by Dana Marton
She looked like a little kid. At least, her expression did. The rest of her was dressed for a “date.” Her black pants molded to her curves, as did the silver-gray tank top. She had on heels and with that she was nearly at eye level with Reese. He couldn’t resist those eyes.
“What flavor?” Reese stepped in line behind a young boy who was handing over a fistful of change to the vendor.
“Berry. But you don’t have to buy me one. I have my own money.” She reached toward her back pocket.
He simply shrugged, made his purchase then handed over the stick.
“Thanks.” She pinched off a fist-size chunk and practically inhaled it, just about moaned as the sweetness melted on her tongue. She licked her fingers, too.
He pressed his lips together hard enough to hurt.
“Want some?” She was grinning with pleasure.
He wanted plenty, but shook his head and tried to focus on the candy. “So what are we talking about here? Addiction or just a serious weakness?”
She smiled at him. “Permanent character flaw.”
Her kidlike response to the festival was fun to watch, very different from the wary, defensive stance she assumed most of the time. Steel-band music filled the air. The aroma of meat roasting over open pits and the dizzying colors of the Pirate Festival enveloped them. Sam kept at her cotton candy as they walked.
“Have you seen Brant yet?” she asked between two mouthfuls.
She had incredible lips. Incredible everything really, and yeah, he’d spent the last few months out in the field, but he’d done that before and still hadn’t been affected like this by any woman upon his return. And yet it wasn’t the physical attraction that made him nervous. He could, would, deal with that. But there were other undertones, a kind of pull that he felt toward her more and more each day.
She was incredibly tough, hurt in the past and yet still hopeful, giving one hundred percent to get the job done. For the past hour, as they’d walked around, he watched her wide-eyed enjoyment of the fair. He’d also been thinking about other places in the world he would love to show her. He was an idiot.
“What is it?” She was looking at him.
What were they talking about? Brant. “A few minutes ago.”
“Why isn’t he coming over?”
“Cavanaugh’s man is still behind us.”
To her credit, she didn’t turn around. “Do you think Philippe is on to us?”
The same question popped up over and over in his head since they had left their host’s mansion that morning and he had picked up on the tail. He could have easily lost Roberto, but that would have made them look even more suspicious. They had to act out the lovers-out-on-the-town charade until the guy decided there was nothing more to them and went back home.
It could take a while. He found he didn’t mind much.
“I shouldn’t have come,” Sam repeated and licked the empty stick, looking more contented than he’d ever seen her.
“I didn’t think it was a good idea to leave you alone with Cavanaugh for hours on end. If he pressed you into something you didn’t want to do—” He still couldn’t put the picture of Cavanaugh touching Sam on the beach out of his mind. And, of course, Cavanaugh had stayed back at the mansion, since he’d seen the festival dozens of times. A number of his guests attended, however. Reese caught glimpses of them from time to time in the crowd and avoided them. He wanted to make sure Sam and he were alone so they could meet Brant when he showed up. He’d called the guy as soon as they’d cleared Philippe’s gates.
“I could outmaneuver him.” She tossed the stick into the nearest garbage receptacle. “Probably.”
It was that probably he’d been worried about. “You’re sure he didn’t see when you handled his phone?”
“Pretty sure. His back was turned.” She was staring up at a giant Ferris wheel. There was that longing look on her face again.
“Let’s go for a ride,” he said on impulse.
“Really?” Her slow grin spread from ear to ear. “I haven’t been on one of these since…forever.”
Yeah. He’d figured that. Walking through the festival with her made it painfully clear just how different her childhood had been from his—an all-American boy growing up in an all-American neighborhood living the all-American life that included two trips to Disneyland.
Thinking about her past had his stomach in a hard ball every time. He found it difficult to accept that there was nothing he could do about it.
An older gentleman carrying an armful of roses walked up to them as they stood in line for the ride. “A flower for the beautiful lady?”
Why not? Reese pulled some money out of his pocket and picked the nicest bloom.
The tops of her cheeks tinged with pink. “You shouldn’t do all this,” she said, but her eyes were gleaming as she accepted the rose.
And out of the blue, he felt as embarrassed as she looked. What on earth was he doing here, wooing her?
Not wooing. Not wooing at all, he assured himself and almost believed it. “We are being watched,” he said. “This is how a man acts when he’s in love with a woman.”
Her eyes went wide. She looked as if she was about to lose her smile, but then she turned from him to slip into the seat the attendant was holding still for them, and he could no longer see her expression.
He got in next to her. The wheel turned so the next couple could get in. Cavanaugh’s man watched from a distance. Didn’t look as though he had any intention of joining them. Maybe Roberto didn’t like rides. Good to know.
He was the guy who had brought the kid into the boathouse the night before. What was he doing following them? Reese was a hundred percent sure they hadn’t been seen that night, had made sure.
They went up another level, then another. Then the ride was full and the attendant started up the motor. Reese looked out over the beach as they climbed higher and higher. It had been a while for him, too.
“Isn’t it awesome?” Sam was smiling again.
