Private Dancer (The Bancrofts: Book 3)

by Barrett, Brenda

  "Out front," Natty said, standing up.

  "The two of you… go to The Pegasus. Find her and bring her back here."

  "Okay" Natty said doubtfully, but he didn't argue. It made no sense to argue with Nanjo when he was in a bad mood.

  *****

  The club was loud and busy on Sunday night, but Nanjo was in a meeting with his henchmen, and could not care less what was happening out there.

  "Did you check her grandmother?"

  "Yes," Natty and Banga nodded. "She hasn't called her and she is not staying there."

  "And that Bancroft guy?"

  "Well, I've been watching him for the last two nights," Banga said. "Searched his room. No sign of Cat, but he's all packed up."

  "I wonder if he's going back to America or going to see his family in Mount Faith?" Nanjo asked contemplatively.

  "Did she visit her daughter at the hospital?" he asked a bored-looking Natty.

  Natty shrugged, his tam wobbling with the weight of his locks. "That nurse woman checked her out yesterday afternoon."

  Nanjo snapped his fingers. "That nurse woman! Why didn't I think of that before? She must be hiding out at that lady's place."

  Natty frowned. "But isn't it enough that she is not with Bancroft Nanjo? Surely, that means that she's not disloyal. That means that she just left you."

  Nanjo tensed then shook his head. "All of this has something to do with him. Before he came on the scene a few days ago, Cat was fine."

  "But she's not with him," Natty said exasperated. "You have never been this worked up over a woman before. Remember you said they are a dime a dozen."

  Nanjo ignored him. Natty had been singing the same worn out tune since Cat left him. He couldn't listen to him. He hadn't slept much since, and he was feeling aggressive. If Natty didn't watch his mouth, he would… How dare Natty suggest that he should just forget Cat and let her go on her merry way without him?

  He contemplated his options. He could take her daughter; that would surely bring her back in no time. The thought filled him with glee.

  "Find out where the nurse lady lives," he said to Natty and Banga. "I am going to need a bargaining chip, and Cat's daughter is it."

  Natty slumped his shoulders, "I don't like this. I don't like messing with children. She just came out of hospital."

  "Shut up and do what you are told," Nanjo bristled, "or I'll have someone else do it!"

  Natty glared at Nanjo. "You are the boss."

  Chapter Eleven

  Cathy was lounging in the settee in Natasha's rented apartment in Half Way Tree. It was in a gated complex. Despite that, Cathy felt a niggling unease.

  "Why can't I call Adrian?" she was asking Natasha for the umpteenth time. Natasha was scanning through her email on her laptop and she looked up absently.

  "Because I already told Adrian the plan—that you will be traveling with Mrs. Pink to Mount Faith. Avia will travel with him. I'll drop you off at Mrs. Pink tomorrow at six."

  "But how did he sound?" Cathy asked eagerly. "Did he sound happy that I was going to give up my life in Kingston for him?"

  "I thought you said you were giving up your life because you realized that it was not what the Lord wants and you were now born again?" Natasha asked cynically.

  "Well, that is a part of it," Cathy said, "and there is no need to sound cynical. I was tired of the lifestyle."

  Natasha nodded skeptically. "Yes, you were."

  "You know, I think I preferred you when you were undercover at the club and acting like an old woman."

  Natasha smirked. "Then, I was trying to befriend you. Now I can speak my mind."

  "And you have spoken it," Cathy said, wounded. "If you are this skeptical about me, maybe Adrian is skeptical too. I hurt him badly in the past you know."

  Natasha shrugged. "And yet he asked you to choose him."

  "He probably asked me to choose him so that he could dump me again, so that I can feel what it is like to be dumped on and lied to."

  "Your sins really sound like they are coming back to haunt you," Natasha said absently as she typed.

  "I have money in the bank you know," Cathy said, "I can leave Jamaica… move away… get that degree I have always wanted… maybe a degree in law. I had wanted to do nursing but now I am thinking law."

  "Good for you." Natasha looked at her and then grinned. Cathy was in her purple maxi dress. On Natasha, it was a nondescript dress, but on Cathy, it looked seductive and sensual, with her firm, ample breasts pushing against the neckline and her noticeably curvy hips. This girl could stop traffic in a crocus bag, she thought.

