Her First Vacation (22 page)

Colin had hoped to see Claire at dinner. He didn’t want to
think about her hiding in her room. But she didn’t put in an appearance and he
had no time to go hunting for her. After the scene in the dining room that
morning, Garret had gone on something of a tear. He’d spent most of the day in
the casino, gambling and drinking. Colin made a point of asking about Claire
and Garret gave a very graphic explanation of what he thought she needed. By
the time he wound down, Colin was using every last bit of self-control he
possessed to refrain from closing his hands around the sick bastard’s throat
and choking the life out of him. Garret wasn’t accustomed to not getting his
way, especially where women were concerned. He was royally ticked off that
Claire hadn’t succumbed to his seduction. So ticked off that Colin worried that
he might wind up having to take Garret into custody before he was ready, just
to make sure the prick didn’t go after Claire.

After dinner, Garret snagged Cathy and headed for his room.
He’d been toying with her since the cruise had begun and clearly he’d decided
it was time to stop playing. Colin made sure they were going to be staying in
Garret’s room. He listened to them long enough to be sure that Cathy wasn’t
getting herself into something she couldn’t handle, then flipped off the sound
on the surveillance equipment and went to bed before he did something insane
like heading for Claire’s room to make sure she was okay. As if that’s all he
wanted to do. He stretched out on the bed, ignoring the heavy thumping of his
heart as he remembered the feel of her, the smell of her,
the
taste. He had it
bad,
there was no doubt about it. He
was crazy about her. Not just the way their bodies joined, but every last
detail of who she was. She made him want things he’d never even considered
before. He knew it couldn’t happen, though. He wasn’t built for the kind of
life Claire deserved. He was too hard, too cynical, too scarred by his own
mistakes. Claire was clean and pure and innocent. He wouldn’t dare destroy more
of that than he already had.

Colin spotted Claire in the dining room the next morning.
Many of the same people who’d witnessed Garret’s outburst the morning before
were there as well, but Claire ignored them as she ate alone. Colin ignored his
own food as he watched her. Garret was sleeping late this morning. Apparently
Cathy had proved athletic enough to satisfy his needs. Or maybe he was just
sleeping off the effects of all the drinking. Either way, he was still snoring
loudly when Colin left his room this morning. Obviously he was going back to
his habit of sleeping in since he was no longer trying to impress Claire.
Sooner or later he’d come out of his room, though, and when he did, there would
be no doubt about where he would go. He’d go ashore.
This
morning or this afternoon or tonight.
Eventually he’d leave the ship and
Colin would be right behind him. The time had finally come. Garret had even
mentioned it last night. He said he was going ashore today, that he had a
friend to meet. So Colin knew it would happen and he’d reported as much to his
handler. By tonight, Garret’s contact would be tagged and Garret’s life, as he
knew it, would be over. The ship would leave on its final leg of the journey
and there would be just one more day before Garret would find himself on the
wrong end of a pair of handcuffs. Colin could hardly contain his eagerness to
get to that moment. He was going to thoroughly enjoy seeing the expression on
Palmer’s face when he told him he was busted. It was going to be sweet.

Garret came out of his room just before lunch. He made a
pig of himself, as usual,
then
announced that he was
going ashore and suggested that Colin come with him. It would be a while before
he had to meet his friend, and there was plenty to see and do in the meantime.
The island was having a festival tonight. There would be plenty of food, drinks
and women. To hear Garret talk, it was just this side of a public orgy. Then
again, Garret did constantly think with his dick. He made it clear that when
the time for his meeting came, it would be private, and Colin didn’t hesitate
to say that was fine with him. Garret implied that he was meeting a
woman,
a woman who was married to the kind of man who
wouldn’t appreciate finding out his wife was screwing another man. Colin
figured it could be nothing more than a story Garret had coughed up on the spur
of the moment or it might even be true. It would be very much in keeping with
Garret’s personality if his offshore contact turned out to be some woman he’d
seduced into helping him. Colin sincerely hoped that proved to be the case. If
so, she’d undoubtedly prove easier to break than a hardened criminal.

