Isle of Intrigue

by Ann-Marie Desiree

  "Well, I don't know..."

  "It's solid gold!” Peggy cried. “And it's engraved, see? ‘From Kathleen with love.’ Now, doesn't that prove something? Look, damn it, this is the most important piece of jewelry I own. If you lose it, I'll murder you. Just consider it collateral, will you? I need—"

  "You're making me feel like a fool,” the youth said. “If it's that important, I'll do it for free."

  "Free?” Peggy exclaimed.

  "You can pay me back,” he said quickly. “I trust you."

  Surprised but thankful, Peggy gave the youth directions on how to send the message to Sharon and return to the island as soon as he heard an answer. Then, she hurried him away as soon as the deal was struck.

  * * * *

  Jeff and Charlie left the cabin together. Jeff felt furious, but he was sure Charlie's cooler head had planned a better strategy.

  "You understand?” Charlie asked. “I'll come back tomorrow to pick her up, after I've delivered supplies up to the main island cabin. I'll stop back this evening. In the meantime, you find out what she's really up to."

  "I will."

  "Before it's too late.” Charlie picked up his jacket from the railing and slung it over his shoulder

  "I'll do anything I can to help. Just remember that I'm a law-abiding veteran, so I won't help you bury that pretty body if you murder her."

  In no mood for jokes, Jeff said curtly, “I'll keep that in mind."

  Peggy was coming up the path from the lake, and she smiled when she saw the men standing on the porch.

  "You two have a nice chat?"

  "Sure,” Charlie said. “I was telling Jeff about the bear I saw this morning."

  "A bear?” Peggy looked startled.

  "Yeah, black bear swimming in the lake. We had a rogue bear around here last year. Maybe it's him again. I didn't get close enough for a good look."

  "That's perfectly understandable."

  He smiled. “Yes. Look, I've got to be going. I spoke with Jeff about transporting you, Miss. I've got a run to make today, but I'll be back tonight. In the morning, I'll be glad to take you anywhere you have to go. Did you leave a rental car in town?"

  Jeff saw Peggy's expression tighten. She didn't want to leave the island yet, and that wish was apparent in her face.

  She said, “No, I don't drive. I took a taxi to town."

  "Taxis leave every day from there."

  "Oh,” she said.

  "Wonderful. I, uh, my story didn't pan out, so I guess there's no sense hanging around. Tomorrow, then. If you want to leave sooner than that, Jeff will have to take you in his row boat."

  Peggy looked relieved. “Oh, I'll wait."

  She tipped her head and smiled at Jeff. He didn't respond. He didn't plan on encouraging the little bitch anymore. Peggy must have seen his look, because her ingenuous smile faltered.

  "Alright,” Charlie said. “It's all set. If you need anything sooner, just call on the radio.” Casually, he added, “I just fixed it. Did you happen to notice that it was broken?"

  Peggy blinked. Her expression looked perfectly innocent. “Me? I don't know anything about ham radios."

  "Hmm.” Charlie started down the steps. “Well, it's fixed now. Goodbye, Miss. It was great meeting you. Keep your eyes open for the bears."

  Jeff accompanied Charlie to the dock and helped him untie The Queen. Charlie shook Jeff's hand and gave him some good advice. “Be careful."

  Jeff watched Charlie pull the boat out onto the lake and rev the powerful engine. They waved. A moment later, Jeff heard Peggy on the dock beside him. He didn't turn around, but he felt her touch him. She put her hands on his back, and as Charlie's boat pulled into the distance, she slid her arms around Jeff's waist.

  Her body felt warm and willing against his. Her large breasts fit nicely into the curve of his lower back. His own body began to betray him. Although his mind was shouting, the external part of his male anatomy he couldn't control began to grow and harden. He physically responded to her nearness.

  "I like Charlie.” Her voice was quietly intimate in his ear. “He seems like a nice guy."

  Stiffly, Jeff said, “He's my good friend."

  "Do you have any other friends? Around here, I mean?"

