Breaking Even

by Lily Bishop

  “You didn’t have to clean that up. I planned to do it," he said.

  “I don’t mind.” She smiled and stepped closer. He retreated behind his desk. “I was going to get some dinner. Want to join me?”

  “I’m planning to call Xavier to see what he’s doing. But thanks.”

  “We used to go eat together all the time. Rudy misses you.”

  He frowned at the mention of her son. He enjoyed spending time with her four-year-old, but he didn’t want her to expect more.

  “I’m sorry—it’s just been crazy. Tell Rudy I'll take him to practice his hitting soon,” he offered. He didn't like the direction the conversation had taken. He had offered her the promotion because she was good at her job, not for any other reason.

  “No problem. Any time.” She piled the ruined paperwork and paper towels in the trash can. She took one look at him and kept going. Ric hoped Jacquetta wasn’t expecting more from him than friendship. From his perspective, they had never been more than friends who worked together. A few times he had gone to eat with her and her son, but only because he liked Rudy, and she had asked.

  He couldn’t worry about that now. He thought back to Lindsey’s news about Laura. Lloyd Baker. The name was coming back to him. He called Xavier.

  “Who was that man in Miami that Miguel was funneling money to?”

  He heard Xavier fumbling through paperwork in his office. “That’s out of the blue. Lloyd Baker. Why?”

  “The FBI arrested him. Miguel’s empire begins to crumble. Are you still in the office?”

  “I’m making out the schedule for next week, and then I’m done.”

  “Finish up and meet me for dinner at Driftwood in fifteen. We need to talk strategy.”

  The net continued to tighten around Miguel. Ric's plan to target his cousin's generals appeared to be working. Sooner or later, one of them would provide the FBI with the hard evidence for an arrest. With Miguel out of the picture, Ric could pursue Lindsey with a clear conscience.

  The less that Lindsey knew about that unsavory business, the better. In her world, women were free to pursue doctorate degrees. They weren’t targeted by men who saw them as a possession.

  Lindsey hadn't believed Ric's offhand comment about sex trafficking. She didn't know Vaughn Bruce's true intentions on Calliope, and he hoped she never found out.

  #

  On Santa Katerina, three men sat on a stone balcony of the Salzana family castle. Neither of them spoke, and Vaughn wasn't about to start. He had been on the island for days and was no closer to learning what Miguel Salzana wanted with him. When he hinted about getting back to Miami, Salzana just shrugged and said, “In time.”

  Now he, Salzana, and his henchman Javier sat down for the evening meal. So far, the three of them had stared out at the waves crashing onto the black sand below.

  Not that Santa Katerina was a bad place to be. The tropical island was part of the Islas de Las Cruces archipelago north of Venezuela. With little else to do, Vaughn had explored the small fishing village on the other side of the island.

  The men fished and the women painted homemade pottery, but there had to be more to the local economy than that. Small houses painted in bright colors lined cobblestone streets. Shops carried the basics, but also modern luxuries like cell phones and tablet computers. Something brought money to this town, but he had no idea what.

  Salzana had told him he could help the fishermen. After a few days of following their gestures, Vaughn picked up enough Spanish to be useful. He learned to mend the nets and learned which fish they threw back.

  Most nights, he dined with Salzana and Javier. Sometimes, Javier’s woman Giada joined them, but usually she served dinner and left. She was young, petite with a heart-shaped face and black hair down to her waist.

  Tonight she brought a plate of beef cooked in sauce and the little flat corn cakes that were part of every meal. She left that on the table and then came back out with large bowls of rice and wilted greens.

  "What kind of meat is this?" Vaughn asked, studying the overcooked meat with skepticism.

  "Azada negro, one of my favorites," Salzana said. "Try it."

  Vaughn took one bite of the meat and pushed it away. The sweet glaze was too much for him. Why couldn't he just have a grilled steak and baked potato? He forced down the rice and greens, wishing he had something else to go with it.

