by HELEN HARDT
She took a sip of her water and cleared her throat. “Now what?”
“Whatever you want. We can keep walking. Take a dip in the water. Go over to the pool.” I gestured. The pool was behind the bar. The same pool where I had met Juliet last night. We walked away from the bar.
And speak of the fucking devil.
Juliet came bounding toward us, her tits bouncing. In the light of day, she wasn’t nearly as pretty as she’d been last night. Still, she wasn’t bad to look at, and I would’ve looked my fill if not for the much better eye candy standing next to me.
“Hi, Ryan!” She turned to Ruby. “And hi…”
“Ruby.” Ruby held out her hand.
Juliet took Ruby’s hand and let it drop quickly. “Did you all enjoy your walk last night?”
“We sure did,” I said.
A couple girls walked toward us.
“These are my friends, Shayna and Lisa,” Juliet said.
Oddly, the roommates looked nothing like Juliet, the ultimate California girl, but they both had the same sorority feel. Shayna was African-American with a tight body. Maybe a dancer? Lisa was red-haired and freckled with a few more curves. I hoped she was wearing sunscreen.
“We’re looking for some fun,” Juliet continued.
You won’t find it here. But I didn’t say that. “I’m sure you can find lots of fun around this place.”
Three Jamaican men ambled up then, dressed in board shorts. “Couldn’t help overhearing you lovelies. If you’re looking for some fun, we can take you for a ride on our Jet Skis.”
“That sounds great,” Juliet bubbled. “How about it, guys?”
“I don’t know, Jules,” Shayna said.
“Oh, come on, Shay,” Lisa urged. “It’ll be fun.”
The first man held out his hand. “I’m Mark, and this is Rashaun and J.J.”
“I’m Juliet. This is Shayna and Lisa. And Ryan and Ruby.”
“Now that we know each other, come on, then.” Mark smiled, his stark white teeth contrasting with his dark brown face.
Ruby pulled at my arm.
I turned toward her. “What is it?”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” she whispered. “Tell them not to go.”
Ruby was a cop. If she had a bad feeling, I couldn’t ignore it. “Hey, ladies,” I said. “Can I get you all a drink?” I wasn’t sure what else to say. Although I might be able to take Mark and maybe one of the others, I wouldn’t be able to hold my own against the three of them. Of course, there were plenty of people around. It was unlikely they’d start anything.
“That’s sweet,” Juliet said. “But I’d love a ride on a Jet Ski.” She turned to the guys. “Are you all staying at the resort?”
“We have day passes. It’s our day off. We live here.”
Did this resort offer day passes? I didn’t know. Ruby looked at me again with urgency in her eyes.
“I’m up for it,” Lisa said, taking hold of Mark’s arm. “I’ve never ridden on a Jet Ski before.”
“It’s lots of fun.” Mark smiled. “We’ll just stay around here. We won’t be out long. I promise.”
“I’m in,” Juliet said. “Shay, come on. Please?”
Shayna’s forehead was wrinkled.
Ruby spoke up, her eyes fearful. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. If it doesn’t feel right.”
I looked out at the ocean. Jet Skis were everywhere. These guys were probably okay.
Juliet rolled her eyes at Ruby’s comment. “It won’t be the same without you, Shay.”
Shayna sighed. “All right. We won’t be gone long, right?”
Rashaun winked at her. “Just tell us when you want to come back, and we’ll bring you back. But we’re locals, and we can show you some sights. It’ll be fun.”
Ruby tugged on my hand.
“Ladies,” I said. “Don’t go.”
“Why not?” Lisa asked.
What could I say? I looked to Ruby.
She got serious. “You don’t know these guys. You’re in a foreign country. It’s not safe.”
Juliet scoffed. “Who are you? A cop?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Ruby said. “Go ask the bartender if he knows these guys before you take off. Ask if the resort gives day passes.”
“I’m sure they do,” Juliet said. “I think I read it somewhere.”
