Blood of His Fathers (Sinners and Saints)

by Michelle Chambers

  “Jessica—” His voice was rough with emotion.

  “Don’t!” she spat.

  Her own voice sounded hollow in her ears and she could barely draw breath from the pain stabbing through her. Why should she feel hurt or betrayed? Drew had been right all along.

  A big man grabbed her arm. The one they’d called Kestrel. The one who’d dragged her from her bed and outside onto the main deck. He leered at her, lowering his face close to hers. She shuddered, feeling sick to her stomach.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he said.

  She gagged watching the specks of spittle spray his upper lip. “I’m going to be sick,” she choked, turning her head away from the stench of day-old sweat and rotten onions.

  Kestrel pushed her from him, toward the side of the yacht. Behind her she could hear laughter and lewd suggestions. And bickering about which man would have her first. They had guns, what could she do? What could Jason do? Nothing. He was one of them.

  She leaned further over the railing and stared down into the dark water. She wasn’t a strong swimmer and the thought of throwing herself into the sea didn’t appeal to her in the slightest. But she’d rather have a fighting chance, than have her fate sealed like this.

  She stopped thinking and scrambled over the railing. And dived from the yacht.

  Above her, a hail of loud voices, angry in their surprise, cascaded down behind her. But it was Jason’s voice she heard clearly, full of fear and passion as he called her name. It resonated through her heart as she disappeared beneath the cold, frightening surface. She swam deeper and away from the shower of bullets hitting the water around her.

  Instinct kicked in. She kicked her legs and moved her arms, pushing the water downward as she tried to rise through it. She wanted to breathe.

  Don’t breathe. Oh God! Don’t panic!

  The current was too strong. Her lungs hurt with the incredible need to inhale. An image flashed through her mind. The premonition she’d had since she was a child—Her dead body lying in a pool of water. It was inevitable. She was going to die. In water. She gave one final push. One final kick. The strength was gone from her arms and legs through her exertions. She closed her eyes. It was only a matter of time before her body took its first painful breath.

  Something gripped her waist, dragging her upward through the water. Suddenly, she broke the surface of the water and felt the reviving air on her face. She gasped, taking in a lung full of precious oxygen and releasing the pressure in her lungs. She spluttered, gulping in more air. Her hands clung frantically to the solid form holding her tight. Flesh and blood, his heartbeat pounding as loudly as her own. She clutched him tighter, hugging him closer as she gasped for more air. He kept them moving, kept them afloat in the lapping waves.

  “We have to swim to the shore, Jessica. They’ll be looking for us.”

  She pulled back, summoning her strength, both physically and mentally, to look at Jason. He reached for her face, cupping it with both hands.

  “Stay close to me!”

  She nodded and his mouth captured hers in a brief kiss before releasing her. She swam toward the dark outline of the shore.

  * * * *

  As hot and sultry as the days could be, the limestone caves at night could be as much as twenty degrees lower. The chilly air pricked at his skin and he shivered. Jason’s eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness hanging heavily between them. He watched her, waiting for her to remove her clothes and join him on the makeshift bed of dried palm leaves. They needed to share their body heat and stay warm.

  She stood with her back to him, breathing deeply, her arms wrapped about her slender figure, her head leaning against the cave wall. Whether by chance or instinct he’d found her. She was grateful. And confused. And hurt. And angry. He’d slept with another woman. He heard her shiver again, could feel she held onto her sanity by a single fragile thread.

  The intermittent sound of rolling waves on the shale-strewn floor disturbed the cavernous quiet that’d stretched between them.

  “Why did you do that?”

  His chest tightened at the sound of her tears in her voice. “Do what?”

  “Come after me. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Every time I think I’ve got you figured out, you go and prove me wrong.”

  “Deep in your heart you know me, Jessica. Otherwise you wouldn’t have left Jake so unprotected.”

