Breath caught in her throat. Could it be Rick? Had he found her somehow?
“Do you think they’re following us?” she said, her heart wanting to leap into her throat and out of her body altogether. Please, God, let it not be one of Rick’s lackeys.
Tack reached into the wheelhouse, grabbed the binoculars from the upper shelf and scanned the horizon.
“Can’t tell who’s on the boat from here,” he said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Cate nibbled on one of her cuticles. “What do we do if they are?”
“We’ll find out what they want,” Tack said. “But it’ll be better if we dock in Aruba first. Meeting at sea is never a good idea. People drown that way. Boats go down. Besides, that boat is smaller than ours. I don’t think they’ll catch up to us on wind power alone.”
“Maybe I can outmaneuver them.”
Tack glanced at Cate. “You into racing, now?”
“I’m into anything that makes sure I don’t have to answer more questions than I want to.”
Tack grinned and shook his head. “You are a woman full of surprises.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
TACK WATCHED IN awe as Cate took the boat off autopilot and took control. She ordered him about, telling him which ropes to pull and which sails to heave, and soon enough, the boat caught the wind. It lurched abruptly to the side, almost coming out of the water, and a canister near the wheel toppled to the ground, spilling out a book of matches and a couple of safety pins. Tack grabbed the items and stuck them in his pocket right before the ship lurched again and he caught hold of a nearby railing. The canister rolled past his feet and off the edge of the boat into the blue-green sea. That had almost been me.
He righted himself as Cate flashed a sheepish grin. Sorry, she mouthed as she turned the wheel once more. The boat trailing them grew smaller and smaller in the distance until Tack couldn’t see it with his binoculars. Cate was a woman of many talents, and she seemed always to impress him. A woman who could sail and who didn’t know the meaning of the word quit, well, she was a woman after his own heart. Tack could see just how perfect they were for each other—both unyielding, both stubborn and both fiercely protective of the people they loved. She was loyal, despite what Rick said. He could see that in everything she did for her son and for her friends, too.
They were perfect for each other.
Except for the fact that I picked the wrong team from the get-go. Now I am a man who can’t be trusted. And what about Adeeb? Could I really leave him twisting in the wind?
He wasn’t sure he could talk Rick Allen into a truce, and even if he did, if she’d accept the terms. Then there was the problem of Avery not even knowing his father was still alive, and Cate seemingly determined to keep him in the dark.
But all of that would be a moot point if Cate fled the second they landed in Aruba, and if Tack was a betting man, he’d go all-in on her running just as soon as she got the opportunity. He was a man who prided himself on seeing all the angles, and when it came to Cate, she was going to flee, not fight. It was all she knew how to do. If only he could show her the benefit of taking a stand, of not letting the bad guy run her out of town. If she was going to take her power back, she’d have to do it on her own terms. He knew it would be a long road to convince her that if she stood her ground, she just might be able to win. If she ran, she’d always lose.
“Can you still see him?” Cate asked as she concentrated on steering the catamaran.
“They’re out of sight,” Tack said, moving up beside her. “Looks like we lost them.”
“For now,” she murmured and frowned. “But I don’t like that they were so close. That they saw us.”
“You don’t know they were following us. Could’ve been tourists.”
“Maybe, but I didn’t get this far not looking over my shoulder.” Cate had stuffed on an old baseball cap she found in the wheelhouse, but her unruly blond hair jutted from under it, refusing to be contained, much like the woman’s stubborn will, he thought. Her tanned face needed no makeup, and the determination in her green eyes made them sparkle with fire and grit. Tack wanted to take her again right now, right here in this wheelhouse, but he knew he couldn’t. Avery was awake and the autopilot was off, and he was out of luck. Still, he wrapped his hands around her waist from behind, and she squirmed a little.
“You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met,” he whispered in her ear and then kissed the side of her neck. She shivered in his arms, a delectable little quiver. He wasn’t the only one being affected by the close proximity. He knew he could drive her wild, like he did last night, and he knew she wasn’t faking it, either. He’d been around the block enough times to know when a woman was playing him.
No matter how much Cate might want to run away, he also knew that he had her number. Her body responded to his touch as if she were made for him. It was just one more way they were perfect for one another. If only she’d just believe it.
She giggled anxiously. “You must not have met many women.”
If he didn’t know her better, he would’ve assume she was just being coy. How could a woman so completely perfect think she was anything but? Yet he knew the insecurity was real. The self-deprecation was no joke.
“Unfortunately, I have met many women,” he countered. “All the wrong ones. Until you.”
She leaned back into him, and the feel of her back flat against his chest felt so perfect, so right, he wondered why she didn’t just give in to the sensation.
She giggled again. “How many women are we talking about?”
Tack scoffed. If he were honest with himself, he probably lost count. There was a long, long line of romances in his life, none of them serious. A man who looked like him didn’t get turned down very often. Throw in the fact that he was in active service in his prime, and he didn’t need more of a come-on line than I’m on active duty. Getting laid was one of the unspoken perks of serving Uncle Sam. God bless America.
