to brush against him in the narrow corridor. She turned to close the door behind her, deciding that the longer he thought she was in there, the more time she would have to escape.
Pressing her back against the wall of the corridor, she slipped past Jacob. She didn’t take her eyes off him as she snuck past. He was slouched in the chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him. His eyes were closed, his dark lashes fluttering above his cheekbones. They fluttered wildly for a moment, and she froze until they relaxed and stopped twitching. His mouth was open with loud snores coming from within.
Kodak moment. She grinned as she had the overwhelming urge to do something to him while he slept.
She glanced around, noticing a whiteboard on the wall behind him. Hanging from it was a black marker pen. She carefully reached over and snatched the pen off the hook, shaking her head. This is such a dumb idea. You’re going to get caught. But the urge for some petty revenge was stronger than reason.
She exhaled slowly as she straightened up over him, trying to be as quiet as possible. He hadn’t moved an inch, other than letting out a few loud snores.
She grinned as she pulled the cap off the pen with her teeth and hovered over him. Holding her breath, she touched the thick marker to his forehead. He didn’t flinch, so she quickly scrawled a word there, before putting the lid back on the pen.
She studied her artwork with a wide grin, battling against the urge to laugh at the word ‘DICK’ that was now tattooed on his forehead.
She slipped the marker into her pocket as she carried on past him and headed for the stairs. She pushed open the hatch, careful not to let it slam against the deck as she climbed up. She peered back through the hatch as she closed the door. Dick was still sound asleep.
Once the hatch was closed, she hurried across the deck. She snatched her bag off the floor as she passed by the open holdall. She peered over the port side, looking for a boat. She noticed the tip of her motor boat at the stern. She hurried topside down to the back of the boat, relieved to see her shoes and diving gear still aboard the smaller craft.
She climbed into the motor boat and dropped her bag on the small deck. Next, she checked the boat for keys. They were still in the ignition. She grinned, quickly untying the ropes and pushing her boat away from the yacht. Someone had too much faith in his crappy handcuffs.
She glanced ahead at the shore in the distance. The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon, providing a dim light over the dark sea. The current was taking her closer to shore, so she waited before turning on the engine, hoping no one would notice her escape for a few hours. The last thing she wanted was Jacob on her trail. As she drifted away from his boat, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
When she could barely make out the yacht in the darkness, she turned on the engine of the small craft, and headed for the shore.
I made it! Her grin was firmly in place at the idea of Jacob waking up and looking in a mirror. She pulled on her boots, and fastened them while steering the boat with her shoulder.
She pulled her bikini out of her back pocket, dropping it into the bag. Next, she retrieved the key from her side pocket. She tightened her grip on the small metal disc as she stared out across the dark water with narrowed eyes. He still had the map, but she was going to get it back.
Chapter Eight
Jacob jerked awake, gasping for air. A cold sweat beaded his skin and his heart was racing, the dream still vivid in his mind. He’d been trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a small cave with his father’s co
rpse reaching for him.
He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and tried to calm down. His heart hammered, and he could hear the echo of his pulse pounding in his ears. He shook his head. The nightmares weren’t a new thing. Ever since his father went missing, he’d had some version of them. It seemed that having Ellie Phillips on board had only made them worse. Yeah, and kissing her probably didn’t help.
He shook his head, disappointed by his inability to stop kissing her. She’d gotten under his skin in the worst way possible, her pouting red lips, her soft skin, the curves of her petite body. Stop thinking about it! He clenched his hands into fists, angry with his own body for wanting the enemy. It was clear in his mind that she not only knew about his father’s disappearance, but was partly responsible in some way. She’s just a low-life hustler. Never forget that!
But he had forgotten it. When he found her unconscious in the cave, she’d looked so small and helpless. He’d panicked, and the urge to save her had been so strong. Beyond reason and beyond anything he’d felt for someone before, the idea of losing her had felt like a punch in the gut. He’d dragged her out of the cave, risking his own life to get her out. The cave had totally disintegrated after he’d gotten her out. If he hadn’t been there, she’d be dead at the bottom of the Pacific right now. When he brought her on board, he was certain she was gone. She’d had no pulse. She was dead for a few seconds, but CPR had brought her back.
He’d meant to tell her that, but he’d been worried about her welfare, and to be honest, angry at her for diving in a dangerous location alone. By the time she was fit to talk to, he’d found the map and realised her father had been trying to get it all along. Treachery appeared to run in the Phillips family. It made sense. He knew his father had been working with Phillips before he went missing. After his father had disappeared, Phillips had come to see his mother. The old con man had been asking about the map. Even as a child, Jacob had not trusted him.
Ellie showing up at his house now and stealing the map was no coincidence. She had to have known the map was inside the statue. The only way she could know that was if the person who put it there had told her. If his father had found the map, the only person he would have told was Phillips. It was likely that her father had told Ellie about it. Her sneaking in to steal it was more proof that her father knew what had really happened to his, more proof that she knew about it.
Resolved to not give in to her feminine wiles again, he stood up and threw open the cabin door, prepared to interrogate her for the information he wanted.
He stared into the room, and his jaw dropped open. The cuffs were unlocked and hanging on the bed frame. She was gone.
He spun around and raced up the steps to the hatch, throwing it open and tumbling out onto the deck. She was nowhere to be seen. No, no, no! He raced to the stern, finding only ropes trailing in the water where her boat had once been. He scanned the shoreline, looking for a sign of her or her boat, but the sea was empty.
He raced back to the hatch, rushing down it before bursting into the second cabin on the ship.
Bill was gently snoring on the bunk.
Jacob grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. ‘Wake up!’
‘Wha—feck off, man, I’m sleeping,’ Bill mumbled, trying to roll over.
