by Unknown
She shook her head and sat next to me on the little sofa inside her RV. Today she wore a turquoise bathing suit cover-up, underneath was her customary black bathing suit…blinged out like a disco ball on steroids, naturally. When she took off the cover-up, the sun cast rainbows all around her as the crystals on her suit fractured the light. To complete her look, her nails, both hands and feet, were a perfect pink and she’d elaborately curled her hair like a black-and-white movie starlet.
Clearing her throat, Lilli said, “Costumes are a second skin, a soul you try on and breathe life into. These costumes need to be special, they need to be more than fabric. You’re the only one I trust to do that.” Lilli leaned forward and patted my knee. “Take your time. We don’t have a production schedule.”
“But for how long?” I asked her, frustrated myself now. I didn’t want her to wait for me to catch up. I didn’t think I could. Sooner or later there would be dates and deadlines and where would I be? On the beach drawing mermaids?
“As long as you need, Ruby. As long as you need.” She stood up. “I’m going to make margaritas. You want one?”
I shrugged, which she took as assent. Watching her prep the blender, I asked, “You told me he was worth it. You still think that?”
She froze and then looked at me, her gaze probing. “It’s not what I think, it’s what you feel. Was he worth it?” When I didn’t answer right away, she busied herself with margarita making. When the drinks were poured, she handed me a glass and prompted, “Well?”
I sighed, still conflicted. Finally I said, “It just hurts so bad.”
“So if it hurts, he wasn’t worth it?” She settled back into the couch, one leg tucked under her looking every inch the 1940s glamazon.
I shook my head, “No, but--”
She cut me off, “There’s no but. It’s a yes or no question.”
“He was worth it,” I whispered. And then I started to cry because he was dead and the whole time I was with him, all I had wanted to do was leave. Lilli wrapped her arms around me and rocked me back and forth. She didn’t talk, just held me while I sobbed.
When I finally calmed down, she spoke. “You know, I got hurt too and it was worth it.” She swept my hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear, rocking me with my head on her shoulder the way a mother soothes a baby. “You know why?”
I sniffed and shook my head, confused. She’d had all the violence without the romance. Frankie had worked her over like a punching bag. The bruising on her stomach had taken weeks to heal. What could possibly make that a good thing?
“Because I know I’m alive.” She tightened her arms around me. “I know I want to be alive. I know I’m strong, that I can survive and that is a gift you can’t buy at the mall.”
I sniffed and wiped my eyes, trying to regain control of myself.
“You survived, Ruby. Just like me. I’m not going to let you waste it.” She gave me a little shake. “You’re going to put on your big girl panties and make some fantabulous costumes. We are going to burlesque like burlesque has never burlesqued before.”
“In a peacock outfit,” I said, smiling. The plumage alone in my sketches made me wonder if the over-the-top costumes would actually be capable of flight. There were no half-measures with Lilli. It was either all the feathers or none.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She pretended to be offended.
“It is a lot of feathers.” I was pretty sure we were going to break world records in the ‘number of plumes used in a costume’ category.
“Well,” she said primly. “In my experience, more is what makes a life.”
More. I contemplated the word. Such an odd way to look at things, but Lilli didn’t see the world in a linear way. She didn’t see black-and-white either, but rather rainbow. Maybe instead of dwelling on everything I’d lost, I should look for what more I wanted to add in. The simple, yet positive thought lightened the load on my shoulders.
“Thanks, Lil.” I broke our hug and stood up. “I think that’s what I needed to hear. I’m going to go out to the beach and sketch, okay?”
“Working on a costume, yes?”
I nodded as I gathered up my sketchbook and pencils. “The quetzal. I’m going to finish it today.”
She clapped her hands and bounced happily in her seat. “Yay. Go, Ruby go.”
Chapter Twenty
The quetzal was a beautiful bird often referred to as ‘resplendent.’ I crafted a costume with a burgundy corset made out of painted aluminum. Bird experts also described the plumage color as ‘metallic’ so I used that to inspire material choice. It would be my first time incorporating such a large metal piece into a costume. The rest of the costume would be a mix of green feathers covered with sequins and jewels. Over that, the dancers would wear my version of traditional Mayan dress since the ancient Maya had held the Quetzal sacred. Lilli had already picked out an interesting music track blending techno club tracks with traditional Guatemalan music. The act wasn’t a striptease per se, but a metaphor for freedom, for unshackling our wings and allowing ourselves to soar.
Which is why there would be wires to lift the performers up into the air. That added a whole new layer of complexity to the costume design and I had to make several sketches to balance the need for safety and the needs of the performance.
The beach was quiet and the ocean moved in a gentle swaying motion. I worked for several hours while I soaked up the heat from the sun and the calm of the scenery around me. It was the most at peace I’d felt in weeks.
Trust Lilli to set me straight.
When my neck began to kink from hunching over my sketch pad, I called it quits. A smile on my face, a lightness in my step I headed back to the RV, my pace slowing as I saw what waited there.
A limo.
Another damned limo.
This couldn’t be good.