He took her hand, although he wasn’t sure if Cavanaugh’s man could see the gesture. Still, it couldn’t hurt for them to stay in character.
She must have thought the same thing because she leaned against him.
“So how did you become a professional bodyguard? Why aren’t you a lawyer like David? Aren’t twins supposed to do everything together?”
He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “Have you been talking to my mother?” He’d heard the why-can’t-you-be-a-lawyer-like-your-brother-and-stop-risking-your-life question all too often in the past.
She smiled at him, and her beauty took his breath away.
“So you were never interested in law?” she asked.
“We went to law school together.” He didn’t want to think about those memories.
“What happened?”
Natalie. “Things didn’t work out and I left. I joined the army.”
“You had a big fight over some girl. His wife?” Her eyes widened. She was clearly enjoying putting together some big tragic romance, broken hearts and all that. “You’re still in love with her?”
“Life is not like the romance movie of the week on the Hallmark Channel.” His own good mood was evaporating fast.
She seemed to pick up on that. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.” She pulled away.
He missed her warmth. He needed it against the memories. “Her name was Natalie,” he said and pulled Sam back against him.
“What happened to her?”
He didn’t think he could say the words, but they came out, if a little weak. “She was raped.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and tightened her arms around him. How strange that was, that a woman who could accept no physical comfort from another person was now comforting him, the man who was supposed to protect her?
The gesture loosened something inside him. “We were out with the team—I played football.” And hadn’t touched one since. “She had a headache and decided to go home. Instead of going with
her, I stayed with the guys. I needed to blow off some steam. Was going to go after her in an hour or so. I was too late. Some creep got her in the parking lot of her apartment building.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said fiercely.
“Wasn’t it?” How could she forgive him so easily, when someone had done the same thing to her, let people hurt her? Why wasn’t she mad at the world, at him who had done the same to another?
“What happened to her?” she asked.
His throat tightened. “She was in a car accident a few weeks later and died.” He remembered the afternoon clearly. Natalie wouldn’t talk to him, had shut him out completely. She was drinking. He could hear it in her voice over the phone. He went over to her place anyway. She was already gone. Later, when he was told what had happened, he was never sure if she had crossed over into the oncoming lane on purpose or by accident.
“I didn’t attend classes for a good month after that. Then I left.”
“And spent your life saving others ever since to make up for it?”
He thought for a second. “It wasn’t like that. I’m not that heroic. I fell into the job. After the army I was offered a position as a security expert for a global company. Then, when the CEO was traveling to a tough overseas location on business, he decided to take me as a sort of bodyguard. There were a couple of altercations. I handled them. Word got out in his circle. I got other offers.”
She didn’t look convinced. She did look somber, however, and he regretted that. She’d been having a good time until he’d dumped his past on her. And she was due a few lighthearted moments. He wasn’t going to take that away from her.
The wheel went around and around, showing them a breathtaking view of the cavalcade on the beach, the ocean and the private yachts rocking on the waves, the impressive skyline of the city. She was still pressed against him, and he felt relaxed suddenly, as if the weight of his past regrets had been lightened by having her listen to him.
“It’s beautiful up here,” she whispered, apparently losing herself to the sights again.
Good. “We have plenty of time. We can try whatever you want.”
She smiled and some old shadows disappeared from around his heart. He wasn’t prepared to examine how much of that came from having her snuggled into him. He wanted to touch his lips to hers and seek total oblivion there.
He looked away.
He couldn’t think like that. She felt comfortable with him, and he fully realized what a big deal that was for her. He wasn’t going to ruin that by making some stupid move again. That wasn’t what she needed.
She didn’t need another person in her life who would eventually let her down, and with him that was a given. He couldn’t give her what she needed, a stable family of her own at last, a man who loved her and would protect her and was a steady presence in her life day in and day out. She’d been let down by her mother, by her stepfather, by the system, foster parents, everyone. He’d be damned if he’d join that list. He had a job that took him out of the country eight to ten months of the year. She needed someone who would stand by her.
He shouldn’t have kissed her in the first place. What had he been thinking?
That kissing her would be nice.
And, unfortunately, it had gone way beyond that. Nice didn’t begin to describe the heat of desire that had sliced through him when their lips met. Might as well forget all about it because it wasn’t going to happen again. Absolutely not. Never.
“You okay?” he asked to distract himself.
But the question made her look up at him, putting her mouth just inches from his. Way to go.
“When it stops, can we stay on and go one more time?” She was lit from within with excitement.
He scratched his lips, which were pulling into a grin. This much, at least, he could do for her. “Sure we can.”
So they did the Ferris wheel again, then some nasty ride called Honduras Hurricane. Once again, Cavanaugh’s man stayed on the ground. When they stood in line for bungee jumping—did he agree to that?—Reese signaled to Brant. He climbed up onto the tower right behind them.
“Are you sure?” Reese asked Sam as they were getting strapped into the harness for a tandem jump. “We can still step back.” Not that he was scared.
“I always wanted to try.” She was practically vibrating with anticipation.
Reese took a deep breath.
