Swordfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  “I promised you a night of dancing, not just one.” She held out her hand and waited for Bailey to take it. She knew it wasn’t the wisest decision. In fact, her own inner voice told her how bad an idea it was. She simply didn’t care. Wine and rum made her brave, and her body was demanding she let Bailey lead them around the dance floor and stoke the desire that was consuming her body. It had been too long since she had felt anything but fear. Too long since she had been touched by anyone and not shrunk from it. Now she wanted the comfort of human skin against her own, the scent and warmth of a woman in her arms. The sense of belonging. She couldn’t explain it any better than it felt like home. Maybe it was being back in Florida. She tried to dismiss the feeling, knowing the chances of her feelings being returned were slim at best. But worse than that, knowing that what she really wanted was beyond her.

  One dance led to another until Cassie was so exhausted all she could do was wrap her arms around Bailey’s neck and beg to go back to the motel. She needed her bed. Her body was more turned on than she could ever remember feeling, and it was all she could do to stop herself from kissing the patch of skin over Bailey’s breast bone that had tantalized her all night. She pressed closer to Bailey in the taxi than she really needed to, not wanting to lose the contact, the touch, or the connection she’d experienced on the dance floor. She was confused by her behavior, by her desire to be so close to Bailey. And given how she’d had a panic attack only a couple of days ago when she found herself being held in her lap, she could only imagine how her behavior must seem. But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Bailey made her feel safe.

  She’d become accustomed to holding Bailey’s hand, to feeling their fingers entwined and their palms pressed together, so she didn’t let go. As Bailey paid the cab driver and led them to their adjoining rooms, she still didn’t let go. When Bailey helped her fish her key from her purse without saying a word, she still didn’t let go. And when Bailey’s lips finally met her own, she didn’t want to ever let go.

  Bailey’s lips were gentle as Cassie pressed her body tightly against her. She dropped her purse and clung to Bailey’s back, running her hand up and down her spine and loving the delicious shiver she felt under the cotton. She threaded her fingers into Bailey’s shaggy salt-and-pepper hair, the thick silken strands spilled over her skin, tickled her face, and smelled faintly like chocolate and ginger and a scent that was entirely Bailey—a deep musk with a salty note.

  She moaned as Bailey’s tongue found hers, caressing her, teasing her in an erotic dance that was even hotter than the way their bodies had danced together in the club. But she wanted more. Her body yearned for it even as her inner voice began to make itself heard through the haze of alcohol and hormones. Slowly, she let the kiss draw to a conclusion, all the while wishing it didn’t have to end, but knowing that she could go no further. Despite the desire raging through her body, she just couldn’t.

  “Good night, Bailey.” She was panting as she disentangled herself from Bailey’s arms. She was slow to let go of her hand and couldn’t bring herself to look at Bailey’s eyes. She didn’t want to see the look she knew would be there. Confusion, desire, and frustration. The look of a woman who had just been teased and then let down. I told you, but you never bloody listen. Her inner voice screamed at her. She could have been a friend, idiot. Now you’ve gone and ruined it all. Stupid, frigid, bloody fool.

  She closed the door to her room, then the door to her heart, and slid the lock into place.

  *

  Bailey leaned against the closed door. She imagined Cassie leaning against the other side so they were still in some sort of contact. She liked that idea. She’d liked everything about the night. Even making a fool of herself on the dance floor. She’d followed instruction pretty well, and dancing with Cassie had been easy. It had felt natural, right, just like holding her hand all night, and kissing her at her door. Part of her wished they hadn’t stopped, but a part of her was glad they had. There was no need to rush anything, and she’d seen the flicker of uncertainty in Cassie’s eyes, alongside the desire.

  Her heart pounded as she understood exactly what her heart and her body were telling her. She’d accepted that she found Cassie attractive. She’d have to be blind and dumb to not be attracted to her, but now she realized that she was not only willing, but desperately wanted to see exactly where a relationship with Cassie would lead.

