“This can’t be the only way,” Derrek said, his voice wavering somewhere between angry and scared.
“This is the only way where you disappear, but are still breathing. Edgar wants you dead. Thinks I’m here to kill you, in fact. But I can’t do that. Even with how much I despise you, I can’t kill you. But I will tell him where you are.” I paused, letting everything sink in for him. “If you do this, if you crash this boat and disappear, I will pay Edgar off and tell him you’re dead. You’ll be free to start a new life, and I’ll make that a possibility. But if you don’t, it’s over.”
Derrek’s eyes flashed to Jessica’s, and she looked just as shaken as he did. After everything that had happened in the last few days, I was shocked this had come as some sort of surprise to them both. If someone were after Lena and myself, if we were being hunted, and someone offered me an out, I’d take it without hesitation. It would hurt, but I’d put my past behind me, leave my family, leave my life behind, to ensure Lena was safe and with me. I watched his gaze move from Jessica to the faces of his daughters and I knew the moment when he made the decision.
“You promise you can make us safe?”
I leaned forward and looked him in the eye, trying to impart as much urgency and passion with my words as I could. “If you’re not safe, then Lena’s not safe. There is nothing I take more seriously than her safety. You mean shit to me, but she means the world. I wouldn’t gamble with her life.”
Derrek’s eyes jumped from Jessica to Lena and back to me. He took off his hat, ran his hands through his hair, and exhaled loudly. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” At his words, Jessica stood up and moved to the side of the boat, leaning toward him and kissing him with all the passion you’d expect a couple in love to share. My eyes darted to Lena, to see if their exchange caused her any pain, but she was happily cooing at the child in her lap, oblivious.
When Jessica and Derrek pulled away from each other, she sat back down and I watched as Lena ran her hand down Jessica’s arm, comforting her. “He’ll be all right,” Lena said quietly as Jessica wiped a few tears from her cheeks.
“Okay,” I said, turning back to Derrek. “Like I said, just aim for the rocks then, literally, abandon ship before you get too close. It’ll probably explode and you don’t want to be too close to the explosion.” I heard Jessica muffle a cry at my words but Derrek just nodded. “Make sure your life jacket is on tight.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Derrek responded, with almost a laugh.
“We’ll be out to get you as soon as it’s safe for the girls.” Derrek just nodded at my words.
“I love you,” he said firmly to Jessica, but she just nodded in response, pressing her lips together to keep herself from crying. Derrek threw his end of the rope back into our boat and then took the wheel of his. We all watched as he pulled away slowly. Once he was a safe distance away, I took to following him.
We went at a slower clip, just far enough away to see him clearly. I was more than relieved to see that there were no other boats on the east side of the island. I hadn’t expected there to be any, really; it wasn’t an optimal spot for tourists. The west side of the island had all the beaches. I slowed the boat when he aligned his with the rocky cliffs. We stopped altogether and watched as his boat sped up, heading directly toward the rocks.
Jessica started whimpering as the boat approached the island, and eventually turned her head away, unable to look any longer.
The boat was starting to get a little closer than I would have liked. “Jump, Derrek. Jump, damn it,” I whispered. My heart started pounding harder; he was getting too close. Finally, I watched as he jumped from the boat, saw the orange of his life vest hit the water. Then just seconds later the boat hit with an impressively loud crash into the rocks. As I suspected, the boat burst into flames; the sound of the explosion was much louder than the crash, and the whole event was hard to look away from. Flames licked the sky, black smoke poured from the wreckage. Surely, if anyone had been aboard, they’d be dead on impact.
I pushed our boat forward and as we neared the crash site, the air was hot with the fire. I saw Derrek in the water, his life vest bobbing in the waves. As I neared it became clear he was moving, swimming away from the crash. I sighed in relief, glad to know he’d made it. I stopped the boat just yards from him and threw the rope out. He grabbed it and I pulled him in. After a struggle to bring him onboard, with lots of coughing and sputtering, he finally landed on the deck of the boat and Jessica flung herself on him, crying fully now, and very loudly.
Lena had both girls and tried to distract them, but we made eye contact and she gave me a small smile, obviously glad everything had turned out the way I’d planned.
“We’ve got to get out of here, now,” I said urgently. “Someone on that island heard the explosion and I’m sure the authorities are on their way here. Derrek,” I snapped, hoping to get his attention. When he finally looked at me from the deck of the boat, still coughing and breathing heavily, I nodded at the ocean. “Throw your wallet in the water. Jessica, you too.” They didn’t bother arguing or questioning me, which made everything so much easier.
After they’d ditched their personal items into the water, they sat on the bench, Derrek’s arms wrapped tightly around Jessica. I aimed our boat back toward Athens.
Chapter Ten
I pulled the boat up to a marina that was much less popular, hoping there would be fewer people around to see us arrive. This marina was mainly used by fishermen, so when we docked, we got hardly any looks from the men cleaning their boats. Perfect. We walked down the wooden-planked walkway and I spotted the black SUV I’d hired.
