Paradise Crime Thrillers Box Set

by Toby Neal

  “That evil bitch!” Sophie balled her fists. “I’m planning to try to bargain with the CIA to trade Pim Wat for Hamilton. Regardless, my mother will never breathe free air again.”

  “Hamilton. Now there’s an interesting situation.” Jake’s voice had gone silky, casual. “Did you know the guy has blue eyes? And blond hair?”

  Sophie went very still. Her hand massaged the scar on her cheekbone. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out.

  “Without his glasses, contacts and hair dye, Hamilton, or Connor, as he tells me his first name is, bears a striking resemblance to your old boyfriend, Todd Remarkian. I don’t know how you’ve kept all those identities straight. Downright confusing for a poor jarhead like me.”

  “Oh, Jake.” Sophie shut her eyes, rubbed them. “I wanted to tell you. He wouldn’t let me.”

  “And you had to listen to him?” Jake’s voice rose. “You had to lie to me? Choose loyalty to him over me?”

  “It wasn’t like that. It . . .” Her throat worked. “It wasn’t my secret to tell. There were reasons. Big reasons.”

  “Don’t worry, Sophie, the Ghost is out of the bag. I outed your boyfriend to the CIA. McDonald is collaborating with your FBI friend Marcella to put a case together. It’s all going to come out in the wash, as they say. If Connor, or whatever his name is, ever gets out of the Yām Khûmkạn compound, he’ll have a cell waiting for him.”

  “What have you done?” Sophie unwound her legs, stood up. She paced back and forth, tugging at handfuls of her hair. “Oh, Jake! Connor does good in the world! What have you done?”

  “This is what’s always been there. The bomb I was waiting for.” Jake blew out a breath. “I knew it was too good to be true, that you chose me, that we were together. There was something off about Hamilton, but I didn’t have all the pieces. I just couldn’t put it all together. Then, when we were on the mission and captured, I thought Connor . . . was a friend. I tried to save him from torture, tried to help him.” Jake’s pain throbbed in his words. “And all along, you two were together. Conspiring. Keeping secrets. Were you sleeping with him?”

  “No. It wasn’t like that.” Sophie raised her voice. He had to believe her! “Yes, I knew who Connor was, but he betrayed me when he faked the Todd Remarkian death. It killed my trust, killed my feelings for him. He tried to win me back, I’ll grant you that, but it was you, Jake, you that I chose.” Tears that felt as thick as oil welled in her eyes. “Don’t make me regret that choice.”

  “I already do. Did you read my letter? Look at the box I left you on the bedside table?”

  Sophie shut her eyes. “I did not. I was too upset about you both marooning me on the island. I just wanted to focus on getting Momi back. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” Jake’s voice strengthened. “I’m glad you didn’t read my sniveling protestations of love. When you get back to the island, throw that letter in the shredder, will you? But mail me back the ring—I’m going to our Big Island office from here, so you can send it to me there. It’s my grandmother’s ring, and my mom will want it back.”

  Sophie’s voice caught in a sob. “Really? After all we’ve been through? This is how it ends?”

  “Yep. This is how it ends. But here’s something to make it easier for you—I slept with two hookers last night, and drank a fifth of Scotch. I don’t regret a thing.” Jake ended the call.

  Sophie collapsed on the bed, muffling her weeping into her cousin’s pillow.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Day Twenty-Eight

  Sophie dug her way into her cousin’s bed and buried herself under the covers. A stretch of dim and horribly painful time went by. The depression’s jaws clamped down on her shredded throat, and she didn’t even try to fight it.

  Eventually, she felt her aunt’s hand on her shoulder. “Sophie. Whatever is going on, your daughter needs you.”

  Momi’s wails penetrated the fog that had settled over Sophie. She took the child into her nest of covers, cuddling and soothing her, but Momi arched and fought, inconsolable.

  “She seems colicky,” Armita said from the doorway. “I had to get a different brand of formula this time, and it doesn’t seem to agree with her.”

