by Dara Girard
For a moment he couldn’t believe the pain of her betrayal, almost more than the laughing look on Tonya’s face. He’d been caught unawares; he’d never suspected that she’d laugh at him like all the rest. He’d stormed into the main house and was halfway up the steps when he bumped into his sister.
“You look like thunder,” she said. “Where’s your shirt?”
“I don’t know,” he said, walking past.
“What happened now?”
“Nothing.”
“So you didn’t see her?”
He gripped the railing and stopped. “See who?” he said softly.
“Never mind.”
He turned around and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to face him. “See who?”
“Becca.”
“Why would I see Becca?”
“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t,” Candace said, pushing him away.
“I did.”
“Oh...then why are you so angry?”
He stared at her, outraged. “You’re the one behind this?”
“Behind what? I was just trying to help. I know you like to go to that place alone.”
“How many times have I told you not to mess with people’s lives?”
“I thought she’d cheer you up.”
“So you told her about Tonya and the radio show?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then why did you get her to say she loved me?”
Candace’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t expect her to do that. I told her—” She stopped and shook her head.
“You told her to do what?” he demanded.
“I told her I thought she’d be good for you. I could tell she really liked you, but I didn’t expect her to say that.”
“Then how did she know about the show? How did she know about what a joke I am?”
“I don’t think she did. How could she? You know the island folk don’t gossip with tourists. It’s them versus us, you know that. They’d talk about you among themselves, but never shame you to an outsider.”
She was right, and that’s when the realization hit him. “That means she didn’t know. She was saying the words for real. I didn’t know she was saying the words and meant them.”
“Oh, no. What did you say to her?”
He stared at his sister and swore, remembering his harsh words. He ran out of the house and rushed back to the cliffs, but by the time he got there, Becca was gone. He raised his arms above his head and yelled at the waves, now understanding the expression on her face. He thought she’d been acting, but now he remembered the shock on her face, the sheen of her eyes from the beginning of tears. Tears he’d caused. “Damn her!” He grabbed a fistful of earth and threw it over the side.
“Aaron?”
He spun around to see his sister. “Why did she have to say it like that? Why did she have to say it at all? I thought she was making fun of me like all the others.” He lowered his gaze, his voice assailed by regret. “I hurt her, Candace. I didn’t mean to hurt her like that. I wasn’t myself, and I said things I shouldn’t have.”
“What did you say?”
“They were bad enough the first time. I’m not going to repeat them. Poor kid. I’ve got to talk to her.”
“Where are you going?” she asked, grabbing his arm when he walked past.
“I have to apologize.”
“You can’t apologize like that.”
“Like what?”
“You don’t even have a shirt on.”
“I’ll get one.”
“And second, it’s kind of late to visit her room. She’s not going anywhere. You can talk to her in the morning. Better yet, I will. I’ll explain everything, since I’m partly to blame.”
“No, I’ll talk to her.” He slapped his forehead. “I should have known when she tried to save me that she was being sincere.”
“She tried to save you?”
Aaron sighed. “She thought I was going to jump off the cliff.”
“But you do that all the time.”
“She didn’t know that.”
Candace laughed. “She’s such a romantic. Did you know she makes her own clothes?”
“She’s definitely an interesting kid.”
“I doubt she’d like to hear you say that.”
“What? That she’s interesting?”
“No, that she’s a kid.”
“She’s too young for me, but I did consider her a friend. Fortunately, we can clear this all up in the morning.”
But they never got the chance. Rebecca flew out early the next morning, and he’d thought he’d never see her again. How wrong he’d been.
She had every right to want to ignore him, but he would make that very hard. He’d make her regret the words she’d spoken and see him in a new way. After his divorce from Ina, he’d focused on his business and raising his son. But now Rebecca had given him a new focus. She reminded him that he was a man who didn’t just want a mother for his son, who didn’t want to live life safe. He was a man who wanted to take chances. He would not let her be a dragonfly who stayed out of reach.
He’d have to do his best to make her surrender.
* * *
“Guess who was looking for you in the VIP lounge last night,” Kelli said the next day at the model fittings.
“I know,” Rebecca said with little interest.
Kelli frowned as if annoyed that her fun and games had been ruined. “You don’t seem to care.”
“Because I don’t.”
“That’s what I told him. I said you wouldn’t give him the time of day.”
“Why did you say that?”
“Because it’s true, and he’s no good for you.”
Rebecca started to grin. “Because he didn’t fall for your charms?”
Kelli looked at her closely. “I really think you should give up the idea of hosting your show here.”
“Why would I do that?”
Kelli looked around, then lowered her voice. “Because I heard some workers talking about a curse.”
