The Only Way Out

by Susan Mallery

  Jeff looked at her son. Bobby was licking a rapidly melting strawberry ice-cream cone covered with chocolate sprinkles. Mrs. Coleman was making almost as much of a mess while her husband smiled indulgently at her.

  “It’ll take a couple of days, but I can get you safely away,” he said, still watching Bobby.

  He didn’t want any part of this, but he didn’t have a choice. His mission to take care of Kray took a back seat to a civilian’s safety, even if that civilian was Kray’s ex-wife. He didn’t have to like Andie Cochran, but he did have to get her off the island. Only then would he be free to continue with his plan. With a little luck, by the time she arrived in Florida, Kray would be dead and her problems would be over.

  “Why should I trust you?” Or like you? But she didn’t have to say that part.

  “Face it, Andie, I’m all you’ve got.”

  She sighed. “I know. If I’d planned better or been more lucky I wouldn’t be stuck with you.”

  He turned toward her. She sat ramrod straight on the bench. Her mouth twisted with disgust.

  “You’re not my idea of a good time, either,” he said. “But if you want me to help you, you have to do what I say. No surprises, no secrets. I can get you out of here, but if you don’t cooperate with me, you’re going to get us killed. You and me being dead doesn’t help the kid.”

  The afternoon sun beat down on them. Jeff removed his hat and wiped his arm across his sweaty forehead. He wanted a shower and a decent night’s sleep. He could have the former as soon as they got back to the house, but he wouldn’t be sleeping much until he’d finished what he’d come for.

  Jeff knew he was just enough of a bastard to hope Andie turned him down flat. He even thought about making it easier on her by setting the Jeep key on the table between them. She could grab it and the kid and make a run for it. If he didn’t follow too fast, he could let her get away.

  The vision tempted him, but he squashed it. He couldn’t afford to let Kray know he was on the island. Kray would catch her before sundown and force her to tell him what she knew. Bobby would be safe from his father’s anger, but Andie would pay a high price.

  She half rose from the bench, then sagged back down. Defeat slumped her shoulders. “You win,” she said quietly, staring at her son. “I don’t have another choice. I’ll do anything for Bobby.” She straightened. “No secrets, no surprises. I won’t run away.”

  Despite their situation, he grinned.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  “At least you didn’t promise not to be any trouble.”

  “Getting in trouble is what I do best, Rambo. I don’t have to plan it. Things just seem to happen. You’ll have to live with that.”

  She blinked several times, as if fighting tears. He didn’t want to know she was afraid. It made it hard to hang on to his anger. He didn’t want her to be a real person to him. He wanted her to be an object—Kray’s wife. He could hate her then. It didn’t matter that his body reacted to her closeness, as long as he could hold on to the hate. But the second she got vulnerable, he would start noticing things such as the bewildered innocence in her eyes. Such as the fact that she was in over her head and that if she really was a bitch, her kid wouldn’t love her so much.

  A single tear slipped down her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, brushing it away. “I’m trying to keep it all together here, but I don’t know if I can. I’m terrified. Of you, of Kray. What if I don’t get Bobby away from him? Do you know what that man will do to my son?”

  Jeff knew. Worse, he understood her fears. “It’s going to be okay,” he promised.

  “How the hell do you know?” she asked, her anger chasing away the tears. “You don’t have the slightest clue what I’m feeling.”

  “I know more than you think. I had a son once. I know what it’s like to be afraid for your child.”

  “Are you divorced?” she asked.

  “No. My wife and my son are dead.” For a moment he thought about telling her the truth. Then he realized where they were. Bobby was almost done with his ice cream, and he and the Colemans would soon return to the table. “It was a car accident.”

  He spoke the lie he’d used many times before. Most people didn’t need to know the truth. But the lie wasn’t enough to keep him from seeing the bomb blast, hearing the explosion, feeling the heat or recalling the pain that had filled his broken body.

