Greed in Paradise (Paradise Series) (22 page)

Brad spent long hours on the water as a commercial fisherman, staying out for long stretches of time until his tanks were stocked with fish. There were lots of grouper in these local waters. I had a fondness for the white fish, preferring it barbequed.

Now that he had a girlfriend and the relationship looked serious, I knew he wanted to cut back on time spent away from home. Julie was the first girlfriend Mother and I actually liked. Only a few had even been tolerable. My brother was a magnet for the unstable ones. Thankfully, he’d broken that pattern. Mother once told me, “It’s all about the sex for the first few months and then you better have something to talk about.”

I saw my brother standing on the deck of his boat, the wind tossing his sun-bleached hair. Looking healthy with his shirt off, he worked alongside his men and never asked them to do something he wouldn’t do. He had a regular crew of men who enjoyed working with him, which made it easy since he didn’t have the never-ending parade of misfits. When he turned in my direction, I waved my arm from the window. He didn’t notice, but one of his crew members saw me and looked around to see who I was waving to. Finally, he hit Brad on the back and they both waved.

I parked around the corner. The visitor parking lot was blocked off and a sign rolled into the entrance side read, Full. The quickest way back was to cut across a deserted old portion of highway, ducking under the chained off entry and ignoring the Keep Out signs. This part of the docks had a notorious reputation and was known for illegal activities, which I assumed didn’t happen in broad daylight with boats of fishermen docked. I’d be damned if I’d walk around. I crossed under an old road that ran overhead and was partially demolished in favor of the newer and shinier twin that had been built alongside it. My brother hung on the rail, watching me, then started to wave again. I waved back and stumbled out of my shoe.

A black Mercedes rolled by me and parked further up. As I bent down, two men climbed out of the back in black trousers, the sleeves of their dress shirts rolled up; both had shoulder holsters, making them look like well-dressed thugs. One man held a briefcase at his side. I crouched behind a cement column. One more step and I’d be standing in the open. Making a run for it was out of the question so I stayed put, hoping not to attract too much attention.

Two other men appeared out of nowhere from the opposite end of the overhang looking like an advertisement for a seedy tropical clothing ad. The man with the briefcase held it up, snapped the locks, and displayed the contents—money, and lots of it by my estimation. I looked around and saw no one else in sight. I got that familiar tingle on my neck which served as a warning not to be ignored. As if I hadn’t had enough excitement, I’d bet I was a witness to a major drug buy. The man who stepped forward pushed his sunglasses onto his head, looking suspiciously like Stanhope. Doing a double take, my eyes jerked to his accomplice and I bit my lip to keep from making any noise. Stanhope and Creole were in action. I stayed glued to every second. Knowing drugs and guns were involved, I should have backtracked my way out of the middle of trouble, but instead, I continued to watch the two. Stanhope produced a small knife and sliced through one of the bags. He licked the tip and nodded his head. The duo exchanged briefcases.

An overly large hand clamped down hard against my mouth and hauled me from behind the pole. The three hundred-pound giant jerked me off the ground and shook me like a rag doll. “Look what we have here, boys,” he yelled, hoisting me under one arm and carrying me forward.

Sirens blared, coming from every direction. All hell broke loose. I elbowed the giant in his side, he grunted and dropped me to the ground in a heap. Stumbling up, I reached for my Glock but didn’t get far, as once again, he jerked me off of my feet in a vise grip and hauled me up under his arm. A dozen black undercover vehicles converged on the area and gunshots rang out, uniforms running everywhere. The big guy pitched me across into the dirt and I curled up next to the fence. Deciding he wasn’t done with me, he grabbed me again. Not going down without a fight, I kicked and screamed, making contact with undetermined body parts. My head whipped around by my hair, a mouth smashing down over mine, and I felt the lips move as a voice said, “Shut up.”

I recognized the menacing voice and calmed only slightly, wanting confirmation before giving in. I struggled to catch my breath.