  “I’ve put out the word we’re looking for a wet nurse,” Malee said. “I think human milk would be best for her. In the meantime, I ran a bath for you two in our big whirlpool tub. The hot water might help.”

  “Where’s Pim Wat?” Sophie could barely open her swollen eyes.

  “Tied up and secure,” Armita said. “Did you think we’d let her get away? I’ll kill her myself, first. Come, Sophie. Get in the bath. You and your baby can cry together in there, if it makes you feel better.”

  Sophie gave a wet chuckle. “Jake and I broke up.”

  “Your boyfriend? Oh dear, that’s too bad,” Malee murmured, but her eyes were on her phone. “He’s not much of a gentleman, dumping you at a vulnerable time like this.”

  “It’s complicated . . .” Tears welled in Sophie’s eyes again. Momi howled, drowning her words.

  “You don’t need a man,” Armita said. “We can take care of our girl just fine without a penis in our midst.”

  Clearly, the women in Sophie’s life weren’t sympathetic to her broken heart.

  Sophie got out of bed, holding her crying baby close, and followed Armita into her aunt’s palatial bathroom. A huge sunken tub awaited, gently steaming. Armita helped Sophie by taking the baby so she could disrobe, then handing Sophie the naked child once she was safely settled on the tub’s built-in seat.

  Momi blinked her tightly shut eyes as the warm water touched her skin. She flailed in reflex, arching to howl again. Sophie tucked her arms in close, pressing her baby against her chest. She sank a little deeper into the water, so only Sophie’s shoulders and Momi’s head were not submerged.

  Gradually, the child began to relax. “There you are, my darling, beautiful girl. Hello. Does your tummy hurt? Oh, my dear, my tummy hurts too. So does my heart.” Sophie kissed and snuggled the infant, and Momi’s plump, pink mouth suckled at her wet skin.

  Sophie suddenly remembered her dream—that dream she’d had of nursing her child in the bath! Her milk had let down just from the dream. What a bizarre déjà vu! Sophie moved to the shallower end of the bath, and offered her breast. Momi clamped on, giving a happy little grunt. Sophie bit her tongue on a gasp of pain. She gazed down at Momi’s contented face and felt, miracle of miracles, the powerful sensation of her milk letting down.

  “Oh, my dear one.” Tears rose in Sophie’s eyes yet again—she was living the dream she’d had, a dream that had sustained her. Her grief over Jake and the lurking depression receded as feel-good hormones flooded her system.

  Her daughter was her priority.

  She shut her eyes and felt nothing but blissful, pure, maternal love—until her breast ran dry a moment later, and Momi growled in frustration. “Yes, darling, we’re going to have to work up to a full meal for you out of these poor dried-up things,” she murmured, and put her daughter on the other side.

  Later, with Momi down for a nap, Sophie called her aunt and nanny into the dining room. Freshly dressed, her hair brushed out, Sophie was up and moving and she planned to stay that way. “We need a plan. A strategy. Jake is out of my life for now, so I’ll be going forward alone. We can’t let the Master get Pim Wat back—she’s too dangerous, and there’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll come after us if she ever gets loose. I want you, Malee, to monitor her phone. The Master will eventually call her. How long was she visiting you for?”

  “She didn’t say. But Pim Wat usually swoops in on me for three to five days.” Malee rubbed coconut oil into her bruised throat as she spoke. “He’s only called once, that I’m aware of, when she had stayed a week.”

  “Good. That gives us a little time. Where is her phone? I need to get his number. I know I told McDonald that I wanted them to make a trade for me, but I’m virtually sure they won’t help us get Connor back.”<
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  “Why do you need to get Connor back?” Armita’s triangular face and uplifted brows expressed a certain mulish annoyance. “I think you might be better off with a completely fresh start from these men in your life.”

  “Hamilton is very important to me—and to our company, Security Solutions, for reasons I can’t go into right now. I owe him a lot for trying to get Momi back for me—in fact, I owe a debt to all the men who gave their lives to that mission.” Sophie blew out a shaky breath. “I have to try to get him returned. I have the advantage of already knowing what the Master wants me to do—give bone marrow for the crown prince. I will negotiate Connor’s release in trade for that.”

