Turning, I began to slowly make my way back to the villa, holding my breath and moving a foot at a time through the bush. Crouching low, I tried to side-scuttle, like a crab.
But I slipped, my foot losing purchase, and I tumbled down a steep embankment into a hole.
Tasting blood in my mouth, I realized that in my effort to keep from crying out, I’d bitten my tongue so hard I’d drawn blood. Tears welled up in my eyes, not because I was all that injured, but in response to my stupidity.
Why did I put myself in situations like this? It was truly none of my damn business what these men were doing with a darkened plane in the middle of the night. Now I was in a hole, my ankle throbbing, and bleeding from my mouth. I wondered how long I’d have to sit here, waiting for the men to leave, before I could limp back to the villa, hoping nobody had seen my exploration into the bush.
Something slithered over my foot and I yelped.
In the next moment, I was blinded by a flashlight being shined in my face. I sighed, holding my hand over my eyes and cursing myself for being too impulsive. Shielding my eyes from the light, I glanced around to see where I’d landed.
Ye shall come here no more.
Written on the wall in thick tacky tar was old school penmanship, and a skull and crossbones. A glimpse of pink in the corner caught my eye, before I was hauled to my feet. Closing my eyes, I faced my future.
“Miss Althea. You can’t be out ’ere like dis. I warned you,” Calvin chided me. He ran his hands over me, patting me down.
“I… I’m sorry. I got lost,” I lied. “I think I drank too much rum.”
“I understand dat. It sho do happen to de best of us. ’Ere, let me help you.”
“Erm, okay,” I said, honestly not sure if Calvin was friend or foe. What was he doing out here with the plane?
“Did you hurt yourself when you fell? I warned you about caves out ’ere, didn’t I?”
“You did, Calvin. I think I wrenched my ankle a bit. I should be okay,” I said, stepping gingerly as he helped me back up the embankment. I’d fallen further than I’d realized. I suspected I’d discover a few more bruises in the morning.
“Hold on to me. Slowly,” Calvin said, helping me until we were standing on flat land again. He didn’t let go of my arm, and I didn’t turn around to look at the plane. It was in my best interests to pretend I’d heard and seen nothing.
“Thank you,” I said, gingerly moving my ankle around. I’d be limping for a bit, but I didn’t think I had done too much damage.
“I’ll help you home,” Calvin said, hooking his arm around my waist and propelling me forward, away from where I’d seen the plane. “What are you doing out ’ere dis time of night? In your pajamas?”
“Um… well…” I grinned shyly up at Calvin, hoping my act would work. “I was looking for Cash’s villa.”
“Oh, I see, I see. Dat I can understand. Feeling lonely, were you?”
“I was.”
“You need to stay on de path, Miss Althea. De bush, it’s dangerous.”
“I see that. I got turned around because the lights were out on the path. I couldn’t see well and I didn’t bring a light,” I said, hoping Calvin would believe me and deliver me back to my villa unharmed.
“Dose lights are always tripping a fuse. I tell Mr. Lovington about solar lights, don’t I? Over and over, I say – use de solar lights. They cost nothing, and we have plenty of sun. Does he listen? No. Then dis place light up like a palace and de fuse trips.”
I wondered if the fuse was helped along whenever a plane landed in the dark.
“Solar definitely seems like a smarter choice. Especially when people have been drinking. I sure did make a poor choice leaving my bed tonight.”
“You’re okay, Miss Althea. ’Ere we are,” Calvin said, helping me up the steps to my villa and stopping at the front door. “You need help to your room?”
“No, thank you, Calvin. I should be okay. Sorry about that – I feel so silly. You did warn me about the caves.” I wondered if he could hear my heart thundering in my chest.
“You stay out of de bush. It’s a dangerous place.” Calvin’s face turned sharp in the light of his flashlight, and I wondered what else he was trying to tell me. For the first time, I felt a shiver of panic race through me.
“Althea? Is that you?” Luna opened the door and I almost cried in relief. I’d been sending her mental images since Calvin had found me, praying she would wake up and read them. It was a little trick she and Miss Elva had taught me, and though I was rusty at it, I did my best to use it when I could.
“Yes, Luna. I took a tumble. My ankle’s twisted.”
“Oh, you poor thing!” Luna rushed out and put an arm around me, beaming at Calvin so that he automatically smiled at her in return. It was hard not to return one of Luna’s smiles – fake or not.
“Calvin saved me.”
“You’re a right hero, you are, Calvin. Can I get you anything – a drink or some food?”
“No, thank you, ma’am. I’m on my way to bed in a bit and de next guard takes over. Please don’t go wandering out in de bush at night. I’ve warned you.” With that, Calvin blinked his flashlight off and faded into the darkness, presumably going about his patrol.
“What the hell happened?” Luna whispered in my ear as she helped me up the steps and to the kitchen, where she shoved me into a chair and put my foot up on another. Flicking all the lights on with a wave of her hand – a power move of hers that I greatly admired – she bent to look at my ankle. “Some swelling. Let me get some ice. Once we treat it the old-fashioned way, I’ll see what I can do my way.”
“Thank you. Did you get my messages?”
