Stowaway (21 page)

The other woman took Keri’s proffered hand and shook it firmly.

“Welcome, welcome,” she said. “Nico doesn’t bring many friends to us. He hardly comes to visit at all. I’m glad he’s making time now, although his mama and papa will be sorry to miss him.”

She turned back to Nick. “You want me to make up a guest room for your friend?”

“Nah, she can use Maria’s old room.”

“Please don’t go to any trouble on my account,” added Keri. She didn’t know where his sister Maria’s old room might be, but she figured it was close to his.

“No trouble. I’ll freshen both rooms, but first come to the kitchen and get some lunch. I know Brice and Gus will be hungry.” With that, she turned and hurried back the way she’d come.

“Teresa’s a regular whirlwind,” said Nick. “She always moves in high gear.”

“She lives here too?”

“She and her husband, Tiko, live in a cottage on the property. He helps Pop with whatever projects he’s into at any given time. The security guys help with maintenance around the place too. There’s always something that needs work.”

“Just one big happy family?”

“For the most part.” He turned her in his arms and gave her another long, deep kiss. When they needed air, he rubbed his nose against hers and spoke softly. “Don’t be intimidated or enamored of all the wealth and opulence. It’s not who I am.”

She replied just as softly but with genuine curiosity, “You can take the man out of the mansion, but can you really take the mansion out of the man?”

“I’m proof of it, but not this minute. As much as I’d like to spend the day introducing you to my private suite, we’d better go see what Teresa whipped up for lunch.”

“I am getting a little hungry.”

“I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” she chided as they headed down the hallway toward the kitchen.

“Only because you worked off all my morning calories.”

“Reminder, Nico, you initiated that workout.”

He laughed. “Nico is just my family nickname. And reminder, Miss Merritt, your purple thong was the catalyst.”

Keri shook her head and followed him across ceramic tiles and plush carpeting to a kitchen with a view that stole her breath.

Reggie McDowell paced the small, windowless jail cell, impatiently waiting for a visit from his lawyer. A few weeks in the Dade County detention center had dampened his plans for becoming a big-time crime lord. He’d settle for being free right now.

The clothes he had to wear were rags compared to his own bangin’ threads. The food looked and tasted like barf from the alleys of his youth. The dank, rotting smell of the jail reminded him of those same seedy streets. He hadn’t risen above all that just to be socked in the slammer for the rest of his natural life.

He had to get the hell outta this place. His lawyer said the DA had enough evidence to send him to death row. The judge nixed his bail option, so he was screwed unless his stupid kid brother, Knifer, could get rid of the evidence and the cops who’d put him here. But Knifer never did anything right without minute-by-minute instructions. Mostly, not even then.

His loser of a brother had gotten him into this mess in the first place. Knifer had wanted one more score against the Paulson family before they broke with the old crowd for good. He’d trusted that cop Lamanto and the whole deal had gone from bad to worse. Too many people had seen him gun down Rafe Paulson. A self-defense plea wouldn’t fly, and he wasn’t pleain’ to some mental incompetence crap.

He had a plan, though, he always had a plan. That’s how he’d pulled the family from the gutters and caught the attention of the Cooper guy. Cooper was a high roller with really ballin’ plans, but he couldn’t risk drawing too much attention from the cops.

A guard interrupted his angry thoughts and led him to the visitation lockdown. Ronald Mansune, another loser, greeted him nervously. He had plenty of reason to be nervous. The main one being his meth habit the McDowell family fed or starved, depending on the family’s needs. Right now, the Ivy League loser looked to be in a bad way.

“What’s the haps?” he asked, knowing how much his lawyer hated him and the street slang.

“I got a message you needed to see me,” said Mansune.

“I wanna know what you’re doin’ to get me outta this stinkin’ rat’s nest.”

Mansune cleared his throat. His right eye twitched, and he played with the catch on his briefcase. “I’m doing everything possible. Since the judge refused bail, the only option is a speedy trial. A preliminary date’s been set, but I need time to prepare your defense.”

“Cop-shop rumor is a certain detective’s boat got wasted with him onboard. Any truth to that?”

