The Reef

by Lois Kay

  “I have to tell you something, Jody,” she whispered. “Something I want you to know about....me....and my past.”

  “I don't care about the past, Sam,” Jody replied. Her voice was thick with desire. “This is the present and we’re both here, together. It's so much more than I ever could have hoped for.”

  “You need to know,” Sam insisted.

  The expression on Jody’s face turned into one of worry. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad. What is it, Sam?” she asked. She raked her fingers through the unruly, blond hair, smiling at how it tried to curl around her fingers.

  Sam took a deep breath and cast down her gaze, not able to look at Jody. “I...um—,” She cleared her throat. “I....good grief, this is so embarrassing.”

  Jody saw a pink flush creep up Sam's cheeks and she frowned. She had never seen Sam this flustered. “You can tell me, Sam,” she encouraged. “You know I won’t judge you.”

  When Sam lifted her gaze, Jody could clearly see a mixture of embarrassment and humor. A small smile tugged Sam's lips when she took Jody's hand and gently squeezed it. “Eight years ago, I was madly in love with you,” she began. “I was planning on taking you back home with me, so we could go to university together, get jobs, stay together and live happily ever after. After the accident, when I went back, it took me a very long time to recover, physically.” Sam paused and saw a look of intense attentiveness on Jody's face. “It took even longer for the rest of me to heal. It took years,” she admitted. “Before I came back here I finally thought I was over it. Over you.” She let out a soft laugh. “Boy, was I wrong.”

  Jody stared at Sam and let the words sink in. “Sam, you mean—? Are you trying to tell me that there’s been…no one else?”

  Sam shook her head and wiped away a tear that rolled down a freckled cheek. “Tom tried to set me up several times and every now and then I did go out on a date when he became annoyingly insistent, but no, there’s only been you.”

  Jody pressed her forehead against Sam's hand and experience such a feeling of guilt that it left her almost dizzy. It was as if Sam could read her mind.

  “Don't feel bad,” Sam whispered. “You didn't know. Neither did I. Please!”

  “But Sam, all that time....and I....I mean, Megan and I—”

  “Honey, we already talked about that. I don't blame you. It's not like we had taken vows. Besides, you thought I’d dumped you.”

  “I can’t help feeling guilty, though,” Jody replied. “My relationship with Megan was brief, it lasted less than a couple of months, but even when we were together, I still felt committed to you. I cared about Megan and I’m grateful to have her as my friend, but in my heart, it's always been you. Even though I thought I’d lost you forever.”

  “Then there's nothing to feel bad or guilty about. We are together now.”

  “Yes, we are.” Jody smiled through her tears. “That was hardly embarrassing, Sam.”

  “No,” Sam drawled. “The best part is yet to come. I told you I did date, occasionally, but I…have never been with anyone.”

  Sam was avoiding Jody’s eyes and had returned to drawing patterns on the sheet, until Jody lifted Sam's chin, so she had to look her in the eye. “Thank you for opening up to me like that, Sam. That means a lot to me. I must admit I didn't expect this, don't ask me why. Maybe because you always look so confident about everything, you are so sure of yourself and even this morning I....I would have never thought it was a first.”

  “Second,” Sam corrected with a chuckle.

  Jody laughed. “Fine, second. Although making out in a paddock, under the stars and what happened this morning is far from going all the way.” She brought her face close to Sam's and kissed the tip of her nose, her cheeks and finally her waiting lips. Sam's arms slid around her waist, pulling her close and very soon the kiss changed in intensity, going from soft and tender to passionate and demanding. Jody gently pushed Sam until she was on her back. Jody placed soft kisses on her face and neck and playfully bit her earlobe, catching it between her teeth. “Do you want to be with me, Sam?” Jody’s voice whispered in Sam’s ear.

  “Oh, yes,” Sam breathed. “It’s something I’ve dreamt about for years.”

