Tommy’s Baby

  I wanted to go over there, flip the table and beat his face in. Not exactly the covert operations strategy I had practiced on my SEAL missions. I couldn’t put my finger on what bugged me about him besides his focus on her. She was a beautiful woman, and I’d seen plenty of customers check out beautiful women. But this was too intent, too specific. There were a dozen good looking women in that bachelorette party, and they were loud and conspicuous. He hadn’t so much as glanced at them. He only had eyes for Liza. That wasn’t going to work out well for him. But he was more than just a barfly who wanted to make a move on a hot girl out of his league. He wasn’t drinking alcohol. He wasn’t eating anything. He wasn’t even visibly attempting to have fun or meet people.

  I went back to join Liza, leaned in to whisper to her, “I want you to get up and go to the restroom. Glance over at the guy in booth nine, see if he’s anybody you know, okay?”

  She stiffened, her face no longer wreathed in happy smiles and that melting, loving expression I was so hung up on. She nodded without arguing, which was a red flag in itself. I had asked her to do something weird right out of the blue and instead of questioning me or teasing me about it, she was going along. She was compliant. Liza was a lot of things, but obedient wasn’t one of them. I waited for a snappy retort, but none came. She put down her napkin, made a point of telling me she was going to the bathroom and she’d be right back. Maybe she had tensed up because of my tone, because I was all business when I told her to go peek at the dude who was watching her. That had to be it, I lied to myself.

  When she got back a couple minutes later, she was noticeably pale under her tan. Her lips looked near white to me, her eyes too wide. She had the skittish look of a wild animal looking for cover. I took her hand and held it.

  “Does he look familiar?” I asked.

  She shook her head too quickly. “I don’t know him,” she said. She wasn’t lying. Not exactly. I knew her tells, and she wasn’t telling me an outright lie, but she was sure as hell misleading me. I could feel it. She was hiding something from me, and I was going to find out what it was once and for all.

  Chapter 20

  Liza

  Maybe I was being paranoid. But I had left my life in Chicago, bought a fake passport, and moved to the Caribbean to hide from a loan shark who was neck-deep in the Mob. So paranoid was my default setting at this point. It wasn’t possible to overreact when there were actual criminals looking for you. So paranoia rode in my stomach with some queasiness when Tommy told me to check out the guy who was looking at me.

  No, I didn’t recognize him. And I couldn’t say I knew his type because when I took out the loan it wasn’t like I realized the man I dealt with was a made guy. He didn’t look oily and shady like in the movies, and neither did this guy. He was just serious and focused, which was out of place in the crowded pub of a beach town. Cold rushed through my veins. I went in the bathroom and threw up. After I’d rinsed my mouth and tried to manage to look somewhat normal so I didn’t tip Tommy off, I headed back out quickly. I didn’t even glance at him as I made my way back to the bar.

  Tommy was ex-military. I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from him for long with his razor-sharp instincts. He’d spotted a creeper in a crowded bar. He was alert and observant and looked ready to do battle to protect me. No, Tommy, please, don’t, I wanted to say, don’t make me leave to protect you. My stomach cramped at the thought. I didn’t know if I could survive walking away from Tommy twice in my life. But if it meant keeping him from getting mixed up in my mistakes, I’d do it. Even if it wrecked me forever this time.

  I stilled my hands so they wouldn’t shake. I forced a smile. And when he asked me if I knew the guy, I said no. It was the truth, or a form of it. Because I didn’t know him. I was just very sure it was one of Lucci’s men and that the dangerous man who was hunting me had found me.

  I’d been so careful to cover my tracks, to use cash only and a different name. I hadn’t told anyone where I was going, and I’d run through seven burner phones already. I really missed having a smartphone where I could look stuff up and read e-books, but the risk of being tracked was too great. I tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong. Was it the Instagram photo some patron had posted? It couldn’t be—it was way more likely that professional criminals had located me despite my best efforts. The probability of a Chicago Mob boss following the Insta feed of a bar in the Caribbean was a little far-fetched. So it had to be a mistake I’d made, being an amateur at going on the run.

  I could’ve turned myself in, asked Lucci for mercy, but by the time it was that far gone, I knew what his mercy looked like. I’d heard stories about people who owed him money having to be drug mules or turn tricks to pay him back.

  Now I had dragged Tommy into it. This was worse than breaking my heart and his. This was like digging my own heart out with a garden spade. He was too stubborn—he’d never accept my explanation and let it go. He’d keep going till he found out I was mixed up with the Mob. Then he’d try and protect me, try to get me out. The idea that Tommy could be hurt or killed by these people made me want to run out into the street and hail a cab and leave St. Martin instantly, never to return.

  There was no keeping that panic out of my eyes, not when Tommy had known me half my life.

  “Go in the office, Liza. I’ll be there in a minute,” he said firmly, brooking no argument.

  In the office, I paced, biting back tears. I had to leave him. And I had to leave him without letting him know why. They’ve found me, and I won’t let them hurt him. That string of words was all I held on to. I clenched my teeth and paced back and forth, adrenaline singing in my blood. I wanted him to hold me and hide me. But I wasn’t selfish enough to put him at greater risk than I already had with my reckless love for him. I was pacing and chewing a thumbnail when he came in.