The lawyer’s head bobbed like one of those toys on the dash of a car.

“I heard it on the news. Apparently a male body was found, but no positive ID has been made. The police department is being very secretive about it.”

“I wanna know positive,” said Reggie. He glared at the little puke for a long, tense minute and then added, “Find out and report to Knifer. He’ll have a little reward for you.”

“Even without Detective Lamanto’s eye-witness account, there’s a lot of solid evidence against you.”

Reggie’d had plenty of time to weigh the odds. With Lamanto dead and the other cop in Cooper’s pocket, his odds improved. Last resort would be double-crossing Cooper. If he sold him out to the feds, he’d have the best odds for a plea deal. But that carried other risks, life-threatening risks and the need for relocation.

Death row compared to targeting himself as a snitch.

At least a snitch had a chance to run, hide or disappear. The clang of jail cells had him grinding his teeth and running another option by his lawyer.

Chapter Fourteen

In the afternoon, Keri and Nick lounged by the crystal blue water of the Olympic-size pool behind the villa. They soaked up sun and enjoyed the serene beauty of the landscaping. She didn’t think he should swim until his stitches came out, so they cooled off by dangling their feet in the water. Playing footsie with bare, wet feet led to some heated foreplay and a sensual siesta in his king-sized bed.

They surfaced again near dinner time, neither bothering with many clothes. He wore old cutoff jeans. She dressed in gym shorts and a white tank top. Teresa had left the house for the day, so they raided the refrigerator. Nick whipped up a feast of leftover manicotti, garden-fresh veggies and home-baked bread. For dessert, he found vanilla ice cream and topped it with caramel syrup.

“Way better fare than I provided at the cabin,” she said as she licked the last drop of sweetness from her spoon.

“Except for the apple pie,” he reminded with a warm, flirty smile.

She returned his smile with a nod. Despite the short amount of time they’d known each other, she felt a deeper connection with him than any man she’d ever known. He’d shifted her world on its axis. His smile made her heart pound and her insides tremble with pleasure. She felt alive and happy and whole with him.

Even if they couldn’t sustain a long-term relationship, she’d treasure every memory they made together. The thought sent her into an emotional tailspin. Her pulse skittered in panic, so she covered her reaction with mindless chatter.

“My mom tried hauling ice cream to the cabin years ago,” she said, breaking eye contact and focusing on the spoon in her hand. “We celebrated Jack’s birthday up there, and she wanted him to have cake and ice cream. She bought dry ice to keep it frozen for the trip up but the freezer at the cabin didn’t keep it cold enough. We had really sloppy ice cream.”

“Jack’s birthday in the summer?”

She nodded again, but didn’t look directly at him. “July. We used to go to the cabin for two weeks every summer. Jack and I loved it until we got into our teen years. Then we whined a lot about leaving our friends and being bored.”

Feeling a sudden urge to burn off nervous energy, Keri gathered their dirty dishes and carried them to the sink. She needed a minute to gather her wits and deal with the emotional jolt she’d given herself.

“The lack of phones, television and computers?” asked Nick. “Sounds like a familiar teenage complaint when you take ’em out of their comfort zones.”

She made a sound of agreement and they both got lost in thought. As she cleaned the dishes, he dried them and they slowly returned the kitchen to its earlier pristine condition. Still not looking directly at him, she drained the dish water and asked more questions.

“How does your family bring in groceries? With the year-round hot weather, I’d think hauling by boat would get tricky.”

“They use the chopper.”

That had her raising a brow and staring at him. He tossed his towel aside and gave her a shrug.

“Brice is a helicopter pilot too. The family uses it for quick trips to the city.”

Why should that surprise her? Keri wondered as she dried her hands. For all she knew the family could afford a whole fleet of aircraft. In an emergency situation, having air transportation from an island could mean the difference between life and death.

“And Millionaire’s Row is closer by boat,” he said, “Sometimes Teresa shops there.”

“I didn’t see a helicopter anywhere. Do your folks leave it in the city?”

“No. It’s on the roof. You can’t see it from the ground because it’s hidden behind all that fancy architecture on the top of the house. When someone wants to come or go, they just call Brice.”

