All This Time (24 page)

Chapter
Forty-Five

Of
course the trip to Nassau is on the luxurious Kennedy family private jet. For
me it isn’t that big of a deal. My parents have owned private jets all of my
life. But for Angel, this is a new experience. The more I croon over the luxury
plane the wider Decks’ smile grows. He loves showing me how important he is and
what amazing things he has access to because of his wealth. The hotel we’re
booked at is the legendary Graycliff Hotel,
choice hotel of celebrities and
dignitaries when visiting the island
, Decks boasts. After depositing our
luggage in the room, Decks continues trying to impress me with the hotel’s
exclusive seating in the world renowned restaurant. It is decadent dining, but
I am too anxious to enjoy the meal while wondering why we are in the Bahamas.

“You’ve
been quiet all day. Is something wrong?”
Decks asks
walking me back to my room. He turns the knob and gently pushes open the door
allowing me inside before shutting it behind him.

“Nothing
is wrong,” I lie. “I’m kind of blown away by all of this stuff.”

He
scans the room slowly before allowing his gaze to land on me, “This place is
definitely the best on the island.”

“Wow,
you really live this life.” It sounds more like a question than a statement and
he nods his head. “It’s overwhelming for someone like me. I could never get use
to all of the overindulgence that you’re accustomed to daily.”

He
strolls over to the balcony where I’m standing, looking out at the town below,
“I think you could ace this life Angel and I plan on keeping you in the finest
money can offer.”

“Uh
no, Decks, I can’t let you do that.” He slides a hand from my elbow up to my
shoulder, pausing on my collar bone and I continue digging myself out of this
hole. “We are friends and friends do not spend this kind of money on one
another.” I stare at him, but his eyes are locked on his thumb slowly gliding
back and forth along my collar.
“Decks?”

He
blinks then glances out at the scenery behind me before focusing on me again.
“I need to leave for a while. Can I trust you to stay in tonight? I can’t even
think about you roaming the streets here alone.”

Shrugging,
I nod and lie, “I’m beat so I’m crashing early.”

I
can’t let Decks scurry along to some important business meeting without
trailing him. I’m too close to gaining enough on this case to let him duck out
without me.

“Good
night,” he whispers pressing his lips against my cheek and lingering a little
too long for my comfort.

I
step back from his hold and twist around toward the bathroom. “I’ll see you
tomorrow?”

“Yes.”
Disappointment heavily saturates that tiny word.

He
shuffles out of the room and I rush to the door, opening it quietly so I can
watch which direction he goes. He steps into his hotel room next to mine. I
know I only have minutes to get my shit together. I slip off my heels, exchanging
them for my ballet flats. After tugging my hair into a tight pony tail, luckily
with minimal problems due to my cast, I slip on a pair of fitted black Capri
pants and a black tee. I forgo the sling and replace it with my hobo bag
holding my small throw away gun. I hear the close of his door and rush to the
window. After no more than a minute he strolls out the front door and waits
awkwardly for a few minutes.

He
doesn’t go either direction until a car pulls up to the curb in front of him. I
see a woman wearing dark sunglasses and a straw hat sitting behind the steering
wheel. After he slides into the passenger seat, the woman practically throws
herself into his arms. They kiss wildly, like familiar lovers. I memorize every
detail of the vehicle and what I can see of her. But it’s like she’s trying to
conceal her identity so I don’t get anything beyond her clothing description.
The car pulls away and as they rush down the street passed my window he glances
up. Thankfully he’s unable to see me hiding in the shadow of my room.

Damn
.
Grabbing my cell out of my bag I call Russ.

“Hello?”
he answers weakly.

“Hey
it’s me. Are you alright?”

“Yeah,
just exhausted from lack of sleep,” Russ yawns. “Since I can’t risk being
spotted by the X’kapz, I’m in disguise and trailing Mad Hatter. He is steadily
running through all of the dealers in the county. It’s reminiscent of your last
case when he got shut out and had to turn to manufacturing meth in his house.”

“I
hate that piece of shit,” I growl. “Have you spotted a young woman with him?
She’s petite with curly reddish brown hair?” I ask worrying about Chelsea
keeping her distance from the jerk.

“No,
he’s been alone most of the time.”

“Good,”
I exhale feeling the heaviness leaving me. “Can you check a registration for me
through dispatch? I don’t expect you to get anything, but it’s worth a shot.
I’m in Nassau with Decks and he just got into a vehicle with a woman that he
was very friendly with. I started to track him, but I wasn’t prepared for him
to leave by car.”

“Are
you jealous Sammy?” he laughs.

“You
know it,” I say cynically. “I am weak and Decks’ smooth moves are wearing me
down.”

I
give the information to him and like I suspected the registration isn’t on file
through our national computer system or through Interpol. My senses are on high
alert about this flight to the island. I assumed when I overheard Nelson
talking with Decks Sunday, he was ordering him to find stash houses here for a
shipment he is expecting. I need to find out where this is going down. I grab
up my bag and rush out the door and down to the corner. From here I’m about six
blocks away from the docks on this side of the island. Would he have us stay on
the same side that he’s expecting the ship to port? No. He stayed here because
it is the best on the island. And if I know Decks like I’m beginning to think I
do, he would chose a stash house on the remote side of the island or in an area
of an unsuspecting subdivision.