“A few,” he answered noncommittally. None of them mattered. Except for the fact that he knew Ms. Right when he found her.
“But none of them matter,” he said honestly. “Now that I’ve found you.”
“And how many women have you said that to?” Cate wondered aloud.
“None,” he said, truthfully, and squeezed her tightly.
Cate threw her head back and laughed. “You’re good, Tack Reeves.”
“You mean I’m honest,” he said, and this caused her to laugh more. God, how he loved to hear this woman laugh. He wanted to spend the rest of his life making her laugh. And making her come. It would be his dual life mission from here on out. That was, if he could keep her out of jail. And not in hiding.
The shores of Aruba came into view in the distance, and Tack felt a stinging disappointment. He’d wanted to stay at sea with her for longer. Land on the horizon was the visual embodiment of reality crashing in.
“I wish we could just sail on past that shoreline,” he said.
“Maybe we can,” Cate said, turning. He glanced down at her and saw she was dead serious. “What if we just keep on going?”
“You mean run?”
“Why not?” A light fired up in Cate’s eyes, and he saw the flicker of seriousness in them. “Come with us, Tack. You, me and Avery. We could make this work.”
For a second, Tack was sorely tempted.
He could run with Cate. They could be a family. He’d have the woman he loved, and did it really matter if they might have to look over their shoulders?
Then he thought of Adeeb, the man’s stoic smile, the way he calmly went about his business in the middle of a war zone. The passion inside the man that had driven him to risk it all to save his country. The promise Tack made. He knew he couldn’t abandon his friend, either. Getting Allen to give him a visa might b
e a long shot. But he had to at least try.
He couldn’t let the one last hope for Adeeb slip out of his fingers. He’d have to figure out something. He just needed more time.
“I love you,” he said, ignoring the fact that his words were met with a stiff silence. He didn’t care if she wasn’t ready to tell him she felt the same way. He didn’t even care if she was never ready. He felt what he did, and he wasn’t going to hide it. Not if it could make a difference. “It doesn’t matter how you feel about me. I love you. And because I love you, I’m not going to let you and your son spend the rest of your lives on the run. It’s not fair to Avery, and it sure as hell isn’t fair to you.”
Disappointment hit Cate. He could tell, as her shoulders stiffened and a wall seemed to come up between them. How could he make her see that he was on her side, that fighting was the only way she’d ever be free?
“It’s a fight I can’t win.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.” She turned on him fiercely, green eyes blazing with hurt and anger and a little tinge of fear. The invitation, the little bit of hope that had been there just seconds ago, had vanished. He wondered if he’d ever see it again.
“I know you’ve been through a lot.”
“You don’t know the first thing about me.” Her words hit him sharply, like a slap across the cheek. He did know her. He’d been tracking her for a year. He’d interviewed nearly everybody who’d ever known her. Her father. Her college roommate. Everyone.
He realized with a start that he’d been slowly falling in love with this woman for a year. Meeting her just sealed the deal. He’d been telling himself he doubted her, that she was a bad person, but everything he’d ever found about her told him the opposite. He was just too stubborn to let it all in. Until he met her, and he realized that everything everyone had ever said about her was right.
“I do know you, Cate. I’ve spent the last year studying everything I could about you. I’ve talked to everybody I could find that ever knew you. Your college roommate, Kimmy. Remember her? Raved about you. Said you were a fantastic friend.”
“Kimmy? You talked to her?” She looked taken aback, and her hands nearly slid off the wheel of the boat. “But I haven’t talked to her in...”
“Years. She told me to tell you, if I found you, to call her. She misses you. And I talked to your prom date.”
“You...what?” Now, Cate’s cheeks turned from pink to crimson. “You talked to...Pete Benson?”
Now Tack was starting to enjoy himself.
“Sure did. I think he’s still in love with you, by the way. The way he talked about you... Also, he owns the Big Bar, down at Cado. In case you want to drop in. He said drinks are on him.”
Cate dropped her head onto the window of the wheelhouse and groaned. “Oh, boy.”
“And...I talked to your father.”
Cate’s jaw dropped and her face was now bright purple. “You had no right to do that.”
“I was looking for you. He didn’t know where you were, but he told me you had a heart of gold, and no matter what anybody said, you could never harm a hair on a fly’s head. He told me the story about how, as a little girl, you’d never hook the worms for the bait, because you felt too bad for them and kept trying to set them all free. He said you damn near ran his bait shop out of business trying to let all those critters go.”
At the time he heard the story, he thought maybe Cate had just been a nice kid who’d gotten corrupted somewhere along the way. Now he realized she was still that nice kid. Trying to set the worms free. It was why she was so determined to keep on running right now. Why she hated the idea of standing and fighting.
“How...is Dad?”
“Having beer for breakfast,” Tack said honestly. “The man put away four while I talked to him.”