  With her lips pressed against Sam’s neck, Jody chuckled. “No pressure there.” Her lips found the way back to Sam’s and they took their time exploring. “I want to make love to you,” Jody whispered, feeling Sam shiver underneath her touch. “Is that okay?” Sam could only nod. “If there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, just tell me.” Jody could feel Sam’s hands had already found their way underneath her shirt and she laughed as goosebumps erupted all over her body.

  “Please,” Sam's husky voice answered, before she was silenced by a pair of lips that took complete possession of hers. And when Jody’s tongue slowly slid across her bottom lip, Sam lost all ability to think. The only thing her world consisted of was the feel of Jody's lips on hers, the hands that roamed her body and how, deliciously slow, her shirt was peeled off.

  Jody was tender, yet passionate. With patience and incredible self-control, ignoring her own need, she guided Sam to such a high place of ecstasy, it left her shuddering and gasping for breath. When she finally reached the pinnacle and went over the edge, she whispered Jody's name with such intensity she might as well have shouted it out aloud.

  Afterward, Jody gathered Sam in her arms and kissed away the salty drops that had escaped from behind closed eyelids. She held her close until Sam’s breathing returned to normal and her thundering heartbeat slowed down to its normal rhythm. When Sam finally opened her eyes to look at Jody, they smiled at each other. They needed no words. Jody kissed the lips that were so near and nuzzled Sam's neck. It felt like they, finally, had come home.

  * * *

  It was still dark and very quiet. Two bodies were resting closely together, covered only by a thin, cotton sheet, tossed halfway down their naked torsos. Jody's head rested on Sam's shoulder, her arm possessively draped around her waist. Sam's arm was curled around Jody’s back, providing her all the room she needed to snuggle as close as possible. After hours of quiet, intimate talking and intense lovemaking they had finally fallen asleep, exhausted but happy, their bodies relaxed and satiated.

  The peaceful silence was rudely interrupted by an insistent buzzing. Jody stirred and mumbled something unintelligible, while Sam's eyes snapped open and her bran kicked into action. It didn't take her long to realize what the source of the sound was. “Jody,” she groaned, her voice rough from sleep. She tried to extract her body from Jody's firm grip. “It's my phone. I’d better answer it. It’s Tom’s ringtone.”

  Jody mumbled something and reluctantly released her grip, so Sam could reach for the still annoyingly buzzing cell phone.

  “Hey, Tom,” Sam spoke. Her brain was still clouded with sleep.

  “Woah, sis, what's up? Grumpy, are we?”

  A bright smile lit up Sam's face and she sat up straight, all traces of sleep vanished. “Even though it’s a nice surprise to hear your voice, if you’re calling to harass me, I’d suggest you’ll try again later. When it’s light outside.”

  Tom grinned. “Come on, baby sister. Don’t you want to talk to me?”

  “Of course, I do,” Sam smiled. “But you do know what time is it, don't you?”

  “Sure. Six p.m.,” Tom answered.

  Sam could almost see his blue eyes sparkle with mischief. “Right. In your neck of the woods.” She laughed. “Here, it's two o'clock in the morning. So, what's the emergency?”

  “I emailed you today, but I guess you weren't online, because you never answered me. So, I thought I’d surprise you with a call.”

  Sam cast a look at her laptop in the corner of the room and realized she completely forgot to check her inbox that evening. She mentally slapped herself. The last thing she wanted to do was to worry her brother and although he did sound relaxed and was teasing her she knew he never would have called her in the middle of the night, if h
e hadn't been worried about her. “I'm sorry, Tom. I forgot to check my inbox,” she apologized.

  “That's alright, Sam, you must have had a good reason. I'm glad you are okay. But listen, I didn’t call for fun, although it’s great hear your voice. I ran some analyzing programs on that data you sent me. And I did find out some very interesting things. I sent them to you. Do you have your laptop at hand? I can make more sense if you can see what I’m talking about.”