“This is as far as we go,” I said to Derrek. I handed him the manila envelope that contained the items Parker had managed to get for me. “In that envelope you’ll find passports, IDs, and all the paperwork you’ll need to leave the country under new identities. For all four of you. There is also paperwork that will lead you to a bank account I’ve set up in your new name that has the two million dollars we promised you, plus another fifty thousand to get you started.”
Derrek took the envelope from me, looked inside, and then sighed. “You had this all figured out, didn’t you?”
“Indeed,” I replied. “Now listen, this is important. You are all dead. You cannot, under any circumstances, contact anyone from your previous life. You cannot come back to Portland, cannot even come back to Oregon. I’d say stay out of the US for a while, even. Am I making this clear? If you come back, you’re dead. And so are we,” I say, motioning to Lena and myself. Jessica looked more upset about this prospect than Derrek, and I guessed she might have been closer to her family than he was. For just one moment I wondered if she was regretting getting involved with him to begin with. She hadn’t signed up for all of this. But then I looked at Lena, who was wearing a look of true compassion. She actually felt bad for them. Her open and enormous heart wiped away any concern I had for Jessica; she’d gotten herself into this mess and I’d done everything I could to ensure the man she loved lived. I couldn’t feel guilty about it. Refused to feel guilty. “In that SUV there you’ll find luggage with a few changes of clothes for each of you. The car will take you to the airport and I suggest you leave immediately.”
Derrek reached out and I took his hand and shook it firmly. He nodded toward me, and it sort of looked like he wanted to thank me, but the words never left his mouth. Lena knelt and waved to the kids.
“Bye, girls. Be good for Mommy and Daddy, all right?” The two little girls nodded and smiled at her as she stood.
We stayed in place and watched as the four of them climbed into the car and drove away. When it was out of sight I heard Lena let out a giant, relieved sigh. I turned to her and saw the same relief written across her face.
“That was pretty intense,” she said softly as she turned to me. “I’m glad everything went as planned. There were a million things that could have gone wrong.”
I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms ar
ound her shoulders, smiling when her cheek came into contact with my chest.
“It was the only way I could think of to end this, once and for all.”
“I get it. I just hope it worked.”
“If they head straight to the airport, which is where I hired their car to take them, they should be on a plane before anyone really notices they’re gone.”
She exhaled loudly again and I buried my nose in her hair. “You’re safe and that’s all that matters.” Her arms squeezed me a little tighter and her face pressed against my chest a little harder.
“Can we go back to the hotel now? I just want to lie in bed and try to forget this ever happened.”
“Of course,” I responded.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel room, showering and lounging on the bed, holding each other, trying to wrap our minds around what had happened just hours before. It wasn’t until that evening when we turned on the television that we realized we just might have pulled it off. The reporter spoke in Greek, but there were captions in English running along the bottom of the screen.
The coastguard has confirmed a tourist boat that was rented by an American family has been found crashed just miles off the shore of Athens. The boat careened into a rocky beach, exploding on impact, and all four of the people on board, two adults and two children, are presumed dead. The coastguard is searching the nearby waters, hoping to find survivors, but based on the wreckage, I’m being told the chance of survival is slim.
Lena looked over to me. “It worked,” she said, sounding astonished. “It actually worked.” Her finger came up to pull at her bottom lip as she watched the television in fascination.
I stepped out onto our terrace and called Parker, knowing a text wouldn’t give him any satisfaction. He answered sounding worried, his greeting rushed.
“Preston? Is everything all right?”
“Hey, everything is fine. It all went according to plan.”
“I don’t want to know any details. I’m just glad you’re all right. And Lena?”
“She’s fine too.”
He breathed a sigh of relief and I knew he was slumping, all the anxiety leaving his body.
“Listen, I don’t know where we’re headed, or what we’re up to next….” My words trailed off because I didn’t know how to tell my brother I didn’t know when I’d see him again.
“I understand, Preston. I get it. Like I said, I’m just glad you’re both safe.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as we nail down some plans.”
“Sounds good. Give your girl a hug for me.”
“Will do.”
We disconnected after our goodbyes and I took in a deep breath, trying to ready myself for one more phone call.
“Preston, I assume you’re calling me with good news.”
“Good news for you, perhaps, Edgar,” I responded.
“Did you do as I asked you?”
“It’s done. And I have your money for you.”
There was a pause from Edgar’s side of the line, then a booming laugh. “I knew you could do it.” He laughed, a big whooping laugh, then chuckled until he could speak again without interruption. “You’re a gem,” he finally said. “I’ll expect the money in my account by the end of the week.”
“Then both Lena and I are cut loose, right? This is it, Edgar. We don’t owe you anything ever again.”
“I believe those were the terms. You get me my money, kill Derrek, and you’re both off the hook. I’ll forget all about you as soon as the money is in my account.”
“You’ll have it ASAP.”
“It’s been nice dealing with you.” He paused and then asked one more question. “Was Derrek’s death at least a little painful?”
I swallowed hard, hoping I could lie well enough to fool him. “Don’t worry, he definitely suffered.”
The evil laugh which emanated from him nearly made me hurl. I was glad I’d never have to see him again.
