In one fluid motion, Conrad was once again seated next to her in the boat. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”
Rachel started to protest that he was dripping cold water on her – then she realized she was rather enjoying the feeling, and he looked kind of fantastic with the sun glistening off his wet skin. Her throat went dry.
“You haven’t answered me,” he reminded her.
“You distracted me,” she admitted.
“So, do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Do you mean what you said? Have the bastards robbed you of your spirit of adventure? Have they really won?”
She gave a half shrug, uncomfortable with the discussion. “I am ready for some peace and quiet.”
He didn’t answer, not with words anyway. She felt like his dark eyes were studying her so intently that they were penetrating all the way down to the most secret places in her soul. She was frightened, riveted. She couldn’t look away.
Out of nowhere, Conrad cracked a mischievous grin before letting out a whoop, grabbing Rachel by the waist, and plunging them both into the water. She came up mad and sputtering water, sending him into a fit of laughter. The madder she got, the harder he laughed.
“You beast,” she accused, splashing water in his face, launching an all-out splash fight.
“I’m sorry, chère. It just seemed like what you needed at the moment. That and I figured it was the only way to get you in the water.” He tried to pull her into his arms, but she slipped out of his grasp.
“Nice try. You’re not forgiven yet.”
He gave her his most beseeching look.
Her expression softened only the slightest bit, but he saw his window of opportunity and pulled her to him. He brushed kisses across her forehead as he whispered apologies in a blend of Koasati and English. The sun beat down on their shoulders; the cool water lapped at their backs. Rachel’s fears of alligators were a distant memory.
“Just because I’m forgiving you now doesn’t mean I’ll always be this easy.” She tipped her head up and gave him a saucy smile.
“Babe, no one would ever dream of accusing you of being easy.”
“I’m not sure you meant that as a compliment.”
He grinned in response, swimming out of reach before she could react. Rachel didn’t know how long they played on the water. They called it a day well before evening so they could dock their boat before the alligators roused to feed. Conrad assured her that it was mostly younger alligators in their neck of the woods, and that the younger ones were more afraid of people than vice versa, but he was also smart enough to quit while he was ahead.
By the time their reptile neighbors were patrolling for dinner, Rachel was in the cabin’s tiny shower, letting the cool water wash away the sun and grit of a day spent in the bayou. Though a little dismayed to realize she had forgotten a razor, she solved the problem by using his, which had the added benefit of getting revenge on him for his earlier stunt. Freshly shaved and feeling squeaky clean, Rachel emerged from the shower feeling like a new person. While Conrad got his own shower, she made them a quick dinner.
“I’m okay with losing my razor to the cause,” he informed her as he accepted the bowl she held out. “But I don’t want any complaints from you when I grow a beard out because that was my only razor.”
“Fair enough.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Besides, it’ll go with the unruly hair you’ve got kicking.”
“My hair is not unruly.”
“It hasn’t been cut in a month at least. You are definitely sporting the tousled look now, my love. Don’t worry; it’s a good thing.”
Rachel curled up in the middle of their massive bed, relishing the feel of the crisp, cool sheets under her skin. Conrad stretched out beside her. They took their time eating, talking about anything and everything while they did.
“This is nice,” she observed with a happy sigh.
Conrad looked up from his bowl of noodles and smiled. “It is.”
“I think this is the first normal conversation we’ve had since coming into each other’s lives again.”
“If this conversation is different from all the others we’ve had, wouldn’t that make it abnormal?”
Rachel stopped to give him a pointed look. “Do you try to be difficult?”
“Sometimes, yes, because you’re so damned cute when you’re irritated. Sometimes it just comes naturally.”
“At least you’re honest about it,” Rachel conceded.
“I think that’s one of the things we’ve always done well. We’ve always been honest with each other.”
“Painfully so.” Sadness flitted across her face as her eyes caressed him.
His eyes held hers, something in them making her feel like the most cherished woman in the world. She set her bowl to the side before taking his from him and setting it aside too. Then she crawled back across the bed to where he lay, placing an arm on either side of him, their bodies a breath away from touching.
He watched her with curiosity, amusement, and desire shining in his eyes. She bit her bottom lip for a moment, thinking about how to say what was on her heart. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? For what?”
“I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for choosing my career.”
“I never meant for you to choose between me and your career. That’s part of who you are, and I don’t want to change you.” He reached up to tuck a stray tendril of hair behind her ear.
She leaned into his touch. “It felt like that was the choice. I was so scared I’d stop being me – that I’d lose myself to you, to us. And then when you didn’t fight for me, I convinced myself you didn’t really love me. That you never had.”
“I moved halfway across the country to be closer to you. When you broke up with me, I didn’t think my pride could take too much more of a fight.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again.
“But looking back, I should have fought.”
“I shouldn’t have left.”
“Then we’re even.” His forgiveness came so easily. So many nights of heartache melted away in the blink of an eye.