  “Doing the donation is a good thing,” Malee agreed. “Our cousin is only a child.”

  “I would do it for that reason alone,” Sophie said. “The proposed trade is just a way to get Hamilton back, but the Master doesn’t have to know that. Give me Mother’s phone. I need to get into it to obtain the Master’s number.”

  Sophie plugged the phone into her laptop and used one of her decryption programs to unlock her mother’s phone password. The whole enterprise took about five minutes.

  Armita peered over her shoulder as Sophie scrolled through the numbers on the phone. “The Master” was listed under Favorites.

  “I was hoping to find out his real name,” Sophie said.

  “Everyone in the Yām Khûmkạn gives up his name. They get a number, and a designation. They no longer hold their former identities,” Armita said.

  Sophie frowned. “In all my research about the Yām Khûmkạn, I couldn’t find out even that basic fact.”

  “There is no substitute for in-person espionage,” Armita said. “Lack of individuality is another layer of anonymity for their agents, as well as a tool to bond the men to the cause.”

  Sophie cocked a brow. “You have definitely added to your skill set and knowledge base.” She patted her former nanny’s arm. “I am so glad that you will be here, helping me raise Momi. Now that I have the Master’s contact information, I just have to call the CIA back and see if they have decided about helping me negotiate Connor’s release. If they have, I will let them take the lead with the Yām Khûmkạn. If they have not . . .”

  “In any case, you should call the baby’s father and let him know Momi is safe,” Armita said. “He deserves that.”

  A twist of guilt cramped Sophie’s belly. “Of course. That was next on my list.”

  How had she somehow forgotten that Alika was a player in her child’s life? She had been so focused on getting the baby back, on bonding with her child again, that she had forgotten she shared Momi with him, and his family. And her own father, too!

  She would have to figure out how sharing Momi with Alika could work. She had planned to stay on Phi Ni Island for the immediate future, to conduct negotiations for Connor’s release, and resume Security Solutions business from there.

  She was definitely not going back to her apartment on the Big Island. Right now, she couldn’t be in the same building as Jake, let alone working closely with him at that extension office.

  Those days were over.

  Sophie refused to cry any more over the breakup. He had made his choice, and it was to walk away from her. She stood by her decision not to tell him Connor’s identity—it hadn’t been her secret to tell. She’d never been unfaithful to Jake, and if he couldn’t believe that, it was his problem.

  Some part of her wasn’t even surprised—she had always been braced for the moment when Jake reached his limit with the secrets that surrounded her. But it didn’t make it hurt less.

  Refreshing her tea, Sophie sat down and called Alika on the secure satellite phone. He was shocked to hear that she and Jake had broken up. “What? No way.”

  “It was Jake’s choice. There were secrets I kept from him for reasons that he doesn’t understand. But I don’t want you to blame him,” Sophie said. “I don’t blame him.” As she spoke the words, she knew they were true. “We all have deal breakers, as Marcella calls them. Jake discovered one, with me.”

  “Your relationship is none of my business,” Alika said, with deliberate calm. “But my daughter is my business. And I want Momi safe, and back in the United States as soon as possible.”

  Sophie wasn’t ready to return—there was too much to do here. “I understand why you feel that way. It’s just that things are so unsettled right now. We will have to cross that bridge when we come to it, Alika, and figure out an arrangement that works for both of us. But for the short term, can you plan to come visit us here in Thailand, as soon as I know where we’ll be?”

  Alika breathed audibly. He must be frantic to see his daughter again, and Sophie appreciated that he was trying not to be controlling or possessive. “I’ll be on the next plane out the minute you give me the word. Please keep me posted. I’m sure my mom and Tutu will want to come as well.”

  “They’d be welcome. I’m planning to go back to . . . the place where I was before.” She didn’t want to name Phi Ni aloud; and she still had concerns that the Yām Khûmkạn might have pried its location out of Connor. Sophie sighed, staring out her aunt’s window to where a brightly colored bird drank from the garden fountain. “Thank you for being so steady for me through all of this. Have you had any more troubles from the police?”