Holding my sketch pad across my chest like a shield, I headed for the RV. My heart thumped against my ribs and I calmed myself by listing all the ways that limo was so not about me. No one knew we were here. We’d purposely kept our location a secret just to be safe. Ferrid or Frankie might still be out there and I had no desire to meet either of them again. More importantly, I wasn’t famous, wasn’t somebody people would send a limo for..
Maybe it was some famous fancy pants who wanted to go to the beach. A rock star with a drinking problem and a suspended license would be just the type to use a limo, right? Sounded good to me.
I made my way up to the front door of the RV, ignoring the limo and refusing to make eye contact with the driver. As my hand pulled on the door handle, a voice behind me said, “Miss Palmer?”
A chill went up my spine. This was how Morocco had started. I turned around and faced the limo driver. He looked friendly enough, his silver hair and light blue eyes spoke of age and wisdom. He had a grandfatherly air to him, like he would buy me ice cream and read me a story. The last limo driver had been okay, too. It had been the people that came after who’d been a problem.
I relaxed a fraction of an inch. “Yes?”
“I have a message for you.” He reached into the breast pocket of his black suit jacket and extended an envelope toward me.
I blinked and then blinked again. The déjà vu was so strong it made me dizzy.
“Miss?” He took a step forward and lifted the envelope higher.
I took the envelope and gingerly opened it. Inside the RV, Lilli called for me, “Ruby?”
“Just a sec,” I hollered. I unfolded the letter and then gasped, staggering back to lean against the RV door. My heart bungee jumped from my rib cage down into my stomach and then snapped back in place with an audible, life changing thump.
Ruby,
Will you come meet me?
-Blake
I rubbed my eyes and then read the note again. I tried squinting when the words stayed the same. It didn’t work.
“This isn’t real.” I dropped the note as if it had burned me and pressed my back against th
e RV door.
“He thought you might say that.” The driver gave me a kind smile and pulled another envelope out of his jacket.
This time the note said:
You’ll be safe. I promise. Just come. I’ve missed you.
-Blake
I dropped that one, too. By then, Lilli had grown curious, and tried to open the door to see what was going on. She pushed against my back and I reluctantly stepped onto the parking lot asphalt.
“What’s going on?” She frowned at the limo driver and then looked at me, curiosity lighting her eyes.
I pointed to the notes which she scooped up and read. “What the hell?”
“Yeah, what the hell?” I crossed my arms.
She looked up from the note and frowned. “Well, what are you going to do?”
I studied the driver who regarded me with his steady blue eyes. “You know where he is?”
He tipped his head slightly in assent. “He moves a lot, but I know where he is for the next few hours.”
That was long enough for what I had in mind. “Do you have a pen?”
He nodded and handed one over. I scrawled a quick message on the back of Blake’s first note.
You know where I am. Come and get me. I don’t accept rides from strangers.
-Ruby
“Take it to him.” I folded the paper and put it back in its envelope. Feeling bold, I went up to the driver and pulled his jacket open. I kind of wanted to know if there were any other notes, but his pocket was empty. Stuffing my note into his jacket, I let the fabric fall back into place and gave the man a little pat on the chest.
The driver tipped his hat and returned to his limo. The sleek vehicle smoothly drove away.
“What did you do that for?” Lilli looked confused.
“So we have time to run,” I said. “We don’t know who it is or what they really want. Blake is dead, Lil. Dead. You saw the explosion same as I did. He’s gone. Whoever is behind that note is playing a sick game.” My stomach sank as I thought of who would do such a thing. “It could be Ferrid. Or Frankie.”
“Oh shit.” Lilli sagged against the door same as I had just a few minutes earlier. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“We should leave.” Blake had said I had good instincts and just then I was trusting them when they said it was time to move.
Chapter Twenty One
We drove for four hours, battling LA traffic, and found another beach to park the RV just north of the city. This beach was quieter, remote enough that seals sometimes came ashore. Over the next few days, I finished a bunch of costume sketches and then focused back on the quetzal while Lilli made phone calls trying to set up an audition venue for the Rare Birds of Burlesque show. We had most of the costume designs done now, and it was time to start making the show happen.
A few days later, the beach acquired a bum. A tall, beefy guy wrapped in layers of clothing with a winter hat pulled down low on his head. He slept on the beach, cheap sunglasses over his eyes and pointedly ignored us. We left food out for him, but, while it always disappeared, we never saw him eat.
One morning, he came to stand before me, his shadow eclipsing the sun. I looked up ready to tell him off but the words died in my throat. I knew that jaw. I’d kissed those lips before, I was sure of it.
“Hey, Ruby.” A smile I would recognize anywhere quirked the guy’s lips.
Overwhelmed with shock, I had to fight to say his name. “Blake?” I reached for him and his hand caught mine, sure, strong, real. “You’re alive?” I squeezed his hand, testing to make sure he was solid, half convinced he was a ghost or a figment of my imagination.
“Yeah, I am.”
“What happened?” The explosion had been big and bad, the house crumbling in a shower of debris. I looked at him in wonder. “How did you not die?”
He released my hand and plopped down next to me in the sand. “I got lucky. There was a retaining wall that shielded me from the worst of it. Just the fancy physics of dumb luck. If things had fallen any other way, I wouldn’t be here.”