  Jeff turned in her embrace then. She clung to him, and he put his hands on her shoulders. He must have grabbed her hard, because her brown eyes suddenly widened. Jeff did not loosen his hold. He was only conscious of the anger inside, anger that was seething to get out.

  "Why?” he demanded. “Why do you want to know?"

  Peggy stared up at him, startled by the violent undercurrent in his voice. “I-I just wondered, that's all. What's wrong?"

  "You ask one hell of a lot of questions."

  "I thought we were getting to know each other."

  "Is that what you planned from the start?"

  "What are you talking about? I didn't plan anything—"

  He tightened his grip, hands biting into her flesh. “Has all of it been an act, Peggy? Or what? Starting from the first day, tell me the truth. Did you really come here looking for Jonny O'Dawg?"

  Peggy looked mystified. “What happened between you and Charlie? What the hell did he tell you about me?"

  "He didn't tell me a damn thing. Except that the radio has been sabotaged."

  "You don't think I—"

  "There are only two of us, Peggy, and I sure as hell didn't pull any wires."

  "I don't know what you're talking about!"

  She put on a good act, but Jeff knew her well enough to see it was all bluster. Furious and half afraid that he couldn't stop himself from hurting her, he turned Peggy loose. He spun her around so hard that she stumbled. But she whirled around to face him, a fighter to the end.

  Jeff said, “The radio was dead. Did you do it?"

  Her face turned bright pink, but her courage didn't fail. “All right, yes! Yes, I did sabotage your stupid radio. But—"

  "Why?!"

  "Because I—oh shit, I don't know."

  Jeff took a pace toward her.

  Peggy backed up the path and nearly fell, but she caught her balance on a tree limb. “I thought it was obvious. I felt good with you. I wanted ... for crying out loud, Charlie was going to come for me last night, and I wanted a few more hours, that's all."

  "What for?"

  "Because I—what the hell's wrong with you? I thought we hit it off! I thought—"

  "What do you want from me, Peggy? It's all been an act, hasn't it? The charming scene in the lake? Damn, you had me going! Last night, too? And this morning, when you played the frightened female and told me the sob story—"

  The wounded expression on her face lasted less than one second. Then, Peggy stopped on the path and stood up to him at last, her eyes flashing, her whole body trembling. “It was not a sob story!"

  Jeff grabbed her again, his grip biting into the flesh of her forearm. “Don't lie to me, Peggy. Damn you, don't lie."

  She didn't flinch. She spoke through gritted teeth “I'm not lying. I told you things I've never told anyone in my life. If it didn't sound real, forgive me. I'm not used to revealing my deepest secrets."

  "Secrets!” Jeff said disparagingly. “The only kind of secrets you know are the ones that make good headlines."

  He pushed Peggy off the path and shoved her against the nearest tree trunk. She didn't cry out, but he could see she had to bite down to stop herself. He held one wrist behind her back and used his body to pin her small frame against the tree.

  She squirmed, then gasped when he stopped her by jamming his knee between her legs. He could feel her heart hammering against his own chest, and the heat of her fear.

  "Tell me a few more secrets now, Peggy,” he rasped, his mouth next to her ear. “The truth, this time. You're not really the little, innocent girl you've been pretending to be, are you? You got me into bed and expected me to tell you everything, didn't you?"

  "No!"

  "That pathetic tale you told m
e about your sister..."

  "It was the truth!"

  "Well, you're just like her, aren't you? Only, you get paid in information. You're a different kind of a whore."

  Peggy yanked one hand free and slapped him. She didn't stop there, either. With Jeff off balance, she kicked her way free. Then, she spun around on the path and faced him with all of the fury of a cornered bobcat. “Shut up.” She seethed, tears of rage trembling in her fiery eyes. “Just shut up and listen. Everything I've told you is true. I came here looking for a story. And when you didn't turn out to be Jonny O'Dawg, I thought that I had another story right in the palm of my hand. But something happened. It doesn't happen all the time, either. I started to like you!"

  "Don't—"

  "I decided not to write about you, dammit. I wanted to spend more time with you! Yes, I messed up the radio because—damn, I just thought we'd have another day together. You shithead, don't you see?"