  She shook her head. What Cathy didn't know was that Nanjo was trying hard to find her. Jamal had reported that he was going crazy, although, to Cathy, he had just looked like his regular mean self. "Stop grinning at me like that," Cathy said, bringing Natasha back from her contemplation.

  Natasha put away the laptop and gave Cathy her undivided attention. "You are actually planning to run away again? This time from your only child and her father who cares so much for you?"

  Cathy nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yes. I am not really going to have a happy ending with him, am I? I am all wrong for him. Avia will be better off with her Bancroft relatives, and when Adrian marries somebody who is of his family's status then she'll have a good mother."

  "Avia has a good mother," Natasha said, "and if Adrian really can't live with you because you are such a bad person, then I suggest that you do law at Mount Faith University so that you can share your daughter with him and have a say in her upbringing."

  Cathy sniffed. "I just don't think I can be near Adrian and have him hate me."

  "You really do need to call him," Natasha said. "You are riddled with doubts, aren't you?"

  Cathy nodded. "I really am trying to be good, but I don't think I can go off with him to Mount Faith and have my heart trampled in pieces."

  Natasha sighed and then looked at the clock. "It's eleven o'clock. In the next couple of hours you will be with Adrian at Mount Faith. Hash it out with him there. Just don't run away from him again. This time he may not forgive you."

  Cathy was silent for a while. "Thanks Natasha. I am going to bed. I don't know if I can sleep though."

  *****

  Nanjo and Natty were parked in a heavily tinted car, early Monday morning. They had been there from four o'clock. Nanjo had just left the club and had been anxious to find out if Cat was staying with Mrs. Pink.

  They were rewarded at five when a white Toyota Corrola drove up and a girl dressed in a tight red blouse and a pair of blue jeans got out.

  "Cat." Nanjo breathed happily. "I would recognize those tits anywhere."

  He almost jumped out of the car and snatched her, but she stood talking to the person in the white car for a while. He was tempted to get out of the car, yank the door open, and see who she had been hiding with but he resisted the urge.

  It didn't matter who she had been hiding with. What mattered was what she was going to do next. He didn't have long to wait because the white car drove off and several minutes later, Cat got into a car with Mrs. Pink.

  "Follow them," Nanjo said, and once more relaxed. He felt the gun in his pocket and he had a heady sensation, like he had somehow won the lottery. He was going to have Cat back in a heartbeat.

  "They are going out of town," Natty said looking over at Nanjo.

  Nanjo nodded, satisfied. "I wonder where?"

  "Are we going to follow them all the way to where they are going?" Natty asked. His tone was surly because he was still miffed at Nanjo's obsession with Cat. He felt that Nanjo was spending too much time on this matter and not enough time on the real business of shipping guns and drugs to America. Nanjo was dropping the ball and acting more like a lovesick fool than a businessman. Natty couldn't respect that. When men got caught up with women, they made mistakes. Mistakes in their kind of business could be fatal.

  The beige Honda hatchback which they were following was crawling at a snail’s pace.
The driver was clearly not Cat because she drove like a mad woman sometimes. Natty assumed that it was that older lady who was driving. They entered the highway and paid the toll. Natty still followed at a discrete distance.

  "Pull her over," Nanjo said when they reached an empty stretch of road that only had shrubs on the side. Natty drove up beside the car and honked. The car started to weave unsteadily. The driver was obviously frightened. He drove up close to the side of the car and depressed the window switch. The window wound down slowly and dramatically. The person in the semi-tinted car slowed and then pulled over.

  Natty pulled over before the car and got out with his gun drawn. Nanjo came out slowly. He unwound himself from the car seat like he didn't have a care in the world and went over to the car. Traffic was buzzing by, but that only added to the thrill of the moment. He yanked the driver’s door open. It was Nurse Pink; she was cowering with her hand on the steering wheel. There was nobody in the back. Cat was in the front sobbing.

  Nanjo cocked his gun and pointed it at Mrs. Pink.

  "Nanjo, no!" Cat screamed.