Dumbstruck, I just turned my head to stare at him. I still couldn’t believe it.
Blake cleared his throat. “As soon as I could, I came for you.”
“Why?” I shook my head. “I can’t do another Morocco. I’m not cut out for that life.” Even as I said that, my heart winced in my chest. It hurt to deny him.
“That’s not my life anymore.” He took my hand again. “Remember that night in the hotel room when I asked if things were different, would we be different?”
I nodded.
“Things are different now.”
“You don’t work for the government anymore?”
“Well, no, I do.” He held up a hand before I could protest. “But I have a very sedate desk job. No more field work, just intelligence analysis.”
“But you liked field work.” I gave him a suspicious look.
“My face is too familiar now. Too many ops, not enough cover. My field career is over.” He looked up at the sky for a moment and then said, “Ferrid is still out there. Last we heard he’s coming to the US.”
“And you’re going to get him?”
“No. I’m out of the game, remember?” Blake shook his head. “It’s not my op anymore. Homeland Security is all over it. They’ll get him.”
“I hope so.” I didn’t exactly plan to live a quiet life and it would suck to have to always worry about Ferrid and his network. Maybe I should change my name for a while. Could a seamstress have a stage name? I sighed. “So now what?”
“Well, I was thinking I would work my desk job and then visit you in my free time.” His smile was bright. “I’m no longer a danger to your well-being.”
My heart went pitter-pat. His eyes were sweet pools of chocolate, his lips a perfect Cupid’s bow and I knew all about the hard body underneath his clothes, knew exactly what he could do to mine. Oh, he was still dangerous all right. Nowhere near safe.
But since when had that stopped me?
“What do you say, Ruby? You want to see if we have anything between us, outside of international spy work?”
“Yeah, okay,” I said, a bit flat just because I was still in shock. It felt like a dream. A wonderful, delicious happy ending kind of dream. I didn’t trust it.
He stood and offered me a hand. Pulling me out of my beach chair, he wrapped me in a hug. “I know you’re busy with Lilli and the show.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Oh you know that, do you?”
“Well, you can take the spy out of the field, but you can’t take the spy out of the man.”
“Why the limo? Why the bum act?” He said he could do a relationship, but he acted like he was still on a mission.
“I’m trying to keep a low profile just in case. I broke up a terrorist cell out this way two years ago. Some of the gangs know me.” He took a second to scan the beach, confirming it was empty save for us. “The bum get up was my plan b after you turned down the limo.”
“Is it always going to be like this? Am I going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder?”
“I’m told the longer I’m out of the field, the less I have to worry. People move on. Even criminals with a grudge. Until then, I’m trying to be careful. The last thing I want is for another Frankie to find you.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that would be bad.”
He gave me a squeeze. “Anyway, I was hoping you could take a few days off. I have a suite booked at a resort.”
I arched an eyebrow. This reunion was moving faster than I could take. “A resort?”
“An expensive, very chic resort.” He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “They have massages, chocolate dipped strawberries and an ocean view.”
“It sounds very nice,” I said trying to keep my voice steady. His deep voice so close to my ear did things to me. Wicked things that I had little defense against.
“Hold it right there, mister,” came Lilli’s voice, tart with anger.
We both turned toward her and I jumped when I saw the gun she had pointed at Blake’s head. “Lil, don’t.”
She held up a hand. “This man is bad news. You know it, I know it. He has to go.” She released the safety. “One way or the other.”
“Lilli,” Blake started, but she cut him off.
“Do you know what you put her through?” She shrieked and pointed at me with the gun. I ducked. I didn’t think she planned on shooting me, but she was pretty emotional. A mistake would be easy to make.
“I do,” Blake said quietly. He urged me upright with his hand and then put an arm around my shoulders. Kissing the top of my head, he said, “I want to make it right. Even if it takes me a lifetime.”
Chapter Twenty Two
The resort Blake drove us to was tucked in a secluded cove by the ocean and surrounded by a wildlife preserve. The lobby featured a pagoda-like building made entirely of glass, which allowed an unobstructed view of the ocean. There were cookies, too. Lavender toffee sugar cookies, which sounded weird, but tasted amazing. I gorged on them while Blake checked us in, settling into a very comfortable arm chair to wait for him as I did so.
I sighed with relief when we stepped into our suite. We had arrived and didn’t have to run anymore. There were no bad guys now, just us. The relief of that knowledge was immense. Lilli had ranted and raved at Blake for quite a while before we left. I’d finally had to step in and tell her I was more than happy to let Blake make Morocco up to me. In truth, her rant had clarified things. The more she railed against Blake, the more I realized I wanted him. My indecision had evaporated. We’d had a crazy start to our relationship and time would tell if we could work under normal relationship conditions, but I wanted the chance to try.
I think she knew it, too. When I went to hug her goodbye, I said, “Thanks, Lil.”
She smiled at me, a Cheshire cat smile full of secrets. “For what? Waving a gun at you and your guy?”
I chuckled. “Yeah.”
There was a gleam in her eye when she asked, “Why?”
“Because it helped me figure out what I really wanted.”
She squeezed me tight in her arms. “That’s what friends are for.”