By the time night began to fall, the festival was in full
swing. Colin had latched onto a local woman who’d appeared more than willing to
keep him entertained. Garret had kept himself firmly unattached to any females.
That alone was out of character enough to make Colin tense. Just about the time
things got going really good, Garret ducked out. Colin gave him a couple of
seconds’ head start, then excused himself from his female companion and went
after his target. He linked up with his handler over the satellite connection
they’d established earlier and whispered softly into the transceiver just
beneath the collar of his shirt.

“He’s making the move.”

He heard a reply in his ear. “We’ve got you. Can you see
him?”

“Yeah, about a hundred yards ahead of me, turning to the
right.”

“We can’t pick him out of the crowd.”

“I know. I’ll stay close until things begin to thin out a
bit.”

So Colin followed Garret through the crowded streets,
almost losing him a couple of times in the sea of dancing, drinking revelers.
It didn’t take long to realize that Garret was being very cautious. He doubled
back on himself several times, made a number of unexpected turns and basically
did everything in his power to shake anyone who might be following him. Maybe
his efforts would have worked on anyone less determined than Colin. But Colin
wasn’t about to let Palmer shake him. Not in a million years. Colin kept his
gaze locked on Garret as he ducked through the crowd, always staying close
enough to watch him but far enough away to easily keep Garret from spotting
him. Just to make it a little more difficult, he snatched a straw hat off a
drunk who’d passed out against a wall and jammed it on his head, then snagged
an absurdly florid shirt off a clothes line and shrugged into it. He altered
his gate, hunching his shoulders a bit to alter his silhouette. Finally, after
more than half an hour of apparently aimless wandering, Garret decided he
wasn’t being followed and started moving in a straight line.

Colin spoke softly to his handler. “He’s going.”

“Yeah, we’ve got him now that he isn’t meandering around so
much.” There was silence as Colin continued to stick with Garret. Colin knew
how things were working. This was a big moment for the operation. Big enough
that arrangements had been made to gain access to a satellite that was at this
very moment tracking every move Colin and Garret were taking. It was high
dollar technology that wasn’t typically used for things like this. It was
generally reserved for the more secretive branches of government. It just went
to remind Colin of how much was riding on this night. His superiors were
pulling out all the stops to make this thing go smoothly, and it fell to him to
make sure nothing went wrong.

In the end, nothing did. Colin followed Garret through the
increasing shadows, ditching the shirt and hat once they became more of a
liability than an asset. He hugged the walls, staying in the deepest shadows as
he trailed Garret silently. Eventually, Garret reached his destination. It was
a small house, though hardly on par with the huts most of the locals lived in.
When Garret knocked on the door, it was opened by a woman. Colin was close
enough to hear her tell him how pleased she was to see him just before Garret
jerked her into his arms and stuck his tongue down her throat. Seconds later,
they were stumbling into the house, and Garret was kicking the door closed
behind them. Colin got close enough to use an extremely sensitive listening
device to monitor them through the walls. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to
figure out that they weren’t talking business. They weren’t talking at all.
Colin felt a momentary flash of concern that Garret might have been telling the
truth earlier when he’d said he was going to meet a married lover. But then he
realized that it wouldn’t make sense for Garret to be so cautious about
potentially being followed if all he was doing was having an affair with a
married woman. No, he was hiding much more than that.

Half an hour later, they’d finished and everything was
silent for a short while. Garret was the first one to speak.

“Where are you going?”

“As much as I’d like to remain in your arms, I’m afraid
that I can’t. Carlos has become particularly suspicious of late. It would go
badly for both of us if he were to decide to check on me.”

Colin could hear the irritation in Garret’s voice. “The old
bastard is nothing to worry about.”

“Ah, but you know that isn’t true. Carlos may be old, but
he’s still very much in control.
For the moment, at least.
Soon, I will rid myself of him once and for all. It must be done carefully,
though. You know no one can ever suspect that it is anything other than
natural.”

