by Kaylea Cross
It took almost ten minutes for her to cry herself dry. When she had, he leaned back and handed her a tissue from the box on her countertop.
“Tell me what this is all about.”
“I think I screwed up.” He looked at her. “It has nothing to do with what happened in Rio. I think I screwed up with Ethan. Dad, I think I’m in love with him.”
He smiled quickly.
“No, I think, I don’t know. I think I’m just a job to him.” She blew her nose and reached for another tissue.
“Sweetie, if I know anything about that man, it’s that he never mixes business with pleasure. He has a reputation, one of being strictly business. Why do you think I hired him in the first place?”
He used his finger to pull her chin up until she looked at him in the face. “If he mixed pleasure with business, then I can guarantee it had nothing to do with the job. He took you to see his family in Washington right?”
She nodded her head and wiped a tear with the back of her hand.
“A man doesn’t fly you halfway across the continent to visit his family without there being something there. Trust me.”
She smiled at her dad. Maybe he was right.
“Besides, he’s still on the job. At least until I tell him he’s done. That was part of the deal.”
She smiled again. “Thanks, Daddy. I knew you’d have all the answers. What can I do now?”
“Well, if he doesn’t come back on his own… If I know anything about my little girl, you’ll find a way to make him crawl back.”
That night she lay in her bed for a few hours listening to the sounds of the city around her. She missed the sounds of the jungle and of Ethan sleeping beside her. She missed his warmth, his smell, his touch.
She knew she was going to have a hard time falling back into a pattern. How could she ever go back to a normal life after what they’d been through? Did she want to? More importantly, did she want to do it all alone? Even though they’d only known each other a few months, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
The shadows on her ceiling did little to soothe her as the light hit the leaves that were starting to fall from the large tree outside her window. She turned and hit her pillow a few times, trying to get comfortable. She’d had no problem sleeping in the dirt or wet sand last week. Why was her pillow-top mattress that she’d spent a fortune on so uncomfortable now?
Damn him for making her feel like she wasn’t good enough. Damn him for walking out. Her father was right, maybe she needed to make him crawl back to her. She knew he was probably out there, sitting somewhere watching her place. After all, he was still working security detail for her dad.
She’d just have to come up with a plan that would get him back into her life. She knew what she wanted now, and if it meant playing dirty, she’d just have to get dirty again.
* * *
Ethan sat in the rented van, checking all his monitors. There were only a few lit up right now, since he hadn’t had the time to put any cameras in Ann’s condo yet. Okay, he had to admit it, he’d had some time after her family left, he just didn’t have the guts to walk up there and knock on her door.
The cameras he did install he’d waited a few hours after all her lights had gone out to put up.
He had a nice view of her front door and all the windows to her place. He’d tried to angle them so he’d be able to see inside, but she’d shut all her blinds. Good girl. Her safety was supposed to be his goal, but he wished he could be there, lying next to her.
Maybe he’d misjudged her reactions? She’d been quiet on the trip home. Maybe she was just thinking about her work and not their relationship?
Then he remembered how she’d reacted when her father had called. No, she was either embarrassed that they were together, or… he didn’t know. He was trying to fool himself that her reactions were anything but what he’d witnessed. She didn’t want to be with him anymore and it was as plain as the nose on his face.
He’d been a fool not to tell her how he felt about her before they’d left Washington. Thinking about it, maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t told her. Maybe she would have just laughed at him? No, he’d learned a lot of things about Ann over the last few months and she wasn’t a vicious kind of person.
He could imagine her explaining how he wasn’t really in love with her. Maybe she’d even interrogate him as to why he thought he was in love with her? He chuckled at the idea of her holding him under a bright, hot lamp trying to get the truth out of him.
He remembered how she’d been with his parents and smiled. No, she wasn’t just blowing him off. Maybe she just needed some more time to think about her feelings? After all, they’d only known each other for a short period of time. He knew he was jumping into things quickly. But he didn’t need a lot of time to decide she was what he wanted. After all, he’d never felt remotely this close to another woman before.
He had to think of ways to get her to see what she wanted. That he was what she wanted. There had to be some way he could make her see what he’d already discovered. He knew he’d been too chicken to blurt out his feelings. He was a guy after all. He’d been teased by his buddies when he’d been bit on the butt by a spider and had gotten hospitalized. Imagine them finding out that he wanted to tell Ann that he loved her and wanted to spend his whole life with her. He’d probably never hear the end of it.
He knew that when Tom, one of his buddies, had gotten married a few years back, he’d been razzed by the whole group. They’d all attended his wedding and gotten drunk and had a blast. Tom had just smiled and told them that he’d get them back at their weddings. That’s what friends did.
He leaned back in the seat and tried to prop his feet on the small countertop. When his cellphone rang, he was surprised to see the international code.
“Javan?”
“Yeah, man.” Ethan laughed. Javan never really talked in his native tone.
“What are you doing back in Jamaica?”