  He’d long since realized he would never recover, never really be able to let go until Kray paid for what he’d done. He’d spent the past five years waiting to kill his enemy. Nothing was going to stop him now. Not circumstances, not even his enemy’s wife.

  Andie leaned forward and brushed her fingers against his arm. Her touch burned at him, hotter than the fires of the explosion. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

  He stood up, doing his damnedest to ignore the need that swept over him. He wanted to lash out at her, to make her suffer as he had. Compassion softened her expression, turning what was merely pretty into breath-stealing beauty. Despite the heat and the smudges of dirt on her shirt, despite the fear and concern, she was lovely. At that moment he hated her as much as he hated her husband.

  “Stay here,” he ordered. “Talk to the Colemans until I get back. I’m going to buy you and the kid some clothes, then get some food. If you’re not here when I get back, I won’t bother looking for you. You understand?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer. He turned his back on her and disappeared into the crowd.

  Andie clutched the packages Jeff had thrust at her and followed him down the narrow street. The new hat he’d bought her to replace the one the man at the airport had pulled off made her feel slightly more hidden. The crowds in the shopping district were thinning as tourists made their way back to the cruise ship.

  It was nearly three. Her body ached from lack of sleep, her nose was sunburned, her spirits sagged around her knees. Bobby chattered away at her side. He hadn’t wanted to leave his new friends, although the three plastic action figures Jeff had bought along with the other supplies helped to ease the parting.

  “I hated doing that,” Andie said, moving closer to Jeff. “They’re going to wait for us after dinner tonight, only we’re not going to show up. I can see them sitting in the bar wondering where we are.”

  “Get over it,” Jeff growled, not even glancing back at her. “Better for them to think we’re rude than for you and the kid to get caught.”

  He had a point there. But Andie had disliked deceiving the older couple. They’d been so nice, sitting with her while Jeff had gone shopping. It had been easy to pretend, just for a few minutes, that everything was fine.

  They reached the Jeep without incident. Within minutes, they were speeding out of town, heading north along the coastal road.

  “Maybe in a few weeks I can drop them a note and explain,” she said, half to herself.

  Jeff shook his head in disgust. “You exchanged addresses?”

  “I gave them a false one.”

  He mumbled something. She couldn’t catch all the words, but had a feeling he wasn’t praising her. “I’m sorry I’m not like you,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “Lies and deception aren’t that easy for me. I haven’t made a career of studying the tao of James Bond.”

  Jeff glared at her briefly before returning his attention to the road. “You’ve spent the last five years living a lie, babe.”

  She opened her mouth to protest her innocence, then closed it slowly. He was right. Everything about her life was pretend. She’d never told a soul about Kray, not even Bobby. She’d avoided friends and close relationships because she couldn’t afford the questions.

  “It must get boring always being right,” she said.

  He didn’t answer.

  Andie glanced at Bobby, but he was involved with his new toys, lost in a child’s imaginary world. He didn’t notice the tension in the Jeep or her own fragile hold on sanity. She felt that if one more thing went wrong, she was go
ing to crack into a thousand pieces and never be whole again.

  She shifted the bags in her arms. One of them held clothing and toiletries, the others were filled with food. Bread, fish wrapped in paper, vegetables, mangoes, bananas and a prickly yellow fruit she’d never seen before.

  He’d thought of just about everything. She stared straight ahead, but could still see him out of the corner of her eye. He drove competently, turning on unmarked roads, keeping to the speed limit, constantly checking the mirrors. Had she made the right decision, or was this all an elaborate trick to hand her over to Kray?

  Andie shook her head. She couldn’t think like that. She didn’t have the strength. She’d chosen to trust Jeff with-no-last-name, and by God, she would trust him. Second-guessing would only make her crazy.

  “Where are we going?” she asked when the silence became unbearable.

  “I’ve got a house. We’ll stay there until I can make arrangements to get the two of you off the island.”