  “It's right here in the bedroom, Tom. I'll get it, just a moment.” Sam smiled at Jody, quickly kissing her lips, before jumping out of bed to boot up her computer. Following her brother’s lead, she scrolled through a few different programs and Jody, who was awake now, saw the expression on Sam's face change from surprise, to astonishment, to anger and finally to grim determination. After about twenty minutes, she ended the call, switched off the computer and slowly turned away from the desk so she could face Jody.

  “You're not going to believe this,” she said. “This whole mess is even worse than I expected. That lovely manager of ours transferred more than three hundred thousand dollars into three different accounts. They’re fronts for different businesses, but all lead to him.”

  Jody's eyes widened and she sat up straight. She looked shocked and with an impatient gesture she rubbed her eyes and pushed back her disheveled hair. She seemed totally confused. “But, Sam, how did he do that? That much money. I should have noticed.”

  “No, you wouldn't. He’s been very crafty. According to Tom, he did use fake employees and transferred their paychecks into his own accounts. I had a feeling the initial amount I found wouldn’t be all of it.”

  “Then, what else?”

  Sam looked at Jody who sat cross-legged on the bed. The sheet was covering her up to her waist, but other than that she was wearing nothing but her shoulder length, disheveled hair. Sam had to try very hard not to lose her train of thought. “Um...well, have there been many so called 'accidents' lately? I know about the fire, but before that?”

  Jody frowned. “A few weeks ago, we had a leak at the gym. It ruined a large part of the floor. Before that, something in the kitchen short-circuited and we had a small fire.”

  “Did the insurance company pay?”

  “I don’t know. I guess so,” Jody answered. “William took care of the, he.... oh.... you mean—?”

  Sam nodded. “Yes, I mean. The money from the insurance company was deposited into one of those three accounts.”

  “But the damage has been repaired Sam.”

  “I know,” Sam answered. “I’ll have to look into that. It wouldn’t surprise me if he used some poor undocumented immigrant to help him out with that, so he could pay them scraps. Or maybe it was done by someone who owed him a favor. Another interesting thing Tom discovered is that Jenkins transfers large amounts of money into the same account every week and it's not his. Tom suspects he’s in serious debt. He might be right about that. That would definitely explain a lot.”

  “Are you going to confront him, Sam? Do you think that would be wise? Maybe we'd better leave it to the police. Whoever trashed my apartment is probably working for William. They mean serious business. I mean, they desperately seem to want that flash drive. They scare me. He pulled a knife on you, remember?”

  Sam rubbed the affected shoulder and there was a determined expression on her face. “They'll pay for this, Jody.” Her voice was calm, but determined. “It's not just the fraud, but they set fire to The Reef. They risked peoples’ lives. They demolished your apartment, that big guy pulled a knife and I'm sure they were planning to kidnap Fiona. They’re dangerous.”

  “That's exactly what I mean, Sam. You should stay away from them. Why don't we give Inspector Wong a call in the morning and go talk to her? Let them take over. Sam, please?” Jody's eyes were pleading. She could see Sam debating with herself and patiently waited, not wanting to pressure her too much.

  “Alright,” Sam finally answered. “We’ll give the Inspector a call. I can show her the data Tom sent me. They can take it from there and work with the insurance company to figure all of this out.”

  Jody reached out and when Sam took her hand, she pulled her back on the bed. She wrapped her arms around her and held her close. “Thank you,” she said. “Calling Inspector Wong makes me feel a lot better.”

  Chapter 13

  “Two days, Billy Boy.” Joe Michaels smirked, watching the fidgeting manager who was sitting opposite him at the table. “Have you decided where to run to? You know you can't hide, not from me.” Joe Michaels casually leaned back in his chair and studied the nervous man with interest. His cold eyes narrowed when William Jenkins didn't respond to his words, clearly avoiding the piercing stare from his Nemesis. “Are you planning on taking your wife with you? Might be a bit of a hassle, hey? I could look after her, if you want me to. Of course, I've got no use for the kid.”

  William Jenkins suddenly sat up straight. “One finger,” he hissed. “Touch her with one finger and I swear you’ll regret the day you were born.”