Rebecca sent her a sharp look. “I don’t believe that, and neither should you.”
“I don’t. I’m just not sure Aaron is a man who can be trusted to protect you.”
“I don’t need him to protect me. Hopefully, nothing else will go wrong.”
“But if something else were to happen, would you cancel the show?”
“Nothing else will happen.”
“But if it did,” Kelli pressed.
Rebecca held up her hands. “I’m not having this conversation.” She walked away to observe some of the volunteers helping the models, then looked at the rack of unopened garment bags.
She’d hardly slept last night after the kiss. Work was the only way to keep her from daydreaming about him. Rebecca wanted to know how it would feel to wake up in his bed, in his arms. To not just feel the touch of his lips on her mouth, but everywhere. She had to forget him. She’d love him from afar, but promised herself she would never get too close again.
“Did you sleep as little as I did last night?” came the whisper of a deep rich voice in her ear.
She froze at the sound of his voice. She should have expected he would find her, but she still hadn’t planned on how she’d respond. She had to be distant but professional. She slowly turned to him and plastered on a polite smile. “Good morning.”
“No, it’s not. I—”
She held up her hand. “There’s really nothing to say. I have a lot to prepare for, and I’d really appreciate if you didn’t get in my way.”
“You can try to ignore me, but you can’t ignore what’s happening between us.”
“Nothing is happening,” she said, then turned
and unzipped a garment bag.
“You lied to me last night.”
She looked at him, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“You said that I scared you, but if that were true, why aren’t you scared of me right now?”
“Because there are people around us.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s the one thing I remember about you. You weren’t afraid of me, or of spending the night in the Wethers mansion.”
“I was different back then,” Rebecca said, returning to the bag.
“I won’t push you, but this isn’t over,” he said, walking away. “Not many things frighten you, Rebecca.”
She stiffened when she saw something move. “Aaron?”
“Yes?”
“I am not afraid of you, but I am afraid of snakes.”
“Snakes?”
“Yes, like this one,” she said, staring at a multicolored reptile that had slipped out of the garment bag. It lifted its head, as if posed to strike.
Chapter 8
“Stay quiet and still,” Aaron said in a calm voice. The snake was one of the most poisonous on the island, and he didn’t want it agitated. “Nobody move,” he said, walking slowly toward Rebecca.
He grabbed a pair of scissors from a side table then flung them, hitting the snake in the head and killing it instantly.
Aaron rushed to her side. “Did it get you?” he asked, checking Rebecca’s face and neck.
“No,” she breathed, clinging to him because her legs felt weak. She briefly closed her eyes and rested her head against the safety of his chest. She wanted to fall apart, but knew she couldn’t afford to.
“Are you sure?” he asked, lifting and checking her arm.
She pushed his hands away, both amused and embarrassed by his concern. “Of course I’m sure.” She looked at the outfit stained with the snake’s blood and guts. “Now it’s ruined.”
“You’re making jokes now? Do you think this is funny?”
Rebecca looked up at him and lowered her voice, although she didn’t let him go. “No, but I can’t afford to fall apart right now. I am not going to give anyone an excuse to cancel my show, do you understand? Just let me hold on to you for another minute and I’ll be fine.”
He shook his head. “No—”
Sudden anger lit her eyes. “I watched a wretched disease take my mother way, I’ve seen my grandmother suffer the indignities of dementia, I’ve lived on two meals a day and I remember walking through an Ohio winter with the cold burning my skin because my boots were so old and worn, they offered little protection. When I say I’ll be fine, I mean it. Don’t ever question me.”
“You need to stop jumping to conclusions and let a man finish. I was going to say ‘nobody would doubt that.’”
“Oh.”
“But you’re itching to fight me, aren’t you?” he said in a hard tone while his eyes swept over her face like a soft caress.
Rebecca licked her lips, knowing she should look away, that she should let him go, but she was unable to move. “I didn’t come back here for that.”
“What did you come back for?”
As she stared into his eyes, Rebecca realized that she couldn’t pretend anymore, that she didn’t want to. That this man had saved her life not once, but three times, and by doing so had earned the right of her heart, no matter how painful it was for her to admit it. I came to see you, she started to say before a well-dressed man, pressing a handkerchief to his face, interrupted her.
“Is she all right?” he said to Aaron. “We need to report this to security,”
“I’m sure it was nothing,” Rebecca said, releasing her grip on Aaron’s arm, but it was when she did so that she realized he’d also been holding on to her. His arm still braced her back. “Someone was probably careless when transporting the clothes,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “It’s really small and could have easily slipped in by itself.”
