Breaking Even (19 page)
Authors: Lily Bishop
Lindsey’s eyes widened. “Snatch me off the
island? Why would they do that?”
“To get to me. Listen, you’re just going
to have to trust me. The more you know, the more you’re in danger.”
“And I’m just supposed to accept that?”
“At this point, yes. It’s the best I can
do.” He glanced at his watch and groaned. “We’ll have to talk about this later.
I promised I’d be at the midnight mass.”
“Midnight mass?”
“Of course. All good Catholics go to
midnight mass on Christmas Eve.”
“I guess I didn’t realize you were
Catholic.”
He shrugged. “Normally it doesn’t matter,
but I still honor the old traditions. Midnight mass is one of them.”
“Well if I’m in such danger, why do you
think it’s safe to go to church?”
Ric pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Because we have confirmation that Xavier’s brother has left the island. There
won’t be any more attempts.”
“How do you know it’s not a trick?”
“I just know. If you don’t want to go to
the service, I’ll go alone—“
“No, that’s fine. I’ll get dressed.” She
wasn’t giving Jacquetta any more fuel in her battle for Ric. That reminded her
of her other question.
At least Lindsey had learned her lesson on
her first visit and brought dressy clothes. Still raw from her conversation
with Jacquetta, she would have preferred to stay in, but that wasn’t to be.
She finally got up the nerve to ask Ric
about Jacquetta’s comments on the ride over to the little church. “Did you take
Jacquetta to Atlanta with you when we went to the big horse estate?”
“Yes, why?”
“No reason.” Lindsey bit out the words.
How could he just sit there and act as if it was no big deal?
“She just went so she could buy Christmas
presents for Rudy. The toy stores are better in Atlanta,” he offered in
explanation.
“But she stayed in your house.”
“Of course. In one of the guest rooms.” He
glanced over at her as he drove. “It’s a four bedroom house,” he added.
“Oh.” Lindsey felt foolish. She felt her
face freeze when she realized that Ric was trying to suppress a smile. “Why are
you smiling?”
Ric’s grin got bigger and he slipped his
arm around her shoulders, hugging lightly. “I’m smiling because you’ve never
acted jealous before.”
“I’m not jealous—”
“It’s okay, I promise. Listen, Jacquetta
and I are friends and colleagues. Nothing more. I would never date two women at
the same time.”
Relief washed over her. “I’m sorry—I
didn’t mean to doubt you. She just acted like it was something different.”
“Do you want me to talk to her?”
“No!” Lindsey cringed at the very idea.
“I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding.” She knew it wasn’t, but she didn’t
need Ric to fight her battles.
“Maybe now you have more sympathy for what
I went through when you were sharing your house with Ben?”
“It’s not the same thing.” Lindsey pulled
away and stared out of the window. “I don’t want to fight over that again.”
“Me either.” He squeezed her hand and
turned back to the road.
The village church was decorated for
Christmas with greenery and bunting. Lit candles filled each window, and tall
candelabras flanked the front of the church. Some guests chose to stand in the
back rather than crowd in the pews.
The priest's sermon focused on Christian
love, friendship, and time with family during the holidays. The sermon was
shorter than the sermons she remembered growing up. She enjoyed it, but then
felt even guiltier about not seeing her sister for Christmas.
The priest started communion. Ric
explained that since she wasn’t Catholic, she could go up for a church blessing
but not take the bread or wine. Lindsey chose to go up with the rest of the
group, and she knelt for the blessing beside Ric. He squeezed her hand as they
finished, and steadied her as she stood up.
This wasn’t Lindsey’s church and she only
knew a handful of people, but she felt a sense of connection wash over her. She
wiped away a tear as the congregation sand “Silent Night” by candlelight at the
end. The church bells rang midnight as the service ended, and the crowd started
to disperse.
Ric led her over to Jacquetta, who held a
sleeping Rudy. “Merry Christmas, Jacquetta. I hope you have a great holiday
tomorrow.”
“You too, Ricardo,” she said in her
lilting voice. “Shall I come over for lunch as usual?”
“Not this year. I think Lindsey and I want
some time alone. Did I mention that I’m looking into property in South
Carolina? I may split my time between two resorts.”
“No, you didn’t. Congratulations.”
Jacquetta practically spat the words.
“Well, we will see you later.”
Ric took Lindsey’s hand and led her to his
car. “I’m sorry that I didn’t see her jealousy before. We did spend time
together as friends, but never dated. She must have had other ideas.”
“I see that now. Thanks for mentioning
that to her. At least I feel less like an interloper.”
He took her cheeks in his hands and kissed
her in full view, right outside the passenger door. Several people stopped to
stare as they walked to their car.
“You are not the interloper,” he said, his
voice husky. “You are the reason for everything I do.”