  Joe Michaels chuckled. “Don't worry, mate. She's not my type anyway. But I’ll tell you one thing, Billy. If you don't come up with the money, I’ve got all the power. So, it's up to you. You need a plan.”

  William Jenkins debated with himself for a few seconds and then he made a decision. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. Without saying a word, he threw it on the table in front of him.

  Joe Michaels raised his eyebrows and looked surprised. His eyes traveled from the piece of paper to William Jenkins. “What's that?”

  “Have a look.”

  Joe Michaels picked up the piece of paper and slowly unfolded it. He smoothed it out on the table in front of him. “Wow, foxy lady. Is this your new girlfriend?” he joked.

  “Take a better look.”

  Joe Michaels picked up the copied photograph and studied it closely. “Samantha Stevens?” The surprise in his voice was evident. “Isn't she the daughter of your big boss? Where did you get—? Wait a minute, she’s the blonde my two apes are chasing?”

  William Jenkins nodded, trying hard to push away the feeling of guilt that was invading his conscience. He felt he had no choice. If he could divert Joe Michael’s attention and show him a bigger prize, he, William might be off the hook.

  “Are you telling me that information we’re looking for is with her? How could you be so stupid? She is a Stevens, you moron. If she knows her business, she'll figure out those accounts you created. And then they’ll be after you.” Joe Michaels slapped the palm of his hand on the table. “Luckily, that’s not my problem. My problem is they'll be after me soon as well. Damn you, you mongrel. You’re risking my entire business. I should have thrown you off that cliff when I had the chance. Damnit.”

  “Listen, Joe, I’ve got a plan that will get us the information we need and a lot of money as well. But I need you to promise me one thing.” William Jenkins wished he had a bottle of water. His throat felt like parchment paper.

  “You want a promise from me? Aren’t you a little confused, mate? I’m the one calling the shots.”

  “But I came up with a plan. If it works out the way I think it will, I'll be off the hook and you'll be a lot richer. So, do you want to make me a promise?”

  “What?” Joe Michaels grunted. He found himself cornered, which was something that rarely happened.

  “Leave my family alone.” Calm on the outside, but feeling sick to his stomach, William Jenkins stared into a pair of cold eyes. He knew Joe Michaels did not have much of a conscience, but when he made a promise, he stuck to it. He tried not to think about the fact he was selling his soul to the devil. But he had no time left. The last thing he wanted was to put Jody McDonnell in jeopardy. He genuinely liked her. He knew how hard she worked and she didn’t deserve what was coming. But he was out of options.

  “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal. Your family is safe from me. Now, what's this brilliant plan you came up with?”<
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  ***

  It was a regular Monday morning. The streets were bustling with people who were making their way to work, children on their way to school, and tourists who wanted an early start on a day that was predicted to be hot. The breeze, coming from the east, stirred the already present heat and provided some relief for the two men sitting in their car, waiting.

  “How do we know this is the right place?” Fred mumbled. He was still suffering from a headache after sitting in the hot car for so long the previous day.

  “Because Joe told us, that's why,” Little Steven replied with a grunt.

  “How does he know?” Fred asked, knowing full well he was driving his partner insane with his questions. But he was fed up with sitting in overheated cars, doing nothing, while he was scolded at all the time.

  Little Steven cast his younger companion a threatening look before answering. “Because he checked. Alright? And I don't care how he did it, so don't ask. You’re driving me bonkers with all those questions.”

  Fred cast a look through the rolled down window and a small smile tugged the corner of his mouth. He knew Little Steven was annoyed with him, but this time Fred didn't mind. He was secretly pleased to be able to provoke the older man. Little Steven had reacted the way Fred had expected and was becoming more predictable. It gave him more self-confidence in dealing with the gruff right hand of Joe Michaels. Something he might be able to use to his advantage.

  “Okay, Freddie, show time.” Little Steven interrupted his musings and pointed to the corner of the street where one of the school buses had stopped. “Stick to the plan. I’ll be right behind you with the car. We'll be out of here within two minutes.”