by Blue Davis
She lifted her chin. “So you come down here and hold us at gunpoint?”
“Hold up. Let’s just talk about the word ‘us’.” He talked slow and deliberate, his New Orleans accent becoming clearer. “I offered myself to you. I said I’d come help you. But never in my wildest nightmares would I have thought you were going to trade me for this blond idiot here.”
She quickly averted the attention from James. She didn’t want Carl anywhere near him. “What are you talking about? Listen to yourself! Aren’t you the one pointing a gun? How could you sink this low?”
He rubbed his jaw. “It was time to square up a bad debt.”
The base of her skull ached. She was dumbfounded. He wasn’t making any sense. “What debt? I don’t owe you a dime.”
“You’re killing me, woman,” he groaned. “This isn’t about you. It’s just business, baby. They want my ass up in Louisiana. Money’s tight. Casinos don’t want to give me any more credit.”
She scoffed. “And I have to pay for that?”
“You know I love you, girl, but you were sounding fishy on the phone. You’re sweet as can be, but you couldn’t tell a lie to save your life,” he chorused.
Maybe she wasn’t as street-smart as she thought. Whatever. He was a bastard. Her stomach felt rock hard. A thickness welled in the back of her throat as she peeked at James. She mouthed the words, “I’m sorry,” to him, and sunk her heavy head lower.
His softened jaw matched his relaxed body posture. Why is he so calm?
James watched Carl and smiled. “Hey man. If it’s the gold you’re after, take it. We’ll catch a flight back to Florida, go our separate ways and call it a day.”
Carl turned away and exchanged a knowing look with one of his men. Then they both busted out into laughter.
“Call it a day!” The spiky-haired one exclaimed. He braced his gun against his belly and rocked his head back.
Carl quieted and rounded his lips as if he were blowing a whistle. “And it’s just that easy, huh?” He grinned. He raised his shoulders and squinted. “Who is this guy?”
Her lips tightened. “A friend.”
James lowered his head as his mouth fell open. His cheeks turned stony as he gazed at her. His eyebrows knitted.
Sorry James. She didn’t want Carl to know they had ever even resembled ‘a thing’. If Carl wanted someone to be angry at, it would be her. None of this was James fault. He was an innocent piece to this whole mess. He was just trying his best to help a girl out and he didn’t know anything about Carl until last night. A sudden stream of pain tensed the back of her neck. If only she could go back in time. How would she ever make it up to him? At the looks of things, she might never get the chance. Carl looked serious. If there was one thing about Carl, he was determined.
He shook his head, his eyes evolving to a darker shade. “You should’ve cut me in, Lexi. You deceived me. You made a grave error and now it’s time to pay.”
Her hands trembled. Truth be told, she hadn’t invited Carl in on the deal because she had a bad feeling in her gut. Her intuition said to make sure that man came nowhere near the island. “Just because I didn’t invite you down here, doesn’t mean I cut you out of the deal entirely. I told you I was bringing the gold up there for you to move. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“It’s true, man. She even told me you were going to help her sell it on the black market. She was bringing it up to you, bro,” James offered in a friendly tone.
She didn’t wait for a response, but instead pulled in a breath and spoke in a calm voice. “You jumped the gun, Carl. You’re overreacting. Now put the guns down so we can get back to the States and continue our business as usual.” If they made it out alive, there was no way she would do business with the scoundrel again, but he needn’t know that.
One side of his mouth pointed downward.
She moistened her lips and batted her eyelids. “Come on now. We’re in the Caribbean.” She smiled and twirled a spool of hair on her finger. “Let’s party. We’ll pick up beer and shrimp on the mainland. We’ll play us a little gin rummy on the boat to keep occupied ‘til we get to Florida and we’ll have ourselves a ball,” she beamed.
Carl wasn’t a dummy, but he had a weakness like everyone else—a vice. He loved to gamble. She intended to play into that weakness and turn the screws until it burned. She licked her lips. “I have a set of cards on the boat,” she purred.