Creole gripped my forearm and wrenched me forward. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

Frustrated when I whimpered about my toes being scraped from being dragged, he tossed me over his shoulder and walked so fast I had to grip his shirt. I saw Brad jump off the side of his boat, feet hitting the deck at a run; his crew members stared as I disappeared out of sight. Creole dumped me in the front seat of an old Ford Falcon that looked like it should be at the crusher. It stunned me when the engine caught and sounded in good repair.

Creole got in my face. “What in the hell?” he yelled.

I flinched and closed my eyes, tears trickling out of the corners. “I went to meet Brad,” I said softly.

Creole took my face in his hands. “Stop that, now.” His thumbs wiped the tears away. “You know I can’t handle it when you cry. Why were you walking in an area that had signs posted to keep the hell out?”

“I had to park a couple of blocks away and knew it was a shortcut. You have to get a hold of Brad and let him know I’m okay.”

“Stanhope will take care of that.” He ran his hands over my arms, lifting my leg, dropping a soft kiss on my scraped knee. “Any other damage I don’t know about?”

I shook my head and pointed. “My SUV’s parked over there.”

“I’ll get word to Brad. He’ll get it to your house. You won’t need it while you’re in protective custody.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The leader, Ramon Arturo, got away, and as long as he’s on the loose, you’ll do what I tell you, when I tell you. He knows what you look like and he watched me run to your rescue, so he knows you’re important to me and wouldn’t hesitate to track you down and kill you in a most unpleasant way. Got it?”

His eyes turned dark blue when he got mad; something told me now wasn’t the time to argue. “Where are you taking me?”

“No, damn it. You answer my question and promise that you’re going to cooperate,” he said, his voice on the rise.

“Okay, I promise. Stop with the yelling and growling.” I covered my face with my hands resting on my bent knees. Let him think I was crying, I didn’t care.

He rubbed my back. “I was very proud of you back there, kicking and struggling until you forced him to drop you.”

I stayed silent for a few minutes trying to figure out where things went wrong. “This really is a crappy car. There’s no window handle, what do you do in the rain? The seats are so bad my butt feels like it’s banging on the floor, not to mention I can hardly see out the window.”

“I’m a drug dealer, remember?”

“Not a very good one, apparently.”

“I’m taking you to a safe house, where you will stay put. I’ll make sure you have what you need and then I’ll have to leave to help track Ramon. I’m trusting that when I come back you’ll be right where I left you.”

“What kind of stupid program is this? You don’t leave witnesses unprotected, I watch enough television to know that some fat guy stands guard and plays cards.”

“You’re going to pay for driving me nuts. I’m taking you to a house that no one knows about except me and now you.”

If his eyes hadn’t been smiling at me, the shivers running up my spine might have been those of fear. I entwined my fingers in his. “I’ll do my very best to do everything you ask.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “When this is over, come away with me—or will you make me kidnap you?”

“You’d force me?”

He ran his finger down my cheek. “A little uninterrupted time and I wouldn’t have to.”

My cheeks burned red. I turned my face to the window; “uninterrupted time” had me smiling.

He cut through all the seedy areas of town and jumped on the turnpike back to the Keys. I thought he planned to stash me in The Cove somewhere, but he passed up all the exits and headed further south. It surprised me when he got off at Hibiscus Key, which I assumed was nothing more than a turn-around for those going the wrong direction. A few feet ahead he veered off the pavement and onto a dirt road that wound its way toward a wall of trees where the road became paved again, curving around, hugging the water, passing an occasional house that didn’t look lived in. The smell of the ocean had me breathing deeply. I realized that I felt content and safe with Creole, knowing he’d never let anything happen to me. At the end of the road, he parked in the driveway of a welcoming beach cottage that sat perched over the edge of the water.

“It’s so beautiful and quiet out here.” I looked around in awe, watching the egrets stroll the beach looking for food. As soon as the car engine died, the sounds of the water splashing against the rocks could be heard along the stretch of pristine white sand that discouraged visitors, forbidding parking on the street. “Whose house is this?” I followed him to the front door.

Creole inserted a key in the lock, and scooped me off my feet, carrying me inside, kicking the door closed. “Mine.”

The one room open floor plan had an unobstructed view of the water through a solid wall of sliding glass pocket doors that opened onto a patio, complete with swimming pool, that overlooked the Gulf.