“Trying to hide from my future wife.”
Ethan coughed and sat up. “What? You’re getting married?”
“Not if you can help a brother out. Please tell me you need some help. I can do all your dirty work. I’ll even run and get you coffee. Just get me the hell away from my parents’ meddling ways.”
He looked at the empty monitors and jumped at the chance. “Javan, why don’t you hop on the next plane to Texas?”
After hanging up the phone, he sat back and smiled. Javan was just what he needed. Someone Ann could relate to. Someone she trusted. Someone he trusted. It helped that Javan had been through heartbreak a few years back. He was still open to the idea of falling in love.
Maybe he had some insights into what he could do, how he could wear her down. Maybe even how he could tell her how he felt.
As he waited for the sun to rise, he thought about how many different ways he could get back with her.
* * *
Finally he had his opportunity. He watched as she crossed the street alone. He was sitting in the car next to his shooter. He knew the man could easily do this next job, but he didn’t want anything to get messed up, so he was sitting in the car with him.
“We may have a problem,” his man said as he pointed to a van on the opposite side of the street.
Then he could see it. The large man who’d been the cameramen in Rio was sitting in a black van watching Ann cross the street.
“I told you he was security.”
“He can’t watch her all the time.” He looked down at his watch and noticed he was running late. “I’m late. Follow her, grab her if you can. If not, text me and we’ll continue with the backup plan.”
They watched Ann drive away in her car, followed closely by the dark van. Then the man got out of his car and sprinted to his vehicle.
* * *
The next morning Ann marched into her office with a plan. There was no way she was going to let Anthony fire her. She walked out of the elevators and past the secretary with her head
held high. She avoided talking to anyone; she just wanted to make it into her office. She was so focused on getting there, she didn’t see the man sitting behind her desk until after she’d closed the door, leaned back on it, and released a sigh of relief.
“Was it that bad?” Dave asked from her chair. She couldn’t help it, she squealed. She’d only met Dave Myers once before, on the day she’d been hired almost five years ago. He was an older gentlemen with silver hair. His suits always looked pressed and he never had a hair out of place. He had a reputation for being a hard-ass and she’d done everything she could to avoid dealing with him directly.
“Oh,” she stood up straight and ran her hands over her skirt, trying to make sure she looked perfect.
“Come in, Miss Rhodes. I’d like to hear all about your adventures.”
She walked in and sat in one of the chairs that sat in front of her desk. She felt nervous, like she was being interviewed for a job. This was her office, but she didn’t quite know what was going to happen next.
Less than an hour later, the laughter could be heard down the hall from her office. Ann realized a few things talking to Dave. First, he was a pretty cool guy for a hard-ass. And second, he only wanted what was best for his business and his employees.
He’d told her that he had set up a fund for Mark’s and Joe’s families. Even though the business had nothing officially to do with their deaths, he’d promised to take care of them, something she’d almost broken down crying over. She’d missed their services since she was still hiking through the jungle trying to save her own skin at the time.
Dave had also told her that he was very interested in running her piece on Heitor, especially in light of her father’s new campaign. It would shed some more light on the whole subject of the struggle with the drug lords. Not to mention the effects his new law would have on stopping drugs from coming in through one of the largest states, one that had problems with border patrols. The fact that Texas has the most drug seizures through traffic stops weighed heavily on her father’s campaign. Dave was a huge supporter of her father and had dedicated the network to cover his upcoming speeches.
Ann didn’t know if Dave treated her special because of her connections, but she didn’t think so. She liked to think that Dave was just a really good guy, who’d been judged by the wrong people.
“You understand that the story idea still needs to be run by the board. I’ll let you know when they make a decision. It should be sometime later this week.”
He stood and shook her hand. “Again, I’m really sorry about everything that’s happened to you over the last few weeks. If you need any more time off, please, just let us know.”
She smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you, no. I’m ready to get back to work and keep busy.”
She needed to so she could stop thinking about the one person she still couldn’t get out of her mind.
Later as she made her way to the supermarket, she was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn’t realize she was being followed. At first she thought she was hallucinating. Then she’d purposely gone into the frozen food section and opened one of the large glass doors. There he was, looking back at her through the reflection. Heitor stood at the end of the aisle, but when she turned to look, he was gone. She’d rushed to the end of the aisle, but hadn’t seen him or anyone else for that matter.
As she walked out to her car, she was shocked to see Javan leaning against her car. She’d rushed to him and hugged him. When he told her he was working with Ethan to watch her, she’d been a little upset that Ethan wasn’t going to do it himself.
“Don’t look like that, Princess.” The use of Ethan’s nickname jolted her. “Sorry, that’s what he calls you.” He smiled and she realized she couldn’t be mad at him. “He wants me to watch you when you’re out. Plus, I’m supposed to install surveillance in your place. I wanted to wait until you got back.”
“Well, I’m just heading back now. Were you following me earlier? In the store?”