  "Get out. Now!" he shouted.

  "Leave her alone. She didn't do anything!" Cat shouted, her eyes wild.

  "Don't give me commands!" Nanjo growled. "Where's the kid?"

  Cat fumbled with the door lock and got out. "She's with some doctor friends of mine who understand asthma."

  Nanjo straightened up. "Doctor friends, huh? Tell me why I shouldn't kill this woman now. She has been hiding you from me."

  "She didn't do anything to you!" Cat gasped. "Please leave her alone." She was trembling violently. "I had to see my daughter and get her the care that she needs."

  "Where were you two running to?" Nanjo asked unhurriedly, pushing back in his gun into his jacket.

  "To Montego Bay," Cat lied quickly, "to see a chest specialist."

  Nanjo shrugged and then slammed the driver's door. “I don't think so Cat. I think you were running away, and that kid of yours is with Bancroft. Fine! He has her, but I have you. Get in my car! I am going to deal with you properly. You shouldn't lie to me, it makes me really angry!"

  Cat looked back at Mrs. Pink through the windscreen, a look of terror in her eyes.

  Mrs. Pink stared back at her in shock and watched as Cat was hustled into the other vehicle and gasped as it sped off.

  She picked up the phone and called Adrian. She had an idea where Mount Faith was, but she needed directions. Her hand was trembling so badly that she had to use her other hand to steady it.

  Chapter Twelve

  Adrian had reached Mount Faith Sunday night. He had thought it best to move Avia while she was sleeping so he had gone to Mrs. Pink's house in the early morning and carried out his stealthy, well-intentioned maneuver. She had no awareness of the journey, and was now wrapped up in his old bed, fast asleep.

  His new residence on Mount Faith Drive was not ready yet. Apparently, a visiting professor and his family had been allowed to rent the house that had been earmarked for him. Now he had to wait two weeks for another house to be free. They were refurbishing one of the older houses in the scheme, a four bedroom that was located quite close to where his parents lived.

  He sat in the living room in the wee hours of the morning having the much-dreaded chat with his parents. His father had been livid; his mother had tried to calm him down but he had stormed out of the house. His mother had taken the news in stride, philosophizing that she had a granddaughter to love, though she wished she had known the full story long before. He was not comfortable with Cathy staying at the house with them all here. His mother suggested that Cathy stay at the school hostel.

  He had heard from Mrs. Pink that Cathy had showed up on Monday morning as planned and they were on their way. His heart leapt in anticipation. Now they could get a chance to right their wrongs, and have the future they were supposed to have.

  When Mrs. Pink arrived, they would have a full house. His parents, Kylie, Jessica, and their guest, Deidra Durkheim, had their own rooms. Mrs. Pink could share her room with Avia, leaving him with the only other available room in the house. He couldn't share with Cathy. That would be a mistake. Even if his parents had suddenly grown liberal overnight, that would be a big mistake. He had years of pent up emotion for Cathy, and he had no intention of risking being tempted more than he could bear. History had already proven that his success rate at resisting temptation was questionable, at least where Cathy was concerned.

  "What's up bro?" Kylie came into the living room and hugged him tightly. "I missed you."

  "Hey, little sis." Adrian squeezed her and allowed her to hug him for as long as she wanted.

  "They carried an Adrian impostor into the house. Name is Taj… sorta looks like you. Seeing him occasionally makes me kinda miss you more because he is not you," Kylie said in a rush.

  Adrian kissed her on her forehead. "That's one of the longest speeches you have ever made."

  Kylie giggled and got out of his lap. "I am talking more because of Deidra. She said I need to communicate in order to make friends."

  "Deidra?" Adrian asked, "I heard about her. She sent Micah to jail."

  Kylie nodded. "She's also knowledgeable about fashion and hair, and she's really good company."

  Adrian grinned. "I can see she has a positive effect on you. Look at you. You are looking like a girl." He grinned and Kylie threw a pillow at him.

  "You are not even in your glasses and yet you can see me clearly. How did that happen?"

  "Contacts," Kylie said happily. "Deidra said I should wear them sometimes."