“Are you going to put me down? Give me a tour?” I asked.

He slid my body down the front of his until my toes touched the floor and I thought I’d catch fire. He captured my mouth in his, and my lips slightly parted as I inhaled a shivered breath. I wanted his kiss as much as he wanted mine.

He grabbed my forearms and pushed me back. “Enough. I have to go.”

“Don’t take this off.” I ran my hands under his shirt, feeling up his bulletproof vest.

He took me into the kitchen with its bamboo cabinetry and flooring, granite countertops, and top-of-the-line appliances. “Since I know you’re a wiz with the microwave, you won’t go hungry with what’s in the freezer.” He opened the door to an impressive pantry and pulled out a can of my favorite coffee, setting it onto the counter. “I plan ahead.”

I hugged him hard. “So I don’t go near the windows, what else?”

“Don’t go out of this house, except for the patio area. No calls, which is why I’m keeping your phone.” He opened the drawer where a Smith and Wesson lay next to the can opener. “Just in case. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.”

I fisted my hand in the front of his shirt. “Listen to me very carefully, Mr. Luc Baptiste, a.k.a. Creole, I’ll be quite vexed with you if you get hurt.”

“That reminds me,” he said, as he picked me up and carried me into the bathroom, setting me onto the toilet seat. He opened the cabinet and took out some peroxide and cotton balls, and kneeled down onto the floor and cleaned my knee.

He looked so serious it amused me. “Thank you for rescuing me,” I said as I ran my fingers through his messy hair, kissing the top of his head.

“When I heard you scream I wanted to kill that gorilla-looking bastard,” he growled.

When he finished playing doctor, he kissed my owie and I sighed, wishing both knees had been scrapped. “This house is amazing.” The claw-foot tub faced the window; even the bathroom had a view, along with a walk-in shower that had room for four with multiple showerheads coming from all directions.

“I hired a contractor for the outside, but did the work on every square inch of the interior myself. This is my hideaway and it needed to be comfortable.”

“I’m impressed.” On the way into the bathroom we had passed a king-sized bed that sat tucked behind a double screen. It, too, enjoyed the same incredible water view.

He wrapped his arms around my middle and carried me to the couch, laying his head against my stomach. “My house is your house, so make yourself comfortable. Don’t forget your promise.”

“I don’t want you to go. You know how you don’t like it when I get hurt, well I won’t like it if you come back to me with so much as a scratch. All those cops and you couldn’t shoot the bad guys?”

“It makes my job easier if they’re hauled in alive so we can squeeze information out of them about friends and associates. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back in a few to check on you.” He kissed me chastely on the lips and left.

The door closed softly and the silence engulfed me. It felt weird to be out in the middle of nowhere by myself with a very long walk to the main road.

I prowled around the house for a while, and then stood on the deck admiring the view. Sucking in the salty air, the steadiness of the Gulf waters calmed my nerves. I knew that if I didn’t think of something fast, I’d break my promise and walk back to town, hiding out at the funeral home—at least I’d have someone to talk to. The only thing that stopped me, Creole angry was more than likely akin to controlling a wet cat.

Since I’d been told to treat this as my own house, I snooped through every cupboard. Creole had excellent taste. I never took baths but today would be the exception. I helped myself to the thickest bath towel I’d ever run my hand over, a cigar, dish soap, and a bestselling thriller novel from ten years ago that I found. I’d seen the movie, but everyone knows the book is always better.

I filled the tub with water and got a little carried away with my makeshift bubbles. Thank goodness he had decent lotion in the cabinet for what would be my dried out, pruney skin. The man thought of everything. I sighed, leaning back against a large bath pillow, not one of the squatty ones that barely supported one’s neck.

If this were my bathroom, I’d rethink my bathing ritual. It felt indulgent to sit in piles of bubbles, cigar hanging out of my mouth, looking out over the water, music blaring in from the living room. I forgot all about the book and dozed off, one leg hanging over the side so I didn’t slip in and drown.

My foot twitched as something large crawled across the bottom. I jerked upright and screamed, kicking water all over the window and floor, my eyes flying open.