Guilty Pleasures (23 page)

She gave him a short look then went to the wall panel and turned up the air-conditioning. “Should cool off in a few minutes.” She faced him, her head dipped to the side. “You want to tell me what's wrong
Is it the safe
”

He rocked his neck left, right then rolled his shoulders. “Naw, just feel cramped.” He focused his gaze on the patterns on the carpet.

The ship shifted ever so slightly. Jake drew in a sharp breath.

Eva reached out, clasped his shoulder. “Baby what's wrong
You look ill, and you're sweating like crazy.”

Jake slowly backed away, sucking in air. He reached behind him and felt for the bed, slowly sat down. Eva sat next to him. She felt his forehead.

“You're clammy. Did you eat something
” She thought about the hurried breakfast of eggs and coffee they'd gobbled down at a rest stop. Maybe that was the trouble.

“I'll be all right. Just felt a little weird for a minute.” The corners of his mouth flickered into an imitation of a smile.

“Lie down for a few. I'll unpack.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think I will.” He leaned back against the pillows, threw his left arm across his eyes.

Eva watched him from the other side of the cabin. Jake didn't get sick. He was healthy as a horse. She couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a simple cold. It was she who usually had to be nursed to health. Her gut told her the sudden symptoms were more psychological than physical. He was afraid—of what, she had no clue. She was pretty sure it wasn't the job. As difficult as manipulating the codes for the safe was, that wasn't something that would make Jake Kelly look as if someone had walked over his grave.

She opened the two carry-on bags they'd brought on board and started to unpack. A gentle knock interrupted her. She peered through the peephole then opened the door.

A young man, a member of the ship's staff, stood with a rolling cart containing the rest of their luggage.

“Thank you. Please bring them right in. You can put them in that corner,” she added, pointing to an empty space on the far side of the cabin. She stepped back and let him push the cart into the room. He unloaded the luggage and left.

She glanced at Jake, who still lay supine on the bed as she closed and locked the door. He barely stirred. Concern wrinkled her brow. What wasn't he telling her
If it was something that was going to have an impact on this job, she had a right to know.

She crossed the room and sat next to him. He mumbled something but didn't take his arm from in front of his eyes.

Eva gently shook his shoulder. “Jake. Wake up.”

“I'm not asleep.”

“Then look at me.”

He moved his arm away as if it weighed a ton, letting it flop to his side. He blinked several times to get her in focus. “What's up
”

“That's what I want you to tell me. And don't give me any bullshit about feeling cramped. We've been locked in closer quarters than this, and it never bothered you before. Like the time when we lifted that jewelry and had to hide in the mark's closet for two hours when his son came home.”

That ugly incident had turned them forever off of burglary. They'd nearly gotten caught. It was the one time they veered off their regular plan. Instead of their usual picture scam, they'd decided that they would use the information they'd gathered on the mark and lift a few choice items from his house, especially since he couldn't stop telling Eva how much he had and how much he was worth. Breaking in had been a cinch for Jake. But the one thing they didn't count on was the unexpected arrival of the son who'd come home from college two days early. They were stuck in the bedroom closet for two hot, unbearable hours until the son finally went out. They'd barely escaped. Their car actually passed the mark's on their way out on the two-lane road.

During the entire ordeal, Jake was the epitome of cool; he was calm and in control. So this behavior made no sense.

Jake stared up at the ceiling.

“Is whatever it is that's happening with you going to affect this job
”

He turned his head to look at her. “No.”

Eva pressed her palm against his chest. “This is me, Jake. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

He looked away. “It was a long time ago,” he murmured.

“What was
”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I was around nine. Me and Jinx and Earl.”

Eva tried to recall someone named Earl. She couldn't. Jake never mentioned anyone named Earl.

“One minute we were playing tag on the shoreline and the next…” He sighed heavily, ran his tongue across his lips.

“What happened
”

“He was just gone. Disappeared, right in front of our eyes as if he never existed. The water took him.”

Eva put together the jagged pieces of the puzzle. Jake had watched his childhood friend Earl get sucked away by a wave, probably a riptide. No wonder he never wanted to go swimming or sailing.

“I never got over it, not really. Had nightmares for years. Thought I'd pretty much gotten it out of my system … until we got on the ship.” In his child's mind, he'd connected water with loss, having the ability to engulf someone you cared about and take them away forever. And that connection had lain dormant—until today.

“Jake,” she said as gentle as she could. “Why didn't you ever tell me
”