“Same old Dad.” Cate shook her head. “When I married Rick, I tried to send Dad to rehab. Paid for the best program. But he quit on day two and told me he was too old to dry out, so he was going to keep on drinking and just pickle himself up. He said his grandfather drank moonshine every day for all of his life and lived to be eighty-nine.”
Tack couldn’t help but laugh a little. “At least he’s living his life on his own terms.”
“Who else did you track down?”
“Your aunts. And uncle. And at least two cousins.”
“Which ones?”
“Christina and Maureen.”
Cate looked visibly relieved. “Good. They’re great. I think one of my other cousins might be in jail.”
“Never found him. But Christina and Maureen were very nice. They also had no idea where you were.”
“How did you find me?” Cate’s eyes were sharp, assessing. “I was very careful.”
“You were very careful. So was Mark, who got you the papers. I knew you’d gone to the Caribbean because of the last bank transfer, from that bank account you kept under your maiden name.”
“Nobody knew about that account,” she protested. “Not even Rick.”
“No, he didn’t, but I found it. There wasn’t much in it,” he remarked, and watched her face contort into shock.
“There was ten thousand dollars in that account!” she exclaimed.
“It’s not a lot when you’re talking about millions,” he clarified with a shrug. “Why get it?”
“It was my money. I’d earned it, back before I’d married Rick. It was my money, and I wasn’t going to leave it, and besides, I needed every penny I could get.” Across the horizon, the shore grew closer. Small buildings on the island came into view. They probably had ten minutes, maybe more, before they landed.
“I figured it was something like that,” Tack said. “But the point is, I do know you, Cate. I’ve been living and breathing you for a year. I know the kind of person you are, and that’s why I love you.”
“I don’t know what to say to that.” Cate just stared at him, varied emotions running across her face. He wanted to pull her into his arms, convince her to see reason. But she hadn’t spent a year researching him, and what she knew of him was betrayal. He understood that on a very basic level. It would take her a while to come around. If she ever came around.
“You don’t have to say anything.” He didn’t want to put pressure on her. Already, she was a skittish colt about to bolt. He didn’t want to give her a reason. The only thing he could hope for now was just more time to convince her. Tack wanted to know that she wouldn’t run the second the boat was tied off.
“We’re almost to shore,” he remarked, and she stayed silent, keeping her eyes on the water. “Will you let me talk to him? Will you let me try?”
Cate hesitated, her green eyes turning a hard-to-read slate. She studied him, and he could see the calculations running in her head. Lie or tell the truth?
“Cate.”
“I need you to go secure that sail.” She nodded outward, away from her.
“Not before you give me an answer.”
Cate shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “Okay. I’ll give you three hours. You can try to talk to him, but after that...”
Three hours was short. What if he didn’t even connect with Allen in that time? Still, three hours was probably more time than she was comfortable giving, especially with Derek on the loose looking for them. He shouldn’t press his luck by asking for more time.
“I’ll do what I can with that,” he said.
“Good. Now, go secure that sail. We’re coming into port.” Her tone left no room for argument. He only hoped that she’d deliver on her promise and give him three hours before disappearing to wherever else she planned to hide.
Now came the impossible task of trying to figure out how to convince an egomaniac billionaire narcissist not to arrest his ex-wife on kidnapping charges.
The bo
at grew closer to the shore, and as they glided into the dock, Tack noticed a uniformed police officer standing near the edge. Two more were back near the street, and he saw three police cars stationed in the parking lot.
A split second later, Cate noticed them, too.
“Did you tip them off?” she cried, angry.
“No! Of course I didn’t.” Tack didn’t call the cops. He had no reason to do that. But Cate jumped to the quick conclusion that he had. It showed just how far she really was from trusting him.
“We’re not docking here,” she declared, and threw the catamaran’s small engine in Reverse, but by that time, a police boat had looped back around them, cutting off their only path of escape.
“We’re trapped,” she stated, panic clearly on her face.
A police officer on the boat spoke over a loudspeaker. “Pull into the dock slowly,” the officer said. “And no one will get hurt.”
“Looks like it’s too late for you to try to talk to him,” Cate said. “If that’s ever what you wanted to do.”
“Cate, I didn’t do this.” In the seconds before they’d be close enough to tie off the boat, Tack grabbed Cate by the shoulders. “Whatever you do, don’t say anything. I can still help us. I will help us. Do you understand me?”
Cate frowned at him. “Why should I believe you?”
“What do I have to gain by lying to you now?” Tack asked, a fair question he thought, given that they were surrounded by cops. “I promise that I will protect you and Avery, and I plan to keep that promise. We’re probably going to be arrested, and they will probably take Avery, but if you run, then things can get violent. We don’t want that.”
Cate nodded.
“Then do everything they say and trust that I will figure out a way to get us out of this.”
The catamaran slid into its spot on the dock, and several officers hopped aboard, handcuffs at the ready.
Now, just how he was going to get them out of this was another story.
Shelter in the Tropics Page 20