  It didn’t matter that she’d never had a relationship last longer than six months and that she’d been alone for the majority of her life. Well, it did, but not enough to stop her. It didn’t matter that she was scared to try. She was more scared to say good-bye. Scared that Cassie would hand over a check to close the case and she’d never see her smile again, or feel Cassie’s hand in her own, or her kiss, or hear that little moan she made when Bailey caressed her tongue with her own. Those were the things that really scared Bailey.

  Those were enough reasons to ask Cassie on a date. Not like tonight, that ended up feeling like a date, but a real, organized-to-be-a-date-date. Terrified and elated in equal measure, Bailey opened the door to her own room. How the hell has everything changed so fast? Just two weeks ago, she lived to work. She lived for her work. Now it felt like there was so much more.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  The water looked too close as they circled over Eilat Bay on their final approach to the runway. Finn gripped the armrests hard and tried the trick she’d employed since she was a child to ward off her flying anxiety—she sang as quietly as she could. She could hear Oz chuckling at her song choice.

  “You know that band was killed in a plane crash, don’t you, babe?”

  “Huh?”

  “Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band who sang “Sweet Home Alabama,” half of them died in a plane crash.”

  “You shit. Why did you have to go and tell me that?” She slapped at Oz’s arm and scowled at her.

  “Sorry, but I thought it was a bit unlucky. Sing a different one if it helps.”

  “I can’t think of another one now.”

  “Well, that’s okay. We’ve landed now.” Oz looked out the window.

  Finn looked outside as they taxied down the runway toward the terminal. The bright sun of the early morning already had heat waves radiating off the tarmac and had people on the ground squinting as they readied luggage carts and steps for the passengers to exit the plane. She leaned over and kissed Oz’s cheek.

  “Thanks for the distraction.”

  “Did it work, darlin’?”

  “Yes. Better than singing ever did.”

  “Where did that come from? I meant to ask when we got off the plane in New York but we got so busy so quickly I forgot.”

  Finn shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t remember. It’s just always helped me. One of my nannies used to tell me off for it when I was about six or seven, so it was already a habit by then.”

  “She told you off for doing something that offered you comfort?”

  “Well, it annoyed her. I guess there’s only so many times you can hear ‘Incy, Wincy Spider’ without it driving you crazy.”

  Oz laughed loudly and pulled Finn into a hug. “If you need to sing about spiders to keep from feeling scared, you do it.”

  “I don’t feel nearly as scared as I used to.” She looked at Oz and tried to convey every ounce of feeling she had for her. She needed Oz to know how much she loved her.

  Oz’s gaze softened. “I’m very glad to hear that, baby, but if you keep looking at me like that I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  “Are you two just gonna make eyes at each other all day or are we all gonna get out of here?” Junior leaned on the back of Oz’s chair and ruffled her hair. Finn chuckled and Oz slapped at his hands. Billy dropped a heavy backpack on Oz’s lap, which caused her to flinch and let out a loud groan.

  “Looks like we’re heading out.” Finn stroked Oz’s cheek and blew her a kiss. “We’ll pick this up later,” she said with a wink to accompany her promise.

/>   AJ, Charlie, and Junior were already climbing down the steps when Finn stepped out of the plane, shielding her eyes. Oz and Billy were just behind her. She had her laptop case over her shoulder and checked the pocket of her shorts for her passport and visa. Confident she had everything she needed, she followed her family toward the security checkpoint before they could enter the terminal and go through customs.

  “This is a first,” Finn said.

  “Yeah, it’s the only airport I know where you have to go through security before you go into the building,” Oz said.

  Finn tried to ignore the nagging concern that the vials of toxin and Lyell’s vaccine wouldn’t make it through the security process for her deal with Mehalik. She couldn’t relax until they collected their bags from the conveyor belt, exited the building, and stowed them in the minibus that was waiting for them. A man approached them wearing a pair of khakis, a black silk shirt, and a pair of Armani sunglasses. He had a huge grin on his face and his arms outstretched.

  “Ladyfish.” He matched Oz’s six feet, and his long, thickly muscled arms wrapped around her, lifted her up, and spun her around. “Long time no see. Sounds like you’ve been up to some mischief.”

