“You have no idea do you?” Larisa didn’t look surprised as Esa shook her head side to side and gave a shrug. “This is the place Grandmama used to bring us every Tuesday for the weekly bridge game.”
“No!” Esa breathed, shock lacing her tone. “I don’t believe it. What happened to it?”
“Uncle Chuck didn’t tell you?”
Tell her what? She shook her head in denial, yet one more item on the list Charles Keats conveniently forgot to tell his daughter.
“The owners passed away and left the family business to their daughter, you remember Rachel? The little red headed girl—”
“That used to pull the daylights out of our pigtails? How could I forget?” Esa finished with a snort. “So, she decided to do away with the community center and erect a fancy discothèque? I’m shocked. I never thought she’d amount to much of anything except twenty-five years in a slammer.” Esa chuckled and both Larisa and Rick joined in. Jacque remained spellbound by the scenery.
“You must have a sixth sense,” Larisa giggled. Rick flagged the waitress and ordered a round of drinks as his wife added, “Rachel turned out to be a sweet little church girl, believe it or not.”
“Hmph! And even more surprising that she would open a modern day brothel.”
“Mmhmm, except it wasn’t her idea. The poor girl managed to get herself hitched to a con artist and he ended up stealing her blind. She signed her life away on the dotted line. He made off with the cash while she ended up in jail for passing bad checks all over town, amongst other things. Rumor has it she thought she was signing for the construction of a youth center.” Larisa shrugged. “And get this, the man’s name was Cromwell!”
Esa felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Cringing, she was almost afraid to look at Jacque, afraid she’d see the mocking grin, the I-told-you-so-smile plastered across his face. The music was so ridiculously loud, maybe he hadn’t heard.
Daring a sideways glance at him, she grimaced. So much for her dwindling wellspring of hope. He was gaping at her with a haughty smile that left no room for words. “Don’t go there,” she hissed, her eyes reduced to black slits. The rogue had the audacity to chuckle.
“But that’s not all,” Larisa continued. “Some bigwig executive came through here and bought the land, leveled the property and here we are! And I’ll bet you couldn’t guess in a million years who that executive was?”
“Who?”
She giggled. “Remember Donny Banes?”
Esa’s mouth fell open. “No! Not Don Juan Donny?”
“Yep!” Larisa beamed. Smile fading, she glanced over Esa’s shoulder and added, “Speak of the devil…”
“Esa? Esa Keats, is that you?” A good looking gentleman in his late twenties approached the group and embraced her. Nostrils flaring, Jacque sprang to his feet and looked ready to pounce on the intruder.
“My, it’s been a long time. Wow, you look incredible!” Donny took her hand and kissed her knuckle, adding, “Damn—engaged?”
Damn was right, she’d been wearing the engagement ring so long it had become a second skin. Guilt washed over her, was that part of Jacque’s brooding mood?
Her childhood friend released her and extended his open hand to Jacque. “And you must be the future Mr. Keats?” He laughed hysterically and Esa flinched.
“Ah-oouch!” Donny squealed as Jacque accepted the offered hand and held it in a death grip.
“The name’s LaFleur. If ye dare insult me again, I’ll carve ye liver out with my teeth and wash it down with that yellow blood coursing through ye veins.”
“Jacque!” Esa spat, taking hold of his arm. Her touch seemed to call him back to wherever his mind had taken flight, for he released the man’s hand as though it scalded him.
Donny rubbed his injured appendage and frowned. “Are you threatening me?”
“Aye bilge rat! I don’t make threats. ‘Tis a warnin’. And ye get but one.” Danger oozed from the deadly marauder’s every pore. She didn’t know how many times he’d killed before, only that he had, and looked as though he might lengthen the list. To his credit, Donny seemed to take note of the fact and fell back a few paces.
Good grief. If Jacque managed to get himself thrown in jail again, she wasn’t so sure she could get him out so easily this time. Donny didn’t come across as though he’d take an insult to his inflated adult ego any better than when they were children.