Moonlight streamed through the window, adding its light to the candle flickering by their bed, causing shadows to dance across his skin. Rachel knew there were no words to adequately articulate the way she felt in that moment, so she replied with a kiss. He held her face in his hands, pulling her deeper into the caress. She pressed closer to him; he responded with a rumble in his throat.
Rachel loved Conrad with every fiber of who she was, and she spent the next two hours of her life telling him that without ever uttering a word. She poured into him how very sorry she was for his pain and that she was so very happy to be back in his arms again. Time stopped for her to show him just how much she adored him. And when she had demonstrated her love, her complete and utter happiness, she lay tucked against his side, marveling at how his skin felt against hers.
Lying there, she wondered for the first time in her life what it would be like to create a human being, to take a piece of herself and a piece of Conrad to form an entirely new creature. She allowed herself just a moment to try to picture what that person would look like, what kind of personality he or she would have. With a painful squeeze tightening around her heart, she shoved the image to the back of her mind, locking it away in the place she reserved for things never meant to be.
With a small smile, she kissed his chest before laying her head on it and fell asleep to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
The next day was a happy dream. Rachel got a phone call from Julia, checking in to let her big sister know she was doing well, followed by reassurances from Neena that Julia actually was doing well and hadn’t lied simply to set Rachel’s mind at ease. She even managed to have a civil conversation with her mother that didn’t frustrate her once.
Then she spent the rest of the day basking in the sunshine and in Conrad’s love. She regaled him by filling him in o
n happenings with mutual friends and recounting tales from work. If she tried to draw conversation from him, he always answered lightly then deftly turned the conversation topic back to her.
“There’s one thing I’ve been wondering about for a while now,” he mentioned that evening over their grilled fish.
“What’s that?”
“That night you called me and said Bruce Springsteen told you to call. What on earth were you talking about?”
Rachel let out a short bark of laughter. “I’d forgotten about that. See, I kind of worked a few connections to finagle an interview with him.”
“Very cool,” Conrad interrupted.
“Dream-come-true kind of cool,” she agreed, popping another strawberry in her mouth before continuing. “But it was kind of surreal too – at the end of the interview, he started asking me about my life. He asked me if I had a boyfriend or a cat or anything, and I said a cat. He caught on pretty quickly that I was still hung up on someone because he called me out on it and told me to call you.”
“So it was definitely me you were thinking about?”
“Well, it was either you or Stewart, and he was already taken, so I settled for you,” she teased.
“You have got to get over your crush on him if this marriage is ever going to last.” Conrad’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
“It’ll be tough, but I’ll do my best.”
“I guess it would be unreasonable to ask more,” he agreed with mock-solemnity before stealing a bite of the strawberry she held in her hand.
The next day it rained. Rachel welcomed the cooler temperatures and the excuse to spend the morning in bed, lying skin on skin with Conrad, listening to the rainfall. There was an easy rhythm to the days on the bayou, at least for them. It stood in stark contrast to the insanity that was her schedule back in New York. She wondered how she’d ever make the transition back. How had Conrad made the transition? She imagined a place like New Jersey would drive him insane when it was obvious this was the home he loved. For the first time, she had a real sense of just how much he’d given up to be with her.
When the phone rang, it didn’t cause the fear it had before, but it did make Rachel’s heart sink. She knew in her gut it was time for her fantasy to come to an end. It was time to rejoin the real world and face the monsters in the closet.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
RICK SINCLAIR WAS NOT A HAPPY MAN; that much was obvious. If Rachel had to guess, his displeasure had something to do with the fact that Conrad had needed to go find him and Veronica to lead them back to the cabin. She imagined his pride as a male and as a spy-type was wounded by the time spent wandering in the woods. Veronica, on the other hand, had decided it was the perfect place to put a hideout and peppered Conrad with questions about local real estate.
Rachel padded barefoot around the tiny kitchen, her skin glistening from the humidity, even while wearing just shorts and a tank top and running the fan on high. The rain had cleared out sometime after lunch, the afternoon sun making it a distant memory. Still, it wasn’t an unpleasant heat, or maybe she was just getting used to it already.
Despite the odd circumstances, to Rachel it felt like they were having friends over for dinner for the first time. She chopped vegetables and carefully prepared the meat for the grill. Conrad and Rick poked around at the fire, discussing their favorite grilling techniques.
Veronica noted the ring on Rachel’s finger. “I guess we missed a lot in the short time we were apart.”
“Yeah, that just kind of happened.”
“I knew you two were crazy about each other; that much was obvious. I guess I’m just surprised you actually acted on it. And I hope that didn’t sound as snarky as I’m afraid it did.”
“No, I get it. I’m surprised I acted on it, too. I can’t tell you what one thing it was that made me take the plunge. I guess it was the whole mess reminding me not to take anything for granted.”
“How’d you pull off the license? Rick’s been watching the Internet for any chatter about any of you. A marriage license should have flagged something.”
“We know; that’s why we didn’t get one. Well, that and time. Charlie performed the ceremony, and he’ll do it again when we have a license to make it official.”