Juliet didn’t look like she did a lot of reading. I opened my mouth to say something—I wasn’t sure what—but Mark beat me to it.
“Hey, look. No problem, mon,” Mark said. “You don’t want to go, we’ll go ourselves. Or find some other nice girls. Nice meeting you.” He turned.
“No!” Lisa grabbed his arm. “I’m going.”
“Me too,” Juliet said and looked longingly at Shayna.
“All right.”
“See you all later!” Juliet waved us off as she and her girlfriends followed the three men down the beach to where the Jet Skis were docked.
Ruby let out a sigh.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” I said.
“Probably. I hope so. But that’s a new kind of stupid, getting on a Jet Ski in a foreign country with someone you’ve never met.”
“I agree. But they’re young. They don’t know any better.”
“Are you serious? I never would have done that, even at their age. By the time I was their age, I’d been on my own for years.”
“Look. We’ll wait here until they come back, okay? Will that make you feel better?”
“I’d like to, but it’s getting toward lunchtime. We need to shower and change and then meet the others for the rehearsal.”
I checked my watch. Ruby was right. Jade and Melanie—and my brothers, for that matter—would never forgive us if we missed their planned rehearsal luncheon. They’d reserved a private dining area farther up on the non-nude portion of the beach. Ruby would get to try jerk chicken and curried goat. Both were on the menu, according to Marj.
“They’ll be fine, Ruby.”
She smiled. “You’re probably right.” Then she looked down. “I can’t believe I’m standing here naked.”
“Ha! The whole thing with the guys and the Jet Skis made you forget it for a bit. That’s good. See? It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. Let’s go.” She walked toward the lounge chair where our clothes were still sitting.
We dressed quickly and walked back to the house. As much as I wanted to invite Ruby to shower with me, I held off.
But before this week was over, I’d get further than first base.
Chapter Eleven
Ruby
The luncheon was delicious. Real Jamaican jerk chicken was spicier than I’d imagined, but oh so delicious. Something called a Scotch bonnet pepper was the secret, though the chef, who came out to talk to us, said jalapeños could be substituted. It likely wouldn’t be quite as hot though. Something to try when I got home. I loved to cook, but I rarely did, being single and all.
After the rehearsal, I decided to relax by the pool—the bathing-clothes-required pool, that was. Ryan was dragged off by his brothers to do God knew what. Some kind of bachelor party thing. Tonight we had a bachelorette dinner planned for Melanie and Jade, but my late afternoon was free.
I couldn’t help taking my laptop with me. Why not do some research poolside?
I found a lounge chair, applied sunscreen, and then fired up the computer. A server came by, and I ordered a sparkling water with lime. I still wasn’t ready to drink. I’d no doubt be doing plenty of that tonight, though maybe not. Melanie was pregnant and couldn’t drink.
I checked my e-mails, checked in with work, and then, as I was about to search for my father, my server came back to me. I shook my head at him and then turned to a couple talking loudly next to me.
“She just got back. She got picked up by some tourists on a motorboat.”
“Wow. Unreal.”
“There’s talk about it at check-in. They’re issuing refunds for a
nyone who wants to leave. They’ll make a big resort-wide announcement soon.”
I looked to them. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” I said, “but I couldn’t help overhearing. What are you talking about?”
The man turned to me. “No problem. Most people haven’t heard yet. A young woman jumped off a Jet Ski earlier. She was near drowning by the time a motorboat found her and picked her up. Her two friends are missing.”
“Oh my God. Do you know who it is?”
“I only know she’s a black woman. She looks young. Twenty or so.”
My blood ran cold. Shayna. She hadn’t wanted to go… But I hadn’t been able to talk her out of it in the end.
“Is she all right?”
“Yes. She’s fine. Just scared. My wife and I saw her when she came back. Security took her in to talk to her, and they called in the local law. She’s with them now, and she’s getting medical treatment.”