He nodded his head. “Did you happen to see a large Brazilian man, gray hair, a little taller than you?”
He looked at her and thought about it. “No, but then again, I wasn’t looking for a Brazilian man. Should I be?”
She looked around the full parking lot and shook her head. “No, I think my mind has been playing tricks on me. Come on, let’s go put up cameras for Ethan.”
* * *
“That was too close. Now there is a big Jamaican watching her as well. I think she spotted me in the store.”
“I don’t care. I’ve just found out that I might have a chance to get my hands on her at the end of this week. I’ll keep you posted.” He clicked his phone shut and smiled as he thought about literally getting his hands on her.
* * *
Damn, he was a fool. It was two nights later and he was sitting in a dark van across from Ann’s condo, watching her on the monitors. Javan sat next to him, chewing on a handful of peanuts.
“Thanks again, man, for handling my situation. I really needed to get out of there. My parents were trying to get me married off again.” His friend shook his head in horror.
“Marriage to you would be a nightmare.” Ethan mumbled.
“I’m sorry. What?” His friend crushed a handful of peanuts in his palm.
Ethan laughed for the first time in two days. He thought his friend knew something was up with him. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle the simple job on his own, it was more like he didn’t want to anymore. He needed the moral support of a man who’d fallen once. And boy had Javan fallen. She’d been the “African Beauty to beat all others,” or so his friend had called her. Ethan had been shocked that a woman so beautiful could have ever fallen for his friend.
Actually, it was thanks to that particular woman, Leena, that he’d deserved the two punches from Javan in Rio. But Ethan couldn’t let her get away with the diamond heist. After all, it was his job to catch the bad guy, even when the bad guy turned out to be wearing four inch stilettos and sleeping with his best friend.
His mind kept playing over so many questions. He was back to questioning Ann’s motives at this point. Sometimes he’d think he’d figured it all out, but then he’d be swayed in the opposite direction. It was as if he was playing devil’s advocate with his emotions.
Was Ann any different than Leena had been? She’d acted grateful to him about rescuing her in Rio. She’d spent all that time with him in Peru, acting like they were closer than he’d ever been with anyone else. Hell, he’d taken her to meet his family!
Maybe it was all in his mind? Maybe he was the reason she had pulled away? If he had said or done something… He thought back to all the time he’d spent with her.
Maybe she had played him? Maybe she was just getting through her survivor’s guilt by sleeping with him. He closed his eyes as he listened to her talk on the phone. The wiretap and cameras were something he’d made Javan do. Then he remembered Ann’s face when she’d seen his friend. It had lit up and she’d hugged him like he was an old friend. Maybe it was all just an act?
“You’re being too hard on her, you know.”
Ethan glared at Javan from across the small space.
“You should listen to me, I know what I’m talking about.”
“Right, because your relationships have worked out great so far.” Ethan turned back to the row of monitors. Each screen showed a different scene in Ann’s condo.
Javan punched him lightly on the arm. Even though it was a light punch, Ethan knew he’d have a small bruise there by the morning.
“Do what you will, old friend, but in case you haven’t noticed, we are getting much older. You won’t be able to do this kind of job much longer. I’m planning on retiring soon.”
“Javan, you’ve been planning on retiring since I met you eight years ago.”
Just then, Ethan watched as a red, Honda Civic pulled up to Ann’s curb. A young kid around the age of twenty jumped out carrying a large red pizza box.
Maybe he was being too hard on her? He stepped back and rang her doorbell. Waited to see what her next move would be.
Chapter Fourteen
Ann was bored. Since returning home, she’d gone to work, gone to the grocery store. Her kitchen was now fully stocked with groceries. When she’d arrived home last night she had realized there wasn’t anything to eat since she’d left for a long journey. She’d visited her family and done other boring everyday tasks, but was still bored out of her mind. How could she ever get back in the swing of a normal life after what she’d gone through with Ethan?
She’d been happily surprised to see Javan yesterday at the store. When they’d come back to her place, he’d come in and installed several small cameras throughout her place. She’d talked to him and had found out that he’d had to leave Rio on account of helping them escape. She felt bad, but was happy that he was going to be helping Ethan out now.
She was in the middle of watching the evening news, when the doorbell rang. She hadn’t even heard a word the announcer said since she’d been too busy thinking of Ethan again.
Knowing it was the pizza man at the door, she rushed to grab her new purse. She’d ordered online since she knew her phones were being listened to. She opened the door without looking out the peephole.
Then she was pushed up against the door and pinned there as she stared into Ethan’s very angry face.
“You didn’t even check to see who it was?” He growled out, pushing her against the door further. He kicked her front door shut with his foot. Then he used his arms and pinned her hands beside her body.
She could see the anger in his face, and she was beginning to feel angry herself. How dare he leave the other night? He hadn’t even talked to her, just left her like she’d been some job. The least he could have done was say thanks for the hot sex while we ran for our lives. Then he’d hired Javan to deal with her because he was too chicken to deal with her himself.