“Er, Donny, you’ll have to excuse him. He suffered a severe case of heat stroke earlier and it would appear he’s still hasn’t completely recovered.” She cast Jacque a look that told him she wasn’t pleased. But the poisonous smirk he sent her in return made her want to turn tail and hide in the nearest crevice.
“J-Jacque,” she stammered. “This is an old friend of ours, Donny Bane. We used to hang out together while our grandmothers played bridge.”
Two thick and lofty bodyguards appeared on either side of Donny, apparently lifting his confidence to courageous levels. He took a step forward, a smug expression lighting his leathery complexion. “I was her first love, her first kiss, her first…”
That muscle twitched beneath Jacque’s jaw and Esa stepped between them in attempt to prevent a fatal altercation. “Stop it Donny. Don’t try and make it sound like more than it was. We were kids; we stole a few kisses a couple times in the stairwell, big deal. If I were you, I wouldn’t egg him on. He’s not exactly the type of guy that can hold his temper.”
Donny looked at Jacque and she saw uncertainty replace the confidence. His brisk features softened as though he suddenly had a change of heart. He smiled and amended with the slightest shake in his pitch, “Forgive me Esa, Jacque. Please, sit down. Drinks are on the house. It was nice seeing you again Esa, but I have some pending business to attend to. Enjoy yourselves.” With a nod toward Rick and Larisa, Donny and his burly thugs disappeared into the crowd.
She didn’t release the breath she’d been holding until they were out of sight. The drinks arrived and she was tempted to order a double shot of tequila. Instead, she sipped the margarita and tried to relax, frowning at the bottled water Larisa had ordered.
A familiar song came on and Rick and Larisa joined other couples huddled together on the dance floor.
“Come on Jacque.” She yanked his arm, hopping down from the barstool. “They’re playing our song.” Vision of Love, made famous by a crooning Mariah Carey years prior. It had played on the radio a few times while they’d been on the charter and she’d found the words resonated her hearts sentiment and claimed it as their own.
“Our song?” His hooded gaze moved between her and the darkened shadows swaying beneath the slow spiral of white lights. He stopped to listen, a delightful smile erupting on his face as he added, “And so they are, after you my pet.”
She chuckled, took his hand and led him toward the back of the strobed mirrors accenting the floor.
Jacque assumed a stance like one might from his time, and reasonably so. His back erect, he lifted one hand in the air, and rested the other at the small of her back.
She laughed, and took the hovering hand to settle it along the opposite side of her back. “We do things a little differently in the twenty first century.” With a smile, she wrapped her arms about his neck and stepped into the embrace, her hips setting the pace of the dance as he quickly mastered her instructions. “Ah, the student becomes the teacher.”
He smiled at her, the sexy grin coming out from its refuge. “Mmm, with age comes wisdom, eh?” With a playful chuckle he added, “I much prefer holding ye close, yet, how is a man expected to be in such tight proximity with his beloved and not hope to quench his lust?”
Esa felt the brunt of that lust brush against her midriff and flushed an embarrassing red. “Control yourself Jacque, we are in a public place.”
“Avast, ‘tis exactly my point, mademoiselle.” He glanced around at the other lovers, many were lost in the art of kissing, and some just snuggled close, feminine faces buried in the crook of the man’s neck
. “‘Tis nothing more than a clothed brothel with such blatant acts of privacy on display.”
“My, you are a quick study aren’t you?” She stopped laughing and settled her head against the soft cotton covering the heat of his chest. She was the envy of every woman in the club at that moment.
“In case I forgot to mention it before, I wanted to tell you how beautiful ye look tonight, lass.” She wore a simple lavender dress; it fell just above the knee and exposed a hint of cleavage. She’d chosen the black heels as she remembered Jacque’s heated look the night she’d rescued him from jail.
She lifted her head and her knees nearly buckled. The ice had melted away from his eyes; she’d not thought to see that loving gaze ever again. “Thank you, Jacque.”
“No my love, thank you.” His lips covered hers and she knew nothing else. Thank God he was holding her, for his touch had a way of making her feel as though she floated amongst the clouds. He must have felt the same strain on his emotions as his hold tightened on her a little more.