“I met her this morning. Her name is Shayna. I was there when she and her friends took off with the locals. I tried to stop them.”
The wife shook her head. “Young women can be so foolish. Thank God one of them got away.”
Don’t panic, Ruby. The others might be back by now. Shayna might have just gotten scared and jumped off early.
But in my heart I knew that wasn’t what had happened. I thanked God that Shayna was all right. But Juliet and Lisa? They might never be seen again.
Human trafficking. Young women stolen and sold into slavery.
A lump lodged in my throat. Why hadn’t I tried harder to stop them from going with those men? Something hadn’t been right, and I knew, after being a cop for eleven years, to trust my intuition.
Though I longed to go talk to Shayna, the local law might not allow it. This was way out of my jurisdiction, and I needed to stay out of it.
But those girls would never leave my memory.
More in a long line of people I hadn’t been able to save. Thank God Shayna had saved herself.
* * *
“What’s wrong, Ruby?” Melanie asked. “You seem a little distant tonight.”
Jade and Marj were on the dance floor, enjoying the bachelorette festivities despite the resort-wide news we’d all gotten about the missing women. The resort wasn’t closing down, but they had offered refunds to anyone who wanted to leave.
Juliet and Lisa hadn’t yet been found.
They likely wouldn’t be. They were probably long gone by now, though no one at the resort wanted to believe that.
I, on the other hand, had no issue with the truth. The truth was hard, and hard truth was a part of my everyday life. Had been for seventeen years.
Our party had decided to stay through the wedding tomorrow and then leave early. Not great to have our vacation cut short, but right now none of us felt like sticking around. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Ryan alone about Juliet and Lisa, but during the rehearsal he’d been watching me, his eyes sunken. Most likely he was wishing he’d tried harder to stop them. God knew I was.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to bring your party down. I just can’t get those young women out of my mind.”
“You tried to stop them. Ryan told us. It’s not your fault. And one of them got away.”
“I know. And I know it’s not my fault. But God…this should be a safe place.”
“This is a safe place. Security is everywhere. It was a fluke that those guys got in, and the girls didn’t have to go with them.”
“Shayna didn’t want to go.”
“And Shayna obviously figured out there was danger and got away.”
“She could have easily drowned.”
“But she didn’t.”
“Damn! Why didn’t they listen to me?”
Melanie touched my arm. “Because they’re twenty-one. They can’t see past tomorrow. They came here to have fun, and three handsome strangers offered to take them Jet Skiing. When you’re young, you don’t think about consequences.”
“I did.”
“You didn’t have a normal growing up experience, Ruby.”
I sighed. “I know. I just wish I could talk to Shayna. Find out what happened.”
“The locals are on it,” Melanie said.
“I’m sorry to be such a downer,” I said. “This is the night before your wedding.”
“It’s okay. I understand. We’re all pretty broken up. But we came here for a wedding, and we’re going to have a wedding.”
“Definitely,” I said. “Jade and Marj don’t seem as affected.”
“They are. They deal with it a little differently. I talked to them both after we found out. They’re pretty freaked. So are the guys. Especially Ryan.”
“Did you see the blonde who came up to Ryan last night at dinner?”
Melanie nodded.
“That was Juliet, one of the girls who’s missing. She had a thing for Ryan.” I sighed. “If he’d gone with her, given her what she wanted, she might still be here today.”
“Ruby, Ryan wasn’t interested in Juliet. In fact, it’s pretty clear that he’s interested in you.”
I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because he’s Ryan Steel. The most gorgeous man on the planet.”
Melanie laughed. “I might beg to differ. Let’s say second-most gorgeous.”
I couldn’t help a smile. Melanie was so in love. It was sweet.
Something I’d never experience.
Wouldn’t let myself experience.
She continued, “You’re as gorgeous as he is, Ruby. No matter how much you try to cover it up.”
I warmed.
