Hot Seal Next Door_A Bad Boy Second Chance Romance

by Tia Wylder

  The man cleared his throat. There was a nervous look in his eyes. “I need to speak with you,” he said in a low, urgent voice. “I was just on my way to your apartment.”

  “What?” I blinked. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  The man sighed. “You don’t remember me?”

  “Obviously not,” I said irritably. “And excuse me, I have to get going. It’s freezing outside.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” the man said. “We met before – Jack Nathan introduced us. I’m his lawyer, Barnes.”

  “Oh,” I said. “You look different when you’re not wearing a suit.”

  Barnes laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “Look, Jack is in trouble,” he said. “And he’d kill me if I told you, but we need to help him.”

  “What?” I squinted. “That can’t be true. I just saw him last night.”

  “Well, this morning he got on a plane to Nassau,” Barnes said. He groaned. “And it was my fault – I told him it would be a good idea to go and check on his property.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “There’s another tropical storm coming,” I said slowly. “I saw it on the news earlier.” Panic began to fill my body, and I felt my heart beating frantically in my chest.

  “Yeah,” Barnes said shortly. “He’s in grave danger. His plane went down.”

  The bag of groceries fell from my hands to the wet pavement and split open, but I barely noticed. I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut.

  “His plane went down?” My voice was a pathetic squeak. Tears came to my eyes, and I blinked them away, desperately hoping that I was in the middle of some sick dream.

  “Yes,” Barnes said tersely. “And I have no idea whether Jack survived.”

  My eyes rolled back in my head, and I passed out, crumpling to the cold, wet pavement as Jack’s face flashed at the front of my mind.

  --

  When I came to, Barnes was standing over me with a worried look on his face. I gasped when I realized I was in my own bed, at home in my apartment.

  “Don’t worry,” Barnes said quickly, holding up a hand. “I didn’t do anything, I swear.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I wouldn’t have jumped to that,” I said. “How did you find out about Jack?”

  Barnes sighed. He was sitting in a chair that he’d dragged in from the kitchen, and suddenly I was self-conscious about my cluttered room.

  “I mean, not that it matters,” I said quickly. I felt dazed and drowsy, but the knot in my stomach was making it hard to breathe. “How are we going to find out if he’s okay?”

  Barnes swallowed. He looked at me for a long moment before putting his face in his hands and moaning.

  “It’s all my fault,” Barnes said. “If I hadn’t told him – none of this would have happened, and he would be okay.”

  “We can’t sit around and say things like that,” I said as I pushed the covers away from my body and got to my feet. “Talking like this isn’t going to help Jack. We need to find him – we need to go to Nassau right now.”

  Barnes looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “There aren’t any flights,” he said. “There’s no way you’re going to make it out there – no one would take you!”

  “Well, then I’ll fly to Miami and get a boat,” I said, swallowing hard and steeling myself for the inevitable, horrific journey ahead. I pulled on a sweater over my thin shirt and went to my closet where I began pulling clothes left and right. I grabbed a suitcase and threw it on top of the bed before loading it with random clothes, shoes, and underwear.

  “You’re crazy if you think you can fly to Miami in this weather,” Barnes said. He glanced outside. I followed suit and saw that it was snowing heavily. The wind was gusting, sending blasts of snow up against the windows of my room, and I shivered.

  Immediately, I knew Barnes was right.

  “Well, then I’ll need to rent a car,” I said, hoping that my voice wouldn’t give away how terrified I felt at the prospect of a long drive from a snowy Boston to a rainy, hurricane-filled Miami.

  “You can take mine,” Barnes said. He got to his feet and put his hands together. I saw the desperation in his eyes as he spoke – he looked like a lost man, a man with neither safe harbor nor port in this hellish storm.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Barnes nodded. “I’ll have my driver take you.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s a long drive, but you should make it in a day or so.”

  “A day?” My jaw dropped. It seemed unfathomable that crossing the country would take so long – especially considering how small the country looked on a map. A mere pinch of my fingers would take over twenty hours! The thought was chilling: it made me realize, as if for the first time, how far Jack and Nassau were away.

  If it would take me days to reach him, how could he possibly survive on his own?

  “And I’ll make sure you have rations,” Barnes continued. “We’ll load the car with whatever you need. And some medical stuff – Jack could be hurt, and I have no idea about his pilot.”

  I shivered again. Was this really happening? Was I, Adele Parker, lowly grad student, really going to try to rescue Jack Nathan?

  It seemed impossible.

  “Okay,” I said numbly. Barnes kept talking about everything I’d need, and how I was going to have to rush if I wanted to find someone who could take me out to Nassau in a smaller private plane or a boat, but I tuned the words out. My heart was thudding in my chest, and my palms were clammy with sweat.

