by Rc Bonitz
On the other hand, maybe she'd been right, they were hiding on Great Casque instead of locally. Hiding from Terrio, not knowing he'd been disarmed and arrested. An idea clicked in Lissey's head and her spirits soared. She could put the word out, tell everyone she met that Terrio had been taken into custody and was no longer a threat. Maybe someone would tell Louis and he'd get in touch. The thought thrilled her. She started with Henri's Sea Horse Grill. Everybody at this end of the island stopped at Henri's one time or another. She strode up and down the road, telling everyone she encountered, every house she passed, telling all Jake was safe now. Louis could bring him home.
A day passed without a word, leaving her with a knot in her stomach again. Had Jake died? But where was Louis, why was he still missing? Early the next morning, Horace and Simon came in for their lunches as always, but not meeting her eyes, knowing the grapevine hadn't helped her one little bit. She baked the usual treats and goodies, but her heart wasn't in it, and she could swear the goodies were not as good as they usually were. She made no tarts, no American corn muffins that day.
Baking done, the shop open, Lissey stood at the door, a coffee in hand, staring out at the harbor, letting the early morning sun warm her weary bones. She hadn't slept, had dreamt about Jake and their wedding, and Terrio coming down the aisle behind them, shooting at them. The blood was there again, Jake's blood, spattered all over her white dress. She'd come awake screaming in the night. The dream was still with her, images seared into her brain, playing out even as she sipped her coffee in the early morning light.
An ancient golf cart came plodding down the road and stopped in front of Maria's rental shop. The young woman who drove it waved at Lissey, then knocked on Maria's front door.
Maria appeared in a dressing gown, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Lissey turned and headed back into her shop. The visitor had shunted her nightmare aside, thank you very much, and she suddenly felt hungry.
Lissey cracked two eggs into a skillet and popped a roti into the toaster oven. She would not think about Jake until she finished breakfast, at least ten minutes. Then she'd get on the horn to Wittingham and see if he'd turned up anything on the big island.
She tossed the eggs carefully, kept both yolks intact, would wonders never cease, and pulled the roti from the oven.
"Lissey, come on."
She turned. Maria stood in the doorway, fully dressed, her medical bag in one hand, the other beckoning frantically.
"Come on. It's your man."
Minutes later, they were tearing down the road in one of Maria's rental carts, following the girl Lissey had seen knock on Maria's door. Tearing as much as a golf cart could tear, more like bumping along at a snail's pace as far as Lissey was concerned.
"She's a cousin to Louis," Maria said, nodding in the direction of the golf cart leading the way. "He sent her to get me."
"Is Jake all right? How is he?"
Maria shook her head. "She wouldn't tell me."
Lissey cringed. Jake had been missing almost five days and they were only asking for Maria's help now? He must have taken a turn for the worse. Tears welled up in her eyes. She brushed them away.
A mile and a half, and an eternity from the shop, the aged golf cart turned from the road into a stand of trees, following a path Lissey almost couldn't see. The sand along the road soon petered out, replaced by vegetation and rocky traces of ancient volcanic activity, the little bit that remained on the island.
Then she saw it, through the trees, water, a tiny cove tucked deep inside the land. Two boats were tied up to the trees, a small one, perhaps sixteen feet, and another beside it, a bit larger. Louis's boat. The blood began to pound in her head. Jake, I found you, I'm coming.
A small house appeared. Buried amidst the trees, it had a wide verandah on two sides and hibiscus growing in profusion, the brilliant flowers giving the place an air of elegance the house itself did not deserve. A tiny home, it seemed big enough to house nothing but a single room.
The girl pulled to a halt and Maria parked behind her cart. Louis and another, younger, man emerged from the house. They both wore solemn smiles. Emma followed, looking untidy and bedraggled, a ragamuffin in the same clothes she had worn the day of Jake's shooting.
Lissey slipped out of the cart, then hesitated, afraid of what Louis would tell her. Emma dashed to her side and wrapped both arms around her and buried her face in Lissey's leg. Lissey bent and gave her an awkward hug.
