Leaving my hair wet, I twisting it on top of my head and secured it in place with a clip before pulling on shorts, tank top and flip-flops. When I reached the observation deck, I stopped short in surprise, taking in the view.
“We came back to Miami?”
Instead of heading toward the Bahamas as planned, the boat had sailed back to our starting point. The difference was that this time, we hadn’t sailed right into the harbor. The Dark Side was at anchor just off the coast.
Theo nodded and pulled out a chair at the table where he was seated.
“Come and join me, Christie.”
He poured me coffee and indicated the breakfast buffet. I shook my head at the food, but took the coffee gratefully.
“Where did you go when you left our cabin at two a.m. this morning?”
Even though I had been anticipating the interrogation, my hand wobbled slightly and I had to place my coffee cup down. It was almost a relief to do this. To be able to stop pretending.
“I think you already know.”
There was a trace of sadness in his smile. It did something strange to my heart. Hurt it in a way I hadn’t expected. “Tell me anyway.”
“I went to Ferran Garcia’s cabin. I intended to kill him.” I took a quick gulp of coffee. “But when I got there he was already dead.”
I looked into his eyes and my soul shattered. The truth was there in those dark depths, drawing me in, pulling me under, drowning me. My heart began to slam wildly against my ribs as my mind spun out of control. My whole body began to tremble in time with the shock pumping through my veins.
“It was you.” The words rasped past my lips. “You killed him.”
His lips quirked into a smile. “How will it work, Christie? Ferran is dead, even though you didn’t kill him. Will the Signora still pay your bonus? Or will you claim the hit anyway?”
“You knew?” I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to shut out the image of that smile. That cold, dark smile. “You let me do this, and all the time you knew what I was, why I was here?”
“Not all the time.” His voice was hard enough to cut diamonds. “At first it was just a suspicion. Your friend Jake Coetzee should be a little more careful about getting caught on security camera in future. So, tell me, Christie. Where do I figure in the Seduction Squad’s plans? There are plenty of people who want me dead. Was I next on your list after Garcia?”
I shook my head. The truth. That was all that mattered now. I had fallen asleep terrified for my life. Dying no longer seemed like the worst thing that could happen to me. Throughout the last ten years, I’d spent endless hours picturing ways to torture and kill Theo. This time, when those images came into my mind, my heart lurched. Because everything had changed. I had changed since I’d walked on board this boat confident I could ruin his life. The irony wasn’t lost on me. I had come here to stamp my mark on his soul. Now, the thought of hurting him pierced mine.
“I went to the Signora with a proposition. She’d been trying to get someone on board your boat for years. Your guest list always contains at least one person she has a contract on. My timing was perfect. The hit on Ferran Garcia needed to be carried out before the Colombian elections. This was the only time she could get anyone close to him.”
“What did you get out of the deal?”
“You.” I kept my gaze locked on his. “I got to finish that night, the one that screwed both our lives up ten years ago. You were never business for me, Theo.”
“I was your own personal vendetta?”
“Yes. It was only meant to be that one time.” It didn’t matter if he didn’t believe me. I was going to say it anyway. “I wasn’t meant to fall in love with you all over again.”
He jerked upright in an explosive movement. He was moving toward me, raw emotion on his face as he devoured me with his eyes. I knew his intention in that brief instant was to haul me into his arms.
Then he halted. Something stopped his forward momentum. Something that came from within him. “Does the Signora ask for feedback? Because you are so much better at the seduction than you are at the slaughter.”
It wasn’t the words that got to me. It was the living nightmare in the depths of his eyes. It sucked the air from my lungs and smashed my heart into a thousand pieces. It didn’t matter. My heart was no longer my own. It belonged to Theo. He could do what he liked with it.
“Don’t do this.” I rose on shaky feet and reached out a hand to him. I thought I had felt pain when he left me ten years ago, but that was nothing to this. This was torture. Raw, excruciating, mind-numbing.
He glanced at my hand and then looked away. “Paolo has packed your things.”
“Theo...”
“Go back to your father’s house in Tennessee. Back where you belong.” His lips twisted into an attempt at a smile. His lips parted and I knew what he was about to say.
“No.” My voice refused to rise above a whisper. “You don’t get to say those words to me twice.”
He said them anyway. “Just get the fuck out of here, Christie.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Christie
The launch skimmed across the water toward the iconic Miami waterfront. It was a perfect day. Mother Nature can be such a bitch. My mood wanted gray skies and stormy seas. She gave me endless sunshine.
“Mr. Ward instructed me to escort you to the hotel.”
Mr. Ward can go fuck himself.
I bit back my retort. Maybe it would be a good idea to accept Paolo’s help. I didn’t know my way around Miami and I was hardly in the right frame of mind to start searching for accommodation. I was hardly in the right frame of mind to breathe.
There was this problem with my chest. It seemed to be inflated, as if I had been holding my breath for too long. It made me scared to exhale. I had to force myself to do it.