“Yes; we need to work on that. You were basically shrieking in my brain. You woke me from a dead sleep, and I was in total panic until you came traipsing up the steps with Calvin.”
“Whoops.” I really looked at Luna this time and could see how frazzled she’d appeared. A thin sheen of sweat coated her perfect face and her hair dared to be out of place. She still looked amazing, just with ruffled feathers.
“It’s fine. I’ll teach you how to tone it down. I’d rather you alert me you were in trouble than not at all. Again… what the hell?”
“I heard a plane.” I sucked in air as she put the ice pack on my ankle, where it simultaneously soothed and burned my skin.
“A plane?”
“I swear to god. It woke me from a dead sleep. I was so confused – what the hell was a plane doing landing in the middle of the night?”
“And of course you felt the need to go poke your nose in somebody else’s business.” Luna pinched the bridge of her nose, looking pained.
“Well, yeah.” I gave her a sheepish smile.
“Althea Rose, where are your street smarts?”
“Hanging out with sober Althea?”
“Keep talking,” Luna sighed. She dropped into a chair across from me. I shifted a bit, feeling an ache in my back that I was sure would be worse in the morning.
“Anywho, I decided to go outside and see what was going on. The lights on the pathway were out, so I just kind of wandered my way closer. It wasn’t far from us and I just… I don’t know. I wanted to take a look.”
“What did you see?”
“There was definitely a plane, a small one, and some men scurrying about in the darkness.”
“And how did you fall?”
“I came to my senses at that point and realized I’d likely stepped into a bad situation, so I began to crab-walk out of there.”
“Excuse me?” Luna held up a hand to stop me.
“You know… like crouch and side shuffle. Like a crab does.”
“Althea,” Luna sighed.
“And I shuffled myself into a hole, fell down an embankment, and landed in a cave.”
“Of course you did.” Luna turned and eyed the bottle of tequila on the counter.
“Yes, go ahead. One for each of us.”
“I’m not sure y
ou get any more alcohol if you make decisions like you made tonight.”
“Hey, I didn’t go home with Cash when he kissed me. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“He kissed you?” Luna stopped, the bottle hovering over two glasses she’d put on the counter.
“Yes.”
“And you said no?”
“I did.”
“You may have this tequila then.” Luna poured us each a generous helping, plopped two ice cubes in, and squeezed a lime over the top. Settling back in her seat, she clinked her glass against mine.
“Talk.”
“About Cash or the cave?”
“Both. Cave first.”
“So, I land at the bottom of this cave –”
“How did you know it was a cave?”
“I didn’t. Not until Calvin flashed his light on me.”
“How did he find you?”
“I may have made a little noise when something slithered over my foot in the darkness.”
“Ew,” Luna decided, sipping her tequila.
“Exactly,” I agreed, mirroring her as I let the bite of the tequila burn its way down my throat.
“Was it a big cave?”
“I think it was Rafe’s cave,” I admitted. “I’ll have to talk to him in the morning. But there was old-style writing on the wall, and a skull and crossbones.”
“Oh, interesting. I wonder if we could find it again in the morning.”
“I think we’ll have to be pretty careful. The hole came out of nowhere. And it seems like that area is patrolled.”
“Obviously, if they’re doing a drug drop,” Luna mused.
“Wait, what? Why do you say it’s a drug drop?”
“I swear, Althea, do you not watch any crime shows? That’s what they do. Planes turn their lights off and land in the bush with someone on the ground using a flashlight. Or they’ll drop drums of it out in the water and dudes on jet skis race out and pick it up. It’s kind of a thing.”
“Honestly, I had never thought too much about the actual logistics of drug smuggling,” I admitted. Now I felt even more foolish for having wandered into the bush at night.
“Well, that’s what I think it is. Which wouldn’t surprise me; there are a lot of rock stars around this weekend. Maybe they needed their fix?”
“Wouldn’t most rock stars just bring it with them on their private plane?”
“No clue. I’m pretty oblivious to that world too. I honestly can’t believe you didn’t think twice about trudging after that plane.”
“In retrospect, I’m beginning to see why this was not a smart choice,” I agreed.
“You’re lucky they didn’t kill you. A lot of these guys will shoot on sight, no questions asked.”
A shiver went through me at her words. I knew she was right, and it was just now really setting in how stupid I had been.
“I’m blaming the rum. I never drink that much.”
“You’re lucky. I’m glad Calvin found you.”
“Yeah, but why was he out there in the first place?”
“He’s security, isn’t he?”
“Then why wouldn’t he be detaining the plane or whatever?”
“Because it’s obviously for somebody who’s staying here this weekend.”
“Then the question is – who?”
“I think the bigger question I have right now is why didn’t you go home with Cash?”
“Ugh,” I said, downing the rest of my tequila and letting my head fall back on the chair. “I really, really, really wanted to.”
“And… yet?”
“Those were my hormones talking. I can’t trust those bitches.”
Luna laughed and moved to my foot, removing the ice pack and running her hands gently over my ankle. She muttered a few words under her breath, and I felt a cool balm roll through my ankle.