  “This was never about Jake, was it? It was about tying up loose ends. Me,” she said. “And as quickly and as quietly as possible. Letting me drown would’ve been a tad suspicious since witnesses saw me board your yacht.”

  He rose to his feet. Her voice was calm. Too calm.

  “Jessica, stop this!”

  “Tell me, was it your father’s idea to use Sean? Was that the plan? To get close to me, seduce me. Lull me into a false sense of security before attributing my death to some unfortunate accident or other? Or was it to be at the hands of those pirates? It’s a common enough occurrence in this day and age, and no one would be suspicious of any ulterior plan.”

  He could hear her shivering, trying to fight the cold seeping to her bones. But she was in no state to believe his denials, all he could do was try to disprove Drew’s condemning and damning assumptions about him and someday take away the hurt he saw in her eyes before she dived headfirst from the yacht. Hurt he knew he’d put there.

  He stepped toward her and she jerked around. Her eyes, shiny with tears, locked on his.

  “Who is she?”

  He knew who she was talking about. He stopped in front of her, leaving some space between them

  “My ex-wife.”

  “I see, and what she said—”

  “None of it was true.”

  “But you did make love to her.”

  “We didn’t make love. We had sex—”

  “Don’t,” she whispered.

  “Jessica, it’s not what you think—”

  “Not that it matters,” she dismissed, “since our marriage is nothing. I’m in no position to be demanding anything of you, am I?”

  She gave a mocking laugh. “You sleep with your ex-wife and it’s not what I think. Well, let’s add arrogance and egotism to your growing list of virtues, shall we?”

  “And stubbornness to yours,” Jason retorted.

  Her teeth were chattering louder than before.

  “Jessica, we can talk, argue, fight—whatever you want—later but we need to share our body heat or you’ll freeze to death down here.”

  “Would that be such a bad thing? You can tell everyone I nearly drowned. You saved me and I succumbed to hypothermia. See. Natural causes.”

  “Stop it, Jessica. Please.”

  He reached for her in the darkness and drew her firmly to him, sucking in a shivering breath as her cold, wet clothing brushed against his bare skin.

  “Do you honestly think if I wanted you dead I would care about how cold you were? Do you think I would have dived in after you? Brought you here?” he challenged. “Do you?”

  His hands cupped her face and his eyes searched her lambent gaze. He wanted to hold her, feel her skin against his, kiss her and make her his again.

  “That’s the part I don’t understand,” she whispered, teeth chattering.

  “Don’t you, Jessica? It isn’t about some old plantation at High Rock anymore. It’s about you and me and Jake.”

  She gasped softly. “Really? Your ex-wife seemed to make it clear—”

  “Shh…”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “I know what I want. Do you?”

  The brightness of her eyes disappeared behind suddenly lowered eyelids. After a heavy pause she stepped from him and peeled off her clothes.

  He took her hand, leading her to the makeshift bed. He drew her down onto the palm leaves admiring the way, that even in the dusky light, her skin radiated a faint golden glow.

  She lay on her side, her face away from his, her back against his chest. He pressed his body c
loser, draping an arm across her waist, scooping her into his warmth. He held her tight and his mind slipped back in time when they’d silently offered each other their bodies, their hearts and souls. Everything and everyone had been forgotten in that one precious night. He wanted that night again. He wanted her. She breathed a sigh.

  “What now?”

  “We wait. The perimeter around the house is linked to a silent alarm connected to the local police in Exuma. If Eva’s there…then the police will be here soon.”

  Jess stiffened in his arms and he caught the reflective glint in her down-turned eyes. He knew he needed to explain Eva. To tell Jess that despite the drastic start to their own marriage it’d become real for him. That she was the one who held his heart. And he would, when she was ready to hear it.

  * * * *

  His name rang from somewhere distant and pulled Jason from sleep.

  “Mr. McCormack!”

  This time Jason opened his eyes.

