After a few moments of contemplation, Jimmy came through the door. “Thought you could use a real cup of coffee.” He slid a mug across the table to Eduardo, winking at us.
“Yeah.” Eduardo motioned him to sit, without his usual argument about his coffee-making skills. Cat and I refused his offer of the second mug, so he took a seat and took a sip, an expectant look on his face.
“Cat was about to give us another prayer. You’re just in time.” Eduardo smirked.
“Bring it.” Jimmy had that mischievous look in his eye, and I’m sure Cat saw it too.
Cat unwrapped herself from Eduardo’s arm and bowed her head in reverence. “Abba, Father God, we pray for the peace of Israel. Those who bless Israel will be blessed. Psalm 34 tells us ‘the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and he delivers them. The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him…”
I watched, amused, as Jimmy’s face turned from mischievous sarcasm to bewilderment.
Eduardo shook his head. “You can’t tell Pearson about her.”
Jimmy didn’t look so sure.
“It’s not like she knows exactly where you’re goin’.” He practically grabbed Cat out of the seat beside him. “You don’t do you?”
Cat raised her eyes to his. “Eduardo, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He dropped Cat back into her seat and turned to Jimmy. “See? She knows nothing.”
Jimmy squinted at us. “Right.”
Debbie
I flipped through the pile of paintings and quickly took the painting I’d done for David after he left in December. He was so emotional over the rainbow in the winter scene, I didn’t want to chance upsetting him again. Unfortunately, he looked up in time to see me stashing it under the bed.
“What are you doing, Sweetheart?” He let the winter scene drop in his lap and wiped his face.
I probably looked pretty guilty. “I – I was just sorting through – stuff.”
He smiled that knowing smile. He made his living as a secret agent. How could I think I could ever trick him?
“I was hoping you’d have that new painting for me.”
I started to shake. “Well David, I put the rainbow underneath, but you may still be able to see a trace of it. I’ll fix it and bring it back to you.”
Well that did it. Of course he only wanted it more. He held out his hand, and I crawled under the bed to get the painting. I stood up and held it against my stomach.
Unstoppable words came pouring out as nerves got the best of me. “David, this one’s a little bit dark. I was playing with the light, and that’s why you might see part of the pink of the rainbow underneath the light of the moon in the sky. I did the first one in the daylight, and I had a rainbow in the sky, but I didn’t know rainbows would upset you. So I was going to keep the rainbow, but when I got up to put the painting away, red paint spilled all over it. It was red paint, and I thought I wouldn’t bother trying to fix it, and I did this one, but this is the night time one…”
He reached over and drew me by my waist, then took the painting. I could see him swallow hard, and his eyes were wide.
“I – I can do another one for you, David.”
“Red paint?” His voice was strange.
“Well, that was on the daytime painting, David. The red paint spilled on the daytime scene. This … this one… you can hardly see a rainbow, but it’s there, but I can fix it. Is—is it the red you don’t like?”
I was so hoping something bad hadn’t happened in this painting too.
David
How did she do this? “It’s amazing, Sweetheart. Amazing. Thank you.” He wiped his eyes, and she handed him more tissues.
He looked down, and it was still there. His boat. It was obviously the last evening he’d spent on it, under the full moon, wondering if he was insane. Perhaps he was.
Red paint? He coughed and took a minute to catch his breath. “You did a daytime scene? You mean of this boat?”
“Yes, David.” She chewed her lip. “Only the boat was out at sea. This – this one is in the marina. Did – did you want a daytime scene? I can do another one if you like.”
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble, Sweetheart. How did you decide to paint a boat?”
“I don’t know. It just came into my head. That’s how I do most of my paintings. The idea comes to me, and I put it on the canvas. Would you rather something else?”
“No. This is perfect. I knew it would be. Tell me – tell me about the red paint.”
Debbie shrugged. “It was an accident. As I was about to put it away, I managed to drop red paint on it. It covered almost the whole boat. But I can do another one if you like.”