  Salzana scowled at him and ate more of the meat dish.

  “I found the beach this morning, after spending most of my time in the village. What makes the sand black?” Vaughn asked.

  “The blood of my ancestors ran dark on this beach…” Miguel started.

  “The volcano makes black sand,” Javier interrupted, smirking.

  “Javi, don’t steal my thunder,” Miguel said, laughing. “Sí, the sand is from the dormant volcano that formed this island thousands of years ago. The blood makes a better story. What did you do today, Señor Bruce?”

  “I went out with one of the fishermen. I think his name was Chapa. He said to tell you that he had a good haul today."

  “Chapa is a good man. He has cast for fish on this island as long as I’ve been living here. The fishermen all seem eager for your help.”

  Vaughn suppressed the sigh that rose up on its own. He had to be careful to avoid offending Salzana, but he did not want to spend months on this island. “Fishing wouldn’t be the best use of my time. I was wondering what else I can do to assist you.”

  “You need to do more than assist me. By my count, you owe me over thirty thousand American dollars.”

  Vaughn gaped at the two men, shocked by the number. He didn’t have that kind of money.

  “Javi, fetch Vaughn some of our new wine,” Salzana ordered. When his man had departed, he appraised Vaughn as if he were a piece of property.

  “I thought you would help me kidnap the American woman, but you proved useless. So far, you are nothing but a liability.”

  “Kidnap who? You never said anything about a kidnapping. You said you wanted me to take her to the island to play blackjack…”

  “Yes, and my men would have taken her while she was there. When you overplayed your hand and got arrested, that put her under suspicion. Once Ricardo took her, we had no way to snatch her onto our boat.”

  “That’s not my fault. If you had told me the entire plan, I may have been of more help. Why did you want her, anyway? She’s just a kid.”

  “She’s not ready yet, but I plan to marry her. For now, I need to switch tactics. When the time comes, you will help me.”

  In a moment, Javier returned with a bottle of red wine and three goblets. “I had to go down to the cellar,” he explained.

  “Try this pinot noir. It’s one of our finest from the Lara region.”

  Vaughn swirled the liquid around in the large goblet and then took a sip. “This is good.”

  “We don’t export much yet, but the market may come to us. Sommeliers are always looking for something different for their clients.”

  Vaughn took another sip and followed it with a piece of the corn cake from the hand-woven basket. At least the bread was good.

  “I may have some use for you yet, Mr. Bruce,” Salzana said in front of Javier. “Did you hear the news out of Miami?”

  “What news? The only newspapers are in Spanish, and I don’t have any way to get on the Internet.”

  “About your friend, Lloyd Baker.”

  Vaughn looked from Salzana to Javier. “No, what about Lloyd? Other than the fact that he’s a jackass?”

  “Well, the jackass, as you call him, is now in Federal custody. They arrested him."

  “For what?”

  Salzana shrugged. “He helped me with certain things. The FBI came to make an arrest. I don’t have all the details, but he took a shot in the leg and ended up in the hospital.” He took another bite of his roast and poured more wine. “I love this azada negro. Are you not eating?”

  Vaughn pushed his plate to Miguel. “You can have
my share.”

  Lloyd had fired Vaughn to make it look like he embezzled. He had never hated Lloyd Baker as much as he did right then.

  Miguel shrugged. “Baker spent my money and had to replace it with his. Once he goes to prison, I’ll get him a lawyer, and we will go forward from that. But I need to know what kind of leverage I have against him.”

  It all came down to this. Vaughn started adding what little funds he had left in Miami, anything to buy his way out of this. He couldn’t think of a way. “He’s married, but his wife is sick.”

  “No, she died last week. The cancer moved to her liver. “

  “Did you have something to do with that?”

  “No, her cancer moved to her liver. Do you know of anyone else?”

  “He has a sister, but it would take me a while to figure out her name. It’s not like we exchanged Christmas cards or anything.”

  “Chloe Baker in Miami. I’m worried she’s not enough. What else can we use?”

