Ring of Lies (35 page)

‘
I know the truth now, Jack.
He never loved me.
Not for a minute.
How he
must have laughed at my
naivety
.
’

‘
You’re not
naïve
, Grace.
If you were
,
you would have accepted the contents of
his
will without question.
As it is,
Daniel didn’t deserve to have you as his wife.
End of story.
Now come on
,
let’s go back to the house before you catch pneumonia.
’
He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided
her up the beach
.

They
reached the dunes
when
Jack
heard the unmistakeable throb of a powerful outboard engine.
Swiftly
,
he
pulled Grace into the shadows cast by a
Cabbage palm.
It wasn’t much protection, but it was all
there was
.
A powerful
searchlight
swept the beach
then settled on
the windows of
Sand Dollars
.

‘
What—
’

‘
Don’t move,
’
he breathed, reaching for his gun
once more
.
He
pushed
her further into the shadows.

‘
It looks as if word has got out that Daniel
’s
widow
is back on the island.
’
He slipped off the safety and braced his legs, ready to take aim.

‘
But
less than
half a dozen people know I’m here,
’
she
hissed
.

‘
Yeah.
Which means one of them is in direct contact with Daniel’s associates.
’
He
felt her pulse
quicken
and g
ooseflesh ripple over her skin
where he held her wrist
.

‘
All the more reason
to move into a hotel
,
’
she said softly
, and filled her lungs with one deep breath, then another.

‘
Wrong.
All the more reason to stay
,
’
he whispered.

‘
But—
’

Jack clamped a hand over
her
mouth.
T
he
engine
died
.
Two
more
men appeared on deck.
Heavily accented v
oices floated on the wind.
One of the
m
turned and
shouted something in Spanish.

Jack
held his breath, while the cruiser
drifted with the current.
He
tightened his grip on his gun
as the searchlight travelled the length of the house
one more time
before
alighting
on the dunes.

‘
Do you think they saw us?
’
Grace whispered.

‘
If I was them, I’d have seen us.
’

‘
Then we’re in danger,
’
she whimpered.
‘
We have to go—now!
’

When the searchlight lit up the bushes on Jack’s left, he swung Grace into his arms
.
His lips brushed against hers as he spoke.
‘
Don’t fight me, Grace.
This is just for show.
I want the guys on the boat to think we’re a couple of sex starved
adolescents
making out.
’

Grace watched him with a kind of int
ensity that made his blood heat
and his hormones leap.
He
continued to
stroke her back
, telling himself he was only soothing her, keeping her calm.
He didn’t believe it.
His fingertips brushed her
cheek and
he
felt her shiver in response.
The
need to kiss
her
, feel her lips on his,
sent
desire
pulsing through his body.
He closed his eyes for the space of a
long breath
and
fought an inner battle.
O
nly the imminent threat presented by the men on the boat prevented him from doing what he’d
wanted to do
six months ago.

As suddenly as it had stopped, t
he engine growled into life
once more
.
The searchlight went out and the boat roared off into the darkness.

Jack waited a few minutes to be sure no one had come
ashore
t
hen stepped out onto the path.

‘
Let’s go.
’
He kept his arm firmly around
Grace’s
waist and started
running
toward the hou
se, but instead of going inside
he continued down the drive until he reached
his
car
.
He
unlocked it
,
pushed her
in
side
, and handed her the keys
.

‘
Lock the doors
.
W
ait here until I
’ve checked the house
.
I
f anyone other than me comes
drive
to the nearest house, pound on the door
, and
tell
whoever answers to call
nine-one-one
.
’

‘
But I can’t ask a total—
’

‘
I mean it.
Don’t ask them
. Tell them
.
Understand?
’

Grace bobbed her head.

Jack
heard
the locks click
,
then
turned and
climbed the porch steps.
The hallway was empty, just as he’d left it
.
He went through
the rooms
, one by one, checking the windows, and ensuring the doors were securely locked
.
Satisfied that
no one was in the
house, he went back for Grace.
By the time he got her
inside
she was
shaking with cold and her skin and taken on a ghostly pallor.

‘
We need to get you warm,
’
he said, and herded her up the stairs and into
the
bathroom.
He turned on the faucet
.
He tested the water and
said a
silent
pray of
thanks
to
whoever had the
foresight to install solar panels
.

‘
Get out of those wet clothes and into the shower
. I’ll
fix you a drink.
’

Left alone,
Grace stripped and stepped into the stream of
hot
water.
While s
team swirled around her
body
the
realization that she’d have welcomed
Jack’s kiss sent a quiver of heat of a different kind surging through her veins.

She was grieving and vulnerable
,
yet the need to be touched and held by a man was so strong that she’d almost given into temptation
.
She rested her head against the tile.
No longer bound by her marriage vows she was free to do as she chose, yet an affair with Jack would be perilous for both of them.
While s
h
e was free,
he wasn’t.
He had a wife and a daughter
. A
nd no matter how strong the attraction, she could
n’t
destroy his marriage
and the li
ves
of
his wife and
child
.