The blue shirt hugged his chest, as they all did, accentuating every curve of every finely tuned muscle. Black trousers complimented the curtain of ebony hair draping just past his broad shoulders. Had any man in history possessed wider shoulders? The strong, freshly shaved and squared jaw line, husky accent and heavenly scent was a feast for her senses!
A tug of her hair brought Esa down from her amorous cloud. She opened her eyes, breaking the passionate kiss—when had they started kissing? Jacque’s eyes snapped open at the unwelcome intrusion. Larisa was positively glowing as she started back toward the table. Only then did the distant couple realize the music had changed tempo. People were gaping at them in amusement, some pointing fingers and chuckling as though it were the funniest thing they’d ever seen.
Esa felt her face flush with heat. They returned to the table and she grabbed her purse and darted for the bathroom.
“Wow,” Larisa said, catching up to her. “I’m so jealous! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before, except in a movie. Amazing.”
“Oh my gawd! I’m so embarrassed,” Esa said, checking her reflection and pulling a lipstick from her purse. “We must have looked like a couple of idiots out there.”
“Are you kidding? You could put the gas company out of business with the heat coming off that floor. Good lord Esa, every woman in the world wishes she had a guy that would kiss her like that.”
“You can say that again.” A dark haired woman said as she entered the bathroom. “Mama mia! Where did you find him and does he have a brother, a cousin—hell honey, with those looks I’d take his grandfather! Shame men like that don’t just fall out of the sky.”
Esa cringed. She didn’t like being the center of attention. Funny, how their song seemed to keep playing in her head long after it had ended. Had it been the same for Jacque?
“Er, we met on the beach. What can I say? I was in the right place at the right time.” She smiled, closed her purse and headed back to the table.
“You’re not leaving Baton Rouge until you tell me every little detail Esa, promise?”
She couldn’t help but laugh for her cousin’s curiosity made her feel like a child again. “Oh, all right. If you insist.” She had to almost shout to be heard over the noise. “But if things go as Jacque hopes, I’ll be leaving alone.”
“What?” Larisa’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she took hold of her wrist and pulled her outside. “Explain,” she added, arms braided beneath her bosom once they were a good distance from the thumping entrance.
Esa released a frustrated sigh. She may as well get this over with. “It’s a long story, but once he finds his diamond, he’ll be gone.”
“The diamond? Esa, you know the history of that thing as well as I do. How do you know it even belonged to his family? How does he? He could be some con artist for all we know! And I’m sorry, but I’ll not risk my family’s life by trying to dig it up.”
“Y-You know where it is?”
“I didn’t say that.”
She didn’t have to. Esa sighed. “He’s a history buff as well, knows his genealogy better than you do. The diamond was stolen from his ancestors about the time it turned up in our family’s possession.”
“So he claims our family stole it from his?” Her brows shot upward in exasperation.
“He’s not saying anything of the kind. He has no idea how it got from point A to point B. Only that he needs it in order to get back home.”
Her mouth moved but no words came forth for a few hesitant moments. “To get back home? Where the hell does he live—Neptune?”
“Look, I know what this must sound like, but he’s not a criminal!” At least not anymore. “Tell you what, if the diamond doesn’t send him home, we’ll bring it back.”
“My God Esa, listen to yourself…send him home?”
Tears stung her eyes. “Larisa, you’ve always been the sister I never had. Please, just trust me on this, I promise you I’m not crazy.”
Larisa studied her, searched for eyes for muted answers. Esa wasn’t sure how much time had lapsed before she finally spoke. “He’s aware of the curse?”
“He is.”
“Then why on earth does he want it? Except for obvious reasons, of course.”
Good grief, how could she make her cousin believe her pirate was not a treasure hunter, per say? “I wish I could tell you everything Larisa, I really do. And maybe someday I can, but you have to trust me. Jacque promised his father before he died that he’d find the diamond. He thinks if he uses it for good, he can reverse its curse.”