  “So, you’ve got everything?” Barnes turned to me with a strange look on his face.

  “I think so,” I said. “Although to be honest, I’m not really paying attention.” I bit my lip. “This is all really scary.” I swallowed hard. It felt strange to be confiding in Barnes – a man I’d only met once before. Before, I’d thought he was just as much of a jerk as Jack Nathan…but I saw very clearly that he had a heart after all, and that he was deeply worried about his friend.

  “Good.” Barnes nodded once, a solemn gesture. “Are you ready to go?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll call my driver and have him pick you up from here,” Barnes said. He reached down and grabbed his briefcase. “And please, stay in touch with me whenever you can.”

  “Why can’t you come?” The prospect of going alone was growing more frightening by the minute.

  Barnes gave me a wry, odd smile. “Someone has to stay home and take care of things here,” he said. “Besides, if I know anything about that bastard Franchot, he’s there too.”

  “What?” My jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”

  “Franchot is probably going to try to use this very storm to take out Jack’s property, and ruin him for good,” Barnes said. “That’s why Jack flew down – I wanted him to make sure that his development would be safe.”

  I blinked, feeling stupid.

  “Franchot is evil,” Barnes continued. “And he’s not above doing things like this. I know it sounds ludicrous, but you have to believe me. And if you want to take him down and save Jack, this is your chance. Because if you don’t, you’ll never get another chance again.”

  I knew he was right, but the knowledge didn’t exactly fill me with much comfort.

  “Right,” I said. “I’m ready.”

  Barnes nodded. “My driver will be here soon. I’m going to go.”

  I stared as he walked out of my bedroom and down the hall. Part of me felt that I had to pull him back, to ask him why I was the one charged with this madness? Why not the Coast Guard?

  I knew there had to be a reason. But I also knew that Barnes wouldn’t tell me, even if I asked.

  Lisa was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a worried look on her face. When she saw my stuffed suitcase, her jaw dropped.

  “Adele, you can’t possibly be serious right now,” Lisa said. “You’re not going – it’s not going to happen. It’s a stupid fucking idea, and you’ll probably die!”

  Tears came to my ey
es, and I tried to blink them away before Lisa could see, but the effort was useless. When she saw my expression, she leaped from her chair and put her arms around me.

  “Adele, please,” Lisa whispered in my ear. “Please, don’t do this. It’s suicidal, and you know it.” She pulled back and put her hands on my shoulders, looking deeply into my eyes.

  “That’s what you said last time,” I joked.

  “And last time, you nearly died,” Lisa replied tartly. “It was lucky that you survived.”

  I sighed. “Lisa, I have to go. Jack is in danger.”

  “So?” Lisa narrowed her eyebrows and looked angry. “Just because that jerk was stupid enough to get himself in trouble doesn’t mean you have to go running to his rescue! If he’s going to be dumb enough to let himself get killed doesn’t mean he has to drag you down with him!”

  “Lisa, it’s not—“

  “Adele, you’re not being rational,” Lisa said in a firm voice. “Look at yourself, rushing off into mortal danger over a guy!”

  “But I’m the only one who—“

  “Just shut up, for one second, and listen to me,” Lisa said sharply. “Adele, you’re making a huge mistake.” She swallowed and closed her eyes, taking a deep sigh. “And I feel like I don’t even know you anymore! When we first met, the Adele I knew never would have done something like this, running off after some man and putting herself at risk.”

  “Well, I’ve changed,” I said slowly. Lisa’s words hurt because I knew they were true. I knew that years ago, or even six months ago, I never would have agreed to do something so stupid. I’d always been so cautious, so careful.

  “Obviously,” Lisa said in a tart voice. “I barely even recognize you!”

  “Lisa, Franchot is down in Nassau, too,” I said. “And that’s why I’m going. It’s not for Jack – it’s because I want to catch this bastard in the act, and finally, have reason to put him behind bars forever.”

  Lisa narrowed her eyes. “That’s not the only reason you’re going,” she said. “And I’m sorry, Adele, but you can’t convince me otherwise.”

  “You’re right,” I shot back. “It’s not the only reason. But it’s the main reason. Barnes said if I don’t take this chance to try to get footage of Franchot destroying something and blaming it on the storm, I never will.”

  Lisa crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t even think it’s the main reason,” she said softly.

  “That stung,” I replied, narrowing my eyes. “And I have to go. Barnes is giving me his driver.”

  “You won’t get a flight out of the city,” Lisa said. “And I bet you won’t get one in New York, either.”

  “We’re driving to Miami,” I said softly, trying to keep my voice neutral.

  Lisa stepped forward and put her hand on my arm. “Jesus, you’re really serious, aren’t you?”

  I nodded. As I looked into Lisa’s eyes, I felt the last of my newfound-bravery drain. All I wanted to do was go back to bed and hide under the covers forever.