  “As far as I know, he didn’t have anyone else. He was dating Amanda—”

  “She died in the gunfire. She tried to shoot him and an FBI agent took her out.”

  “Amanda? Dead?” She had driven Vaughn crazy with her eccentric demands, but he hadn’t wished her dead.

  “So, in the next few weeks, find out more about this Chloe. We’ll need to know her routine, where she lives, where she works, that sort of thing.”

  “What’s the point?”

  “If Lloyd betrays me in prison, we’ll take his sister. There’s always a market for women, if you know where to sell them.”

  “How do you know Lloyd is the one who betrayed you?”

  “I don’t, but at this point he’s collateral damage. All he can do is make things worse. I’ve already pulled my money out of the accounts he set up, and he’s the only one who can tie them back to me.”

  “If you have the money, and you’re safe here, why do you care?”

  “That was only one piece of my business. The FBI can’t arrest me for sex trafficking because they have no proof. I may have ordered hits on many men, but they won’t get me for murder. Something tells me they would take an arrest for money laundering or tax evasion and call it a day. I enjoy my occasional visits to Miami and Vegas, and I don’t intend to rot away in some filthy stateside jail.”

  Miguel stared at him so long, Vaughn heard at least three different wave cycles hit the beach. When Miguel broke eye contact, he got up, claiming he had to make a phone call. Vaughn breathed a sigh of relief.

  “We don’t need you. I still don’t know why you are here.” Javier spoke so low, Vaughn almost couldn’t hear him over the roar of the surf below. He knew Miguel couldn’t have heard him.

  “I can do things for him in the U.S. that you can’t.”

  “Maybe. Just know this. If you betray him, I will kill you myself.”

  Vaughn sat there, waiting when Javier stood up to leave. “I finally figured it out. You look just like the man who had me arrested in Calliope.”

  “Xavier is my twin brother.”

  “Now that sounds like a story. Cousin versus cousin. Brother versus brother.”

  “You would be wise to not ask Miguel about Ricardo. You may find the blade of his sword in your throat. Consider yourself warned.”

  Vaughn nodded. “As soon as I can get back to Miami, I’m gone.”

  “Believe me, I’d like nothing more. The more you ask to leave, the longer Miguel will wait. Help the fishermen, offer to help on the construction downstairs. If he thinks you like it here, he will send you back sooner. That’s the kind of man he is.”

  Giada came back to clear the table, and Javi followed her out, leaving Vaughn alone on the terrace. He sat and listened to the waves until the sun went down before he finally went inside.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Long Voyage

  Lindsey woke to sunlight streaming through the window. She wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but she had too much to do.

  She picked up her phone from beside the bed and saw two texts and a missed call from Ric. You must have already gone to bed followed by Miss you. Call me when you get on the road tomorrow.

  She had stayed up late packing—what time had he sent the text? She looked again. After two. She sighed, wondering what else she could do to reassure him that she was not making a move on Ben. Ric had sounded hurt when she told him about her roommate, almost as if he were mad at her.

  The house around her didn't make a sound. Laura must have already left for her early flight to Las Vegas for the job interview. The truth finally hit home that she was on her own. She had wanted Laura to recognize her independence, but it still hurt. She rambled around the rooms crowded with her boxes, restless. She felt empty.

  She took a quick shower, got dressed, and packed her toiletries. She looked around at the stacks of boxes, focusing on the beginning of a new chapter, not the end of the last.

  Although Laura had irritated her some this summer, Lindsey would miss her. Since their mother had died four years ago of breast cancer, Laura had often acted more like a second mother. Since Lindsey was getting her own apartment, this would be her last summer with Laura. It was becoming more difficult to ride out Laura's motherly impulses.

  Once Lindsey moved, Laura would quit asking about what had happened in Calliope. Technically, nothing had happened, yet everything had changed.

