by Anna Collins
“You have freed my body, and you have moved me to think of sex as more than just the man on top of me getting off. I’ve learned to assert some of my own dominance. I no longer have to surrender myself to the moment. There are times I forget about thinking altogether. I’ve learned to let things go and maybe you can take a page from my book. You’ve already admitted your wife has moved on. I’m still trying to understand why you want to go back. You have everything you want right here including me,” I said wondering how he could walk away from paradise to put on a suit and a tie like some corporate stooge.
“It’s the principle. I can’t have people thinking they can make my life a living hell and not be held accountable,” Casper said with me seeing a faraway look and wondering deep down whether power was something he missed more than the money.
Whatever funds he had in that secret account were most likely more than enough to live quite well. He probably felt somebody had done him a disservice. It would’ve been one thing for him to leave his wife and the trappings of his wealth behind on his own, but it was another altogether when somebody did it for him like taking candy from a baby.
Chapter 14
We got to a family owned pharmacy, and there was a café across the street. On the way here, I had noticed we had somebody following us. I wasn’t sure it was the same man who had attempted to knock us off the road or if it was the man who had that ice water in his veins. It didn’t matter and facing them and talking things out was what I was hoping would happen.
“You don’t have to tell me; I already know. You made it pretty damn obvious from the way you were glancing over your shoulder. You tried to make it look natural, but the way you shifted nervously in your seat was a dead giveaway. Remind me later to play strip poker. We can add a bit of truth and dare after the clothes are gone. I have a few ideas which might shock you. I don’t take you for the kind of girl who easily jumps into the unknown. It took you a few years to even pull the plug and cash in to come here,” Casper said as we walked down the aisles until he was perusing those boxes of hair dye.
“Don’t look now, but I think the guy who came to see me is in here. I really didn’t get a good look at him. It was pretty dark; he did not turn on any lights, but he wasn’t trying to hide either. He made it impossible for me to identify him without having to extrapolate from the features of the men behind the glass,” I said not knowing how this judicial system worked; I really had no interest finding out anytime soon.
“I already saw him crossing the parking lot coming in this direction. I don’t see any reason why we have to play this game of cat and mouse. Let’s go out into the parking lot and confront our pursuer. We might even be able to come to an arrangement he would be a damn fool to turn down. If he truly is here for the bounty, then I can up the ante. It would most likely leave me with very little to my name, but having him breathing down our neck is not healthy. The only problem I foresee is he won’t be the only one. I don’t have any more money to spend, unless of course, I resorted to groveling for my wife to come through,” Casper said as he picked up three boxes of different colors and carried them back to the counter.
“He’s most likely waiting for the right time to strike. He doesn’t want the authorities to be involved. As you have already stated, this island has no extradition. You bribed some officials to give you preferential treatment. It must feel nice not to have anyone prosecute you here on the island. However, that doesn’t mean those you have in your pocket, won’t stab you in the back for the right price,” I said as we took our packages out onto the pavement portion of the premises.
Casper turned and crossed his arms, not moving, waiting impatiently for the man who had accosted me last night to come out and face him one on one.
The man stepped out, but he had the equalizer of the gun, not to mention unseen weapons to give him a sense of safety.
“Casper, you knew this day was going to come. I hope you told your companion what is going on. If that is the case, then I don’t understand why she is still standing by your side. I have a boat ready for us and then a plane to take you back to the States for prosecution. I really hope you’re going to make this easy and not hard. I don’t want to have to subdue you, but I will if you force me to. Do the sensible thing and give up without a fight. I see what you did as cowardly, and if I had any personal stake in this, then I might take exception. I think about how something like this would affect my family. I know what I would’ve done to avenge their loss, and it’s not pretty. You’re lucky I don’t have a vested interest, other than the money to be put into my hands upon your capture,” The man was wearing all black in this heat. I thought for sure he would be sweating through his pits, but he remained remarkably cool under pressure.
“There’s no reason we can’t act like gentlemen. Come with us for a cup of coffee and we can talk about this. Of course, I knew this day was coming, but I was hoping I could unravel what had been done to me before somebody came. You have to realize I have people looking out for me. They would be very interested to know you were in town, causing trouble,” Casper said while we both crossed the street with this man in hot pursuit.
There was an unseen stress in the air. This man had one hand on the table and the other out of sight, no doubt touching the butt of the gun. They didn’t speak for at least a couple of minutes. It was as if they were trying to size each other up. I was half expecting them to take their cocks out and measure them on the table. That would have been something to see, but not for those tourists at the other tables. They were looking to get away from the world and not have to be subjected to some sort of unseemly measuring contest.