“There, that should be at least a bit better than what you came in with.”
“Thank you, Luna. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now, stay out of the bush and other men’s beds.”
“I will. Promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
I woke up feeling sore all over, as one would expect from tumbling down an embankment and slamming into a rock wall. My head throbbed, and I wanted nothing more than to roll over and sleep the day away.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Beau knocked and then poked his head in the door. Seeing that I had clothes on, he clambered onto the bed next to me and smiled.
“Hi,” I said, glaring at him.
“Uh-oh, you need coffee. Back in a jiffy.” Beau knew as well as any of my friends not to approach before I’d ingested at least one cup of coffee. Groaning, I pulled myself up so that I was propped against my pillows and gingerly rolled my ankle. Pleased to only feel a small twinge of pain, I silently thanked Luna for her healing powers.
Beau appeared at my door with a gigantic cup of coffee and I smiled my appreciation.
“We leave in thirty minutes. I still have my beauty routine to do. Meet us out front,” Beau called over his shoulder. Then he was gone – before I could ask him anything else about what we were doing today. Spying the itinerary on my bedside table, I picked it up and scanned the list.
“Right, island tour,” I grumbled, and sipped my coffee, not making one move to get up and get ready. I didn’t really need to tour the island and after the night I’d had, I was probably safest just lying in bed and recovering. Decision made, I picked up one of the gossip magazines I’d brought with me and lazily paged through it while l let the coffee make me start to feel human again.
“Uh-uh,” Luna said, poking her head in my door.
“Does nobody knock around here?”
“Finish your coffee and get your ass in the shower. I’m not going on this stupid tour alone.”
“If neither of us wants to go, why are we going? Let’s stay here by the pool.”
“While that sounds fabulous, Calvin of ‘wanders in the dark bush at night’ fame will be driving Miss Elva around today. Are we or are we not going to stick by our friend’s side, which is the entire reason we even came on this weekend?”
“Miss Elva’s a big girl,” I mumbled into my coffee, knowing I was bested.
“Shower. Now.”
I showered. Not because Luna told me to, but because it helped me wake up. I got out and wrapped a towel around me just as my phone rang.
“Trace,” I said, smiling as his face filled the screen.
“Hey, pretty lady. I see I caught you at a good time.” Trace pretended to leer at me through the phone. “How about a peep show?”
“You wish. You know I don’t do that. Knowing me I’d hit the wrong button and go Facebook Live or something.”
“You absolutely would. And wouldn’t that be a treat for everyone watching?”
“Except for, you know, my parents.”
“Yeesh, yeah, you’re right. How’s the Bahamas?”
“Erm, interesting,” I said, flopping onto the bed and giving him a quick rundown. I left out the events of last night so as not to worry him. I felt like it was one of those stories best told in person, so he could see that I was just fine and hadn’t banged myself up too much.
“Sounds wild. I’m sorry I’m missing it,” Trace said.
“Trace… just so you know, Cash is here.”
“That guy.” Trace immediately scowled into the phone.
“I know, I know.”
“Did you know he was going?”
“I did not. It was a surprise to see him.”
“Is he still with that girl?”
“No, he’s single now.”
“Is he making moves on you?”
“He’s… expressed an interest.”
Trace’s scowl deepened.
“And? Have you expressed an interest back?”
“I’ve made it clear that we are dating – and beyond anything, we are friends first. I would never do anything to hurt you, Trace.”
&n
bsp; “I know, I know. He just… ugh, that guy gets under my skin.”
“I know he does.”
“Listen, if you want to be with him, I don’t want to hold you back.”
He didn’t? This was news to me.
“Um… I didn’t say anything about wanting to be with him.”
“I’m just saying. If that’s what you want. We can take a break and you can see how you feel.”
“Wait… what? Where is this coming from? I thought we were in a good place,” I said, scrunching up my forehead in confusion.
“We are. It’s just… you never want to move forward. And I can’t help but think it’s me that’s holding us back.”
“How so? Trace, I’m perfectly happy just how we are.”
“But that’s the thing… you can’t ever keep things just how they are. Relationships have these natural steps. You work toward them together. Being exclusive, moving in together, marriage, kids… all that.”
“Is that – are you saying you want marriage and kids?” I was honestly surprised. Trace had never mentioned kids to me in the past. Trace tugged at the knot of hair at the back of his neck, so I knew he was agitated.
“Not, like, now. But you know, down the road. I always thought about that. And you’re just happy as is.”
“But as is – well, it’s a good place. We come and go as we please, we cook together, sleep together, dive together. Why can’t it be that easy?” I asked, trying to drink my coffee faster so my brain would fire more.
“It can be, but I guess I want more. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t know what I want,” Trace said.
I heard a woman call his name over his shoulder.
“Who is that?”
“Her name is Kelsey. I’m diving with her today.”
“Just her?”
“And?”
“I just asked a question.”
“You’re the one in the Bahamas with Cash,” Trace pointed out.
I pulled my head back. “Excuse me, I didn’t plan that. He’s here on his own accord. And I told you as soon as I talked to you. You didn’t mention Kelsey.”
A Sixer of Tequila Page 11