  “What the hell is going on with you and that guy?” he said. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I have eyes.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen him before. I was flirting with my boyfriend and eating my pickle when you freaked out,” I said, going on the offensive.

  “Right,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

  His frustration was kinetic, and I wanted to go to him, put my hands on his arms and tell him everything. I wanted to soothe him, to tell him I loved him, and I was so sorry. But I wasn’t going to indulge in that. It was too dangerous. If I told him everything, he’d consider saving me to be his next mission. I’d hurt him very badly once, and I’d sworn never to do it again. But I was going to have to be cruel to be kind, or whatever that bullshit saying was. The one that means it’s better to be miserable now than to get killed later or something.

  “Tommy,” I said, taking a second to drink in his face, his handsome face I’d miss for the rest of my days.

  “It’s a boyfriend. Or—a husband. That’s why you flipped out about Instagram, isn’t it? You’re with someone else and I’m your side piece.”

  “What?” I asked, appalled.

  “You’re lying to me Liza. You know who that guy is, and he’s only got eyes for you. And you won’t tell me the truth. So you’re hiding something from me. What am I supposed to think? That he’s your husband or someone your husband hired to find you.”

  I staggered back like I had been slapped. He actually believed that. Anger pumped through me.

  “You think that? You think I have some other guy? You seriously believe I’m married or something and you’re like my vacation fling? That I snuck off to bone you on an island and left my husband and family? Is that what you think of me?” I demanded, the fury I felt all too real.

  “What am I supposed to think, Liza? You come here with your fake name and you cozy up to my brother to get close to me. You said yourself you came here for me. How do I know this wasn’t just a game to you? That you didn’t just come here to hook up with an old boyfriend and you got caught.”

  “Are you kidding me with this shit? Really? My
God, Tommy! I thought you knew me!”

  “Well, I thought I knew you years ago and look how that turned out,” he said, his voice so cold that it burned me.

  This was it. This was the moment.

  “Fuck you,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

  I stalked past him and walked out the back door. I kept walking, confident that the guy in the pub didn’t know I’d left because I went out the back. Tommy would stay and fume for a few minutes anyway. The fact he hadn’t followed me was a good sign. I wanted him to follow me, say he was wrong to jump to conclusions and he knew I loved him and then we could have rowdy makeup sex. Except those things led to having to tell him the truth. For what it would give me in relief and comfort it would cost me more. Because he’d be in the line of fire with Lucci. He’d go looking for trouble in my name, and even Tommy O’Shea was no match for the Mob.

  I was so hurt and pissed about what he thought of me that the rage carried me back to my motel. I was paid up through the end of the week. I’d been planning on taking Tommy up on his offer to move into the resort, having a little cabin of my own and spending most of my time in his. Instead, I went into my room, shoved my things into a bag hastily and left nothing behind. I called a car to take me to the airport. I’d go wherever the cheapest flight was that took off right exactly now. I’d find that out when I got to the airport. I had to get off the island, and I had to cut all ties. No letter or message left behind. Nothing.

  I waited in my room until I saw a white car pull up. I grabbed my purse and suitcase and went outside. I shoved my suitcase in the backseat, distracted, and climbed in. As soon as I shut the door, I noticed the car was way too nice to be an airport rideshare. The door locks clicked shut. I hadn’t noticed the driver until now. Until it was too late.

  I knew I was in trouble. This was inevitable in a way. But it was too late to get out of it. I jerked on the door handle, tried in vain to find any way of unlatching it. I would rather jump out of the moving car than go with this guy. I tried to break the glass with my purse, cursing the fact I didn’t even carry pepper spray. I wasn’t going down without a fight, but I had to think. Flailing around trying to break shit wasn’t working.

  The guy who was driving, the same man from the pub, grinned in the rearview mirror, the kind of predatory grin that made me think of sharks.

  “Mr. Lucci is very disappointed in you.”

  Chapter 21

  Tommy

  I probably overreacted. A mostly sleepless night had convinced me of it. I’d been unfair to Liza the night before. I’d accused her of being involved with the guy who was looking at her, or, worse, of being with someone else and keeping me as a dirty little secret. She wasn’t a cheater. Never had been. The point was, when she’d broken my heart, we’d both been young and pretty stupid. She’d never given me any reason to think she was going to hurt me again. I knew she was hiding something, but my jealous blood had run hot at the idea that this guy had put his hands on her. It got my Irish up, and I had been out of my head. Why would she have come all the way out to St. Martin just to screw with me? It made no sense. I’d blown it out of proportion instead of asking her to tell me what she was holding back.

  It was a stupid fight, but we were older and wiser now. We’d get past it. I’d tell her I was sorry and wanted to talk it out. Maybe I’d get her flowers. I’d seen Connor with an armful of lilies a few times since he and Brandi got married. Speaking of married, it wasn’t out of the question that I wanted to give her a ring. Obviously not right after I lost my shit and accused her of cheating. But in a little while, when we had been together a couple of months, I wanted her to know it was real. That I wanted to make things permanent. And if she wanted to move back to Chicago, well—I loved my life in the Caribbean, and I didn’t want to leave my brothers or my nieces and nephew, but if it came down to it, I could visit them a few times a year. Because I’d choose her. Maybe I would even tell her that when we cleared the air after our fight. That she was the most important person in my life, and I would make sure she knew that and never had a reason to doubt it. That sounded good.