“My name is Frederick Rogers. I have a reputation for getting my man. I’m willing to listen, but I doubt very seriously you can change the outcome of what’s going to happen. You’ve already met one of my associates. I admit he was a little quick to act. He’s in the hospital in traction. It was a good thing he was wearing a seatbelt, or it could’ve been a whole lot worse. I told him specifically he should wait. I could talk to the locals and see what I could do to find out about where you were hiding. He said he was driving around and he saw you out of his peripheral vision going into the woods,” Frederick said as he drummed his fingers on the table.
“I would like to bribe you. I know how ugly this might sound, but it’s in your best interest to at least hear me out. I do request one thing in return. I want to know who has been talking. They gave me up, and I can’t just turn a blind eye to that. I just need a name, and then we can settle this thing and go our separate ways. It would be one thing if I was guilty, but I’m not. You don’t have to believe me, and it’s really none of your business. I would suggest a figure, but I don’t want to insult you or overextend myself. Let’s be fair with one another and maybe doubling your price for bringing me in will help to soothe the sting,” Casper said looking into this man’s steely blue eyes, not bothering to budge one inch.
“I’m surprised you would even suggest something like this. Some bounty hunters are only in it for the money, but I like the feeling of finding somebody nobody else can. What would it say about my reputation if I were to go back empty handed? Surely, you can sweeten the pot by giving me somebody else. You want the name of the person who gave up your location, and I want the name of some high profile criminal you’ll gladly stab in the back to prevent yourself from taking his place,” Frederick said as he drank the concoction that came to the table with a grimace on his face.
“I’m willing to listen to your terms. Tell me the price for your silence. I do have somebody who has stepped through the cracks. I don’t like him very much. I never told anybody where he is because of my loyalty to his family. His wife just recently died, and he didn’t even show up to the funeral to comfort his kids. That is something I cannot condone. I will give you his name in exchange for the one you have on the tip of your tongue. I wouldn’t sell out my mother to avoid going to jail, but if it’s a complete stranger or someone I really don’t know the
n all bets are off,” Casper said as they both had something to gain and nothing to lose from this battle of wills.
“I’m getting $250,000. I might consider walking away for double the price. This is not the first time I’ve been in this position with one of those who I have tracked down. There was only one who reminded me I could be human. I knew where there was smoke there was fire. It was up to him to clean up his act and to hear of his overdose a couple of months ago did not come as any big shock to me. I gave him a chance and he ruined it pumping the poison into his veins. I do feel a pang of guilt for letting him go. I swore I would never do that again and here we are playing the same game,” Frederick said.
“I figured this would be your price. I could easily transfer it to the bank account of your choosing. I’m partial to doing this, but I still get the idea you can’t be trusted as far as I can throw you. What’s stopping you from taking the money and then betray me all in one breath?” Casper asked with his eyes glued on Frederick to see how he was going to respond.
“I could just shoot you with the gun I have leveled underneath the table. You would think I would have a problem making a scene, but I don’t. Like I said, I could do it, but the name you have intrigues me. You have to know others will come in my place and they won’t be as generous to turn the other cheek. If you are truly innocent, then I would suggest you stop hiding and do something about it. If somebody has framed you, then they won’t stop until you are no longer a threat to whatever they’re doing. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know,” Frederick had a real Greek heritage and the black mustache had grown thicker from when I had glimpsed it last night.
“I’ll give you $500,000 and the name of a criminal who has eluded capture for many years. His bounty is worth two million. You’re getting the better of this bargain, and I think you know that. I don’t want to have to look over my shoulder every day as if I had a pair of eyes in the back of my head. You might be right, but going back is the worst thing I can do. I have to let my people work outside the confines of the law. I can stand being here, especially when I have a woman like Angel to spend my time with. Make sure when you do get this money and the bounty for this criminal that you take the time to smell the roses. Life is pretty fleeting and having nobody there to hold your hand is not the way I want to spend the rest of my life,” Casper took the account number Frederick gave him and sent the necessary funds to his account.
“The only name I have for you is the first name. I don’t even know if it’s real and the proof of life came with a photographing time stamped to last week. I thought you would be long gone. I didn’t believe that you would stay in one place for too long, but I guess you figured you were safe since nobody came for you. I can promise you this is going to happen again. Be ready with more money. Something tells me you’re going to need it. His name is Charles. I don’t know much about him, but the accent on the phone had an island touch. I’m not sure what good this does you, everybody around here has an accent,” Frederick said as he waited for the confirmation of the funds in his account.
“The name you’re looking for is Gibson Sanders. He’s been wanted for quite some time for tax evasion and questioning in the murder of his mistress and dominatrix. I believe the name and the address I put into your phone conclude our business unless you want to try and finish what you came here for. I’m not foolish, and I know this is only the beginning. If you know, then the word has gotten out, and the one trying to frame me is going to see this as a window of opportunity they can’t pass up. The only thing I can trust in this life is Angel and me. I will take your advice into consideration, but I doubt I’m going to give myself up. I can’t do anything from behind bars. Besides, getting to me while behind bars is a lot easier than trying to track me down from the four corners of the earth,” Casper said while looking at this man and not showing any weakness.