  The cave was still dark. How long had they slept? The makeshift bed of palm leaves crunched beneath his shifting weight. His thigh cradled Jess’ hip. She’d nestled her bottom firmly against his crotch and his erection nudged her soft curve. He pulled her to him delighting in her softness, her fragrance. Her.

  Jess murmured and turned in his arms. She stretched and opened her eyes directly into his. The voice called his name again. She scrambled into a sitting position and crossed her arms across her chest. “What is it? Have they found us?”

  Jason leaned forward and pressed a reassuring kiss against her shoulder.

  “No,” he mused. “That’ll be the police.”

  “Then we’d better get dressed,” she said rising to her feet.

  The voices drew closer slicing through the stretched silence between them. He heard her shiver as she pulled on her damp clothes. He raked his fingers loosely through his hair.

  Minutes later they emerged from the cave and headed toward the sound of his name and the bright lights fracturing the night.

  They followed an obviously delighted and relieved policeman up to Jason’s Bahamian styled luxury villa where an older man waited outside by the pool staring out across the darken trees and shadowy ocean. He turned as they approached, a polite smile on his face.

  “Mr. McCormack?” he queried. “And Mrs. McCormack?”

  They both nodded.

  “Inspector Forbes, CDU,” he said, flipping open his ID.

  Jason frowned. “What’s an inspector from the Central Detective Unit doing here? It’s a simple case of home invasion, isn’t it?”

  “We’d received a distress call from the MCORMC-1 stating it’d been attacked by pirates. That was before someone breached your perimeter alarm.”

  The inspector tipped his chin toward the sea. “The captain managed to free himself before untying the rest of the crew. They couldn’t tell us what these pirates wanted, but we got a name. Kestrel. Ever heard of him, Mr. McCormack.”

  Jason bristled. “Why in hell should I know him?”

  “I merely ask because he served as a crewmember aboard the MCORMC-1.”

  “My father’s yacht. My father’s crew,” Jason stated.

  “So, you don’t know this man.”

  “No. I don’t.”

  The inspector turned to Jess. “And you, Mrs. McCormack? Is there anything you can tell me about these pirates?”

  Jason felt Jess shiver. The slight pressure of his fingers about hers conveyed his silent wish.

  “No, Inspector. There was nothing distinguishable about any of them. I was asleep and had barely time to focus before I was p-pushed overboard.”

  “Do you have any idea what these men could’ve wanted?” he asked.

  Jess shook her head. “No, I don’t. Money? Jewels?” she proffered.

  “Well, it wasn’t the yacht because that’s still there, which is surprising considering the value of it.”

  His eyes scanned her wedding band and engagement ring.

  “In fact, nothing of value seems to have been taken at all.”

  “I’ll check in the morning and let you know if anything’s missing, Inspector,” Jason interjected.

  The inspector kept his eyes on Jess’ face. “Good. Either they didn’t find what they were looking for. Or what they were looking for escaped overboard. It’s rather fortunate you were so close to home.”

  Jess stiffened. “If you’re suggesting I’m withholding information, Inspector Forbes, let me tell you that I’ve been shot at and nearly drowned tonight. So, it would hardly be in my best interest, would it?”

  “Should I send for a doctor?”

  “No. I’m cold and I’m tired and I just want to be left alone.”

  She turned, tugging her fingers free of Jason’s, and stormed inside the house.

  Inspector Forbes beckoned the two policemen at his side. “Walk with me, Mr. McCormack.”

  They ambled down to the floodlit waterfront, the two policemen following at a discrete distance.

  “How long have you been married?” the inspector asked.

  “A little over a week. Why?”

  “What does your wife know about you, Mr. McCormack?”

  Genuine shock filled Jason. “What are you getting at, Inspector?”

  The inspector pursed his lips. “I saw your…wife…yesterday morning on Andros—”

  “She doesn’t seem to remember you,” Jason chipped in.

