Guilty Pleasures (28 page)

Jake was morose. “Close but no cigar.” He looked up at Eva.

She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. “And we still don't know what room Suarez is in.”

The ship began a gentle rocking that grew more violent as the waves picked up.

Color drained from Jake's warm brown complexion, giving him an ashen look. His eyes became glassy.

Eva approached slowly and sat next to him. “Babe. It's cool. We probably hit some bad weather.” She rubbed his back.

Jake licked his dry lips and fought to keep from throwing up. He kept seeing waves and then nothing.

The ship lurched to the left then right.

Jake clenched his teeth. Sweat beaded across his brow and upper lip.

Eva stroked his cheek and then wiped the sweat away from his forehead with the pad of her thumb.

“Try to relax. I'm sure it will pass soon.”

Jake lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes. He'd never wanted anyone to see him like this, especially not his wife, especially not now. He couldn't afford to fall apart. So much of the plan hinged on him. He had to get a grip.

“It was a freak accident, Jake,” Eva said softly. “There was nothing you could have done. It wasn't your fault.”

“But it was.”

Eva flinched. “Of course it wasn't. You all were just playing by the water. It was an accident.”

Jake slowly shook his head. “Me and Jinx … we dared him. Dared him to go farther out. He was afraid. We told him he was just being a baby.”

The ship rocked a bit then settled.

“He didn't want to do it.” His voice cracked. “But we kept taunting and teasing him. He was crying, but he went. And then he … was gone.” He swallowed hard. “We never told anyone what really happened. Never.”

Eva squeezed his hand. “You were kids. How could you have known
You couldn't.”

“I can still see the look of shock and grief on his mother's face.” He squeezed his eyes shut, the images of that day racing through his mind.

“Jake … part of your guilt has been holding on to this secret all these years. It's not a secret anymore. You've finally faced the demon that's been haunting you by sharing it with me. You can get through this. But you have to let it go. Nothing you will ever do can bring him back. You must accept that and accept the fact that it was an accident.”

Jake looked at Eva, letting her words sink in. His soul did feel a bit lighter. The weight that he'd been carrying around for so long was not so heavy anymore. He shared the burden, and she accepted it without recriminations. She didn't see him as weak or evil.

His words emerged slowly, coming together in bits and pieces. “For years I'd been living on the edge, a part of me wanting to get caught, as if by doing so, I could pay for what I'd done. I've spent my whole life taking things from others, unsuspecting victims, repeating what I'd started years earlier on that beach, hoping to get caught, hoping to pay.”

He sat up, as realization struck him. “Lenora Ingram is no unsuspecting victim. She's no innocent bystander who doesn't know any better that could be manipulated into doing what we wanted. She was the one who for the first time turned the tables on me.” The right corner of his mouth jerked upward. “Forced me to face my fears, unwittingly, but she'd done it. Underneath it all, that's what scared me the most, Eva, that I'd be the unsuspecting victim, and wouldn't hold the winning hand.” He paused, looked Eva in her eyes. “But I do.” He tapped the side of his head with his index finger. “It's all up here.”

She leaned forward and kissed him. “I was waiting for you to say that.”

He grinned then pulled her down on top of him. “That's why I love you,” he said, brushing his lips against hers.

“Oh, really.”

“Yeah, really.” He frowned for a minute. “Now that I think about it, what are you doing here
I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on things in case Suarez and his boys headed back to their cabin.”

Her grin held a hint of mystery. “Well … while I was standing there thinking about everything at stake, the pieces coming together and all…” She began unbuttoning his shirt. “I started thinking … got a little warm all over.” She ran her hands across his bare chest. “And I realized…” She leaned down and ran her tongue across his nipple.

“What did you realize, baby
” he asked, his voice growing thick. He pulled the black wig from her head and tossed it on the floor.

“I realized how badly I wanted you.” She worked at unfastening his belt.

“How bad
” He pulled her vest off and unbuttoned her blouse. His palms cupped her breasts.

Eva moaned, her lids fluttered closed. She ground her hips against his hard-on.

Jake flipped her onto her back, unfastened her pants, and pulled them down. He didn't bother with her thong, merely pushed it aside and slid into her heat.

The gentle sway of the ship only intensified their own push and pull, and Jake let go of his fears for the first time in his life, letting Eva's loving wash them away.

*   *   *

“I better get back,” Eva murmured in a dreamy voice.

Jake held her close. “Yeah,” he said without much conviction. He draped one leg over her body.

“You're making that kind of difficult.” She giggled.

“Oh, am I
” he asked, feigning innocence.

“Yes.” She pushed against his chest, and he fell back onto the bed. She sat up and looked down at him. His eyes were closed, and he smiled softly. “You have work to do, and so do I.”

“I thought I was working, and doing a damn good job, by the sound of things.” He chuckled and opened his eyes. “But you're right.” He pushed himself halfway up. “We need to get busy.”

Eva got up off the bed, stretched, gathered her clothes, and walked toward the bathroom. “Gonna take a quick shower.” She closed the door behind her.

Jake yawned loudly just as Jinx's voice came through the headset. “He's on the move.”

Jake put the set on. “Keep an eye on him until Eva gets there.”

“Where the hell is she
”

“Taking a shower,” he said, the simple words full of innuendo.

“Hope it was inspiring.”

“Always is. She'll be there shortly.”

Eva came out of the bathroom, the towel wrapped around her body.

“Jinx just chimed in. Suarez is on the move. Hopefully, he's headed back to his cabin. Jinx will keep an eye on him.”

Eva dressed as she listened. “I'm pretty sure a man like Suarez is in one of the suites.” She buttoned her blouse.

Jake nodded. “And his bodyguards are going to be close by.”

She put on her pants and vest. “We'll take care of our end; you finish up on the codes.”

“That's the plan.”

She crossed the room, leaned down, and kissed him lightly. “I love you, Jake Kelly.”

“Back at ya.”

She grinned and then headed out.

Jake went immediately back to his computer. The software that he'd installed was running a sequence program against the ship's security system. The probabilities were being narrowed down. When he checked again, the sequence was finished, the final screen was flashing
EXECUTION COMPLETED
.

Jake hooked up the computer to the portable printer and printed out the results. As he read over the report, his smile grew. “Houston, we no longer have a problem.”

 

19

“Where is he
” Eva asked as she walked the corridors back to the restaurant.