  But Jack was in danger. And I had to save him – I couldn’t abandon him and wait to hear of his death. And I had to destroy Franchot.

  And if this was my only change – dying in a Nassau tropical storm – then I’d do it.

  “Just think,” I said, trying to sound braver than I really felt. “If I die, you’ll be like, totally famous as the roommate of the idiot who died trying to catch Franchot.”

  Lisa bit her lip. “I know I can’t stop you,” she said softly.

  “Nope.” I tried to smile, but it was impossible.

  “So, please, Adele, just be careful,” Lisa said. She sighed. “Promise me.”

  “I will,” I said. “I promise.”

  We stood there for a moment, looking awkwardly at each other before I grabbed my parka and snow boots. Lisa watched me getting ready without speaking. It was one of the tensest times we’d ever shared.

  When I was finally ready to leave, I made my way downstairs. There was a long black car idling in front of the building. As I approached, a uniformed chauffeur leaped out of the driver’s seat and took my bags.

  “Miss Adele?”

  I nodded.

  “Please, come with me.”

  The driver opened the backseat and helped me inside before stowing my bags in the trunk. Just as Barnes had promised, there were bags in the back, loaded with water and food and emergency supplies. I bit my lip as the chauffeur climbed back into the front seat and pulled away from my building. It occurred that I could still back out, but as the words formed in my mouth, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to say them.

  I was going to Nassau to save Jack, no matter what.

  Barnes’s chauffeur drove through the night and the next day. We stopped periodically for silent, tense meals in fast-food restaurants. He was always perfectly polite, but I never felt comfortable at the sight of his brass-buttoned uniform.

  As we made our way further south, the air began to change. The chill lifted and I could see the first signs of the approaching storm. By the time we made it to Florida, almost twenty-one hours later, I was terrified. The skies were grey and cloudy and filled with angry clouds.

  “Where to, miss?”

  I swallowed nervously. “Find a charter boat company,” I said. “And then I’m going to Nassau.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jack

  The first night, I broke into a hotel room and spent the night shivering in bed. The windows, miraculously, didn’t break in the rage of the storm, but the power was gone, and I knew that it likely wouldn’t be restored for days. I foraged for food as best I could in the kitchens and wound up opening an industrial-sized tub of peanut butter and eating it with my fingers.

  I felt pathetic. I’d come here on a false whim, and now I was likely going to die because I’d been an idiot.

  By the third day, the storm was getting worse. I watched as five-foot waves gradually turned into ten-foot and even fifteen-foot waves. Just looking out the window made me shiver. And I was terrified of leaving the Hotel St. Charles. I’d gotten lost in the Nassau wilderness once before, and I was determined not to let it happen again. Not when I still had my own skin to save.

  I was foraging for more food in the kitchens and trying to decide whether or not I should break into the freezer when I heard the sound of footsteps. My heart leaped into my throat, and I whirled around.

  “Rico!” I yelled. “Is that you?”

  There was no reply, but the footsteps grew louder. I started to panic – what the hell would I do if it was Rico, and he was grievously injured?

  “Rico,” I called again. “It’s me, Jack! I’m in here!”

  I dropped the giant tub of mayonnaise that I was holding and darted out of the kitchens, into the main restaurant. But it wasn’t Rico I saw standing there.

  It was Adele.

  She was soaked to the bone and shivering. Her dark brown hair was plastered wetly to the side of her face and her skin was deathly white. For a moment, I wondered whether I was going crazy. Was Adele really here, standing in front of me, or was I losing my mind?

  “Adele?”

  Adele staggered forward. Her eyes looked haunted and glazed over, and she was shaking in her soaked shoes. Before I could step any closer, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she crumpled to the floor.

  “Adele!”

  Jumping forward, I caught her in my arms just before her head made contact with the soaked carpet. Adele was shivering uncontrollably, and her lips were blue. I carried her out of the restaurant as fast as I could, running up the stairs to my hotel room. Without looking at her body, I stripped her clothes away and wrapped her tightly in the sheets of my bed, pulling the duvet over her head and snuggling her into the mattress. Adele was still shivering, but after a few minutes, the worst of the tremors subsided. I didn’t take my eyes away from her as I held her firmly in bed, rubbing her arms and legs under the sheet in a desperate attempt to help her circulation.

  After what
felt like hours, Adele slowly opened her eyes. I handed her a glass of water and held her head up as she drank greedily, water dribbling down her chin. When she saw me, she closed her eyes again and took a deep breath.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I have no idea how you got here, but you’re safe.”

  Adele’s eyelids fluttered open. I could tell she was struggling to focus on me.

  “I…”

  “Don’t talk,” I said. “Save your strength – god knows we’re both going to need it.”