Nick took her hand and led her outside as evening approached. She twined her fingers with his and felt the thrill of the physical connection as his warmth permeated to her.

They strolled around the beautiful property. He showed her his favorite spots and told her he used to compare his family’s compound to Alcatraz, the old island prison. As a hormonal teenager, he’d hated the isolation and yearned for a more normal lifestyle.

“So when did you escape?”

“We have a home in the city and spent most of the school year there. Summers and holidays we were stuck here.”

“I’ll bet that really cut into the social life of a studly young Romeo.”

He grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Until I escaped to college,” he teased as they strolled up the hill to the villa.

“What college?”

“Miami U, of course.”

“East Tennessee for me,” she told him.

“You always wanted to be a nurse?”

She nodded. “Once I got past the ballerina, horse-trainer and firefighter stage in grade school. I suppose you studied law enforcement.”

“Criminal justice. I considered going to law school but didn’t have the patience or ambition for it.”

For most of the day, they’d ignored the more pressing problems of bombs and militias and terrorist threats. As they settled into a comfortable glider on the back terrace, Keri broached the subject.

“What next, Detective? Lovely as your family home is, we can’t stay holed up here very long. I need to head back to Tennessee or at least touch base with Dad.”

“You’re on vacation, remember?” He ignored her questions and pressed warm kisses along her neck.

She felt his teeth on her ear lobe and shivered. A couple minutes in his arms, and she wanted him again. The hunger increased each time they made love, the need escalating rather than diminishing. His uninhibited desire had given her fragile self-confidence a badly needed boost.

“What better place to spend it than an island paradise with a guy who’s crazy for your bod,” he added.

“Just a vacation fling with a hottie?” she replied as his mouth sent goose bumps down her spine.

“You think I’m a hottie?”

“Of course, or I wouldn’t have bothered to take you to my bed,” she parried, tilting her head to give him better access.

“I think you’re a hottie too.” His mouth found its way to her lips and he nibbled, coaxing for deeper penetration. “I want you again,” he whispered.

She didn’t think any man had ever wanted her more. Or maybe she hadn’t ever wanted one so much. Call it fate or kismet or destiny, they were perfectly in tune with each other.

“You’re insatiable.”

“Only for you,” he swore. “Wanna call it a night?”

“The sun’s just setting, and I’m not sleepy.”

“Guess we’ll have to find something else to do in bed. We’re damned good at that, aren’t we?”

“Just a couple of hotties,” she agreed, running a finger down the five o’clock shadow on his cheek. “But as inventive and distracting as you can be, I still need to call my dad.”

“Give me another day to stir up information.”

“We already wasted this day.”

His seductive tone turned to indignation. He pulled her across his lap and leveled a frown at her. “Wasted? That’s how you describe a day spent with me?”

Keri grinned and cupped her hands around his face. “Sorry if I bruised your ego, Detective. It’s certainly been a fascinating day but wasted in the way of furthering our investigation.”

“Our investigation?” he prompted.

“We need answers. I want to know what’s going on in Thornsbury and if it has anything to do with what happened in Miami this morning.” Her tone grew more serious. “The only thing I know for sure is you’re the catalyst.”

“Which makes it dangerous to be near me,” he declared softly.

“So now you think you’re going to stash me in paradise while you continue to make a target of yourself?”

He didn’t immediately reply. She dropped her hands to the cushions on either side of his head and stared directly into his eyes. His facial expression didn’t offer a clue to what he was thinking. Her eyes narrowed, brows furrowing.

“That is your plan, isn’t it?”

He finally spoke in a low, steady tone. “It’s not a bad plan. You call your dad on a disposable phone and tell him you’re sight-seeing. It wouldn’t be a lie, and he wouldn’t worry about you not returning to the cabin. Meanwhile, you’ll be protected and pampered here.”

“Only one little tiny problem with the plan, Lamanto,” she said as she shoved herself off his chest.

“And what would that be, Merritt?”

“I don’t like it.”

He sighed heavily as she shifted off his lap.

“Maybe you’d better tell me exactly what you’ve got planned,” she said.