by Debra Fisk
“Marco,” she called in a low whisper. “Are you here?” Leave it to Marco to arrange a meeting and then not show. When she received no reply, she regretted cutting her evening short.
After having a late dinner with Noah, they’d returned to his villa, where he’d comforted her when she had a relapse concerning the firing and her newly unemployed status. Trying to cheer her up, Noah checked her ranking on social media, and she was still in the lead for the Golden Ticket.
Marco had sent a text, and she’d made her excuses and left. Then she’d waited for him to send her a meeting time. Why had they had to wait until exactly three thirty in the morning? She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, sick over her job loss, her brother’s mysterious trouble, and lying to Noah. He didn’t deserve to be treated with such disrespect.
Now she was here waiting on Marco to make an appearance. It was quiet, the only sound the gentle roll of the waves along the shore. At least she’d be able to hear someone coming, right?
“Are you alone?” Her brother’s voice came from somewhere in the dark.
Okay, so much for hearing someone approaching in the stillness of the night.
She couldn’t see beyond the pale gleam of her phone’s flashlight in the sand in front of her. “Yes, I’m alone.” Ana whipped her head around so fast while trying to locate where he was that her ponytail smacked her in the face.
A dark shadow stepped from behind a palm tree off in the distance. “Did you bring it?”
And there it was. His only concern for himself, not for her. She had no idea what it was. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never found anything.”
“Damn it. Then why the hell are we meeting?”
His selfishness infuriated her. “So nice to see you too.” She hit him with sarcasm, then charged over to where he stood. “You know, Marco, you’ve got a lot of nerve.” The pressure of the contest, being fired, and lying to Noah caused her temper to boil over. For the first time, she was going to stand up to her brother and let him have it. “I’ve covered for you for years. Bailed you out when you needed help. The least you could do is be a little concerned for my well-being.” She was up in his face, and with a look of shock, he just stood there, speechless. “Tell me right now, what’s this mess you’re involved in? Or I’ll call the police on you myself.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” he said, grabbing her arm with a twist. “I need the flash drive.”
Pain shot up her arm as she tried to wrestle free. “What the heck is wrong with you?” she screeched. “I didn’t find any flash drive. It would have helped if you’d told me what was supposed to be in my luggage and where it was.” Breaking free from his hold, she took a few steps back. “I haven’t found anything. I only said I did so you’d agree to meet me and I could find out what’s really going on.”
“Don’t you realize I need that for insurance—” He cut himself off.
“Is this what you’re looking for, Talarico?” Noah’s voice echoed, laced with an element of cold steel. “Place your hands on your head where I can see them.” He appeared out of the darkness, gun drawn and a look that could kill in his eyes.
“Noah, what’s going on?” How could Noah be there? What was he doing? How did he know about Marco? Unless…
“Detective Noah Donovan, NYPD.” The edge in his voice cut through her like a knife. “On your knees, Talarico,” he said as he took slow strides toward her and Marco.
“I don’t understand.” Her mind swirled, chest heaved, and she choked as she struggled to form the words. A sea of questions crashed through her brain as she searched for answers. “Isn’t your last name Donaldson?”
“Thanks, sis. You led the cops right to me.” Marco dropped to his knees as Noah walked behind him and cuffed him.
That was when the Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies swooped in as backup. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Noah placed Marco in a patrol car.
In shock, shaking, Ana felt tears fill her eyes. She tried to make sense of what was happening.
Noah turned to her with real sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” His words crushed her. How could Noah betray her like this? She had trusted him, but her inner voice reminded her that it hadn’t been enough to tell him the truth.
“Miss, I need you to come with me. We need to ask you a few questions,” the sheriff said, taking her by the elbow.
Noah grabbed her around the waist and said, “Give us a minute, please.” And then he took her a short distance from the scene so they could talk in private.
“Ana, I want you to know…”
She held up her hand to silence him. “Don’t lie to me, Noah. You’re just like Russ. A liar.” Her stomach wrenched, and she worried she would be ill. He’d played her for a fool, and she’d been kicked in the heart by his lies. Pulling herself free from his arms, she walked back to the sheriff. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
*****
Nothing turned Noah’s stomach more than a liar, and he’d become the very thing he hated. All this time, he’d been blinded by his job, or at least using the excuse he was undercover. The entire time that he’d focused on Ana as an assignment, he’d been lying to her. It was part of his job. But was it part of the job to have your heart ripped out of your chest? That’s how he felt without Ana.
Noah didn’t want this life anymore. He’d become a cop to seek justice against the people who’d wronged his family in the past. But that had been over long ago, and his father was better off now, having risen above the adversity and grown his real estate empire beyond all expectations.
Noah dialed the chief back in New York to let him know it was over. He’d captured Talarico. Noah had to pull the phone away from his ear while the chief reprimanded him for disobeying orders.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be on the first flight back.” Clicking the phone off, he felt his spirit sink even lower. He didn’t want to leave Mimosa Key. Somehow, the tiny question-mark-shaped island had grown on him. The slogan Kick off your shoes and fall in love was exactly what had happened. But what to do about it now?