"Daddy's sick," Emma said.
"I know, sweetie," Lissey said and hugged her again.
"Where is he?" Maria asked.
"The bedroom," Louis said, his eyes on Lissey. "It's a small room. We can't all go in together."
"How bad is it?" Lissey murmured, her chest tight, her breathing coming with difficulty.
Louis shook his head.
"You go in first," Maria said. "Don't stay long. I'll need time with him."
The girl stepped forward and beckoned Lissey to follow her inside. Entering a tiny kitchen, the girl pointed to an open doorway on the far side of the room. "There," she said.
The bedroom held a row of shallow shelves crammed with items of clothing along one wall, a rumpled double bed, and a tiny nightstand. A large window on the seaside of the house provided the only light. Jake lay on his back, his eyes closed. Shirtless, he had a bloodstained bandage on his chest. A sob caught in Lissey's throat.
Emma clung to her hand.
Jake opened his eyes and frowned as if trying to focus. "Hi beautiful," he croaked.
She had to be strong for him. He looked gray, absolutely awful. The room had a smell to it, of illness, of infected flesh? But she couldn't let him see her cry. "Slacker."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Lazybones. How long are you going to monopolize these people's bed?"
He grinned. "That's my girl. Tough as they come."
She couldn't maintain the charade. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
"Hey babe, it's not so bad."
"Maria's outside. She's here to take a look at you."
"Yeah, Louis said he was sending for her. He was afraid that detective guy would find us."
"Terrio's in jail."
"They'll send someone to take his place."
A shudder ran through Lissey's body. She hadn't thought of that possibility.
"Listen, there's something I have to tell you," Jake said. "They'll try to kill me again, you know they will. I can't marry you."
CHAPTER NINE
His words rocked her to her core. She wanted to protest but no words came. He was too weak, too sick to argue with. A flush of hot emotion flew across her face and it was all she could do not to burst into tears.
He reached up, trying to touch her hand, but grimaced and fell back with the pain.
Emma grabbed her leg again and clung to her.
Lissey was aware of everything and nothing all at once. Emma's desperation, her own sense of loss, of betrayal, of fear. Of outrage that he would make that decision without consulting her. Momentarily, she wrestled with conflicting thoughts and could do nothing except pat Emma on the head.
His eyes closed.
She could not be still, could not let his decision go unchallenged no matter what his condition. "Jake, you're not making any choices now. You're—"
"It's time. Let me at him," Maria said from the doorway.
"What?"
"Come out of there. Now. Louis never took the bullet out."
She couldn't cope, it was too much. Jake still had the bullet in him. Did that mean he would die? And what if he lived and stuck to his decision to abandon her. She would not, could not, let him sail away, not now, not after this. The Terrio's of this world be damned. She loved Jake Wainright. And his daughter.
Emma stared at her, a look of panic on her little face.
"He'll be all right, sweetie," Lissey murmured.
Emma threw herself into Lissey's arms. "What will we do?"
She hesitated
, unsure what the child meant. What would who do if what? There were a dozen ways to answer that question. Then she knew the only answer she could give at the moment. Ever in fact. "When Daddy gets better we'll sail away on your boat together, all of us, so the bad man won't find us anymore."
Emma smiled. "Together?"
"Together."
Lissey looked up as Maria emerged from the house.
"Louis, get the boat ready. We have to get Jake to the hospital. Fast."
The trip to Great Casque turned out to be a nightmare. Maria and Louis propped Jake up in one of the padded seats, but he kept falling over. With the lurching of the boat as it pounded through the sea Maria and Lissey had a hard time keeping him in the seat. Finally, half way to Great Casque, they lowered him to the deck and put a boat cushion under his head. Spray came over the bow and soon soaked the lower half of his body, causing him to shiver even in the tropical sun. Emma alternately clutched Jake's hand or tried to cuddle with Lissey. Lissey could see the fear in her eyes. Did her own look like that?