“Don’t let what happened to you color your whole life.”
“I’m not one of your patients, Melanie.”
“I’m saying that as a friend. You’re scared of men. It’s obvious.”
“Tomorrow is your wedding day. You should be having fun, not giving impromptu therapy to your maid of honor.”
“We’re all in this together,” Melanie said.
“I know. But the Steels and you have been through enough. I’m sorry to be such a downer. Feel like getting out on the dance floor with Jade and Marjorie?”
She smiled. “No, not really. I’m a little nauseated. Morning sickness and all. Turns out it’s evening sickness as well.”
“Okay. I’m sorry you’re not feeling good.”
“I’m not. The reason is great.” She smiled.
Jade and Marjorie walked toward our table, both perspiring from dancing.
“I’m heading to the bathroom. Too much rum punch,” Jade said.
Melanie stood. “I’ll go with you. Seems my bladder fills up more quickly than usual since I’ve become pregnant.”
That left me at the table with Marjorie. We weren’t exactly strangers. I was wearing her clothes, after all. Still, I wasn’t sure what to say to her.
Luckily, she didn’t have that problem.
“Wow. I’m beat.” She gestured to a server. “Could I get some water, please?”
I shoved my glass toward her. “Here. Have some of mine while you wait.”
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” She picked up my glass and took a long drink before setting it back down. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sick to death of rum punch. How come you’re not out there dancing? You look hot.”
Hot? I doubted that adjective described me, except that it was a balmy night and I felt a little hot.
“Must be the clothes.” I smiled.
“Are you kidding? I don’t look as good as you do in them. I’d kill for that body.”
“You have a great body. I wish I were taller.”
“Eh. It’s nice sometimes, but try finding a pair of pants that doesn’t turn into capris after one washing. What I’d really like is to tone up, look more like you.”
“Honestly, I think you look great. And trust me, the body I have is a lot of work.”
“I’m no stranger to hard work. Try the r
anching life.” She laughed. “I was bound and determined to keep up with my brothers, and I did. I have a gym membership, and I go regularly. Would you mind going with me sometime? Show me the things you do? I’ll buy you lunch.”
I smiled. “You don’t have to buy me lunch. I’d be happy to show you my workouts.” I laughed. “You might want to talk to Ryan, though. I’m betting he’s going to be sore tomorrow.”
Marjorie laughed again. “He’s just being a wuss. I can take whatever you can dish out. I promise.”
I took a sip of my water and smiled. “You know? I think you could. Sure. Let’s do it. Give me a call when we get home, and we’ll set something up.” I’d never had a workout partner before. I preferred to go at my own pace. But Marjorie Steel would be able to keep up with me. I could tell just by her disposition. This woman made things happen. Nothing got in her way.
I liked her.
A blondish man approached us. “Would you ladies care to dance?”
“Not me,” Marjorie said. “I’m all danced out.” Then she arched her eyebrows at me.
The man was nice-looking. No Ryan Steel, but handsome by anyone’s standards, with sandy hair and dark eyes. He wasn’t as tall as the Steel brothers, but was easily six feet.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “But thanks.”
“I gave it a shot.” He smiled and walked away.
“Why didn’t you dance with him?” Marjorie asked.
“Didn’t feel like it, and I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Look, this might be a little forward of me, but blame it on the rum. We all know who your father is. Your life has been hard. So dance. Live a little.”
As much as I hated being reminded of my father, maybe Marjorie was right. This was a dance, not a marriage proposal. Why not? I nodded to Marjorie and then stood, walked toward the man, and touched his shoulder.
He turned.
I cleared my throat, thankful for the darkness hiding the blush on my cheeks. “Still want to dance?”
“Sure, gorgeous. Come on.”
He took my hand, and I resisted the urge to pull it away. It didn’t feel nearly as good as Ryan’s had when his hand touched mine. Though the song wasn’t overly slow, he pulled me into his body, crushing me against him.