And, in spite of that brilliant sunshine, I was cold. Teeth-chattering freezing.
I couldn’t feel anything. Which was a huge relief. Except I had a horrible feeling that once the numbness wore off I was in for a whole lot of trouble.
This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t have let this happen to me.
Just get the fuck out of here, Christie.
The same words, ten years apart. The same man tearing my life apart. Was I going to come back when I was thirty-eight and let him do it all over again? While other couples renewed their vows, we would do this.
I turned my head away from the approaching shoreline and looked back at the receding image of The Dark Side. Even through the cold, empty ache, I pictured Theo on board. What was he doing right now? Was he enjoying a late breakfast with his guests? Taking a swim? Enjoying the views? The views...
“Why did we come back to Miami?” I was pleased to find my voice worked normally as I asked Paolo the question.
With deadly timing, it happened before he could reply. As I gazed across the water, The Dark Side exploded. The whole yacht blew apart in a burst of bright orange fire. I stared in horror as bits of the boat were hurled hundreds of feet into the air. When they came back down, there was nothing left of the original shape. Just a mass of smoke, flame and wreckage.
I felt like my heart exploded with the boat. Even though it was too far away, I seemed to be inhaling smoke and feeling fire burning its way into my lungs. Shock made my eyes bulge and my nostrils flare.
Theo.
I tried to move, but nothing happened. “We have to go to him...”
“No.” Paolo shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. We need to get to the shore and let the port authorities do their job.”
“But Theo is out there.” I was starting to go into shock. I was feeling light-headed and clammy and my heart was racing as though I’d run a marathon. After struggling to breathe, I was suddenly panting wildly.
This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t real.
“He may have jumped overboard before the explosion.” Paolo’s measured tones restored some of my sanity. How was he staying so calm? “We are too far away to judge what has actually happened.”
“The fucking boat blew up. That’s what happened.” I wanted to scream the words at him, but my teeth were chattering so wildly I wasn’t sure I even made a sound.
When we drew closer to the shore, there were hundreds of people lining the beach looking out toward the remains of The Dark Side. As Paolo brought the launch alongside a jetty and secured it, emergency boats and helicopters were already heading out to the scene.
“We need to go to the police.” He helped me from the boat with a hand under my elbow.
I hesitated. Even in my distressed state, I took a moment to assimilate what that would mean. There had been a murdered man on that boat when it exploded, and Theo had killed him. The memory of The Dark Side being blown sky-high came back to me and I choked back a sob. Ferran Garcia’s body would have been ripped into tiny fragments by the impact. No one would ever know how he died.
I didn’t see how anyone on board in that instant could have survived. Images kept forcing themselves into my mind. What had Theo been doing when the explosion happened? Had there been a warning? Was there time for him to jump overboard? Had he managed to get far enough away before that devastating rain of debris pelted down? Could he, even now, be on one of those rescue boats?
I don’t care if he hates me, just so long as he’s alive.
Paolo was right. We needed to let the police know we had come from The Dark Side. We also needed to find out what was happening.
I tried out a couple of steps and, although they weren’t perfect, my legs were working.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Christie
I spent five days holed up in a Miami hotel room. Watching every news bulletin, devouring every newspaper, flicking relentlessly through every social media site.
Yacht Horror.
That was the most popular headline. “Fireball” got plenty of mentions. “Sky-high” also cropped up regularly. The press became increasingly lurid and creative with the details as time went on and no one was found alive.
At first, Theo was described as a “billionaire businessman.” Some reports crossed the line and called him a “gang boss.” One or two went further and labeled him a “vicious overlord.” Speculation was rife that this was a revenge attack. When the police confirmed that threatening letters had been found in Theo’s Manhattan apartment and his office, speculation solidified into fact.
“Is it true?” I asked Paolo. “Is he the leader of an organized crime ring?”
His silence was all the reply I needed. And did I really need to ask? Hadn’t I known all along that he was no angel? Did it fucking matter?
The police took our statements, but refused to provide any information. No matter how many times a day I called, the response was always the same. There was an ongoing search for survivors and relatives would be contacted if there was any news. More than once I was politely reminded that swearing at the operator was not helpful.
Even after a few hours, the rescue services were issuing pessimistic statements about the chances of finding anyone alive in the wreckage. The Dark Side had been destroyed by a massive bomb, detonated remotely. There would have been no warning. No chance of escape.
“You were lucky.” That was what one detective told me and Paolo. When he saw my expression, he decided not to say any more.
On the fourth day, Jake arrived in Miami. In some sort of bizarre twist of fate, the Seduction Squad had become my only family. Jake, the brother I never had. We went to a bar. It was the first time I’d left the hotel room.
“Have you slept?” He handed me a beer.
“I don’t think so.”
He was silent for a long time, just watching my face.
“The hit wasn’t the problem.” I picked at the label on my beer bottle. “It was the personal stuff.”