“I’m only the tip of the iceberg. Even my associate, after he gets out of the hospital won’t settle for this kind of arrangement. He has this moral code, and we only joined forces because we used to work together. He was a young American, and I was a Greek immigrant. Don’t underestimate him. Fallon can be a force to be reckoned with. He won’t stop. I could try to dissuade him, but I don’t see that working out. Once word gets out I didn’t bring you in, my reputation isn’t going to be worth the years I put into it. It might be time for me to walk off into the sunset and maybe find the happiness you speak of,” Frederick said as I heard the click of the revolver under the table.
He flagged down a nearby taxi and drove away. I breathed deeply and didn’t even realize I was holding my breath for longer than necessary. “I would suggest visiting this man in the hospital where he can’t put up much of a fight. Perhaps you can convince him that coming after you is not the only option on the table. Bribery is only going to take you so far. We have his name, and there can’t be so many Fallon’s on the island. The name is not exactly ordinary. I think you should put one of the people you trust with your life on it. They might be able to shed some light on his motivation, and we can give him the proper incentive to back off,” I said while looking around at paradise, seeing it more like a trap meant to ensnare the man I had fallen for against my better judgment.
“Frederick’s reputation will take a hit, but he’ll also get credit for bringing in Gibson Sanders. That should repair any of the damage. I hope he takes his own advice and leaves in hopes of finding the one to complete him. I caught myself an Angel by the wings, and I have no interest letting her go anytime soon,” He said referring to me, making me blush as he put me on the high pedestal.
“I have a feeling Frederick wasn’t exactly subtle about throwing your name around. Out here, we are sitting ducks with a bull’s eye on our back. It would be better for us to remain incognito. Let’s go back to my place. We know it’s secure enough. I hope we can trust Frederick is a man of his word. You really do have the gift for negotiation. You were able to find the one thing he wanted and would allow him to save face by letting you go,” I said as we strolled down the block looking at the locals and wondering who might see the bounty as a way out of their meager existence.
“I don’t like that others will be coming. I want to stay here with you, but I’m not sure how long I can. Tomorrow, I will go and see the man in the hospital. You had a good idea when you mentioned it would be better to meet him when he is down and out. I don’t know what I’m going to be able to offer him in place of my head on a platter. I guess, I’ll have to gauge it when I see him up close and personal,” Casper said as he walked ahead of me and made a phone call which had me thinking he was trying to keep something away from me.
I had given him my trust and my body, but the one thing missing was a man I knew how to make me scream those words of pent up passion with only his mouth. I wanted him to be this kind of lover, and the best way to make it happen was to get him to see I knew my body better than he did. In the meantime, the book I was writing wasn’t going to pen itself. I had a lot more material I could twist to give my book the extra edge to keep my readers up.
“I just want to go on the record to say I would go with you anywhere. Why can’t we start again someplace else? There are many tropical islands. I don’t understand it myself, but you have me spinning with thoughts of how we’re going to make this work,” I said as we made it back to the jeep hidden a few blocks away.
“That’s very kind of you, but I have no interest in continually looking over my shoulder while waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Casper said with a new sense of confidence which made me want to reach out and let my fingers do the talking for me.
“I can certainly understand, and it can’t be easy with no leads to indicate who has done this to you. I am happy I’m here with you, but I can see how you would want to get back to the life you left behind. I don’t want you to. It’s my personal belief that having you around is giving me the necessary muse to find the words to capture a reader’s interest. Tomorrow is going to be a huge d
ay for you. As an athlete, I think you should abstain from any kind of physical pleasure tonight. That’s not to say you can’t give me some. I have a few ideas to just tickle your fancy,” I said thinking this would be an excellent opportunity to give him a lesson.
“I already mentioned we are going to play strip poker. We need something to occupy our time. I don’t want to fret over it until I figure out if this man is going to be a problem or not. Are you saying you chicken out? I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve known guys who are shrewd and can play the game like nobody else; you could get beaten by me time and time again. If you’re ready to admit complete and utter surrender, then I might take pity on you,” He said trying to use this against me.
I wasn’t much for getting into a spirited debate. I found the idea of fleecing him at the table something I wanted to see for myself. I did know how to play, and maybe the basics were the only things I would need to get him down to his unmentionables. It sounded like fun. I agreed to his terms, but I was worried about the telling smirk on his face. It was possible he had used his considerable charm to lure me into a trap. If that were so, then I could seriously consider taking one for the team.