Brant made a show of looking over the railing. “I might just change my mind,” he said to the family of four behind him.
“It’s up to you, sir.” The assistant shrugged with a superior expression on his overtanned face.
Brant’s hand hesitated over the consent form. Reese flashed him an I-dare-you look. He glared at him as he signed.
“Wait.” Reese took his baseball cap off and handed it to him. “Could you please hold on to this for me?”
“Sure.” He bit the word out with as much displeasure as could be squeezed into one syllable.
Reese watched as he ran his finger along the cap’s trim and his thumb paused on the chip inside. Goal accomplished. They had made drop-off. Now it was up to the rest of the team to break through the protective layers and get to the information hidden in the circuits. From what he’d heard about Carly, the resident hacker on the team, whatever encryption was used didn’t stand a chance.
“Okay. Hold on to each other,” the assistant told him and smiled at Sam.
Men always smiled at her. Not that she let it go to her head. If anything, it seemed to make her uncomfortable.
Reese glanced down then decided it would be better if he didn’t focus on the drop. How on earth had she talked him into jumping off a two-hundred-foot-tall crane? Maybe the Ferris wheel had scrambled his brain. The distance looked even greater from above than it had from below. He should have stopped by the rum-tasting tent first.
“I have to say, the distance doesn’t feel right to me.”
“Too long?” she teased with a raised eyebrow.
“Too short. Even if we had a parachute it wouldn’t open.”
“You’ve parachuted before?” She seemed surprised by this.
Maybe it seemed unlikely, given his current reluctance. “I was a trainer,” he said and shifted as the assistant adjusted the harness between his legs.
Who on earth had come up with this insane idea for entertainment?
“No worries about anything opening or not here.” Sam looked up at him.
Brant was grinning behind them. Your time is coming, buddy. Reese tossed him a hard look then turned back to Sam.
“We don’t have a parachute,” she was saying.
“Thanks.” He would have trusted something he was familiar with and had checked, rechecked and packed himself.
“Anytime you’re ready.” The assistant tugged the harness one last time to check for snugness. “Don’t forget to yell bungee as you go.”
Sam grinned into Reese’s eyes. “One, two, three.” She pulled him over the edge. “BUNGEE!!!”
He yelled a word that wasn’t as clean as that.
As he descended, though, he began to enjoy it. A hundred and fifty feet of free fall with Sam holding on to him for dear life. They were pressed as closely together as possible. The cord reached its full length but actually accelerated instead of slowing down as it went into the stretch. Then they reached the end point and catapulted back up.
Sam was laughing, just peals of laughter, as they bounced back and forth.
He held her tight, not wanting the ride to end.
By the time it did, his brain cells felt scrambled. The first thing he saw when he could take his eyes off Sam and focus on his surroundings was Cavanaugh’s man watching them with a bored expression. The second was the kid from the boathouse a few feet behind him. Neither had seen the other one yet.
“Wasn’t that great?” Sam asked as they were being pulled back up. She had a permanent grin on her face.
“A worthwhile experience.” But despite it all, he sai
d, “Let’s not do it again.”
When they were back on the platform, harness free, he thanked Brant for holding his cap and took it back. The chip was no longer inside.
He bent next to him to fix his shoes. “Sixteen-year-old, green shorts, striped shirt, right next to the jewelry stand. Grab him if you can,” he said so low he wasn’t sure whether or not Brant had heard him.
But the FBI agent said, “Sorry. Changed my mind. Just can’t do it.” And stepped out of the harness the assistant was snapping on him. Then he was out of there and going down the stairs.
“Scared the big guy, did we?” The assistant sneered. “Who’s next?”
Reese grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled her after him. No time for gawking. “We have to distract our tail and give Brant a chance,” he said and, once they were out of hearing distance of the others, explained what he had seen while hanging from the cord and what he thought should be done about it.
“Why take the kid?” Sam followed, picking up on his sense of urgency.
“He might have enough information on Cavanaugh to lock him up for good once we have Tsernyakov and we no longer need the man.”
“You think he’ll talk?”
“He might. And whatever happens, he will be better off in custody than on the streets, hunted by Cavanaugh’s men. The island is not that big. His luck is bound to run out.”
She looked as if she was mulling that over. “You think maybe Brant could do something for him? Like put him in a rehab program for juveniles or something? You know, back in the States.”
“We’ll talk to him about it,” he said.
They were near enough to see Brant closing in on the kid, who was staring at the jumpers and slurping some kind of soft drink from a plastic cup. He was now right behind Cavanaugh’s man, still not recognizing the danger he was in.
Reese squeezed Sam’s hand, pointed in the opposite direction. “Run!” he said and took off at full speed, dodging the crowd, making sure she stayed close behind. He didn’t stop until they were a good three hundred feet down the beach where stilt walkers entertained the crowd, then stared at them as if watching the performers had been the sole reason for their hurry.
Roberto arrived behind them and came so close this time, they could hear him huffing. And all of a sudden, Reese was fed up with the man. What did he want from them, anyway?