‘Wake your ass up!’ Jacob shook him again with more force.
Bill opened his eyes and stared at Jacob. His eyes widened, and then lit up with a glint of amusement. ‘There’s no need to be such a dick about it.’
‘She’s gone!’ Jacob pulled on Bill’s arm. ‘Come on, we need to find her.’
Bill rubbed his jaw and sat up, grinning. ‘I think she left you a gift before departing.’ He laughed.
‘Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny. We can’t let her get away.’
‘I dunno. It might be for the best. I get the feeling that she doesn’t like you very much.’ Amusement lit up Bill’s face. ‘I’m starting to like her though.’ Another laugh escaped his lips.
‘You think this is funny?’ Jacob snapped.
‘I think it’s hilarious.’ Bill gave up any attempts to contain his laughter, letting it roar out of him.
‘What the hell is wrong with you, man?’ Jacob wondered if she’d drugged Bill. He was acting insane.
‘Just, d-do me a favour.’ He stammered mid-laugh. ‘Please look in a mirror.’
Jacob frowned at Bill. What the hell is he talking about? He shook his head and turned to face the mirrored door of the closet to his right. He froze on the spot, and his eyes widened. Thick black letters were scrawled across his forehead, spelling out the word: ‘KCID’. He frowned for a moment and then realised they were backwards in his reflection. Dick! She wrote dick on my forehead!
‘Oh, very fucking funny.’ He furiously rubbed at the word with his fingers, but the letters didn’t even smudge. ‘Did she use a permanent marker?’ He scrubbed harder, but the word remained the same.
He turned around, scowling at Bill, who had rolled over, clutching his stomach as tears of laughter rolled down his cheeks. ‘That’s the best wake-up I’ve ever had,’ he said, gasping.
‘It’s not even funny.’ Jacob narrowed his eyes at the mirror. ‘She’s evil. Pure and simple, she is evil incarnate, and I’m going to find her and then—’
‘Draw on her?’ Bill gasped, laughing even more.
‘I hate you,’ Jacob said as he pulled a baseball cap off the hook on the back of the door and pulled it down over his forehead. ‘You suck,’ he muttered before slamming his way out of the cabin.
‘Don’t be such a dick about it!’ Bill called after him, continuing to laugh.
Jacob stormed his way down the corridor to his cabin. He dropped onto the bed and lay back, trying to control his anger. She’d played him again. Why was it every time he ran into that awful woman, he ended up looking like a fool?
He rolled sideways and stared at the open handcuffs. She can pick locks, too. Great, what else is on her list of accomplishments?
The scent of her skin was on his pillows. Before he realised what he was doing, he inhaled, causing sensual memories of her lips and the touch of her soft skin to invade his mind.
God, stop it! He rolled onto his back and sat up on the bed. She and her father had stolen everything from him, his company, his father. What kind of horrific twist of fate would make her attractive to him? But he was attracted to her. Even he had to admit that. Somehow, she’d used her feminine wiles to creep under his skin. Now she was going after the Heart of Fortune, and she’d probably steal that from under his nose, too.
He walked over to the bathroom, searching the cupboard for something that would remove permanent marker. He found a bottle of rubbing alcohol under the sink. He dabbed some on a cotton ball and wiped it over the words on his forehead, which seemed to bring the ink to the surface. Next, he scrubbed at the ink with some hand soap until it faded to a faint shadow of the word DICK.
He rested his hands on the basin and stared at himself in the mirror above the sink. His forehead had a red glow after all the scrubbing, and the word was still faintly visible. He narrowed his eyes at it. How could she call him a dick when all he was doing was trying to get some justice? And trying to kiss her, a small voice in the back of his mind argued. She kissed me back! And she left me with nothi—
Widening his eyes, he rushed out of the bathroom and out of the cabin. He climbed out of the hatch and ran into the wheelhouse towards the lockbox under counter. He pulled it out and sat in the driving seat before quickly typing in the combination on the box. He flipped it open and peered inside, sighing when he saw the map, which was resting on top of his passport. A smile spread across his face. He knew he would have another chance at catching her. She’ll be back. I’ve got the map she wants.
He whistled as he steered the boat towards the marina on the port side of Playa Espadilla. He was confident that Ellie would come at him to get to the map. And this time, he’d be ready for her.
Chapter Nine
Her original hotel had been in a beach resort, providing her with an opulent room with an en-suite bathroom. However, when she got back to shore, she’d decided to check out and head for the nearby city. The idea had been to lose Jacob in the city, but the hotels got shabbier and shabbier the closer she came to the busy centre of Quepos. He won’t find me here. She nodded. Roughing it won’t be so bad.
She rested her hand on the bedside table, freezing in position when she felt something crawl over it. She glanced down to see a large cockroach pause in its journey across her knuckles to peer up at her. Gyah! She shook it off her hand and leapt up from the bed. While the roach scurried over the scratched wooden surface of the table, she ran to the other side of the room. Her heart pounded, and she took a moment to try to calm her frazzled nerves. Meanwhile, the cockroach decided to go on the internet as it skittered across her keyboard, opening a browser window on its travels. Oh, no you don’t! She grabbed the broom that was resting against the wall and held it aloft like a staff.
She moved towards her laptop, her eyes trained on the vile insect. It must have seen her coming because it flew into the air, aiming straight for her face.
She narrowed her eyes and swung the broom at it, pushing it back towards the open window. It tried to dodge her, but she whacked it with the broom, and it flew outside. She pulled the window shut, and then locked it on the off chance it could pick locks as well as browse Google.
Breathing deeply, she checked the bed. Goosebumps had risen all over her body. Please don’t let me find anything else in here. Once she was certain that the bed was safe, she sat down and turned to face her laptop. I need help.