  Oz pounded on his back. “Let me down, Ari. And I haven’t done anything. Wrong place at the wrong time.”

  He set her down and looked at her. “Story of your life, huh?”

  “Yeah. Something like that.” Oz laughed gently.

  “You look different, kiddo. What’s that look?” He motioned at her face. “You look all happy and shit.”

  “It’s the look of love, Agent Katz,” Billy said and held his hand out for Ariel.

  “Please, call me Ari, Captain. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s Billy. I’m out of the Navy now.”

  He grinned widely. “That is a true honor.” He cast a quick glance at Oz. “Love, you say?”

  “Let me introduce you to Finn. The one responsible for that look.”

  Ariel’s meaty hand made hers look childlike. “Nice to meet you, Finn.”

  “And you, Ariel. Thank you for your help. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

  He smiled and led her toward the bus. “Climb up and we’ll get out of here. It’s a decent airport as these things go, but there’s a lot more to see.” He waited till they were all on the bus and adopted the mannerisms of a tour guide, waving his hands in various directions as he spoke. “Welcome to Israel. Please keep your passports handy at all times, and I’ll point out anything of interest along the way. Anyone hungry?”

  A chorus of yeses shook the bus.

  “Well, if you can wait half an hour, we’ll be at the marina and the guys will have a hearty meal ready for you, or I can stop at the drive-through.”

  “When you say drive-through, are we talking something recognizable, or is that local lingo for fried bugs or something?” AJ asked, holding his stomach and looking a little green.

  “I was thinking Golden Arches, but I can find you some bugs if you want ’em.”

  “McMuffins works for me.” AJ looked decidedly happier as Ariel got behind the wheel and drove them away from the airport.

  It was nothing like Finn had expected. Yes, there was sand by the side of the roads, but they were travelling on good roads, with no camels or donkeys in sight. High-rise hotel blocks surrounded them, and boutique shops, café bars, and restaurants lined the streets. She’d expected something more…Middle Eastern. More exotic. Other than advertising signs written in Arabic, Finn felt as though she could have been in any holiday resort anywhere in the world. Porsches, BMWs, and Audis littered the roads, mostly convertibles. She even spotted a Ferrari and she found herself more than a little disappointed. She’d expected a little character, perhaps some traditional styled buildings or local children on their way to school. She hadn’t expected it to be so Westernized.

  “You okay?” Oz asked around a mouthful of McMuffin.

  “Yeah, it’s just not what I expected.”

  “I know. But I’ve found few things ever are in life.”

  “Wow. Pessimist much?” Finn laughed.

  “I think of myself as a realist, babe.”

  “Well, it makes you sound like you always expect the worst.”

  “There are very few things in my experience that have exceeded my expectations, so I’d say I have a healthy perception of reality. I didn’t say that I always expected the worst, but I have found that most people expect too much of things, and people, and life in general.”

  “And you don’t do that?”

  “There is only one area of my life where my expectations are constantly surpassed.”

  “Oh yeah, and where’s that?”

  “My life with you.”

  Finn leaned over and kissed her soundly. “Well, you constantly surprise me too, sweetheart, and I love you so much that I think I can put up with the little disappointments that happen sometimes.”

  “Have I disappointed you?”

  “Never.” Finn kissed her again. “And you never will.” She stole the last bite of her sandwich as the bus drew to a halt. They climbed out of the bus and grabbed their bags before following Ari down the quayside. The wooden planks gave a little under their combined weight, and bobbed with each step until they reached the boat. The thirty-six-meter long white hull rose up from the end of the jetty and Finn stared. Ariel and Junior jumped aboard and grabbed bags as they were tossed over to them.

  “You gonna stand there all day?” Oz called to her from aboard the Whirlwind. “It’s a gorgeous boat.”

  “I can see that.” She took hold of Oz’s outstretched hand and stepped onto the dropped stern that was the perfect dive platform. “How the hell was this available at such short notice?”