“I’ll join you in a minute,” Aaron said to the other man. He wisely took the hint and left them alone. “I know you have a lot to do, but I need you to do one thing for me.”
“What?”
“I need you to trust me.”
“I already do.”
“Good. I want you to keep up the charade that you’re not scared until we have a chance to talk,” he said, then let her go and walked away.
* * *
“He is scary,” Kelli said as two people from security bagged the snake and took pictures. “Did you see what he did with the pair of scissors?” She imitated Aaron’s swift throw. “Just one inch in the wrong direction, and he could have missed the snake.”
“But he didn’t,” Rebecca said, putting her things away. He saved my life and stole my heart. She kept seeing flashbacks of Aaron and how he had taken a harmless pair of scissors and turned them into a lethal weapon. The cold look of his gaze still sent shivers through her, but the feel of his embrace made her skin burn.
“I wonder where he learned to do that. It’s a shame it didn’t help. You’ll still have to cancel the show.”
“Why?”
“Rebecca, don’t you think things are getting a bit too dangerous around here?”
“I told you never to mention canceling again. Why are you so eager to keep mentioning it?”
“I’m nervous.”
“Then feel free to leave. I can find someone else to help me.”
“You know it’s dangerous to take warnings so lightly.”
“Warnings?” Rebecca said, surprised by the word.
“Yes, sometimes when things go wrong, it’s for a reason.”
* * *
“You don’t think it was an accident?” Harvey said as he and Aaron inspected the garment bag.
Aaron’s jaw twitched. “I’m beginning to hate that word.”
“Sorry, sir.”
Aaron had spoken with security, then instructed them to ban Rebecca from entering the exhibit hall until further notice. There had been some minor protest, but when he threatened to cancel the show, she relented. After knowing she was in safe hands, he’d called Harvey to help him look over the space and examine the snake. He didn’t want to get the local police involved because then news would spread all over the island, and he wanted to avoid that. Harvey had spoken to the workers, and they hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.
“Something is going on. Trident being in her villa is the only thing that doesn’t make sense, but this snake incident changes everything.”
“How did Trident get in her room? Maybe that’s the key, because it’s out of context with the other troubles.”
“I don’t know, but I think it was a test or a distraction. Or possibly a message. The perpetrator started with something big and harmless, then moved to something small and lethal. It’s someone from the island. Most people don’t know about this particular snake and how to handle it,” Aaron said.
“A prankster perhaps? Anybody could have opened that garment bag besides Ms. Cromwell.”
“No, Rebecca likes to inspect all her clothes, so she always opens the bags first.”
“But she doesn’t know anyone on the island,” H.C. said, still looking confused.
“I’ll ask her some more questions tonight, but first I need you to ask around discreetly.”
“I will. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make some major changes. Some that Ms. Cromwell won’t like.”
Harvey started to grin. “But you won’t give her a choice, right?”
“Exactly.”
* * *
He had to get to her first and find out what she was doing, Harvey thought as he made his way to Rebecca’s villa. But then he saw her in one of her disguises walking toward a taxi. He raced up
to her and grabbed her hand. “Where are you going?”
“Into town.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“What?”
“I know I may not be as magnetic as Wethers, but I’m still a man. I haven’t told anyone what I saw. I’ve kept it buried here.” He pounded his chest with his fist. “But every time I see you, after nearly getting hurt, you’re in his arms. You have to tell me what’s going on so that I can help you. I can’t let you ruin the Red Beacon name or get yourself killed.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please, no one can see us talking together.”
“You think Wethers would get jealous seeing you with me?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not—”
“Are you playing us against each other? Is that your game?”
“H.C.—”
He released her and turned. “I am not as powerless as you think, and toying with me is a mistake.”
“I’m not toying with you.”
“Then tell me what you’re up to.”
“I can’t. Not yet. I’m not who you think I am.”
“What?”
“Please, I have to go,” she said, then dashed into the taxi.
Harvey watched her go, then took out his phone and called Wethers. He wouldn’t tell him the full truth yet of what he saw or suspected, but if she wouldn’t save herself, he’d have to do it for her.
“What is it, H.C.?” Wethers asked when he picked up the phone.
Harvey sighed with a heavy heart, then said, “When you get a chance, you’d better ask Ms. Cromwell if she’s hiding anything.”
“You don’t think she’s been truthful with us?”
“I’m not sure.”
Wethers was quiet for a long moment, then said, “Tell me what you know.”
* * *
Things were getting too complicated. The other man had given her a strange look when she’d returned from walking on the beach to clear her thoughts, and she had only four days left. At this rate, there was a good chance that she’d have to cancel her show.