He had to try to explain it all to Ana, but could he get her to listen? The situation had to be fixable. She’d listen to reason when he proved what her brother was involved in, right? He’d been so desperate to catch Marco when he’d gotten here, but when had that stopped being his priority? About the same time you lost your heart to a brown-haired beauty, you idiot.
With his mind filled with rehearsed explanations, he drew a blank once he arrived at the station. Walking inside, he looked for Ana, but she was busy giving a statement to the sheriff. He opened the door to the sheriff’s office and stepped inside. Not excusing his behavior, he sat down.
“Continue,” he said as he nodded to the sheriff.
Ana glared at him then looked straight ahead.
“Is there any reason, Miss Talarico, that we should believe you weren’t helping your brother? You do realize that aiding and abetting a fugitive is a punishable offense.” The sheriff yawned then, like he hadn’t slept in a week.
“The only thing I’m guilty of is waiting for his call and being stupid enough to meet him down by the beach. I have no idea what happened or his level of involvement. Good or bad, he’s never confided in me.”
As she crossed her arms against her chest, Noah could feel the anger radiating from her.
Noah spoke softly. “I believe Miss Talarico is innocent. From the images we saw on the flash drive—”
“You have the flash drive?” Ana stared at him in disbelief, and storm clouds gathered in her eyes.
“Yes, I realize you didn’t know anything about what was on it.” He didn’t care if the sheriff was listening. “Please forgive me, Ana.”
But she just turned and looked away.
*****
It was dawn before Ana dragged her weary body back to the villa, tired, broken-hearted, and too depressed to dwell on the fact her brother was being extradited back to New York. All she wanted to do was fall
into bed and go to sleep, but it would have to wait. Today she had an early taping of the next segment of the Golden Ticket Contest.
It was like some sort of a nightmare. Would she wake up and things be back to normal? What would people say back home?
She showered, dressed, and prepared of the next part of her event. Her phone rang when she was about to leave. Crystal.
Ana didn’t want to talk to anyone. She wanted time to heal and process the crazy, mixed-up night. “Hi.”
“It feels like I haven’t talked to you in a days,” Crystal said, sounding cheerful. “How’s everything going?”
“Alan fired me,” Ana blurted out. “Marco’s been arrested, and Noah was the one to do it.” The tears and sobs came like a deluge. The more she tried to regain her composure, the harder she cried. Exactly the opposite of what she should be doing right before her taping. Now her eyes would be red-rimmed and burning.
Speechless, Crystal took a long time before she responded. “How can Alan fire you? They gave you the time off.”
Ana relayed the entire story of the firing, along with Marco’s arrest and Noah’s involvement.
Crystal attempted to console her. “Look, at least you have the Golden Ticket. I know you’re going to win. Your sportswear has almost double the votes of any other contestant.”
“You’re right. Nothing matters now but the competition.” That’s what she needed to do. Forget all the rest and direct all of her energy to the contest. They said their good-byes, and as she went to leave, there was a knock. The Golden Ticket director and producers were all gathered outside the door to her villa. Why?
“Can we come in?” the director asked, not waiting for an answer as they all pushed passed Ana.
“Sure,” she mumbled.
“Miss Talarico, we don’t have a lot of time, so we’ll be direct. You’re eliminated from the contest because you broke one of the main rules. You have been in an intimate relationship with one of the resort staff. Such a shame too. Your product was number one in the ranking.”
As the director spoke the words, she crumbled inside. All she’d had left to hold on to was the contest. Now she had nothing. She’d been on top of the world a day ago, and now she was at rock bottom. To add to her misery, she had a large hotel bill and was going to put herself in debt to pay it.
“Noah doesn’t really work for the resort,” she said. “He’s a New York City homicide detective.” This was too much for her to handle. “Isn’t there something I can do?” Her flimsy plea fell on deaf ears.
“I’m sorry, Luciana. Good luck in the future.”
They left, and she sat alone in her villa. This had to be the worst day of her entire life.
Future? What future? She had absolutely nothing left. Noah was gone, and though he’d hurt her, she still loved him, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
She took off her clothes, turned down the bed, and slipped between the sheets. Maybe after some sleep things would look better. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep, wishing that somehow things would turn out okay.
Chapter Ten
After Noah returned to New York, he learned Marco Talarico’s side of the story. Noah realized he was innocent of an actual crime, that he’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marco had casually recorded Rizzo accepting bribes and receiving payoffs to look the other way on a few things. Noah surmised Marco would have used the information to his benefit, but Rizzo had wound up dead and Marco had run, afraid he would be next.
Because of Ana, Noah decided to turn in his badge and hand the chief his resignation. He didn’t need to think it over. Who was he kidding? He was in love with Ana, and he’d hurt her. He wanted to go back to Casa Blanca, apologize, and live with her on Mimosa Key.
Sadness tugged at his heart. He never did get to go on that fishing trip. That regret sparked an idea he’d only dreamed about. Making the arrangements, he called and booked a reservation back to Mimosa Key.
