by Blue Davis
The market crowd thinned as she polished off the last of her plantains. The food had diverted her from the dismal outlook and now reality shattered in. It was late. She hadn’t met her goal of finding the boat. There’s no way on earth Carl is coming here. She needed him to move the product, not find the product.
And James. James Ashton. A deep-rooted seed of want fluttered through her belly when she pronounced his name aloud. Should she risk calling him? He’d want his fair share. He wouldn’t travel to Haiti for free, and that wouldn’t be cool of her to ask. She didn’t want favors from anyone in the biz because they kept scores. And they never forgot favors.
People stared again, glaring at her through hollow eyes. One man in a collared black-knit shirt stopped and rubbed his chest as he furrowed his eyebrows at her. He broke into a peculiar grin.
Her body stiffened as she marched in the other direction toward the hotel. She ducked her head under her cap as she clutched her purse tight. How am I going to get that flippin’ boat?
Rowdy teenagers approached. A tight lump formed in her esophagus. A hand flashed in front of her face and disappeared.
She gasped. The fist had yanked single strands of hair from her head. An empty air swept the surface of her skin. What the…? Her eyes darted down to her own chest. My necklace! Her throat constricted a scream. The boys laughed and picked up speed up the sidewalk.
Hood rats. She fought to control her trembling jaw. Why couldn’t I remember to remove that necklace? The necklace was of little importance and she hadn’t been dumb enough to wear something of value to Haiti. Still, the boys served as a warning. A sudden chill spread across her back. Darkness settled into the street, and she saw creeps pouring out of their cardboard shacks into the dusty twilight. She wanted to be back safe at the hotel now.
She gathered her thick brown stock of hair up into her hat and quickened her pace. The lodge sat in the same neighborhood as the harbor, and granted it was on the better side of town, but she couldn’t walk fast enough. Her head clouded into a thick mass of tearful emotion as she pulled open the glass door to the lobby. A blast of cold air hit her face. Oh thank god. She gulped a full breath of air as she slid into a rust lounge seat in the lobby. Her hand covered her gaped mouth as tears fought to exit her glazed eyes.
“Miss?” A suited man leaned over the front desk, his concerned voice articulating the perfect English sentence. “How did you enjoy our lovely town this afternoon?”
She drew in a quick breath and cleared her throat. “Yes, it’s fine. It’s a fine city. I did the whole tourist loop today,” she lied. No one should discover why she was in town. Letting in people on the slightest details could be dangerous and she preferred people to believe she was here on some touristy volunteer trip. She straightened her blouse and whipped a few strands of hair behind her ear.
The man squared his shoulders, and lifted his head, but looked confused. He spread his lips into a thin grin. “Wonderful. May I help you find anything? Anything at all?”
“No, I’m quite fine. I was just resting a bit before heading up,” she explained, standing to her feet. She drew her bag closer into her shoulder and forced a smile. Her head bounced into a nod as she squeaked by and marched directly to her room through the hallway. What was I thinking to come out here by myself? Stupid, stupid decision. Her mind panicked. What the hell was she going to do now?
She checked the door lock and threw her bag on the bed. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. The stench of fear and fish radiated from her underarms.
She undressed until she was naked, then studied her hideous scars in the bathroom mirror. The five dimpled holes started at her shoulder and trailed to her the top of her right breast. Ugly. No man had seen her since Carl, and no man ever would again. Most of the men she encountered hungered for money, anyway.
That’s the way it worked in this business. Friends were enemies. Trust no one. Everybody hunted and scavenged for something. They were like ravens in the shadows, swooping in to thieve whatever shine they might find.
As for her, sometimes she was lucky and sometimes she wasn’t. Today had been awful.
The cold shower water never turned hot. Her mind cleared to focus again on the one man who might help her. A tingling pleasure ached her insides. Her pores broke into a sweat as she thought of the sensuous blond hairs that laced his sculpted forearms. She pushed herself into the shower and let icy water pour onto her. It calmed her and soothed her feverish body. She shivered now, her body fighting the debilitating shock. James. The name fluttered from her lips. The question is, will he screw everything up?
Chapter 2
James
The click of the ball hitting his golf club sent chills to James’ back. “This is what I come out here for, bro. Does it every time.” He shivered as his stylish caddy took the club from him. A cool air hit his polo as he sat in the cart.
His brother raised his eyebrows as he pulled himself into the golf cart. Some had mistaken them for identical twins, but Zack was three years older than James, and he made sure he knew that fact on the regular basis. “Your game’s improving,” Zack informed.
Zack’s comments were always sneaky. And sometimes they were downright manipulative. He cared about him and his other brothers—James wasn’t denying that. He just cared in strange ways. James pulled in a deep breath. “It is.”
The caddy stopped the cart in front of the next hole on the course.
His cell phone rang. The name “Lexi” appeared on the display. A sudden flush of warmth spread across his groin. A spark of heat assaulted his chest. “I need to take this.”
It was her. The one he’d thought about on the daily basis for the last ten years. A smile rose to is lips. “James Ashton speaking.”
“Hi James. It’s Lexi,” a familiar voice cooed from the other line.