  "No. Explain it to me!"

  "You made me feel like a woman!” The words burst from her. Peggy's face froze then. Obviously, she wanted to snatch back the statement.

  Jeff turned away. He felt totally sick of all of it. “I don't believe you."

  "I'm not surprised,” she snapped. “Trusting is not your strong suit."

  Jeff swung around and glowered at her. “You haven't given me much reason to trust."

  Peggy stood as straight as a ramrod, but quivered with anger. “Don't blame me. You don't want to believe in anyone but yourself."

  "You don't know anything about me."

  "It doesn't take a genius to see that you're not just running from something, Doctor! You're completely hiding!"

  "You don't know what you're talking about!"

  "Don't I? You like it out here in these remote islands, don't you? There's no one to deal with, no one to force you into believing in anything but yourself. Except for Charlie. And he's safe because he's just as much of a screwed-up hermit as you are! You trust him because you know he'll never leave this godforsaken place."

  Jeff didn't expect her to understand. She didn't know what he'd been through, the choices that he'd made to protect a great many others.

  Shortly, Jeff said, “I don't need anyone to keep my secrets for me."

  "It's not just secrets you're keeping,” Peggy said. “It's emotion. You've locked yourself away, nice and tight. But I've stumbled into your sanctuary and made a real mess of things."

  "You're damned right!"

  "That's what happens when you start living in reality, Jeff. Right now, you're in a vacuum—a nice, safe vacuum. All of your garbage about self-examination and looking inside yourself—it's only because you haven't got anyone to share your life with, isn't it?"

  "I don't need anyone. I don't want anyone."

  "Because you're scared.” She jammed her finger into his chest to make her point. “Admit it. You're scared of me. Not just of what I could write about you, but of me; a real woman who has somehow gotten herself into your innermost desires."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter 6

  Peggy stormed off the path and headed into the woods, clearly wanting to be alone. Jeff stayed where he was, emotion boiling hard inside him.

  He shouted after her. “Where are you going?"

  "None of your business!"

  "Come back here!"

  "Make me!” she bellowed over her shoulder.

  "Peggy!” he shouted. “Running away isn't your true self!"

  "I'm only giving you what you want!"

  "It isn't safe. There's probably a bear wandering around here. If you get yourself eaten, I'll be—"

  On a rock above him, she spun around in a flurry of sun-splashed hair. Fire blazed in her eyes as she glared at him. “You'll be what? Mildly distressed?"

  "Enormously relieved,” he snapped. “But I'll probably feel guilty, too."

  "Well, I'd hate to make you feel guilty,” Peggy cracked.

  Jeff climbed the rocks to reach her. Then he found that he couldn't close the final few meters between them. He wasn't sure if he could keep his hands off her slender neck. How could one female make him think so often of violence? With great difficulty, he choked out the next words. “Don't go wandering around. You might get hurt."

  "Oh, really? A minute ago, you were manhandling me like a grizzly bear! Why worry about violating your legal oath now?"

  "That's medical oath,” Jeff ground out. “Dammit, you make me crazy!"

  "Forgive me,” she retorted mercilessly. “I didn't mean to squeeze any remotely human response out of you!"

  That did it. In a single leap, he reached her. Peggy froze, stubbornly refusing to be intimidated. Her wall of defense was clearly in place now. But she was fed up and furious as Jeff drove his fingers into her hair, forcing Peggy's face up to his.

  He was close enough to kiss her “You have no right to come barging into my life like this."

  She tightened her chin and glared. “Believe me, I can't wait to get off of this crappy island! But I'm stuck here until Charlie gets back. Take your damn hands off of me."

  "Why? Are you suddenly scared? You're afraid of me, too, aren't you?"

  "Bullshit!"

  "Yes, you are. In the same kind of way."

  "Lay off. I'm happy with my life. I've got friends and a good living. I haven't cut myself off from society."

  "Not physically,” Jeff said. “But you keep an unbreakable lock on your heart, Peggy."

  "Do us both a favor,” she rejoined furiously. “Cut the amateur psychoanalyzing mind games. You want privacy? Fine, I'll give it to you. I'll spend the day on the other side of the island. Now, let me go before I kick you in your balls, if you've really got any."