  Adrian nodded. "Deidra must be a miracle worker. I could never get you to wear contacts. Are you sure all of this change is because of Deidra? I heard you have a guy."

  Kylie snorted, "Mommy told you something didn't she? Don't listen to her,. She doesn't know everything."

  Adrian raised his eyebrows.

  "Well, I have a guy friend." Kylie lowered her voice and looked around. "He is helping me with a final project for my master’s. I am creating this mystery thriller computer game. He thinks there is a market for it and he's helping me iron out the kinks."

  Adrian lowered his voice to match hers. "What's his name?"

  "Gareth Beecher." Kylie whispered reverently.

  Adrian was trembling with mirth. "That was said with such...such.... fervor."

  Kylie threw another pillow at him. "He is popular in the computer world. He has made several innovative applications for these new smart phones that that are coming on the market."

  "Good for him," Adrian said, smiling at his sister. "I hope he proves worthy of the reverence for him that I hear in your voice."

  Kylie blushed and nodded firmly. "I think he will." She cleared her throat and said quietly, "I heard I have a niece."

  Adrian sobered up. "Yes, she is sleeping in my old room."

  Kylie gazed at her brother adoringly. "I will do my best to be the most supportive aunt in the world. I am so happy that you are getting another chance with Cathy."

  "Thank you Ky." Adrian sighed, "I am really happy about this opportunity too, even though she really got things wrong the first time. I am still smarting over the fact that she took up stripping as a job and had a thug as a boyfriend."

  Kylie nodded. "I understand, but she has always been the only girl for you. Remember that time you wrote that song for her and you were practicing it on the piano. I thought that was the most romantic thing ever. I wish I had a guy do that for me."

  Adrian smiled. "I was a goofball over Cathy for sure. Still am."

  His phone rang and he picked it up. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that it was Mrs. Pink's number on the screen. "Mrs. Pink?" He answered cautiously.

  "They've taken her," Mrs. Pink sobbed. "Nanjo and a huge Rasta guy nearly ran me off the road, and they took Cathy at gun point."

  Adrian felt a little light-headed, far worse than a hungry boy who was about to eat a particularly delicious morsel of food and then have it cruelly snatched f
rom him and eaten by someone else. He could barely give Mrs. Pink directions when she asked for it. His heart was in turmoil.

  *****

  Nanjo sat in the back seat with Cat. He hauled her onto his lap when they were nearing Kingston and kissed her hungrily and forcefully. "Did you think you could get far from me?" He asked her fiercely. Cathy looked into his dark eyes and shuddered. What she saw in his eyes was a malevolent possession. There was no love or finer feelings and she felt afraid. To Nanjo, people were disposable when they were not serving his purposes, and she was terrified that she had crossed the line when she ran away.

  She had not cried since he pulled her from the car and from freedom. She felt a bit resigned to her fate now. Obviously, this was her punishment for all her mistakes in the past. Her one attempt to break free and she was relentlessly chased and captured again. This was karma. She was never meant to have any sort of life because of what she had done to Adrian, she reasoned.

  "Nanjo, let me go." she pleaded. "I have not taken anything from you. I haven't done anything to you. Just let me go. I am a human being, free to leave a relationship or a job whenever I want to. Aren't I? And I choose to leave."

  Natty, who was driving, caught her eye in the rearview mirror and looked at her sympathetically. It's true that Cat hadn't taken anything from Nanjo. She had left him with the clothes she had been wearing. She hadn't stolen anything. Natty gritted his teeth in frustration on behalf of the girl, but what could he do? Nanjo was his oldest friend.

  Nanjo's phone rang and he answered it, clutching Cat as she was about to move off his lap.

  "Hey, Nanjo," Juan was talking in a low voice, "where are you?"

  "A little out of town," Nanjo said. He was feeling a touch of euphoria with Cat sitting right where she belonged.

  "Get back in town now." Juan growled. "My guy was at your club with a high frequency detector and found that your place is bugged. I mean the whole damned place is bugged with both audio and video surveillance devices, especially your office. We are going to have to stop meeting at your club. Another thing: my contacts in America are suggesting that we push up the time for the shipment by two days. Can you manage that?"