The way she pronounced her own name made him shudder into a rhythmic pleasure-dome. He always answered her calls as if he had no idea who it was, just to hear her silky voice pronounce that sassy name of hers. “Well, hello,” he greeted.
“Hi. What are you up to?”
He could tell her he was lounging it up and drinking Mojitos on the course, but why bother? She was always so unimpressed with his money. It fascinated him that she dug her own gold, literally. “No, my dear Lexi. The question is, what are you up to? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
A moment of silence passed before she spoke. “I’m in Haiti.”
His heart thudded against his chest. Dangerous place. The main city was full of rapists and kidnappers hungry for American tourists. What the hell was she doing there? The greens felt stiff under his feet. He lifted his index finger up to Zack. “What is there to do in Haiti?”
“You know what I’m doing here, James.”
Her voice made his body throb. He’d needed to fuck her from the first moment he listened to her sweet, tender sound. She’d called him to ask him for a contact number. He hadn’t even met her in person until six months afterward. He just ached to consume whatever was attached to that sultry voice and wanted to coax it into moaning his name or better yet, screaming it. Heat rose to his neck.
He’d preferred that she’d say she was baking a cake or dropping her niece off at school, or even researching one of her next cute treasure hunts. But instead, she was in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. He flapped the top of his shirt against his chest to get air. “No, I don’t. Fill me in.”
“I have a map,” she announced.
The curvy girl hovering over a map with sexy red lips and glasses invaded his mind. He held the thought, then composed himself. “And what does your map say?”
“Let’s just say, I have the inside scoop on where Black Caesar hid his stash.” She had a fresh openness to her as if slipping his swollen cock into the folds of her steaming hot flesh was a viable option. But it was never that easy.
She had clapped her legs shut like a music teacher slamming a piano whenever they saw each
other in person. Only thing was, his fingers were always caught under hard wood, mashed against the keys. She’d rejected him multiple times. It pained him, but one day the clouds would part and her velvety voice box would moan ‘yes’. It was only a matter of time.
He tried to focus on the strange words coming from her mouth. He suddenly realized he had no idea what she was talking about. He scratched his temple. “Who the heck is Black Caesar?”
Lexi laughed. “You don’t know who Black Caesar is?”
He was stumped. The name didn’t sound familiar, though he wasn’t up on his current events. “Should I be familiar with Black Caesar?”
She paused. “Oh, I forgot, you’re not black,” she teased. “Only my people care about things like this.”
James laughed. “Wait, you thought I was black?”
Lexi let out a breathy chortle. “That’s cute, James. He’s a black pirate that used to ride with Teach,” she explained.
James rocked his head back. “Really? The Edward Teach?”
“Yes. While everybody’s hovering over Teach, I’m busy looking for the lesser-known pirate’s gold.”
Her smooth brown arms flashed in front of him. He imagined her pretty eyes looking at him, drinking him in. “Smart move.”
He meant it. She knew her stuff. Every time they had spoken on the phone she was either studying something or trying to get the information out of him. She was a hell of a lot more resourceful than others in the industry. He had seen the girl take on treasure hunting with ambition and intelligence. And if she showed up on the scene, it’s because she’d poured over her research ahead of time.
“Yeah. There’s only one problem though,” she added.
“And what would that be?”
“I have to get to the other island and I need help to secure a boat.”
“Okay,” he responded, letting his voice trail higher at the end.
She said nothing on the other end.
“And you need me to come help you get a boat.”
Lexi drew out a quick breath. “Yes.”
“There’s always a catch, isn’t there?”
The golf course greens looked so lush. A blond girl tried to converse with his brother. Zack took out his cell phone and texted, proving that he had no interest in girls and that he’d probably be pissed if James abandoned him. Zack was pure business. If his big brother had set aside two or three days to hang out with him, he’d better damn well be there. He rubbed his chest. “I’m busy these days.”
“It sounds like you’re playing golf, James. I can hear the club hitting the ball,” she mocked.
“Yeah, you hear that? Doesn’t that sound like heaven to the ears?”
“I hate golf. You should come out here and play a real sport.”
She loved to bash his game. That was part of her game and he lavished in it. Her tongue was so fucking daring. He wanted to take it and curl it into his mouth. “Have you tried to go to the harbor and see if anybody will give you a lift?”
“Already tried that.”
His mind scrambled to come up with an alternative. “Have you… tried to hire a captain?”
Lexi sighed. “You know what? Forget it.” Her tone fell flat. “I got the wrong man.”
His stomach clenched. She wasn’t getting away with that shit. “Whoa. I only… hello?” Silence. “Hello?” He looked at the blank screen on the phone and rolled his bottom lip into his mouth while standing still for a moment. He pocketed his phone and walked back to the cart. I’m the right man, dammit.
His brother gaped his mouth open when he saw him. “You look like a freight train hit you.”
He closed his eyes and rubbed the tiny nerves in his neck. “This girl’s killing me.”
“Who? Sheila?”
His heart pounded. “No. Fuck Sheila. I’m talking about this other girl. Lexi. I’ve been trying to get into her pants for ten years now. She’s not climbing all over me like the other girls.”
“Should she be?”