“Did you keep the one with the red paint?”
“I don’t know. It could be in a pile in my studio. I don’t always throw things out right away. I’m sorry, David.”
He pulled her onto the bed and held her close. “You mustn’t worry about it Sweetheart. You do incredible work.”
“Do you want me to hang this one up?”
“No, Sweetheart. I’m keeping this one to myself.”
Glori
We’d found a deserted beach and spent the night. It was so cool the way everything looked in the early morning, and the fog creeping in wrapped us in mystery. He kept me toasty warm under the blanket.
“Funny,” I broke a long silence, “seems like we both had a lot of the same stuff happen in our childhoods. Even though we grew up around the world from each other.” He murmured his agreement, as I rolled over to face him. I kissed his lips, the kiss that signaled my further intentions.
“Poor Glori.” His whisper was so sexy. “It must be forty-five minutes.” He kissed me.
“Ohhh…How can I go forty five minutes without you, darlin’?”
***
I noticed the beach was sun-drenched, and he was gently rousing me. “Glori, love, I’m sorry, it’s late. We need to leave now. I’m late for my meeting.”
I lazily took in his handsome face, his hazel green eyes. It occurred to me our coloring was similar—sandy brown hair, green eyes. He got my attention with a kiss.
“We need to leave.”
He dropped me in front of the Bainbridge mansion, with assurances we’d be together again tonight, but it’d be late. His car sped away, and I was still in a daze. I went to my room and fell back to sleep.
It was late afternoon when Cindy knocked. I was just coming out of the shower. “Hi! How was your date?” Cin was in a good mood.
“Oh. Great.” I began to towel dry my hair. “We made love on the beach all night.”
“Wow, romantic!” Then Cin saw the tears on my cheeks. “What’s wrong honey?”
I sniffed hard and blew my nose. “I hate when this happens.” I tried to laugh.
“What is it?”
“Why do I always fall in love with the ones I can’t have? Huh?” I sat on the bed and wrestled the towel through my hair.
“What happened?” Cin sat by my side.
“What happened? Had the best time of my life. Now there’s a week left. And I’m not sure I can take it. That’s all.”
“Did he break it off with you?”
“Naa, why would he do that? The sex is outrageous. We’d be crazy to break it off before we have to.”
“Well, maybe at this point you’re just hurting yourself. Maybe it’d be better…”
I dragged myself up to comb out my hair. “No way am I gonna stop seeing him before I have to, Cin. No way.”
“You think you’ll ever see him again?”
“I don’t know. I doubt it. He doesn’t want to talk about the subject. So I guess that means no. Maybe military bases aren’t the best place to go hunting after all.” I stared at bloodshot eyes in the mirror.
Debbie
When David went for a physical therapy appointment, I decided it was a good time to have lunch on the deck. Daddy paced the hall with the phone to his
ear. “And Bud, thank you. I’ll call Douggy and set up an appointment for Paulo and his family… Yes, his family. Paulo is just a kid, Bud. He’s sixteen years old – very talented I think. And it’s his older brother that’s the investment guy – pretty amazing family I guess. Okay, I’ll talk to you again soon. Marion says hello to Dottie.” Daddy clicked the phone.
He took me by the arm and we headed outside. “Thank you, Daddy. I think Paulo will be famous. And Cat and Nita, too.”
Daddy grunted. “Well, I like to do something nice every so often.”
We found most everyone gathered outside for lunch in the sunshine.
“Francisco, Douggy loved the CD. We need to arrange an appointment for you to meet,” Daddy said.
The family was delighted with the news. Paulo seemed stunned. He got kisses and hugs from all sides, and his father shook Daddy’s hand vigorously.
Eduardo
Eduardo swung the door open to leave the office, and braced himself on the doorknob as the General spoke. “You should get out tonight and think about something else for a while.”
“Yes Sir. I thought I’d take Nita dancing – that new salsa club in L.A.”