“Thank you for your patronage,” he said, his evil laugh continuing. Then I heard the line go dead, and I relaxed against the railing, looking out to the picturesque Greek cityscape below me. I thought about everything that had happened in the last few weeks and suddenly I was overcome by so much tension leaving my body, I nearly collapsed. So much had been riding on this, so much of my life had been on the line, and it was finally over. I heard the French doors open and I smelled Lena before I felt her arms wrap around me from behind.
“Everything work out?”
My hand came up to smooth over hers and I sighed. “Yeah. Edgar bought it, really believes Derrek is dead. It’s over.” Before I knew what was happening she was in front of me, her dark eyes peering up into mine, her lips pulled up slightly at the corners.
“I know you did this for me.”
My hands slid up her arms, loving the feel of her skin under mine. I loved watching her eyelids flutter at the sensation of me touching her. I cupped her cheeks and looked right in her eyes.
“Everything I’ve done since the first day I saw you outside that bar has been for you. Everything I do until the day I die will be for you. You’re it for me, Lena. You’re the reason I wake up each morning, the reason I’m standing here breathing. Whatever you need, just tell me, and it’ll be my mission to get it for you.”
She smiled and moved forward slightly until our noses touched. “What if everything I’ve ever wanted is standing in front of me?”
The corners of my lips pulled into my first genuine smile in almost two days. “Then that makes my job pretty easy.” She laughed as I pressed my mouth against hers. I teased the seam of her lips with my tongue and, of course, she opened for me. She moaned against my lips and all I wanted was to pull her back to bed, to feel her beneath me and around me.
“Oh, wait,” she said, pulling back and bringing her hand to her mouth. “I need one more thing.” Her face was suddenly very serious, and she looked nervous. “I need you to look up how to say ‘pregnancy test’ in Greek so I don’t sound like a bumbling American at the pharmacy.”
I’d never experienced how truly empty and cavernous my stomach could feel before she’d said those words. My stomach dropped, my heart pumped ferociously, and my eyes blinked wildly.
“You think you’re… You need a… How late…” I couldn’t have completed a sentence in that moment if my life depended on it. I couldn’t find the right words as one million of them were crashing through my mind faster than the speed of sound. She started laughing at me and brought her hands to my cheeks.
“Breathe, Preston,” she said between giggles. “You’re turning purple.”
“You’re pregnant?” I was impressed not only with my inference skills, but also my ability to put two words together. Three technically if you count the contraction.
“I think so,” she said shyly. “Either that or I’m a week late for some other reason.”
I picked her up, my arms wrapping around her waist, and I spun her around while hugging her to me. We were both laughing, and she was crying happy tears, and I couldn’t think of another moment in my life where I’d been so ecstatic. When I finally put her down, I cradled her face and kissed her senseless.
“I think you’re the only woman on the planet who could take possibly the worst day I’ve ever lived through and make it the best day of my life.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re excited,” she said, smiling and wiping a few stray tears away. “But, Preston, I was totally serious. I need you to tell me how to say ‘pregnancy test’ in Greek.”
I laughed and pulled her closer to me, feeling her heartbeat through her chest pressed up against mine.
“I’ll give you anything and everything you’ve ever wanted,” I said, my lips pressed against her hair. And I’d never spoken truer words.
Epilogue
Lena
I knew I only had a few minutes to accomplish my goal, and even though speed was not always a friend during sexy times with one’s husband, in this situation, speed
was imperative. I opened the door to our master bathroom slowly, so as not to make any unwanted creaking, then quietly peeled off my clothes and climbed into the shower.
It was always a struggle not to stop and admire my husband’s beautiful body, even more so when soapy water was cascading down all the firm ridges and valleys of his muscular back. So it was no hardship on my part to put my hands on said gorgeous back and feel the hardened skin slippery under my fingers.
“Jesus, Lena. You scared me,” he said right after he’d nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Hmm,” I replied as I ran my hands around his waist, up over his ribs, then right back down again to find him hardening in my grasp. “But it’s a good surprise, right?”
“Definitely.” He spun in my arms and suddenly I was pressed up against the wall of the shower, his big hands under my thighs, lifting me and pressing me back. His mouth found mine and I groaned as my stomach flipped with his kiss.
Years.
Years later and his kisses still gave me butterflies.
I knew I would never tire of Preston, or what he could do to my body. I loved that he could still make me feel like a teenager experiencing my first love all over again. It was a quality I was sure you couldn’t find in just any man. No. It was special to my man. And I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else.
With one hand wrapped tightly around my waist, his other hand found my breast, kneading and palming it with gentle yet firm pressure, fingers pinching my nipple, eliciting more moans from me.
“I hate to be a buzz kill here, babe, but we don’t have all the time in the world.” I gasped again as his mouth found my neck, internally rolling my eyes because I knew his mouth would leave a mark there—it always did—but outwardly not caring because, well, I just didn’t. If Preston wanted to mark me with love bites, I wasn’t going to be the one to stop him. His parents sometimes avoided looking at me when I showed up with a hickey, and Piper always rolled her eyes, but I simply didn’t care. Everyone knew how passionate we were about each other and sometimes I had the marks to prove it.
The Private Serials Box Set Page 33