  A house. That sounded nice. Maybe she would sleep tonight. She hadn’t slept much since Kray had stolen her son. He’d come in the early evening, barely knocking before his men had broken in the door.

  She stiffened at the memory. “How do you know he won’t find us? You said he owns the entire island.”

  Jeff surprised her by grinning. “We’re safe there.”

  “But how do you know?”

  His grin broadened. “Kray owns the house. He’s given it to one of his trusted lieutenants who is currently living in the States. Mando, his associate, uses the house to reward faithful workers. A recent run-in with the law has detained Mando in a high-security facility. The man who had earned a couple of months in the sun has also been detained. They were nice enough to give our men the key. So don’t worry. There’s no leasing agent, no contracts, no way to trace the house to me.”

  “You must love the irony of the situation,” she said leaning back in the seat.

  “It has a certain appeal.”

  The road curved to the right, away from the ocean, then angled up hill. Jeff downshifted. The Jeep moved along the road. Through the tangle of trees and brush she could see the occasional narrow paths veering off. Without warning, he turned left and started down a narrow trail.

  “We’re here,” he said.

  Andie could feel the perspiration on her back and her neck. The moment of truth. What would be waiting at the end of the dirt road? There was barely enough room for the vehicle. Trees and vines grew together, making their route a tunnel. The temperature dropped slightly, but it was still humid.

  She glanced at the back seat and saw Bobby had dozed off. His limp body didn’t budge as the vehicle bounced over the rutted road.

  “We’re at the north end of the island,” Jeff said. “The jungle comes right down to the ocean. This house sits in a cove protected by rocks. You can’t get in from the water. Even a rubber raft would get chewed up. There’s trees on both sides of the property and no one around for about three miles. The house can’t be seen from the water unless the boat is directly in front of it. The locals know to avoid any land that belongs to Kray. Unless you plan on setting off fireworks, no one will know we’re here.”

  “How comforting.”

  He ignored her sarcasm. “There’s a pool. Don’t let the kid swim in the ocean. The current is strong and the rocks are only about ten feet out. Stay near the house. The sandy areas are safe. The only variety of poisonous snake is pretty shy, but there are a couple of deadly lizards and spiders in the underbrush.”

  “I’m not sure if you’re trying to make me feel better or frighten me.”

  “I’m telling you what you need to know to stay alive.”

  At that moment they broke through the tunnel of trees and vines and drove into the sunlight and onto the beach. A one-story house sat in front of a large oval pool. Beyond the sandy yard, blue ocean stretched on forever. The rocks jutted out of the water like ancient sentries guarding the property. It was a place for lovers. A haven. When Jeff stopped the Jeep, Andie scrambled out. Once again, she was a fraud.

  The absence of motion woke Bobby. He sat up and stared at the pool. “Golly, Mom, can we go swimming?”

  Jeff got out more slowly and stretched. “The pool’s safe enough,” he said. “Can you swim, partner?”

  Bobby nodded vigorously. “I’ve had lessons,” he said importantly.

  “Good for you.” Jeff picked up the shopping bags. “I bought him swimming trunks.”

  “Thanks.” Being a good spy, he’d probably thought of everything. No doubt there was a shoe phone, as well.

  Andie grabbed the bags he’d given her to carry, then reached for her purse. Together, the three of them walked toward the house.

  The wood-and-stucco building was bigger than she’d first thought. There was a wide veranda all along the front with a swing half-hidden in the shade at the far end. Jeff unlocked the front door, then went inside. Andie followed more slowly.

  Bobby ran around the porch, his arms held out from his sides. “I’m an airplane,” he called loudly. “I can fly us back home, Mommy. Look at me.”

  “Fly yourself over here and let’s go inside,” she said.

  Bobby swerved in front of her, stopping long enough to smile up at her, then stepped into the house. Considering all he’d been through, her son was holding up very well. That was something.