“Sounds good.” Pearson stacked the papers they had been discussing into a folder, and dumped it into a file.
Eduardo turned to see Colonel Johnson arriving with a six-pack of beer in his hand. “Care for a beer before you go, son?”
“No thank you, Sir.”
Nita
Grateful for an evening out, I pulled a silver white evening dress from the bottom of a suitcase. Wrinkles fell out with a good steaming. I located the matching shoes and evening bag under a pile of scrubs. As I spun around in front of the mirror, I began to feel like a woman again. Eduardo had a wide smile when he saw me.
It had been far too long since we’d been dancing. I always fell in love with him all over again when we danced. I loved the intensity in his eyes as he gazed at me, his strong body holding me, guiding me, the sensuality of our movement together. We lost ourselves on the dance floor, in an intimate and private encounter.
My body felt somewhere far away. “I wish we didn’t have to go back to that hospital tonight, Eduardo.” I sighed into his ear.
“You know somehow they’ll all find out about it. We’ll never hear the end of it. But if you want to take that chance, hey sounds great to me.”
“Why don’t we live dangerously tonight?” I smiled.
Eduardo responded only with his ever-widening impish grin. He led me outside.
His eyes always automatically surveyed his environs as he left a building, and he immediately noticed a speeding car. He pushed me to the ground beside a parked car, and landed on top of me, as bullets sprayed the sidewalk.
“Eduardo! Eduardo!” I screamed above the panic and din around us. Horror was all over his face as he wiped blood soaked hair from my face. My dress was stained red, and he fought my attempt to get up.
“I’ll get you an ambulance, honey.” As he grabbed his phone, I reached up and pressed my hand to his head. I think it was only then he noticed the blood coursing down my arm was his.
Chapter Twelve
Eduardo
Colonel Johnson sat on the edge of General Pearson’s desk. “Looks like you got some haircut last night, son.”
Pearson shook his head. “Clemente, you’re lucky you have such a hard head! That bullet just skimmed along your skull.”
“Yes, Sir.” Eduardo’s voice was almost a whisper. He gripped the arms of the chair.
Pearson went on. “It’s a relief Nita wasn’t injured. As a matter of fact, the police chief raved about her take-charge attitude. No doubt she saved that woman’s life. He told me this morning that she’s going to pull through. And the other two guys that were hit, fortunately fairly minor injuries. So now…”
Pearson fell silent and circled his office, then stopped in front of Eduardo. “It had to be Santoro. Who else would be responsible? He’s the only one the cops haven’t managed to catch up with. He’s the biggest trafficker left on the West Coast. Somehow, he heard you were here from New York, and he wanted to get rid of you.” The General was reasonably pleased with his thesis.
Eduardo propped his pounding head in his hand.
“Go get some rest, Clemente.”
***
David’s lip curled in a dubious grin. “That doesn’t make sense, Eduardo. How would Santoro know you were in town? That was the first time you’ve been off the base since you got here.”
Almost.
“Yeah. There’s something rotten here.” He put his hand to his aching head.
“You look like hell, Eduardo. You need to go lie down.”
Debbie
It was early in the morning, and I couldn’t sleep. Eduardo was recovering from a bullet wound, and I wondered how we’d all find peace. Could we ever leave this place again? I told God all about my problems, and I finally dozed off in the middle of a prayer. A terrible nightmare about losing David punched me awake, and I ran from my bed down the hall.
David was asleep, but I was so upset I jumped onto the bed, and he opened his eyes. “David!” I fell on top of him, and he picked me up and kissed me. Not like the little kisses he’d given me since we’d been here. But the wonderful kiss that melted me before all this happened. He pulled me to his body, his hands on my bottom. That’s how we both fell asleep, and when my parents came looking for me that morning, they weren’t happy to find us in his bed.
Fortunately, Dr. Earle was right behind them, so Daddy didn’t yell. But I woke up with a start as the doctor peeled me off David. Daddy was glaring at me, and Mama threw a blanket over me and ushered me out the door.