  “There was a fire at the old plantation at High Rock that very morning. Your wife was barely conscious at the time and I didn’t speak with her. You do know about the fire, don’t you?” Jason nodded. “Another man was with your wife. And English detective. Drew Mahon. Perhaps, you know him?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Strange, at the time Inspector Mahon failed to mention she was your wife. Now, why would he forget to do that?”

  “It was probably more of an omission than a lie.”

  “You would think he’d have wanted me to contact you considering it was your wife in the fire,” the inspector parried.

  “I don’t understand where you’re going with this?”

  “I find it odd, Mr. McCormack, that twice in two days I’ve had to come to your wife’s rescue, that’s all. I take it you can prove she’s your wife.”

  “We were married in Scotland, Inspector. All the documents are in my home there.”

  The inspector absorbed that information for a moment. “So you’re on your honeymoon?”

  “I met my wife at the Hotel Baja Mar this morning as we’d planned. I needed to tie up some business in England. Jessica came on ahead of me. We were supposed to sail the Islands for a few weeks, but all this happened.”

  The inspector slowed his step and frowned. “The pirates? Who took nothing and let you live? Somehow I don’t think so. Not in these waters. Where does Inspector Mahon fit into all this?”

  “He doesn’t fit at all, Inspector.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I have absolutely no idea.”

  “I won’t find his body washed up on a beach somewhere, will I, Mr. McCormack?”

  Jason swiped a hand down his face. “I don’t believe what I’m hearing. Do you honestly think I would kill a man because he was with my wife?”

  “I know your father and the kind of man he is. The question is, are you such a man?”

  “No!”

  They reached the police boat.

  “I’ll ask the local police to patrol the coast for a few days. Let me know when you leave the island.”

  “Why?” Jason asked.

  “I daresay the police have better things to do than patrol an empty house. Goodnight.”

  Jason returned to the house and entered the living room where Jess sat huddled in the corner of the large couch at the far side of the room, a blanket wrapped about her shoulders. She’d showered and changed into one of his shirts and a pair of sweats. She raised her eyes to his, although she didn’t quite meet his gaze.

  “Did you find
everything you needed?” he asked.

  She nodded. The sound of their breaths rasped between them.

  “Inspector Forbes didn’t believe us, did he?” she said at length.

  “Why wouldn’t he?”

  “I don’t know…just a feeling I got when he looked at me, as if he knew I was lying.”

  “We didn’t lie—”

  “Your wife must be very important to you if you’re willing to protect her from the police.”

  “Ex-wife. Damn it, Jessica. You are my wife.”

  She bit back the retort he sensed in her and exhaled sharply. “Are we safe here?”

  “I doubt…Eva or Kestrel will risk venturing back here.”

  “Then, I’m going to bed. I’ll take the bedroom at the front of the house.”

  Before he could respond, she’d escaped him and hurried up the stairs.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jason looked out across the Atlantic Ocean rippling gently like a turquoise sheet under the sun’s intense light. Apart from the MCORMC-1 bobbing on the waves, there were no other distractions to spoil the oceanic view from the balcony. Well, except for Jess standing just in front of him.

  Her shirt had fallen open across one shoulder and, taking full advantage of his height, he glimpsed the tempting curvature of her soft breasts. He shifted uncomfortably, aching to touch her.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he said.

  “Peaceful,” she replied. She didn’t turn to look at him.

  “That’s what my grandparents thought, too. They loved it out here. Jake would love it here, don’t you think?”

  She shrugged and unconsciously opened the shirt a little further to his gaze. The dusky peak of her nipple protruded against the white fabric.

  “After breakfast, we could go back to the mainland if you like.”

  “So much has happened…” Her voice faltered.

  She was talking about Eva, and although the situation had changed between them it remained tenuous at best. But he wasn’t about to let her find a reason to fight the feelings they still shared. He stepped closer, filling the gap between them. He breathed in treating his nostrils to the delicious scent of soap and her. His penis throbbed against the inside of his jeans.