  She stepped into the house, then paused as her eyes adjusted to the dimness. The entire front section was one large room. The furnishings were practical wicker and wood, with cloth cushions, but they were high quality. Several paintings filled the white walls. There was a bookshelf between the two side windows, and a view of the ocean. As Jeff moved around opening windows, she could hear the sound of the surf pounding on the sand.

  “Groceries go in the kitchen,” he said, pointing to her left.

  She walked through an informal dining area, then into a spacious kitchen complete with a built-in grill and microwave. She set the bags on the counter.

  “There’s electricity,” Jeff said, following her and setting down two bags of his own. “It’s a little erratic, but there’s also a generator out back.” He dug through one of the bags, pulled out a papaya, then handed the bag to her. “I got a couple of things for you.”

  Before she could look inside, or thank him, he was moving away. “The bedrooms are down here,” he said.

  She went after him. Bobby trailed behind her. “The master suite,” Jeff said, jerking his head toward a half-open door. She caught a glimpse of a king-size bed and more windows.

  “Bathroom.” He pointed to a door on the other side of the hall. “The last two bedrooms are down here. One has a king-size bed, the other has two doubles.”

  She poked her head in both rooms. “Bobby and I will sleep in here,” she said, motioning to the one with two double beds. She wanted to be near her son. Just in case.

  Jeff dumped the bags he was holding on the bed closest to the door, then left without saying a word.

  Bobby flew in, arms wide. “I want to go swimming.”

  “I’ll bet you do.” She dug through the bags. Jeff had thought of everything. There was a pair of swim trunks, shorts, two T-shirts and underwear for Bobby. For herself, their host had bought a red one-piece swimsuit that looked a little large, but it would do, a romper in a pink-and-white print, a pair of shorts and a couple of oversize T-shirts. She tossed the softest one on the bed. She would sleep in that tonight. At the bottom of the bag was a large bottle of sunscreen.

  When Bobby had his trunks on, she coated him with the sunscreen, then sent him into the main room. She quickly changed out of her clothes, then pulled the remaining T-shirt over her suit. She would have to remember to get her suitcase from the Jeep. It had all their toiletries in it.

  She walked to the bedroom door, then hesitated before opening it. The hardwood floors under her feet, the smell of the ocean and the sunscreen, the sound of the waves and the birds made her feel as if she were on an
exotic vacation. Or on her honeymoon again. A shudder raced through her. She didn’t want to remember that time. She couldn’t allow herself to dwell on the past or think about Kray. If she did, she would get scared. Right now, fear was her greatest enemy.

  She could hear Bobby’s excited chatter from the front of the house, then Jeff’s low response. The sound of his voice made her insides quiver. She wasn’t exactly sure from what. Jeff was dangerous the same way Kray was dangerous. She could feel it. In a way, that made her feel better. At least she had someone strong on her side.

  She wondered what had brought Jeff to the island. He must work for the government. Maybe…

  A knock on the door jerked her out of her thoughts. “Bobby’s still hungry,” Jeff said. “I’m going to cut up a mango. You want one?”

  “No, thanks.”

  She heard the sound of his footsteps fading as he walked away. Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. She smoothed the front of her T-shirt. The price tag by the hem caught her eye. She’d almost forgotten. She had to pay Jeff for what he’d bought them.

  She hurried into her room and grabbed her purse. After pulling out two twenties, she walked into the front room. Bobby was sitting on the front porch with a bowl resting on his lap. He picked up a piece of fruit with his fingers and stuck it in his mouth. Two gulls played in the surf. He watched them, mesmerized.

  Jeff stood in the kitchen, slicing more fruit. “You sure you don’t want some?” he asked without turning around.

  “I’m sure.” She moved closer to him and slid the money onto the counter. “Here. This should cover what you bought today.”

  “Keep it,” he said.

  She stared at his broad shoulders and back. The red tank shirt he wore accentuated his strength and maleness. The warm spring afternoon left a sheen of sweat on his thick muscles. He was long and lean. The proof of his strength made her shiver. She would never best him in a contest of physical strength. Pray God it never came to that.