  The icy look in her eye showed she meant every word. Jeff loosened his grip and released her. “Much as I'd like you to disappear, I just can't let you wander off with a dangerous animal on the loose. That bear is probably looking for a place to settle in and wouldn't turn down another meal. Even one as bitter as you."

  Peggy's temper blazed. “I hope that he doesn't have the gall to try settling here! To think that you might actually have to exist with another living creature for several months!"

  "Oh, shut up."

  "With pleasure."

  "There are times,” he said, “when I'd like to smash you."

  "Go ahead.” Peggy thrust her face at him, her eyes burning. “If it makes you feel better, I can take it."

  Jeff recoiled from her. “I don't really want to hit you."

  "Sure you do. It's easy.” Her eyes were on fire. “It's certainly easier than dealing with everything that's inside of you, isn't it?"

  She was right about that. He did want to settle things, but violence wasn't going to solve anything. Jeff tried to slam a lid down on everything else and think. An indomitable energy burned inside this female, a flame so bright that Jeff could understand why so many other males might feel intimidated by it and lash out.

  It was her will to live, her desire to make something of herself, but it masqueraded as arrogance. She had raised insolence to an art form.

  In addition, the dangerous gleam in her eye could be mistaken for disdain, too. Nevertheless, the tiny tremor at the corner of her mouth gave Peggy away. She could put on a good front at the drop of a hat, but inside, she was quaking.

  Only someone who understood how her mind worked could notice that she was shivering ever so slightly with her pent-up emotion, the same way she had shivered with desire just two hours earlier.

  All passion boiled close to the surface with Peggy. Peggy glared back at him for several heartbeats, her cheeks bright, her hands trembling.

  Jeff said, “I don't want to hurt you, Peggy."

  "Good! Because I'd face a monster single-handed before I'd let you touch me."

  She turned and left him then, striding rapidly for the cabin—a virago in miniature, a furious goddess in hiking boots. She gained the porch and threw open the cabin door. It banged on its hinge
s so hard that the cabin seemed to shake on its foundation. Without a backward look, Peggy marched through.

  Jeff felt shaken and sick inside. He put his hand against a tree branch and leaned there, waiting for his stomach to settle and his heartbeat to slow down. He needed time to examine things, to figure out what was going on. But Peggy wasn't going to give him time. He could hear her slamming around in the cabin.

  Slowly, he followed her, half afraid to confront her again, but inexplicably drawn to her. When he opened the door of the cabin, Jeff stopped dead. He saw Peggy clumsily trying to yank one of his shotguns down off the rack over the mantel.

  With a curse, Jeff flung himself across the room. “Don't be insane, you stupid bitch!"

  Before he reached her, she managed to heave the heavy weapon off its rack and staggered backward, unbalanced by the weight of the components.

  "Peggy, stop! That's a loaded shotgun!"

  "I know it's loaded! I may be a bitch, but I'm not stupid!” She jammed the barrel under her arm. Then she broke open the stock for safety's sake, and checked the ammo rounds. Triumphantly, she glared at him. “I know what I'm doing. So stay away from me!"

  The dogs were delighted by the appearance of the gun. Shooting events, like hunting, always involved them. They began to leap around Peggy, whining in excitement. Their fickleness was the last straw.

  Jeff's anger renewed. “What are you planning to do with that? Take potshots at me now?"

  "Well ... that certainly sounds very tempting.” She attempted to cut around him. “But no, I won't spend another minute with you. I'm leaving."

  "Where are you going?"

  "I'll spend the day on the other side of the island. If I run into any trouble, I'll have this to protect myself."

  Jeff blocked her exit. “You'll do no such thing. Not with a loaded shotgun. There'll be some kind of accident."

  "I've handled guns before. I did a story about a shooting range once, and I learned exactly how to handle firearms."

  "That's not a handgun."

  "I know what it is!” And sarcastically, she said, “But obviously, you don't believe a word I say. So, why should I bother trying to convince you otherwise?"