He developed a wild grin as his face lit up. He tilted his head to the side. “Do you now?”
She bobbed her head. “I do.”
James appeared in the corner of her eye, staring at her. Please don’t say anything James. Let last night be our little secret. Please.
Carl relaxed his shoulders and snorted. Then he drummed his feet on the floor and staggered. “Oh please, Lexi,” he squealed, clasping his hands together. “Please can we play a game of cards?”
One of his men rocked his head back in laughter as he slapped his thigh.
Blood pounded through her ears. She wanted to charge them and slap the smiles right off them. She and James had just worked their asses off to get to this point. These bastards always wanted her to do all the work. Then they had the balls to roll up and take everything. Fuck that. Storm raged up her spine and pushed through to her center core. She detested Carl at this moment. She despised every man alive.
James drew in a breath beside her and touched her arm. His eyes were soft and caring. He threaded his gentle fingers through her hair and winded a strand behind her ear.
She relaxed her shoulders. At least he was here with her, making everything better. She still felt guilty that she had brought him all this way only to have been intercepted by Carl and his men. But gold hunting was a risky game and he had probably already expected the worst when he got the call to come to Haiti. It was one of the most dangerous places in the world. What a fool she was to think she could come here, gather the treasure on her back and escape scratch-free.
His hand soothed her and she needed that. If she was going to make it off the island alive, she needed to keep her cool and stay level-headed. She offered him a smile and shut her eyes to block tears from escaping.
He nodded. “Hey… it’s okay,” he whispered.
“Huh?” Carl yelled out. “What’s this? Are you two together?”
Neither she nor James said anything. How the hell would she answer that? She herself didn’t even know whether they were together. She had been glued to his side for the past 72 hours, but that didn’t mean they were together. Maybe, but not necessarily. She peeked at James. What does he think about the question? One thing was for sure. The slightest wrong answer could send Carl apeshit. She resolved to hold her tongue.
Carl left the men and approached James, squinting an eye. Carl stuck his flared nostrils in James’ face and breathed. His veins corded under the flesh of his neck as he stared James in the eye. “Are you fucking Lexi?”
Blood boiled up to her head. Her heartbeat paced. “How dare you ask that! It’s none of your business!”
Carl ignored her as if she hadn’t just yelled at the top of her lungs.
Her pulse thundered. She wanted to choke him.
James never broke his gaze. His eyes moved along with Carl’s as though they were reading each other.
Carl’s neck became blood-engorged. A vein in his forehead bulged. “Answer the question,” he whispered onto James’ face.
James opened his mouth and after a long pause, he said, “You should have heard her scream my name last night, bro.”
Carl stepped back and tucked his gun into the small of his back. He cracked his neck from side to side, then narrowed his eyes on to Lexi. “Fucking slut.” He shifted his stance and rammed his fist into James’ stomach.
Lexi’s heart leapt from her chest. “Carl, no! Stop it!”
James keeled over and let out a long cough into the dirt.
She rubbed his back as adrenaline raced through her veins. “James! You okay?”
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He stood up straight and rubbed his stomach while raising an eyebrow at the man who was threatening their lives.
“It’s not his fault. He didn’t do anything. He was just down here helping me and he doesn’t know anything. It’s me you want. Leave him alone,” she rattled out.
“Oh, I’m gonna bother both of ya.” He took his gun back out and aimed it at James’ torso.
Her mind raced. She licked her lips and offered her best seductive smile. “Carl, I’m sorry.” She wasn’t sorry at all, but she wasn’t about to let stupid pride get them both killed.
He raised the gun higher and undid the safety switch.
“Wait.” The flannelled man on Carl’s right spoke, his eyes widening. It was the first thing he had said since they’d arrived. He lowered his eyelids and tightened his lips. “We need them to carry the gold back. Free slave labor, man.” He winked at Carl.