  Laura had ranted the whole plane ride back from Calliope about “that horrid man firing stun guns.” Lindsey's attempts to defend Ric’s actions only made Laura angrier. Lindsey had leaned back and closed her eyes, refusing to argue about it. She didn’t want to fight that battle until she had to. Since she and Ric were taking things slow, it might not matter. She didn’t need to upset Laura by flaunting a relationship. At least not yet.

  In contrast, just mentioning a roommate named Ben had triggered more questions. Lindsey explained several times that they weren't dating, but her didn't sister believed her.

  She and Ben might have dated in a different time. They met in a philosophy class her junior year and became quick friends. He had started hanging out with her other friends from the dorm and joined their close little circle. His sister, Kayla, came out with them some, but she was in a sorority and that took up a great deal of her time.

  Lindsey made friends with boys more readily than girls because they treated her as one of them. Girls thought she was a creature from another planet. Meanwhile, most boys didn’t want to date her; they just wanted her to do their homework. Unfortunately, suspicious girlfriends didn’t buy it.

  She had hoped Ben would be different. After all, he didn’t need her help to get good grades. One night after studying together, he leaned across and kissed her on the cheek.

  She had wanted the kiss, wanted to believe that she had gotten over her aversion to being touched. Unfortunately, she felt nothing. Ben didn't make any other moves. In his defense, she didn't encourage him, and nothing had progressed. She had landed solidly in the friend zone. Again.

  When Ric had kissed her, something had opened up inside her like a dam breaking. Passion had cracked her shell, and need had rushed through her every fiber. How could she convince Ric that Ben wasn’t any competition anymore? Either Ric will deal with it or he won’t.

  She wondered how long Ben had known about his uncle’s bar. He hadn’t told Lindsey until after she returned from Calliope. Now she thought it odd that he hadn’t mentioned the bar when she first said she was moving to Clemson. Maybe at that point everything wasn't finalized.

  She had invited him out with a group of her friends from the dorm one night the week before finals. His sister couldn’t make it that night, so he came out alone.

  When she had mentioned she was moving to Clemson, he had suggested they share an apartment. Lindsey didn’t believe him at first, but the more they talked, she realized he was serious. He needed a break from school and didn’t want to start graduate school right away. Now, with all this talk about a bar, she
thought that must have been in the works already. Otherwise, it seemed too random.

  Speaking of random, Lindsey had way too many boxes. She would have to cut some of the books and leave them in Laura’s closet. She took the two boxes of paperbacks and left those. She could get the rest in her SUV. She finished stacking boxes by the door just in time.

  She heard a quick knock and opened the door for Ben. He was wearing jean cut-offs and a Seminoles T-shirt. When he lifted his sunglasses, his eyes looked bloodshot.

  “Morning. You look rough,” she said.

  He walked past her into the living room. “I’m fine. Stayed up later than I should have.”

  “With Brittany?” she asked, smirking.

  “No, fighting with Kayla. She’s still mad at me.”

  Lindsey would never understand the dynamics of his family. “She’ll get over it.”

  Ben looked away, not meeting her eyes. “Are you ready to go?” he asked. “I’d like to get some miles behind us before lunch.”

  “Just a few more things to load.”

  When they loaded everything into the back of her car, Lindsey took one more look at her bedroom. With the bed stripped and the personal effects gone, it looked more like a hotel room. She had stored her remaining items in the closet so Laura could use the room for guests. Since they had sold the townhouse where she grew up, nothing felt like home anymore. She didn’t feel the need to preserve anything.

  They hadn’t been on the road long when Lindsey’s phone rang. She glanced down to see Ric’s picture from the beach flash up on her screen. She answered, smiling. “Hey, big guy.”

  “I miss you already,” Ric said. “What are you doing? Packing?”

  “No, we left Miami about thirty minutes ago.”

  “We?”

  “My new roommate Ben, remember? I’m following him up in my car.” Lindsey thought her response sounded reasonable, but Ric did not.

  “You’re driving? Why aren’t you flying? That’s way too far for you to drive.”