“Taxi
ma’am,” a local man asks me as I peer off in the direction of Paradise Cay.
“Just four dollars and I’ll take ya anywhere ya need to be on
dis
island
.”
His Bohemian accent is thick. I glance into the cab that he’s indicating is his
and it looks immaculate. I pray he’s trustworthy and knows this damn island
well.

“Deal,
but I may possibly need you to take me to more than one location. How does one
hundred bucks for the night sound?” His smile is brilliant as he opens the back
door allowing me in.

“The
name is Marcus and I’ll take ya where ya want to go ma’am,” he repeats his
offer and I chuckle at the coincidence of him sharing my brother’s name.

We
check three ports before Marcus asks me exactly what I’m looking for and I
hesitate telling him anything, but then I glance at the clock and decide I am
left with no other choice.

“A
shipment is expected in tonight, a very special shipment. I would suspect it
may be delivered in an area that has vacant homes or possibly near a community
of houses that has some for rent.” He pulls the car over immediately and cranes
his head around looking at me.

“If
it’s a special cigarette you are looking for I can get
dat
easily,
ja
?”

“No,”
I rub my hand over my forehead and say, “I need to go where they deliver it.”

His
eyes sparkle briefly with understanding. “Easy, I’ll take you, but you don’t
want to be a hang around
dat
area too long. It’s not
safe for you.”

Marcus
drives through the center of town, retracing out path, but continues on passed
the hotel. He rounds the corner of the block where the cruise ships are docked.
I glance up at the rear view mirror seeing him staring back at me. He winks and
his smile is telling.

“They
use the cruise ships?” I ask taken aback by their brazenness.

He
shakes his head and points at a small barge that is ported at the end of the
dock. “
Dey
use doze
.”

As
we approach, I spot the vehicle Decks left in, parked in front of a rundown
house, but do not tell Marcus. There’s no need for him to suspect anything,
other than I want to know how drugs gets on the island.

“You
can drop me off here,” I say a block away.

“I
warn you,” He stares at me with concern filling his eyes, “Take no chances
here.”” I pass the money over the seat and thank him for his help, after
climbing out of the car. He drives away and I walk back toward the house where
Decks may be doing business. I keep my hand on my bag, slung over my shoulder
prepared for this going bad any second.

Chapter
Forty-Six

Carefully,
stepping over a stack of boards haphazardly thrown against the house, I make my
way around the side hoping to find an alternative access other than the front
door. From the sounds of it, there are several people inside, but I have yet to
make visual contact since all the window panes are blacked out with spray paint
or cardboard.

“Here’s
your cut. Distribute freely just like before,” a woman says tersely before
asking, “Who was the girl you had at the airfield?”

“She’s
a friend,” Decks says, his tone is bordering on a snarl. “And no one for you to
concern yourself with.”

“I
will be the one to decide what I am concerned with,” she snaps back at him.
“You two take the rest of the packages to the house next door and secure it up
tight.” I hear footsteps shuffling around inside the house toward the back
door.  “Alright Mr. Kennedy, I have a ship waiting for me on the north
side so I must end this evening early. Your next delivery will be in the Gulf a
week from Friday. I will see you there.”

Hearing
her finalizing their meeting, I move away slowly, being careful to not make a
sound. I must get back to the hotel before Decks or he is going to be pissed
off if he discovers me missing. The metal back door screeches open and I rush
around the edge to hide. My adrenaline just went volcanic on me. I need to get
the hell out of here before one of these guys spots me. I lean against the house
and pray they are not walking my direction with their packages to store them in
the house on this side. No such luck. Their incredibly loud stomping continues
toward me. I drop down to my knees and then lay down flat on the damp ground.
There is a tiny bit of shadow on this side, but the moon is almost completely
full and wouldn’t you know that there isn’t a cloud in the sky tonight.

I
freeze when I hear a loud grunt beside my head. Black combat boots pass right
in front of my face. I don’t move or breathe for the next twenty seconds until
they continue on passed me followed by another pair of matching boots shifting
a bit slower. From the front side of the house I hear a car start and know that
it’s Decks and the woman leaving. I want to get a look inside those boxes to
see if this is a Ryske shipment, but if I hesitate another minute I may not get
out of here alive. The two very large men enter the back door of the
neighboring house before I leap up to my feet. I back away slowly, trying to
stay in the shadows in case they turn around. Reaching the corner on the front
of the house, I peek around the edging to see if the coast is clear.

There’s
a loud bang behind me and car headlights in front of me. The devil I do know
isn’t an option so I roll the dice and rush forward toward the street and the
oncoming vehicle. The multicolored car screeches to a halt cutting off my
pathway.

“Hey
you,” the driver yells holding his fist out and indicating with his thumb
toward the backseat. “Hurry and get in miss.”