  I headed into the pub early. It was restocking day, and Connor was off so Mickey was coming in to give me a hand. It would be a good chance to catch up with him, too. Before long we were sorting cases and making notes on the iPads and he was telling me the latest hijinks my nephew had been up to. Despite the fact Mickey was the sweet and caring one—he had been a medic after all—Lucas was shaping up to be a cute little hell raiser.

  “So tell me what’s wrong,” Mickey said. “Because the last few weeks you’ve been the happiest and most settled I’ve ever seen you. Now you’re distracted and clumsy.”

  “Damn you and your observance,” I muttered. “Would you feel sorry for me if I said I had a psychotic break?”

  “No, I’d get you appropriate professional help,” he said seriously.

  “I had a fight with Liza. Some guy in the bar couldn’t take his eyes off her yesterday. I asked if she knew him and she clammed up. Then she denied it. I could tell she wasn’t telling me everything and then I may have suggested that she was dating him or married to him and screwing me on the side.”

  “You accused her of cheating on you? And being married? Jesus, Tom. What the fuck?”

  “I went out of my head. I got so jealous and she wouldn’t talk to me or tell me anything.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She told me to fuck off and she left.”

  “Good for her. You acted like an ass. Not that I haven’t made an ass out of myself over Karin plenty of times. Do you remember when that drug dealer was after her? She wouldn’t listen and stay in a safe house and I about went insane.”

  “It was a crazy situation,” I said generously.

  “You need to talk to Liza. Tell her you were out of line and it won’t happen again. Tell her she can trust you and you’ll listen when she’s ready to tell you whatever’s going on.”

  “I don’t want to say that. I want to make her tell me.”

  “Well, how’d that go? You tried making accusations and it seems like that didn’t go over real well. Try being patient and caring.”

  “Patience isn’t really my scene.”

  “So what? You learned how to sit and wait in the service. Anybody who can hold the same position for thirty hours on a mission can act like a reasonable person with his girlfriend.”

  “Two very different skill sets, brother,” I pointed out.

  “Fine. But you have to sort this out. I have good instincts. I know you care about her a lot.”

  “I know. But it’s her day off. I’ll call her later, after we’re done here.”

  “You can take a break and call her.”

  I shrugged. I was concerned about what was going on with her. And I wanted her to be with me, not to be mad because I acted like a caveman over some guy looking at her. I got my phone and called her. It rang and rang, and the voicemail prompt said her message box was not set up. I tried again, and it rang again, with no answer and no way to leave her a message.

  “I can’t get her,” I said to Mickey.

  “It’s her day off. Maybe she turned off her phone and went to the beach or something,” he said.

  “Yeah, I’m going over there to see if she’s in the room, see if she’ll talk to me.”

  “I’ll hold down the fort,” Mickey said.

  “You’re the best,” I said.

  “Yes, I am,” he called after me.

  At the motel, I beat on her door and even peered in the window, but I couldn’t get anyone to answer. I went to the office and asked the day manager if she knew if Adriana Thomas had gone out for the day.

  “I don’t think so. My sister was on the desk last night and said she saw her get in a car with a suitcase. She left her key in the room—housekeeping found it this morning. So I guess she checked out.”

  “A suitcase?” I repeated dumbly.

  “That’s what my sister said. A real nice car, t
oo. Said she didn’t know what somebody with the money for that car would be doing staying in a joint like this. I don’t know. She was paid up for the week, so there’s no trouble about the bill. But she’s long gone.”

  I nodded. But inside I was wondering what the hell had happened. Why had Liza left without saying a word to anyone? She was responsible and good at her job. She wouldn’t leave Connor hanging and just quit without a word. That’s what I told myself to block out the thought that she had left me without telling me and without saying goodbye.

  It had me questioning my own instincts. My first reaction had been, oh hell no! She wouldn’t do that! But what if she had? What if the fact that my first love didn’t want to be with me was just a simple fact? What if I rejected the idea as impossible because it hurt so much? Maybe the only thing wrong was what we’d known for ten years—that we just didn’t belong together. And me feeling suspicious was more of a self-protective reaction than it was any kind of investigative hint. I headed back to the pub empty-handed.

  Chapter 22

  Liza

  Everything was gray and dim. I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. I’d stopped trying to keep track of what day it was. After the first five days, I’d given up counting in self-defense. It was a mercy to let time slip by unnoticed, to drift in and out of sleep.

  It was cold. I was in a big place that seemed like a warehouse. All I had was a dingy mattress on the floor, a bucket in the corner and a metal chair. The guy from the pub who’d driven me had handed me off to the pilot. The pilot had handcuffed me to a seat and then chloroformed me when we landed. I think he knew I’d run or fight otherwise.