Another long, hard pause. Forefinger on chin and one eye squinted she seemed to struggle with her decision “I can’t do it. I’m sorry, Esa.” She squeezed her arm before starting back into the club.
Esa couldn’t take no for an answer, couldn’t let Jacque down. The weight of his cause suddenly shifted to her shoulders, she blurted towards Larisa’s back, “He’s from the 18th century. He knows about the diamond because he’s the one that buried it and we’ve traced it back here.”
Larisa froze mid-stride, shoulders hugging her neck; she spun around slowly and looked at her like she’d just stepped off a spaceship, then busted out laughing. “Funny,” she said, turning back toward the entrance.
“Larisa, I’m not kidding. Just look at my face, I never was a good liar, you said so yourself.”
Larisa turned back, head down, she didn’t raise it again until she was standing in front of Esa. She didn’t speak for a long time. Eyes glistening, her voice was laced with fear, “I know. That’s what scares the hell out of me.” She threw her arms around Esa and hugged tight. “Tell me.”
When Esa had finished recounting the story, her cousin’s complexion looked several shades paler. But the suspicious glare had left her eyes. She’d been convincing. Larisa believed her. Thank God she’d never developed a knack for storytelling, else her cousin may have stormed back into the nightclub, collected her husband and kicked her and Jacque to the curb.
“You trust him? A pirate?”
“Privateer,” Esa corrected. “More than I’ve ever trusted anyone in my entire life,” she stated with such conviction that Larisa blinked in surprise.
“Ya know, they say whoever digs up the diamond will bring its wrath upon them? Are you willing to risk losing someone you love so deeply?”
A single tear dripped down her cheek. “I don’t have a choice, do I? Gawd, I wish I did, but I don’t. He won’t stop until he finds it. He can’t.”
“What if you told him you couldn’t find it? That we didn’t know where it was?”
“Is that true?”
“Well, not exactly, but he doesn’t have to know that.” Larisa winked.
It was tempting. But what would Jacque do? Would he remain in her time if he didn’t find the diamond? Could she live with a lie? “I can’t. I won’t lie to him. Besides, we’ve already established I couldn’t tell a lie if my life depended on it. He’d
see right through me. I won’t risk losing his trust.”
“All right Esa. I’ll do what I can to help. But if we find the burial site, Jacque has to be the one to dig it up, or no deal. I don’t want you anywhere near that diamond, promise?”
Esa held out her pinky and grinned. “I promise to let Jacque uncover the stone, by himself,” she added at the stern look of her relative.
Larisa locked her pinky around Esa’s. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
~ * ~
Jacque’s confidence was restored with the knowledge he would soon be able to hold and compare the stone. He’d had such mixed feelings where Esa was concerned.
The lethal side of him wanted to severe the treacherous Keats bloodline. The other side couldn’t hold her responsible for the sins of her forefathers.
And he loved her to the point that the thought of living without her made it difficult to breathe. She meant more than his precious ship, more than anything or anyone he’d ever loved in his life. But those forbidden feelings only served to muddle his senses.
Godsteeth, but he was tempted to leave the bloody stone in its resting place and spend however many days he had left on the small boat making love to her beneath the stars!
But how could he live with himself knowing he had the power to save his family, and didn’t? He couldn’t.
And what about Esa. How would his reclaiming the stone alter her life? Would it make any difference at all? It wasn’t as though anyone had profited by it if it was buried somewhere on her cousins property.
Esa snuggled closer to him in the canopy bed. He caged the tears that begged to be released and not for the first time that night. The pain of leaving her equaled, even exceeded, the devastation of losing his mother, as though someone had snuck up on him, jerked his dagger free from his belt and rammed it through his chest…twisting and turning until his heart ceased to beat.
Without words, they’d said their goodbyes. It was easier that way, for both of them. She couldn’t muster enough courage to say farewell anymore than he could.
Would this truly be their last night together? His throat constricted and he clenched his jaw tighter, grinding his teeth as the need to cry mounted. Hadn’t the same gut wrenching fear came over him every time he closed his eyes? What if it wasn’t even his diamond?
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