Zack talked so matter-of-factly that he wanted to grab his collar and choke him with it. He talked as if he knew what it was like to be tormented by this girl year after year with absolutely no advancement.
“Forget about her.” Zack advised. “Isn’t there enough fish to choose from?”
James took a club from the cart. “Yeah, you’re right, bro. Fuck it.”
“Yes. Let’s enjoy. Game’s good, weather’s nice. Cocktails tonight, poolside.” He raised his eyebrow. “There’s bound to be someone here that sparks your interest.”
There never was. Girls had been throwing themselves at him for as long as he could remember. They always wanted something from him. He was a regular giving machine. Sex, money, gifts. At least it made him feel like he wasn’t missing out on anything.
Lexi wanted things from him too. It was never the right things though. She wanted information. Not cock, not money. Just fucking info.
He and Zack played for three hours. The click of the ball irritated him, but he played quietly, pondering her hot lips asking him to come down there. Fuck, she was so sexy. She didn’t even realize it either.
He won the game—first time beating his older brother, but he was still troubled.
It wasn’t only information she needed this time. She had called him asking for help. That was a first. It was bizarre of Lexi to ask for assistance from anybody. You could literally smell independence oozing off of her. She’d frequently made it clear to him she didn’t need his help. So why was she asking for it now? What if she was in danger? He’d never forgive himself if something were to happen to her.
Lunch tasted bland. He chewed on the rubbery chicken and gulped it. “The thing is… she’s super cute.”
Zack dropped his fork. “Oh, are we back on that?”
Back on it? He had never left it. This girl had been plaguing his dreams for centuries. He needed to get down there and fuck her so he could sooth his burning erection. That’s all it was. “Now, wait a minute. I feel like I’m missing an opportunity here. This girl’s over there, she’s looking for treasure from some pirate guy I never heard of. It could be fun. Plus, she’s fucking hot.”
Zack’s eyebrows drew in. “Does walking around for days with a shovel sound exciting to you?”
“If you’re talking about last year at the dunes, that wasn’t fun ‘cause it was just me and you and we didn’t discover shit. You bring a hottie on the hunt, things turn around real quick,” James reasoned. “This girl’s smart too. She’ll find us something.”
“When are you going to grow up? Do you think Dad died and left the inheritance so you could fling it all over globe?”
Rage plundered through James’ veins. “Who are you to decide what Dad wanted?”
Zack tightened his jaw. “Be a man. Go to work like the rest of the family.”
“How dare you belittle activities I enjoy just because I’m not sponging sweat from my brow? I think he wanted us to be happy and passionate about life, not hammering away at some meaningless office project.”
“We’re running the family business, James. That’s what he wanted. You’re out there chasing tail and treasure like a fucking pirate, and we’re continuing the legacy.”
His brother had a way with words that made his life sound useless. His words stung hard.
“You know what? Fuck this. This girl needs me. The needier she is, the more desperate she’ll get.”
“Jesus, you’re a fucking playboy,” he scorned, shaking his head.
He scoffed. “I’ll take that over being a workaholic.”
Zack turned the corners of his mouth downward. “You’re not going down there.”
James made a steeple with his fingertips. “I’m seriously considering it.”
“You go to Haiti, you can forget about your 10%,” Zack threatened.
His heart thundered under his shirt. His threat was meaningless. He had to have full board approval before removing other members from Dad’s company. Zack didn’t
have the power to remove anybody, but he acted as though he did. And that was enough to agitate the hell out of James.
Zack took his job of being the older sibling way too seriously. “What, are you jealous? Why the fuck aren’t you letting me live my life? I’m 28 years old, Zack. A grown-ass man. Isn’t it time for you to treat me that way?”
His brother said nothing, then pointed at him. “All right, you go down there and you hurry the fuck back. Don’t make me come down there and bail your ass out.”
He let it go. He was happy his brother agreed. He would’ve gone regardless, but it was better knowing Zack approved. “I’ll call her.” He got up, knocking his beefy thighs against the silverware and circled around to the lobby of the establishment.
Zack was too damn protective sometimes. He was always getting in there and screwing with him. He had started that shit when Dad died. It made the situation even worse. Zack didn’t know everything there was to life. Yet, he acted as though he and his brothers were dummies when it came time to live.
Lexi.
James sat on the edge of a white chair in the air-conditioned lobby. He grabbed his cell phone and pushed through to the last call. “Lexi.” He said to himself aloud. He lifted his chin and put the phone up to his ear.
His pulse raced as he heard the click on the other end. She’d want to know why he’d changed his mind.
She said nothing.
He spoke first. “I have back taxes I need to take care of. A chunk of change might be nice.”
Her voice wobbled with excitement. “I thought you’d call back. What time will you be here?”
His mind raced. The island was close by, but sailing wasn’t fast enough. He’d have to tell the crew they’d be flying into Haiti instead of Florida. But it was imperative that he be there before nightfall. He didn’t like that country after dark. Not one bit. “Give me a couple hours.”
“Geez, that’s quick. Where are you?”
“I’m in Cuba. Next island over.” He couldn’t think straight. One moment he’s whacking a ball around and the next minute he’s island hopping.