Lindsey blushed. “Thank you. Now take me
back. We have some celebrating to do.”
Back in the suite, Lindsey left him to
brush her teeth and get ready for bed. She emerged wearing one of his gifts, a
soft gown made of fine-spun white cotton. Ric turned and his eyes widened.
“God you’re beautiful,” he said, taking
her in his arms. “The gown is perfect for you, just like I knew it would be.”
“I love it,” she said, pressing herself against
him.
“I have something else for you. I had put
it in the safe, and almost forgot.” He stepped back, and reached in his pocket.
He pulled out a flat square box wrapped in pale robin’s egg blue tissue paper
and tied with a silver ribbon. Her heart skipped a beat as he handed it to her.
Lindsey's palm was open. Time seemed to
slow down as she stared down at the box. She hoped he wouldn’t give her an
engagement ring. Not yet. She didn't think she could say yes. She determined
the box was too flat to be a ring box.
“You've already given me so much.”
“Humor me.”
She held back just a moment more, and then
she pulled the ends to release the silver satin. She lifted the box top and
pulled back the velvet liner. A gemstone butterfly of peridot and amethyst caught
the light and twinkled. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”
“You remind me of a butterfly,” he said as
he helped her put the necklace on. “You stay in your cocoon, apart. When you
finally blossom and let yourself open up, there are no limits to what you can
do.”
“But—”
“No buts. You are an amazing young woman.”
Lindsey couldn’t help the tears that
welled in her eyes. “You are so good to me. What did I do to deserve you?”
“Ah,
querida
, you have it
backwards. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.”
She reached up and pulled him down to her.
She took his lips with hers, and he leaned down for a gentle kiss. “I love you,”
she whispered. “And not because of the necklace. I’ve loved you for so long I
can’t remember you not being there.”
“I feel the same. I don’t know how I managed
before you walked in that casino in Miami. Who did I talk to? Who did I tell my
dreams to? Now there is only you.
Te Amo. Mucho
.”
“
Te amo
,” she echoed. “
Mucho
.”
He kissed her again, and Lindsey knew she
had come home. He led her into the bedroom and stretched out on his back,
content to let her play. She rubbed his chest, twirling the soft hair she found
there. When she tongued his nipples, mimicking what he did to hers, he sucked
in his breath.
“I think I need another lesson,” she told
him, easing herself across him, one leg on either of his hips.
“What kind of lesson?” he asked, his voice
rumbling low.
After her failed attempt before, Lindsey
still wanted to try on top. She slid over, allowing his erection to spring up
under her, and carefully slid down on top. She worried about hurting him, but
he guided her hips. When she was fully seated, she waited, not quite sure what
to do next.
“You said you would teach me to
ride," she reminded him.
He looked at her with his eyes half-
closed. “I could spend all day teaching you to ride.”
He lifted his hips and she matched his
movement. The angle gave her a different feeling than before. She gasped at the
contact. "Oh, baby, that feels good," she said.
She pulled the gown off and tossed it
across the room. He gripped her breasts, holding his palms flat against her
nipples as she moved up and down. He squeezed her nipples until she gasped, and
she felt an answering pull in her core.
“You make a good horse,” she said, teasing
him with her fingernails on his nipples. “Lots of stamina.”
“You’re going to think stamina,” he said.
He held her hips still and thrust into her and Lindsey thought she would die
from the force of his thrusts. He held her up as they both came apart together.
She dropped on top of him, not caring that he took her weight.
“And you always hold yourself up
afterward,” she muttered. “Too bad. I can’t move.”
He chuckled and eventually she rolled
over, nestling in the crook of his arm. She lay beside him for a few minutes,
her mind drifting. Twice now, she had thought he would propose. Twice, she had
held her breath, wondering how she could say no without hurting his feelings.
Now, in the wee hours of Christmas morning, she felt disappointment that he
hadn’t asked.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Christmas in Vegas
Ric waited until
Lindsey fell asleep before he went into the other room to call Miguel again. He
didn
’t
care that it was the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. Miguel would be up.
This time, his cousin answered on the first ring.
“Primo. Why did I know you would call me?
Come to Vegas. Let’s talk this out the old way.”
“Hah. The old way would be with swords or
dueling pistols. You know you are wrong. Stay out of my life.”
Miguel laughed, a low rumbling sound. Ric
had the distinct impression that the man was playing with him. “You don’t have
any proof that I did anything illegal.”
“Javier was on my island, masquerading as
his twin, trying to get Lindsey on a ship registered in your name. If you touch
her, I will kill you myself.”
“You can try. Answer me this? How would
your precious Lindsey react if she knew that you killed your first love ten
years ago? Would she be so understanding?”
Ric closed his eyes. It always came back
to the one girl they had both wanted. “I did not kill Dionna. You know that.”