“That’ll get you every time.” He tilted his beer bottle in my direction.
“I loved him. Always did. I thought I wanted revenge, but I guess I just wanted to be near him again.” The damn label wouldn’t come off. “And now he’s dead.”
Jake placed his hand over mine, stilling my busy fingers. “Tell me about the hit.”
I leaned back, taking a long swill of my beer. “Theo killed him before I could.”
“Would you have done it?”
I nodded. “Yes. Absolutely. I wanted to.”
“Then come back with me. I have another job for you. A French diplomat. No killing, just plenty of fucking.” He smiled. “Apparently, he’s very handsome. The other squad members are fighting over him.”
I gazed out of the window. People were strolling past in shorts and T-shirts. They were holding hands and laughing. Diamond shards of light bounced off the sea and stung my eyes. How dare life go on and be so beautiful?
“I want to go home for a while. Back where I belong.” They had been Theo’s words. “Give the diplomat to Susie. Her French is excellent.” I managed a smile. “I mean her language skills.”
“You’re right. It’s probably too soon. Call me when you feel ready.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel ready, but I nodded and returned his hug.
The next day, I took a flight to Knoxville. My father lost everything when he was convicted, but, by exploiting some loophole or another, he had managed to save the house in Tennessee.
My childhood home wrapped itself around me now like a comfort blanket. I would have to sell it eventually, but for now its familiarity was exactly what I needed. Wandering through the well-loved rooms, I was able to remember times I’d spent here with Theo and feel closer to him. How had he known this was where I needed to be? How had he even known I still had this house? Some kind of special Theo-intuition, I guess.
I hadn’t been able to shake off my companion. Paolo insisted on accompanying me.
“I can’t pay you.” I decided to be blunt in an attempt to get rid of him.
“Mr. Ward told me to take care of you.”
“Mr. Ward is dead.”
Blunt hadn’t stopped Paolo boarding the flight to Knoxville alongside me. I wondered if he suspected that the same people who had killed Theo and all those other people on board The Dark Side might come after me?
I’m not important enough. Theo didn’t love me enough.
And even if those people on that boat had shared information about me, what did it matter now? He was dead. It was game over.
I still wasn’t sleeping. A night spent in my childhood bedroom had been another night lying among the pieces of my shattered heart. Getting dressed and setting off early, I walked along the edge of the lake that bordered the property. Maybe physical exertion was the answer to the hellfire that was burning through my veins. It felt like someone had bound my chest with that garrote wire I’d planned to use on Ferran Garcia. Every movement pulled it that little bit tighter, embedded it deeper.
Nothing had ever felt like this. This wasn’t grief. I’d felt grief before. This was rage and pain. And something more. A refusal to let go. Maybe it was because of those cruel last words, but I just couldn’t accept it. I still could not believe that the force of nature that was Theo Ward had been wiped out by that fireball.
Denial was a cunning illusion, tricking me with empty promises. What if he had swum ashore, but he had lost his memory? What if he had been swept away and was on a remote island somewhere, a modern-day Robinson Crusoe? What if? What if?
My body still ached for him, and surely it wouldn’t do that if he was dead? Surely fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to allow me to lie awake, growing wet as I remembered h
is touch? Even now my nipples hardened as I thought of him. If he no longer existed, that flame must have been wiped out along with him. Anything else would be the ultimate cruelty.
I halted alongside the water’s edge, picking up a stone and skimming it over the mirrored surface of the lake. It was Theo who had taught me to do this. A smile touched my lips as I remembered that day. It had been sunny, just like this. He had been endlessly patient with me, joking that the further I stuck out my tongue in concentration, the better I got at skimming.
“You don’t stick out your tongue anymore.”
I almost lost my balance. I must be imagining things. The voice behind me was in my head, simply a manifestation of my wishful thoughts.
I turned slowly and gazed into a pair of onyx eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Theo
“You bastard.”
Christie came at me, her hands beating wildly at any part of my body she could reach. I was concerned about my eyes, I knew how much damage those nails could do to my back and shoulders. And I recalled Paolo’s comments about her potential as a Krav Maga professional. I didn’t want those booted feet anywhere near my balls. As I caught hold of her wrists, she subsided against me.
“I knew.” She held onto the front of my shirt as though it was the only thing keeping her upright. “Even though I was hurting, I knew.”
I slid my fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to look at me. “What did you know?”
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I knew you couldn’t be dead.”
“Did you also know I wouldn’t be a bastard to you without a good reason?”
“You are always a bastard.” It was a sound midway between a sob and a laugh. “It’s what I love most about you.”
I brought my mouth down on hers. Hard. For a moment, she strained every muscle to break free. Then she gave up the fight and melted into me, her lips parting beneath my mine. I had missed her honeyed taste, the perfect fit of her body against mine, the way our heat levels escalated in seconds...
Seduction Squad: Tainted Page 10