Carl relaxed his shoulders and leaned to one side. “See, that’s why I hired you, man. Ooh Rah!” He amused himself, laughing. “Good idea, Jarhead.” His smile faded as he tucked his gun away into his pants again. “Just make sure you kill these little fuckers when we get to the boat,” he ordered.
The flannelled guy lifted his bearded chin and nodded.
The spiky haired man looked amused. “This boy here? He couldn’t shoot a nutria if it was right in front of him. I’ll do the shooting when we get to the fuckin’ boat. I might have my way with this little hottie first though. She looks pretty tasty,” He grabbed his dick and wagged his tongue back and forth.
Carl gave a mirthless laugh. “Lexi’s off-limits, Andrew. Noah here, is a good shot. You were in the Marine Corps, correct, Noah?”
Carl was a pompous ass, but she was grateful that he kept that wild porcupine off her. He looked as though his IQ was slightly higher than 85. She didn’t want him anywhere near her.
Noah seemed the most pensive of the three. He squared his broad shoulders. “That’s right. I did two tours in Iraq,” he said quietly. He looked away.
“That solves it then. Take care of Jack and Jill when we get to the boat. Oh and… keep an eye on them. That one there is a little feisty,” he said motioning to Lexi.
Lexi massaged the back of her neck. Carl didn’t know the first thing about any Marines. He was too much of a selfish bastard to join the military. The man standing at his right-hand side would be the closest he would ever come to serving. Carl was one of the dirtiest in the business, always thinking of his own pockets before thinking of others. Why the hell did I ever get involved with this jackass? She shook her head. Well, at least the military guy’s suggestion had bought them a little more time.
Andrew tightened his hands into fists and then loosened them. “Whatever. Have these little fuckers. I get first dibs on the next ones.”
Lexi shuddered. A cold shiver invaded her spine. These people were trained killers. How many had they killed before? How long had Carl been killing people? A plague of questions flooded her mind, but she kept her mouth shut. She would reconsider asking them later, but now wasn’t the time.
She wanted to become faceless, to blend in. If she blended in, they would be more apt to forget about her. And if they forgot about her, they could escape. Maybe James was on to the same idea. He seemed rather quiet, saying very little and only speaking when absolutely necessary. It was unlike him. He usually talked up a storm, with all kinds of little comments here and there. But not now. Maybe he was just calm in the face of danger?
James looped his thumbs in his front pockets. His eyes softened when she caught his gaze. He nodded and closed his eyes briefly, then tightened his jaw when he shifted focus to the others. He was thinking. All that quietness meant he was thinking.
“All right, Jack and Jill, time to get to diggin’. The sooner you get those other two barrels of gold, the sooner we can get out of here. This place is starting to give me the creeps. And I’m starting to sound like a fucking pirate… barrels of gold… arrrr,” he yelled into the cool, dry air.
Carl used to be funny. It’s what first attracted her to him. She had been nervous about being at a party with guests she didn’t know, and he had put her at ease right away. It was a fancy dinner party one of her sisters had brought her to. She had dressed up in a fine blue cocktail dress that accentuated her curves. She did her hair up in an elegant bun too. Her sister had mocked how plain Lexi looked when she had arrived in the airport. She wasn’t used to all the makeup and heels. “We like to dress it up and stick it out,” her sister said. So she did—she squeezed into a tiny blue dress and colored her lips with a new shade of lipstick.
Carl had watched her all night, then approached. “So, what brings a Seattle girl to New Orleans?” He had asked on that hot, humid night.
“In town for my cousin’s wedding.”
He flashed his rock star smile. “Tell her I said to be careful,” he whispered in her ear.
The comment puzzled her. Be careful of what? “What do you mean?”
“If the groom gets a glance of you at the wedding, she’ll be out of a husband,” he warned, as if it were a serious problem that needed to be solved.
She let him sweet-talk her all night. It was that kind of persuasive gab that caused her to wake up in his bed the next morning. He was nice to her for a while--almost fatherly. He was eight years older and he knew some things, opened a whole new world up to her. But the world slammed shut as soon as he became bored with her. She vowed never to be so enamored by any one man again. Cute and funny talk did not make a man.