After what seemed like an eternity they tied up at Marcus Digby's dock in Kikitap. Doc Brinker was there waiting for them with the island's one lone ambulance and a nurse. Jake had passed out.
It took all of them to get Jake off the boat and into the ambulance, but he was soon on his way to the hospital. Marcus Digby gave Lissey and Emma a ride to the tiny four-bed facility in his ancient lorry.
"He'll be in surgery about an hour. I have to remove the bullet and clean up the wound. He should have been here the day he got shot," Doc said as they entered the hospital waiting room.
"They were hiding from the gunman," Lissey said.
Doc shook his head. "He'll need corrective surgery after he heals. And right now he needs a transfusion. He's lost a lot of blood."
"Take me, I'll do it."
A broad smile creased the old man's face. "Girlfriend?"
A warm flush filled Lissey's cheeks.
"Got to see if you're a match. Know your blood type?" Doc asked.
"No."
"Come on into the treatment room." He seemed to take notice of Emma for the first time. "You'll have to wait here, little girl. Mind your manners."
"Where's Daddy?" Emma said, looking as if she were about to cry.
Lissey went to one knee and hugged her. "He's in the other room, sweetie. I'll be right back and we'll sit together."
"I want to see my Daddy."
Doc frowned. "Not now. When we fix him up."
"I want—" Emma started.
"Can she come with me while you draw my blood?" Lissey asked.
"We'll be feeding it directly into him," Doc said. "I can't have a child getting hysterical while I'm working."
"She'll be strong, won't you Emma," Lissey said.
Doc looked dubious but he finally nodded. "Just for the transfusion then. I don't have any extra nurses hanging around to watch her."
Two and a half hours later, operation and transfusion completed, Lissey and Emma entered one of the two bedrooms. Jake smiled when he saw them, a loopy smile as he still felt the effects of the anesthesia he'd been given.
"Hi guys," he mumbled.
Emma reached out tentatively and touched his hand. "Does it hurt, Daddy?"
"A little, Baby, not much." Jake's eyes met Lissey's. "Everything okay?"
"We're fine. Emma was wonderful."
"I sat on her lap while we waited for you," Emma said.
"Where is she going to stay?" Jake said.
Lissey blinked. "Emma? With me, of course."
A frown creased Jake's brow and he tried to shake his head. "You can't do that. That guy will be back."
"I told you. He's in jail. Now that we found you, he'll be charged with attempted murder."
"They'll send someone else. They'll shoot you," Jake said.
Lissey shook her head. "Emma's coming with me. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it." She leaned over and kissed him gently. "We're a team, me and Emma. You just get better, you hear?"
"You'll get killed," Jake muttered, his eyes pleading. "Louis can take care of her at that little house."
"Louis knows about as much about a little girl as he did about your wound. She's with me. After all, I'm going to be her new mother."
"We can't. I told you. I won't put you in danger like that."
A lump in her throat, Emma clutching her hand, Lissey traipsed back to Marcus Digby's dock. Jake hadn't forgotten, had not changed his mind. It was her life, her choice whether to take the risk of being shot. Not his, damn it.
Emma squeezed her hand. "Are you going to be my new mommy?"
"You betcha."
"Why was Daddy sad?"
Lissey sighed. Why did this child have to be so observant? "It's a long story. When Daddy comes home we'll talk about it."
"Will he be okay now?"
"Sure, yes," Lissey said. But Doc hadn't been very reassuring. He'd done his best but infection had been widespread and everything depended on the antibiotics now. Jake's wound was in his chest, near his shoulder, they couldn't amputate anything if gangrene set in. She shivered at the thought.
"What's the matter?" Emma asked, studying her face.
Lissey grinned. "Nothing, love. Look, there's Louis waiting for us at the dock."
"I don't want to stay with him. I want to live with you and Daddy."
Lissey felt a tear threaten. She gave Emma's hand a tiny squeeze. "Me too."