“As long as the
policia
think that
you did, what does it matter? Come to the Vittoria. Robert gives me a private
suite. We will talk there. I will leave a key for you at the front desk.”
Ric rubbed the back of his neck, trying to
stave off a middle-of-the night headache. “What name are you traveling under
this time?” he asked, irritated. How did Miguel still manage to come in and out
of the United States at will, despite the fact that he had warned the FBI?
“Let’s just say they haven’t discovered
all my aliases.”
Ric growled and ended the call. Regardless
of what he wanted, he would have to go. He made a mental note to ask the FBI if
they had anything on Robert Stephens. Once he got the hard proof the FBI
needed, they would arrest him in the U.S. Until then, he would have to play the
game.
Robert knew about this somehow. Miguel
always stayed in the best suites for no charge. Ric couldn’t count the number
of times Miguel had used Robert’s ship, The Atlanta Lady in the past year.
Something else about Robert’s ship hovered in the back of his mind, but he
couldn’t quite grasp it. It would come to him later.
Ric slid back in bed with Lindsey. She
stirred and rolled over to cuddle against him. He loved her so much it ached.
He had almost asked her to marry him, but he still couldn’t tell what her
answer would be. She was so much younger, and she had never even hinted that
she wanted marriage.
Time didn’t ease the guilt he felt when he
thought about Dionna. He had enjoyed spending time with her when he returned home
on break from college, but he didn't plan to marry her. In contrast, Miguel had
been obsessed with her. Ric had even tried to nudge the girl toward dating his
cousin, but she would have none of it. She wanted Ric.
Then Ric had come home for spring break,
determined to break it off with her. They had taken a picnic to their spot, the
beach below the old stone fortress where his family lived. He had wanted
privacy, something tough to find with his family always around. He had told her
he loved her, just not in that way. He wanted her to find a husband and be
happy. She had cried, but in the end, he knew it was best. He had walked away.
The next morning her body had washed up on
the beach. The news reported that she had drowned. Later, the police reported
that she was raped before she was killed. They questioned Ric for hours, but in
the end had to release him with no evidence. His mother had died months later
and he had not been back to his home country since her funeral. In his heart,
he believed Miguel had killed her, but his cousin had an alibi that he was in
Caracas that night.
He knew that he loved Lindsey more than
she loved him and wondered if this was his penance, to feel Dionna's pain.
Every time he thought back to that night, he wished he had walked her home to
the other side of the island. She had been angry and swore she never wanted to
see him again. Short of staying and following her against her wishes, he wasn’t
sure what else he could have done.
Lindsey wouldn’t be happy that he was
leaving her to go to Vegas. She had been so excited about the week in Calliope.
They would have to look at her class schedule to see when she could come back.
If he remembered, she had a short break in January. He explained that to her
over their room service breakfast.
At first, she just stared at him over
their room service breakfast.
“What do you mean I can’t go?” Her eyes
narrowed at him over her coffee. “Is Jacquetta going?”
He jerked back as if she had slapped him.
“Of course not! Jacquetta has no reason to go. I told you there is nothing
between us."
“You did, and last night was wonderful. Now
you want to change our plans, and that doesn’t feel right to me. There has to
be a reason.”
“It’s a fast trip for business. I promise
I will come back as soon as I can. If you don't want to wait here, I will stay
with you in Clemson for the rest of your break.”
“Let me go with you. I won’t get in your
way. You don’t have to entertain me. I’ll be perfectly fine at the blackjack
tables on my own. Ooh, this is so exciting!” Lindsey clapped her hands and went
back to eating her omelet.
“Lindsey, it’s not worth your time to go…”
“I don’t care. I just want to see the
strip. I promise. We can save downtown Vegas for a different trip.”
He tried one last time. “I don’t think you
should go.”
He should have known better. Lindsey stood
up, her hands on her hips. “You know that I have studied blackjack for years
and I could never afford to go to Vegas. My thesis compare and contrasts
various card-counting methods. You cannot sit there and tell me I’m not going.
If you don’t take me in your jet with you, I will just fly commercial.”
She paused to let that sink in. Then,
almost as if she had convinced herself, she continued. “I have money now. I’ve
just been so busy with school I couldn’t get away. I would like for you to show
me Vegas, but there’s no reason I can’t go on my own.”
Ric knew when he lost the argument. The
only way to convince her to stay was to tell her about the kidnapping attempt,
and he didn't want her worried. He didn't want her to know the level of his
family's involvement in the Caribbean sex trade.
Until he helped the FBI bring Miguel to
justice, he couldn’t risk it. She would never give him another chance. He would
just have to find a way to protect her without her knowing why.
“Okay, but stay with Xavier the whole
time. Some of my associates in Vegas aren’t exactly what you would call good
people. I do not want you tangled up with them.”
She frowned at him. “Perhaps you shouldn’t
associate with criminals then.”