David
With sleepy eyes, he watched Debbie, noticing the outline of her panties under the thin white nightgown. For one so slender, her breasts were lovely. When would he have her undisturbed?
His thoughts slowly progressed from caressing her thighs and buttocks, to the calming scent of lavender hydrosol his mother always sprayed in the room.
He realized his mother was speaking to him. “Debbie’s parents were very upset seeing you two being so affectionate with each other. They really don’t think their daughter is mature enough to handle it, David. And, frankly, with what I have seen of her, well she is lovely, but she is immature. We have tried to placate them, because we have seen how you both draw strength from each other. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong, my dear, but George and Marion are very concerned. So we agreed we would have someone here in the room during the day. And her mother will stay with her at night.”
David rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. His mind began to blur, and he returned to his fantasy – feeling Debbie’s soft skin, and her lips and mouth as they kissed… her body pressed against his, the sweetness of holding her in his arms, the longing for her. Sylvie and Darla came back. How simple it was to have them whenever and however he wanted. He didn’t care – he wanted Debbie. He closed his eyes and saw her face.
Eduardo
With Jimmy and Alain headed to the Middle East, the men had business to discuss. Pearson addressed them in David’s spacious room where Eduardo put his feet up in a recliner. He was feeling more himself, and able to contribute to the meeting.
When Pearson left, the men fell into personal conversation. “So now that you’re almost out of here, what are you going to do about Debbie?” Eduardo asked.
“Do about Debbie?” David looked a bit confused. “I’m going to marry her as soon as I can.”
After a shocked silence, Alain and Jimmy shook his hand and offered their congratulations. Eduardo let his concern be known. “Isn’t it kind of soon? I mean you’ve been in a coma most of the time since you met her. What’s the big rush?”
“I love her, Eduardo. It’s as simple as that. And I think her parents will be easier to deal with if I marry her right away.”
“Deal with! They’re gonna be a pain in your ass for the rest of your life! They’re
unbelievable. George and Marion—trust me—there won’t be any pleasing them.”
David’s laughter turned to coughing. He recovered pretty quickly and took some water. “You’re probably right. But I love their daughter, so I’ll just have to find a way to cope. And speaking of coping, what’s going on with you and Nita?”
“Yeah, Clemente, you’ve been stringin’ her along for years.” Jimmy grinned as he watched Eduardo take a small box from his pocket.
“Yeah, but it’s time to do something before I lose her.” Their laughter quashed when he opened the box to reveal a large and brilliant diamond ring. “I hope this does the trick. I’ll be paying it off for the rest of my natural life.”
“Where’d you get that?” Alain’s eyes widened.
Jimmy nodded. “That oughtta keep her interested.”
“Yeah, I told Raphael what I wanted, and he had it made for me. The guy is a very reputable jeweler, according to him. Some great artist of the gem world.”
“It’s beautiful, Eduardo. I’m sure she will love it.” David’s voice was uncharacteristically emotional. “She’s crazy for you, anyway. You could put a string around her finger, and she’d marry you.”
“Yeah, if I gave her a string, she’d strangle me with it.” Eduardo turned the ring in his fingers, catching the sunlight in a tiny rainbow. His smile became wonderment. A covenant rainbow. He could no longer imagine his life without her. “I don’t know who I’m kidding. I love her with all my heart and soul. I can’t live without her. And I guess I really don’t want to anymore. Guess it’s time to pop the question.” He popped out of his contemplation with a grin. “So Dusseault, you’ve been to the beach a lot lately. Where is there a nice romantic spot for me to propose?”
David
It took a bit of convincing, but Eduardo agreed to find George Aldridge and get him in front of him. David sat up in the bed, and focused his breath, but George immediately plunged into his speech, looking anywhere but at him.
Killer Cupid (The Redemption Series: Book 1) Page 13