Before he left Barefoot Bay, he’d paid for Ana’s villa bill and arranged for the staff to persuade her to stay at the resort a few more days. Ana had been forced into hiding when the scandal broke, not just about their relationship and her disqualification, but Marco’s arrest. Noah was indebted to Jocelyn. Having survived a scandal several years ago, she had made it a point to help Ana and coached her with emotional exercises to help her heal.
Noah walked back into the lobby of Casa Blanca a very different man. This time, he was no longer a detective but a man in love and about to be living a dream.
Courtney’s eyes lit up when she spotted him. “Well, Detective Donaldson,” she cooed. “You’ve came back to us.” She said us but acted like he’d come back solely to see her.
“Courtney,” he said, his voice sharp on purpose, “I’m a civilian now. I’ve turned in my badge, and the name is Donovan.” She was the last person he’d wanted to see, and of course she was the first. “Can you check me into my villa?” He placed his credit card in front of her.
Being a smartass, Courtney asked, “Can you afford it now that you’re unemployed?”
She obviously hadn’t made the connection that his father was the real estate king of Donovan International. “Key, please.”
“If you’re here for Ana, she won’t see you. You ruined her chances with the Golden Ticket. I doubt she’ll ever want to see your face again.”
“What I can’t afford is listening to you spouting lies.”
“I’ve done nothing of the kind. Ana broke the rules. I just pointed it out to the judges.”
“You did what?”
“I told them about your little affair, which was against the rules.” Jealousy flickered through her eyes. “I told you. What did you think I meant by ‘or else’? I wasn’t bluffing.” A sly smirk morphed into a sinister smile.
Noah wanted to lunge at her, but he kept his cool.
“We can still get together, you know.” She placed a hand on his, but he flicked it off.
“Keys—now,” he said icily.
“Here you go.” She tossed the key cards onto the counter. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
Not in a million years. Leaving the lobby, he placed his bags and a surprise for Ana in the golf cart. He was more than eager to see her.
Noah had tried to call her for the past few days, but she’d refused to answer. Taking a shortcut to the villa where Ana was staying, he remembered their nights and kicked himself again for not coming clean about who he really was. But how could he? It was his job. He hoped he could convince her that he never meant to hurt her. He really was just supposed to have been on vacation and not tracking Marco at all. If only he’d followed orders. He prayed she’d have a change of heart when she heard what he had to say.
He couldn’t wait to see her and hold her in his arms. If she’d just give him the chance to explain. Things had changed, he’d changed.
He stood in front of her villa door, unsure what to say. Everything he thought of sounded flat. Ringing the doorbell, he waited.
Ana opened the door a crack and peeked out, then tried to shut it quickly, but he managed to wedge his foot in the door.
“I’m here to apologize again.” He’d left her several messages, but he had no idea if she’d listened to them. “And to tell you I love you. I’m sorry, and I’ve never felt like this before. I can’t live without you.”
He held a dozen long-stemmed roses and a briefcase full of dreams, waiting for her to say something, do something, anything. “I need to show you and explain what happened. Do you mind if I come in?” He shifted his foot as she opened the door a little wider.
“Yes, I mind.” She looked tired, with dark circles under her swollen eyes. “We have nothing to say to each other. How could you possibly change my mind about you?”
“When you see the plans—”
But she closed the door in his face.
Noah wasn’t about to let Ana get away after waiting all of his life for someone like her. There had
to be a way to persuade her to give him a chance to make things right.
*****
Two days had passed since Noah had arrived on her doorstep. Ana hid in her villa, not wanting to see or speak to anyone. Casa Blanca had said her villa had been paid in advance for her entire stay. She hadn’t attempted to leave, afraid she’d bump into Noah. Maybe he’d checked out. She hadn’t asked, and she told herself she didn’t care. Crystal offered to come down, but Ana didn’t feel up to company. It didn’t make her feel any better that Marco called to apologize, he said from this point on he would be a better brother. He was going to be a witness against whoever killed Rizzo and that he was finally going to do the right thing. She was happy he was working on his life but hers was still a bit of a train wreck from being dragged into his mess.
She missed Noah more than ever and wondered if the pain and hurt would ever go away. Maybe a swim in the pool would help her to relax. Maybe getting a little sunshine would be good for her.
She put on one of Melonie’s Bikini in a Bag products and swam a few laps. Leaning on the steps of the pool, eyes closed, she tried to relax and let the stress float away with the feel of the water. The sunshine caressed her body.
“I wasn’t exactly honest with him either,” she said out loud. And he had tried to apologize.
Somewhere off in the distance, she heard the faint sound of music. As it got louder, she could make out the words. It was Lionel Richie’s song You Are.
The last thing she wanted to hear was some love song, but not everyone around here was miserable. She tried to drown it out, but it continued to get louder and closer. Maybe it was a gardener or housekeeping?
There was a rustling of shrubs, and the gate that led to the pool opened. She sat up straight, wondering who was walking around the pool area.
The question about the music was answered as Noah appeared, singing loud enough for the entire island to hear. She stood up, surprised. He grabbed her hands while continuing to sing and pulled her in close for a dance.