  “No. Detective Jenkins will be glad to hear you and our girl are reunited, I’m sure.” Alika sighed too. “I can’t wait to see our baby. Thank you for being the incredible warrior that you are, getting our daughter back.”

  “A warrior. Yes, I like that. Momi has the best of both of us.” She’d always loved that Alika believed in her, reveled in her competence, and never doubted her. Nothing Sophie did threatened his masculinity. Even when she had beaten him in the MMA ring, he’d found her sexy and attractive.

  Such different dynamics with each of the men she’d loved—Connor had enjoyed her online skills and competing with her in cat and mouse games; Jake had needed to beat her in the ring at first, but had come to be a true partner with time. Alika had been a mentor, a teacher, and a true friend. Now she had none of them.

  As if reading her mind, Alika cleared his throat. “Since you told me about Jake . . . I think I should let you know that Sandy and I are dating.”

  “Sandy? Your physical therapist?” Sophie had been impressed with the attractive blonde double amputee when she met her.

  “Yep.” His voice was upbeat; he sounded happy. “Obviously, I’m not her client any more. But we found we have a lot in common, and we’re enjoying spending time together.”

  Sandy, a former medic and Afghanistan IED explosion survivor, was a perfect match for Alika with her athleticism and helping profession. She wouldn’t endanger him as Sophie had. Sophie squelched a twinge of possessive jealousy as she thought of the woman becoming a family with Alika and her child. Time enough to adjust to that as it unfolded. “Don’t put the cart before the horse,” Marcella would say.

  “I’m so glad for you, Alika. You deserve every happiness.” She meant it sincerely.

  “You, too, Soph. Don’t give up. Things have a way of resolving in unexpected and perfect ways.”

  “You’re always so positive. I struggle more with the dark side of things. But I’m finding our daughter to be a great antidote for that. It even looks like I might be able to breastfeed her after all.” Sophie wrapped up the conversation after sending him a phone photo of their sleeping baby.

  The next call Sophie made was to McDonald at the CIA. As she had been concerned he would, he told her that the agency could not get involved with her negotiations for Connor. “But we want Pim Wat.”

  “What can the CIA do to help me get Connor back?” Sophie asked harshly. “I’m not giving you something for nothing.”

  “We will be there as backup in the Yām Khûmkạn’s territory. The minute Connor is released, we will fetch him. We’ll keep both of you safe, in any attempts at an exchange. We just can’t go on the offensive on behalf of a
single citizen.”

  “Not just a single citizen. Seven of our men and their guide were cut down in cold blood, unless you have forgotten them already,” Sophie said angrily. “I want you to locate their bodies in that mass grave in the jungle. Get the bodies back to their families.”

  McDonald seemed to be thinking that over. “We can do that,” he said at last. “I can also stand by while you call the Master to negotiate for Connor. I can lend the backup weight of the U.S. Government to your negotiations.”

  “An empty offer and an excuse to listen in on me. No, thank you. I’ve seen how long it takes for you to make any decisions or take any action.”

  “I’m sorry if it seems that way. We have protocols, because quick action often has unintended consequences. That said—let us take Pim Wat off your hands. She’s a dangerous security risk and could impede your negotiations with the Master if he finds out you have her. What is your location?”

  The responsibility of keeping her mother prisoner when the Master might come looking for her with his ninja armies was a little bit terrifying.

  Sophie gave the address of her aunt’s house. “I prefer to reach out to the Master after you pick up my mother. I don’t want to take the chance that he can trace my contact, and come after my location.”

  “I’ll be there within the hour,” McDonald said, and ended the call.

  Sophie got up and went into the living room, where Malee and Armita were playing with Momi. Both women looked up. “She had a good nap,” Armita said. “I weighed her, and she’s gaining, which is good. She’s up two hundred grams.”

  “Good. I guess the combo of breast milk and formula agrees with her.” Sophie put her hands on her hips. “You two need to figure out a way to get to Hamilton’s island, Phi Ni, without being detected. Work on that, while I go talk to Mother.”