“How can you bear to let him touch you?”

“Why, I just pretend it is you and my blood heats like
wildfire.”

Colin could hear enough to know that they were kissing
again. Finally, she must have pushed him away.

“No, we cannot risk taking more time. Carlos will look for
me, and he won’t be pleased if he learns I’m not where he left me.”

“How long, Malena, until you finish him?”

“A few weeks at the most.
He’s
already weakening. He hides it well, from everyone but me. Eventually, he will
no longer be able to conceal it. Then, when he dies in my bed, no one will
doubt that his heart failed him. After enough time, I will announce that my
grief is too much for me to bear. I will leave, claiming that I cannot
withstand the torment of being surrounded by so many memories of my lost
beloved. No one would dare to question me. I have been such a faithful wife to
him.”

The woman’s laugh was anything but pleasant. Colin heard
his handler speak in his ear. “I’ll be damned.”

Colin didn’t ask the question the statement sparked in his
mind. After a few seconds, his handler spoke again. “Carlos Azerado. And she’s
his wife, Malena. Azerado is in bed with half the drug czars in Latin America.
He’s got his hands into drugs and arms dealing. He must be the key we’ve been
looking for.”

Inside the house, Colin heard Malena speaking again. “I
overheard him mention your name just yesterday.”

“In what context?”

“The one you like. He was reporting how faithful you have
been, discussing how quickly you took care of the problem on your last visit.”

“Good. As long as he keeps on thinking of me as a friend,
we don’t have anything to worry about.”

“What about the package you’re to deliver tonight?”

“I’ll hand it off right after I leave here.”

There was silence inside, though Colin could hear a rustle
that suggested they were finishing the readjustment of their clothes. Finally,
Malena spoke again. “I’m going to miss you terribly.”

Garret’s laugh was full of wry amusement. “No you won’t.
You’ll find someone new to warm your bed, and you’ll forget all about me.”

“I might replace you, but I will never forget you.”

Colin listened as they locked lips once more.

“Do
me
a favor, okay? When it
finally happens, and he’s sucking in his last breath, tell him about us.”

“I had already intended to do so. Just to see the look on
his face when he realizes that I only allowed the touch of his cold hands on my
body because I wanted his money. He’ll die knowing how deeply we shamed him. I
swear it.”

Colin moved away from the house. He’d heard enough and knew
that within minutes, Garret would be leaving. Once he was well hidden in the
shadows across the street, he spoke to his handler.

“Are there enough people on the ground to track both Malena
and the package?”

“Yeah.
I’ve already taken care of
it. You stick with Palmer, just to make sure he doesn’t pull anything funny.
Once we’re sure he’s back on the ship safe and sound, we’ll handle all the
rest.”

Less than five minutes later, Garret left the house. Colin
didn’t bother looking for whoever it was out there that was going to trail
Malena. He had enough sense to guess what would happen, though. Someone would
get on her tail and stay there until everyone was certain Garret Palmer was
safely secured. Then, agents would move in and snatch both Malena and the
package Garret was dropping off. His handler would have been recording every
word of what Garret and Malena had said inside the house. They’d use that as
leverage against Malena. If Azerado had the connections his handler suggested,
she’d have no choice but to roll over on him. That or they’d feed her to him on
a silver platter along with a copy of the tape that detailed her plans for her
husband. Or they’d threaten to, at least. She’d cave in, and what she gave them
would give them Azerado. He, in turn would give them everyone one he knew, and
like a house of cards, the whole operation would come crashing down. All thanks
to Garret Palmer, who’d be at the very bottom of the
heap.

Colin felt no small measure of satisfaction knowing that
everyone involved would point the finger of blame at Palmer. His life wouldn’t
be worth spit. He’d get the death penalty for what he’d done to Charlie, but
Colin doubted he’d live long enough to be executed by the federal government.
More than one of the people who would go down on this thing would want to take
some revenge on him. He’d die all right, and it wouldn’t be by any nice, humane
lethal injection.