“That’s so romantic.” Veronica held her hand to her heart, then looked toward the men on the back deck and raised her voice. “One of Rick’s ex-lovers crashed our wedding and told me my groom was leading a double life. I think I’d have preferred your wedding.”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Rick called back.
“Not even close.”
“Just checking.”
“I talked to Jeff yesterday,” Veronica mentioned while helping Rachel pour lemonade for everyone. “He wants you to know how sorry he is about all of this.”
“That’s sweet. Your brother is good people. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank him enough for all he’s done to help Julia. You’ve all done so much to help Julia.”
Veronica put the lemonade back in the fridge and leaned against the counter. “To be honest, I think it shook us up a little. We work with trafficking every day, but I don’t think any of us were prepared for the day it happened to someone we knew.”
Rachel stopped what she was doing to lean against the counter as well. “I’ve done at least three pieces on human trafficking. I thought I was pretty well-versed on the subject, but I had no clue. I was lost when it happened to Julia.”
“I think you reacted pretty damn well,” Veronica reassured her.
“Conrad was the one who was thinking. He told me to call Jeff.” Rachel waved off her friend’s words. “You know what? This is horrible dinner conversation. Let’s talk about something lighter. How’s Jeff? His antics are usually good for a laugh.”
Veronica furrowed her brow guiltily. “Actually, he’s not so good at the moment. The poor guy was all set to get married last month when his fiancée left him at the altar.”
“That’s horrible.” Rachel couldn’t imagine how that must have hurt.
“I’ve never approved of how my brother handles his love life, but he was really crazy about Courtney. I’m worried he’ll never try again.”
“I’m so sorry. Jeff didn’t deserve to be hurt like that. I guess no one does, really. Still, I wish there was something I could do.”
“On a purely selfish level, I’m especially bummed, because now my mother is back on my case to give her grandchildren.”
“My mom has written me off as hopeless. Two weeks ago, I would have agreed with her.”
“Now you’re not so sure?”
Rachel waved it off. “It doesn’t matter, really. Bringing a baby into this mess is out of the question.”
“Things won’t always be like this.”
“There’s no way to know for sure how long it’ll be until this is over, if ever.”
Veronica folded her arms across her chest, giving Rachel a hard look. “That is not the tenacious, tough-as-nails Rachel Cooper I know.”
“It just feels so huge. There are so many traffickers, and they’re everywhere. How do you fight that?” A single tear leaked down her cheek. The tough-as-nails Rachel Cooper felt rather silly and small at the moment.
“Do you remember what I called human traffickers back when we were looking for Julia?” Veronica asked.
“Cockroaches?”
“Exactly. And what do cockroaches hate?”
“Raid?”
“Well, yes, but the answer I was going for was light. What do you do for a living, Rachel?” Veronica prompted.
“I’m a journalist?”
“You’re not working with me at all here, sweetheart.” Veronica placed her hands on Rachel’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You shine a light into the dark corners of the world. It’s what you’ve always done best. These jackasses act like people who raise awareness don’t matter. That you can all talk and talk, and it won’t matter; they’ll keep buying and selling our c
hildren with no one to stop them. Rachel, if anyone can make people wake up and care, you can. Rip this thing wide open – show America what’s going on in their backyard.”
Rachel chewed on her thumbnail, her brow furrowed as she pondered Veronica’s words. “If I fight back, then what’s the point of all the hiding we’ve been doing?”
“Regrouping. Waiting until the moment is right. Giving yourself time to process everything that’s happened.”
“But won’t I be putting my family in danger if I piss them off even more?”
“Possibly. But I’m not sure they aren’t in danger now. You know we’ve been monitoring the trafficking ring that took her; those who weren’t arrested have scattered. They aren’t actively looking for Julia, but they are keeping their eyes open. If she shows up on their radar, they will come after her.”
“What about Conrad?”
Veronica hesitated. “They’re still looking for him.”
Rachel realized with a start that her thumbnail was almost completely gone. She stared at her hands for a moment before meeting Veronica’s gaze. “He’s never going to be free if I don’t fight. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”
Veronica’s nod was barely perceptible, but the look in her eyes was clear.
“You don’t think I’ll put Julia at risk if I pick a fight with these guys?”
“I can’t promise you that. I can promise to do everything in my power to keep her safe. And I can tell you that this is what Julia wants. She thinks you’re Wonder Woman, and if anyone can fix it, you can.”
Rachel let out half a laugh at that. “You’d never have known that from how she used to act.”
“What? Like a teenager?”
“Your sassiness isn’t quite as endearing when it’s directed at me.”
“That sounds like something Rick would say.” Veronica smiled before straightening and grabbing the lemonade off the counter. “So, what do you say? Are you going to hang out here with Conrad for the next twenty or thirty years, or are you game to see if we can shine a light in a few dark corners?”
“You’re right.” Rachel stood up straighter. “I have a voice, and it’s about time I used it. We just have to find the story that will make them care. These bastards don’t get to hurt my baby sister, threaten the man I love, and steal our lives away without one hell of a fight.”
Devil in Disguise Page 12