“Yes, but it is not always so cut and dry,”
Ric said. “I have the pilot on alert, so as soon as we pack, we can go.”
She stretched up and planted a kiss on his
lips. “I won’t take long, I promise. I’m so excited!”
She left him to go shower. Ric had a
sinking feeling that he would regret this trip.
#
“Well, if I wasn’t in the Christmas spirit
before, I am now,” she told Ric. Trees of every color and shape lined the
concourse.
He grunted, clearly not in the Christmas
spirit himself. Lindsey glanced over at Xavier, but he just shrugged. She
turned back to Ric.
“Look, I know you didn’t want me to come,
but I’m telling you, if you keep up that attitude, this trip will not end well.”
There was no way Lindsey would let him take this trip alone. He had made way
too much of a point out of her not going. He was hiding something, and she
intended to find out what.
Ric tried to smile, but failed. Instead,
his lips only twisted. “I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Snap out of it,” she said, grabbing his
arm and tucking hers around it. “This is my first trip to Las Vegas. You're
supposed to blow me away.”
The tense muscles in his arm relaxed.
“You’re right. I'm sorry.”
Lindsey couldn’t believe she was finally
in Las Vegas. The three of them made their way through the airport, followed by
a porter who brought their luggage on a cart.
Slot machines whirred and spun, singing of
wins and losses. The only thing missing from the airport was the table games.
They walked past a restaurant and Lindsey could smell burgers on the grill. Her
stomach perked up, even though they had eaten lunch on the plane.
“Where are we staying?” she asked, trying
to keep Ric from clamming up again.
“The Vittoria. It’s a new casino on the
strip.”
“That’s where my sister met Fox last
summer,” Lindsey said, excited. She knew Laura had liked the resort.
Ric looked at her then. “Right. I forgot
about that. They met here?”
“Sure. Fox’s stepdad owns a big share or
something. At least that’s what Laura said. His name is Robert. I don’t
remember the last name, but I don’t think it’s Thornton.”
“Robert Stephens,” Ric completed for her.
“That’s it. Stephens. Do you know him?”
“Not well. I’ve met him a few times, but
that’s about it.” Lindsey sighed, irritated with his short, abrupt answers.
She, Ric and Xavier loaded into the black sedan that was waiting for them,
complete with driver. Xavier sat up front with the driver.
“So, what are we going to do when we get
to the Vittoria?” Lindsey kept chatting, trying to get Ric to open up. He just
stared out the window. She hoped she hadn’t made a horrible mistake forcing him
to bring her with him.
“Check into our room, and then we may have
time to hit the blackjack tables for a little bit before I have my meeting.”
“That’s what I want to hear,” she said,
grinning. “I can test out more of my theories.”
“Don’t get kicked out for card-counting.”
He finally turned to her at that statement, his frown serious.
“I’m not going to get kicked out for
card-counting,” she parroted, frowning. “I still don’t understand why it’s not
permitted. They play their game, I play mine.”
“Well, it’s their house, their rules. No
card-counting.”
Lindsey pushed out her lips in a fake
pout. “It’s not like you knew I was counting cards on Calliope.”
He grinned at her, his first true smile
all day. “Oh, I knew. I just thought you were too adorable to make a fuss about
it. And that was my casino. This, however, is not my casino. Their rules apply.”
#
Miguel’s plan was for Vaughn to take
Lindsey from the casino once Ric left her alone. All he had to do was slip the
drug in her in her drink.
Vaughn had used the drug before. It acted
like alcohol, only faster and with more pronounced effects. Once the drug was
in a girl’s bloodstream, it made her agreeable to anything. Inhibitions melted.
He would have about an hour before the secondary drug effects took hold and she
passed out.
Vaughn nursed his drink and waited for
Salzana to leave. Lindsey laughed and joked as if she didn’t have a care in the
world. Vaughn would wipe that smile off her face, and he would enjoy doing it.
She had looked so much better as a blonde
when she wore that platinum wig. Why was she wearing glasses? She looked so
much better with contact lenses.
Vaughn lowered his head, although he didn’t
think either one of those men would recognize him. Six months working on
Venezuelan fishing boats had hardened him and weathered his complexion. Tired
of looking at his thinning hair, he had shaved his head and grown a mustache
and beard.
Now he would finally get his revenge on
Lindsey. He tossed back his drink, getting excited about his plans.
She passed within ten feet of him and
never suspected he sat by the bar. Damn it, she wasn’t supposed to leave the
casino area. He had thought she would keep playing cards when Salzana left. He
would have to come up with a different plan.
#
He paused at the door as he left. “I don’t
know how long I will be gone. If it gets too late, just order room service.”
Lindsey glanced at the menu and wrinkled
her nose. “The room service menu’s not doing it for me. I might just go down to
the restaurant.”