  “Money,” Oz whispered. “The company that was building it said it wasn’t supposed to be ready until spring. We’ve promised them a shitload of cash to have it ready for us now. And we’re paying a huge safety deposit.” She opened the sliding doors to the spacious salon. Several small tables were placed around the edges and a large table was along the other wall. There were also several large whiteboards screwed to one wall with rolls of fabric tied above them.

  “Because of the rush, not all of the crew quarters are finished so we only have a skeleton crew on board.”

  “Doesn’t that really work out better for us?”

  “Yup. We have Ari, a cook and his assistant, and the captain. We’ll do any extra chores as needed, and cover anything else.”

  Ariel and Charlie were talking at the foot of a circular staircase.

  “I don’t want to use this space as our operations base, Ari. It’s too open.”

  “Where do you suggest? Staff salon?”

  “Show me. Let’s take a look.”

  Oz and Finn followed them into the staff private areas and noted the darker space was not only unfinished, but it was completely empty of any furnishings and down a maze of corridors.

  “This is perfect,” Charlie said. “Get those white boards relocated and the long table moved in here.”

  “I’ll get all the other equipment you wanted set up in here too.”

  “Thanks, Ari.”

  Charlie grinned at Finn. “Just a few gizmos and gadgets so we can all do our jobs properly.”

  Finn nodded and hoped she was able to do her job properly, too.

  *

  Oz carefully stowed her dive gear on the lower deck and started to unpack Finn’s. The boat was good cover for their trip and it gave them a great reason not to have a land base where Mehalik could easily find them. Anything that kept Finn safer was fine by her. She’d been quiet since New York, and Oz was more than a little worried. She knew how upset Finn was about the misuse of her work. She knew how determined she was to put that right, and she knew that was the driving force behind Finn agreeing to this dangerous mission. What she wasn’t sure about was how much blame Finn was still assigning to herself. It wasn’t her fault, but no matter how many people
told Finn that, or how often, she didn’t believe them. She still blamed herself.

  She made her way to the new war room and watched as Finn set up her laptop in one corner and started to work. Oz couldn’t fathom what more was left to be done. The vaccine was already being deployed. What more was there for Finn to work on at this stage? The dark circles under Finn’s eyes told her how much sleep Finn wasn’t getting, and the frown on her forehead seemed to be a permanent fixture now.

  Under other circumstances, Oz would have loved to see Finn working like this. She was so driven and focused it was easy to see how she had achieved so much at such a young age. It was even easier to see why her father had such high expectations of her. She was more than capable of running the labs, the company, creating amazing breakthroughs, and doing it all while still being a loving partner to Oz. Love and pride warred within Oz for supremacy as she watched Finn, hunched over the laptop, a pencil stuck into a messy ponytail, and a notepad beside her.

  She pulled a chair beside her and sat down. “What’s caused that frown on your forehead, my love?”

  Finn looked up, startled, then a small smile spread across her lips and the frown line disappeared. “Just going over my figures again.”

  “For the spread?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? I mean the plan is already in action, all the stuff’s been given out, and the teams have their travel schedules.”

  “If I missed anything I gave a couple of the teams an extra dose each. I can arrange an extra flight or two if need be.”

  Oz chuckled. “You’re amazing.”

  Finn frowned again and looked away. “Please don’t.”

  “Why not, baby? It’s true.”

  “No, it isn’t. I’m just doing my best to correct a mistake I made.”

  “It wasn’t your mistake.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Listen to me.” Oz took hold of her hand and waited until Finn looked at her. “I’ve told you this before, but you didn’t listen to me. You probably won’t listen to me now, but I will tell you again, and again, and again. I will keep telling you until you do hear me. You are not responsible for what your father did. Creating Balor, trying to sell it to this guy, killing Pete. None of it. It was not your fault. Shooting Jack was something you had to do to save us both, but he’s the one who put you in that situation. You did what you had to do to survive your father. There is no blame to take. You have to get past this, Finn. If you can’t accept that, what are you going to do with the guilt once this project is finished? What are you going to do when Mehalik is no longer a threat and Lugh has vaccinated the world like you want it to? What then, baby?”