She squatted down and helped James uncover the next cask. He eyed her as she scraped away dirt from the polished wooden barrel. She forgot about her anger for a moment as a jolt of energy shot through her chest. Another cask! She had been correct in her findings. She knew the barrel would go straight to the bastard and his men, but she couldn’t help but revel in the obvious score. If she was going to die today, let it be doing the one thing she loved. She kept her mouth shut while she and James dragged it out of the hole.
He glanced at her and smiled and then he reached out and touched her cheek. His hands were probably the dirtiest they had ever been in his life. Here he was, a wealthy aristocratic man, worth god-only-knows how much, digging his clean, well-groomed hands through the dirt.
She opened her pack and rummaged through it.
“Easy there,” Andrew, the wild one warned.
She halted. “I’m just getting bags. Unless you want to carry coin by coin.”
He seemed perplexed by the dilemma. There was no issue. There was a bunch of coins on the ground, and they need to be transported off the island one way or another. Either they kept the barrels intact and lifted them, or they put them in easy-to-carry bags.
He shrugged his shoulders and looked like an English Bulldog waiting for instruction.
Carl lifted his shoulders too. “Lexi’s the master treasure hunter. Do whatever she says,” he said, cocking his head to the side.
If Carl was trying to charm his way in again, it wasn’t working. Not with that gun pointed at her head. Had he lost his mind? He was obviously trying to flatter her. What would have been interesting to her would have been for his ass to stay in New Orleans and wait like a normal person for her to bring the goods back. Standing in front of her with a gun aimed at her head while he laughed it up with his dogs only made his repulsive image worse.
Her heartbeat voraciously while her body heated into a fierce rage. She hated everything about the man. Filthy swine. She promised to do everything in her power to suck every last drop of life from this man. Not just for her and James, but for the world. No one on earth should ever have to put up with his ass again. She hated him much, much more than he hated her, and she intended to use the rage to her advantage. She vowed to keep her cool while constructing a plan.
She began to tap the sides of the second barrel while James dusted off the third and final barrel. If only it were just him and her alone now, rejoicing in their achievements. Instead, the
y had to uncover the massive find with three scoundrels. She broke open the cask and packed up the coins by the handfuls into the bags. She smiled to herself as she looked at the small Latin encryption on the coins. They were the real deal. This was the treasure she had lived for, lusted after, and loved.
James’ eyes gleamed as he helped her stock the bags.
When he saw that she caught him ogling it, he squared his jaw and continued working. She saw a glimpse of playfulness that she had shared with him and him only and she basked in it. She also appreciated his mysterious, contemplative side.
He watched the men and their incessant joking. He cursed under his breath, then replaced his scowl with a tranquil smile and continued working again.
Andrew punched Carl, and Carl was laughing, holding his belly. She looked at the third, Noah, the one they called, “Jarhead.”
Noah’s muscular shoulders hung low as he studied something in his hands. His mouth turned into a downward grimace, his eyes dim and pained. He glanced at the shiny purple object, then shook his head. Black ink covered his sculpted arms. He leaned his head sideways and closed his eyes. His eyebrows gathered in as he scowled and shut his eyes tighter.
Whatever it was, it hurt him. For a moment she felt sorry for the brooding man with the gun in his hand. He looked out of place standing next to Carl and Andrew. He looked pensive, forlorn and sincere. And what was that he was holding in his hands? Maybe a chain a woman had given him? Sometimes heartbreak was the hardest to handle. Or maybe it belonged to his mother and he missed her?
It looked more like a medal, like something someone would win at a swim event or something. She stood up and pretended to straighten out bags which had fallen over, while peeking at him again. Oh wow. Her chest grew tight. It was a Purple Heart in his hand. She was looking at a fallen soldier. She covered her gasp, then jerked her hand down, and pretended to weigh out the bags.
James. How to tell him the news?
He scratched his head and looked onward at Carl and Andrew.