“Marcus,
what the hell are you doing out here?” I demand releasing a heavy breath and
jerking open the back door. I slam the door shut and he floors it. “Get me back
to the hotel fast and you can have another hundred bucks.”

“
Ja
, I’ll get you back before that other car.”

“How?”

“Ma’am,
you are definitely not a tourist and what you were looking for tells me that
you are in some kind of trouble.
Ja
?
I can’t stand by and watch a pretty lady get hurt so I waited to see where you
would end up. I should have known it would be where the expensive car was
parked in front of
dat
abandoned shack.” Marcus
glances up in the rear view mirror at me and says, “You need to be smarter.”
What can I say to that? He is absolutely right so I nod back at him.

He
races through back streets at a speed too dangerous for the narrow one lane
roads, but true to his word Marcus gets me to the hotel fast and moments after
I run through the front door I spot Decks and the woman pulling up. I watch him
lean in toward her and see her hand wrap around the back of his head. As he
pulls away I see her face and long red hair. She is an exquisitely beautiful
woman. She doesn’t look familiar to me and now that I’ve seen her face it’s
locked in my memory vault so I will never forget it. My room is on the third
floor. I haven’t run for the past few weeks due to my injuries, but Decks will
be charging up them two at a time any second now. I push my body through the
first flight of stairs before I hear heavy steps below. Fuck, my heart rate
ratchets up because I know it’s him closing in on me. On the second flight I
pass a couple blocking the steps and split them apart to get to the next
landing. They grumble something at me, but I don’t give a damn if they were
trying to tell me the place is on fire, I am not stopping until my backside is
pressed against the inside side of my hotel room door.

I
shove around the corner and pick up speed on the flat carpeted flooring on the
third floor. My room is the third on the right. I reach into my bag and dig for
my key just as I approach my door. Slipping it into the keyhole, I thrust the
door open as soon as I hear the click. I only open it enough to squeeze my body
through before I softly shut it again. I lean against the door and press my ass
against it, trying to calm my breathing and pounding heart.

“Angel,”
Decks calls through the door followed by a couple of knocks.

Did
he see me? I am not moving or breathing at this point. I hold tight to the
doorknob and pray that he isn’t going to try it. Even though we have separate
rooms he insisted on holding onto my spare key and happily gave me his extra.

Another
soft knock on the door precedes him calling my name again. After a few still
moments I hear his footsteps moving away from my door. Another few seconds
later his room door shuts and I collapse onto the floor. I drop my head into my
good hand and release a string of cuss words that would make a sailor blush.

What
did I freaking learn tonight on my hunt for Decks? Instead of meeting a man who
I was expecting to be the infamous Dr A, he rendezvoused with a woman, possibly
a lover with the way they were so intimate. Thinking about her telling him that
she would have another shipment in the Gulf makes me wonder if this is who he
is always meeting.
Could Dr.
A be a woman? Oh, it
would really piss off the DEA to know that they’ve been looking for the wrong
gender all of these years. I chuckle at the thought and pull myself up off the
floor. I change out of my dirt covered clothes and wash up quickly. Something
else niggles in the back of my head. There’s one way to know for sure if she’s
the same person he has been meeting for the past month.

I
slip out my hotel room and walk the five feet to the room next to mine. I knock
twice and finally a sleepy-eyed Decks wearing nothing but a pair of boxers
cracks open the door. It takes a couple of seconds, but he finally realizes
it’s me and he smiles wickedly.

“Hey,
I came by your room earlier, but I guess you were asleep,” he says opening his
door for me to enter his room. I step inside and turn around to face him as he
closes it and leans his back against it. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,
I’m sorry to come over so late.” I offer an apologetic smile.

His
eyes grow dark and the lust blossoms like a spring flower eagerly reaching up
toward the sun. He steps forward and takes me into his arms. I press my face
against his neck and take in a lung full of his scent before wrapping my arms
above his shoulders. He squeezes me tightly against him, dropping his face into
my hair.

“Decks,
will you hold me?” I ask as I step out of his embrace. “I know it’s a lot to
ask, but I really don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”

“Come
on,” he takes my hand leading me toward his bed, but I hesitate as he tries to
pull me onto the mattress.

“I’m
not ready to take our relationship to the next level,” I whisper avoiding eye
contact. “If this is going to be too difficult…” My words trail off and he just
stares at me hard for several extended moments, his eyes searing a path along
every inch of my exposed skin.

“
It’s
fine,” Decks mumbles softly pulling the covers back for
me. With a bit more control he adds, “I’m not some lustful teenager Angel. I am
here anyway you need me. I already told you that I will do anything for you.” I
nod and slip under the covers with him. He presses his lips to my hair and
adds, “When you and I have sex it will be a mutual decision.” I swallow hard at
the idea of having sex with him, and force myself to roll over so I can face
him, laying my head on his arm. Instantly the nasty, cheap perfume engulfs me
confirming my suspicions. She is who he keeps meeting.
Interesting
.