Louis wisely asked no questions about the operation in front of Emma as they headed home.
Lissey gave him a smile. "I want to thank you again, Louis. For kicking that man overboard the way you did. You saved Jake's life."
"Mr. Jake is a good man. My friend."
Then why didn't you take him directly to hospital that first day? Lissey sighed. He'd done what he thought was best, she shouldn't blame him. But, what if Jake died from the infection? She would not abandon Emma.
She'd take her to the States, that was it. They would stay with Lydia for a while, then find an apartment, get a job and put Emma in daycare. They'd need to use fake names the way Jake had done, but any detective who came after them would have no idea where to look. She'd call Emma after Caroline. She groaned. A great plan that was, betting Jake would die. He wouldn't dare. But he wouldn't marry her if he lived. They'd go off together, he and Emma. Only Emma.
Well, he could forget that. Married or not, she was going with him. He wouldn't be able to handle the boat for a long time, not until he was completely healed, maybe not for months. And even then, Doc had said he'd need more surgery.
"You worried?" Louis asked as they pulled up to the dock on Little Casque.
Lissey smiled. "Determined."
He laughed. "Mr. Jake is wild for you, you know. He talked about you all the time when we were at my cousin's house."
Wild over her, was he? Lissey held her tongue but not her thoughts. No two ways about it, her heart wasn't her own anymore. He would marry her. Or else. She could not suppress a giggle. Louis glanced at her, then went back to business.
She took Emma right to Jake's boat. The child needed clean clothes, a shower, and a little hair styling if she was finally going to be a girl. Not that Emma had a lot of hair to style but Lissey would do her best.
Scrubbing Emma, tending to her hair, just felt so good it brought tears to her eyes. This she should be doing with Caroline.
"What's the matter?" Emma asked abruptly.
Lissey realized she had sighed. She pasted a smile to her face. "Oh, I was just thinking of someone I used to know."
"Was she a girl?"
Lissey nodded.
"Like me?"
What to say. This was not heading in a good direction. But Emma was no stranger to the idea of death. "She was my daughter, just like you're your daddy's daughter."
Emma stared at her a second, then shook her head. "Will I be your daughter when you marry Daddy?"
Lissey cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yup."
"Good,
" Emma said and kissed her hand.
"Let's go to the shop. My mother has been there all day," Lissey said and took Emma by the hand.
"Where have you been? I saw Louis come back a while ago," Lavinia said as they entered the shop.
"Emma needed a shower. Has it been a busy day?"
Lavinia grunted. "Very, and I've been all alone. You went out and left the shop wide open this morning."
"I know, I'm sorry. It was an emergency."
Lavinia frowned. "How is he?"
Lissey eyed her and then glanced at Emma, trying to stop her questions in front of the little one. "Doc operated and now Jake's on penicillin."
"They still use that stuff?"
"Antibiotics, I don't know what kind."
"How long will it be before he's able to leave?" Lavinia said.
Lissey sent her a curious stare. Lavinia seemed to be on edge. "I don't know, Mom, a few weeks I guess."
"Somebody came looking for him today."
CHAPTER TEN
Lissey's breath caught. Somebody? Terrio's replacement, another detective already looking for Jake? "Who was it?"
Lavinia shrugged. "Don't ask me."
"What did he look like?"
"Tall, good looking, in a suit and tie."
"Like the other guy? Terrio?" Lissey said.
Lavinia shook her head. "More polished."
"What did you tell him?"
Lavinia grinned. "He seemed to know Jake had been here, so I said he disappeared into the wild blue yonder."
Lissey couldn't help but smile. Her mother was not known for her eloquence, but the wild blue yonder would do very well. Now all she had to do was get Louis to disappear again, for a while at least. No one at this end of the island knew Jake had reappeared except Louis and Maria. With Louis in hiding only Maria would have to lie for Jake, and Lissey knew Maria would cover for him. Everyone else could honestly say they hadn't seen Jake since the day Terrio shot him.
