[Invitation to Eden 04.0] Hydrotherapy (13 page)

“Give me that.” Rex grabbed the artifact and turned it over. He narrowed his gaze at the bottom as he examined the artwork. After a few moments, he looked up and grinned at Caine. “We've got it.”

“Got what?” Jenna asked.

Caine stood and took the figurine from Rex. “The puzzle piece that puts all of this together.”

“What are you talking about?”

Caine turned over the angel and stared at the bottom. Engraved on the underside were two little letters. If they weren't looking for them, then the might have missed it.

“This.” Caine showed her the bottom of the figurine.”

“FB,” she read. “I don't get it.”

“It's the friar's initials.”

Caine explained to her how they thought that the ship might have carried the famous Spanish friar.

Jenna stood and ran her fingers over the porcelain finish. “Wow. The Master of the Island is going to be thrilled.”

“He's not going to know,” Rex said as he grabbed the angel from her hands.

“You don't seriously think you're going to sell this stuff now,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “This could be a huge historic find. These artifacts belong in a museum.” She turned to Caine. “You have to tell Mr. Vardalos. He's paying you. He's been paying you for months to excavate this site. These artifacts are his.”

“Fucking woman,” Rex said.

Jenna glared at Rex. “Excuse me?”

Rex ignored her protest and focused on Caine. “You want to know why I took your goodbye note? This was why.” He waved his hand in Jenna's direction. “You never should have sent for her, Caine. Women are nothing but trouble.”

“It was you.” Jenna took a step forward.

“What?” Rex asked.

“Caine was telling me the truth. He really did leave me a note. You took it.”

“Damn straight.”

Caine watched the argument play out before him, as if watching some terrible movie. He wanted to stop it but couldn’t find his voice.

Jenna crossed her arms. “And you were the one who took the money.”

Rex put on his sunglasses. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, I think you do.” She took another step forward. “You were close to my mother and probably coerced her into telling you our bank information. You also went with Caine to the bank that day and watched him deposit the money. You probably went back hours later and took it.”

Instead of answering, Rex turned to Caine. “Do you hear this? She's attacking me. Unprovoked, I might add.”

Caine tried to answer, but the words wouldn’t come. He had tried so hard to please both Jenna and Rex, and now everything was blowing up in his face.

When Caine didn't answer, he shook his head. “Fuck, Caine. This is what women do, don't you get it? They make you lose focus and turn you against your friends.”

“No Rex, you've done that all on your own,” Jenna said.

Rex turned to Caine. “Could you at least back me up here, man? You have to back me up here. We’re buddies and blood. You owe me.”

Caine steeled his jaw as he remembered that fateful night when Rex had broken his leg. Rex was right, Caine did owe him, but he had been paying that debt for over a year. He could see now that he’d never repay Rex, at least not in Rex's mind. His cousin would use his injury to keep Caine involved in his crazy schemes.

As Caine looked from Jenna to Rex and back again, everything became clear. He had lost Jenna once. He couldn't lose her again—not for any price.

“She's right, Rex.”

“What?”

“It isn't right to steal from the guy who's been funding us.”

“But it was your idea!” Rex shouted.

Jenna stared at Caine with wide eyes. “Is that true, Caine? Was it your idea?”

Caine rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, it was. Although at the time I came up with the idea, I didn't realize the significance of the find. I was only thinking about the money.” He took her hands. “I've since learned that there is more to life than money—much more.” He inched closer. “Will you forgive me?”

“Oh, for crying out loud.” The motor revved up as he turned on the boat. “Let's get out of here.”

Caine and Jenna fell into their seats as Rex sped along the water.

“Are you okay?” Caine yelled over the motor.

Jenna nodded and leaned in close so that he could hear. “This was the Caine I knew in St. Lucia,” she said.

He slid his arm around her shoulders and was surprised with how right it felt. “He's back, Jenna, if you want him.”

“I do.” She tucked her head under his arm as they sped back to the island. The ride itself was quiet, since the motor was too loud to allow for much talking. Caine used the time to think. He knew that Rex was disappointed in him, but Caine felt that with time, he'd understand. Jenna had been right all along. He was just too thick-headed to see it. There was something very wrong about stealing from the man who had been taking care of them for months.

Besides, even if they could manage to get away with the treasure, there was no guarantee they wouldn't get in trouble. If the artifacts did have the large historical significance Caine suspected, then it would be difficult to sell them and not raise red flags. They’d eventually be caught, and then they'd have a lot of explaining to do.

Caine also knew that the drama would never end with Rex. He loved diving, but not in the same way as Jenna and Caine loved diving. Rex was always chasing the next dollar, the next big adventure. He never really appreciated the beauty of the water, or the life and history it contained.

Rex pulled up to the dock and Caine helped him tie off the boat. After they took care of all of the equipment, Jenna picked up the bag of artifacts.

“Oh no you don’t, missy,” Rex said as he took the bag away from her. “Those aren't yours.”

“No, they belong to the Master of the Island. I was going to return them.”

“Like hell you are. Those trinkets are going to get me a lot of money.”

“Rex,” Caine said. “She's right. We can't do this.”

“We can and we will.” He got back into the boat, leaving Jenna and Caine on the dock. “The woman is warping your brain, Caine. Until you see things straight, I'm going to take these for some safekeeping.”

“Rex,” Caine crouched low and put his hand over Rex’s as his cousin attempted to untie the boat. “Don't do anything stupid.”

Rex glanced at Jenna, then turned back to Caine. “Watch yourself,” Rex whispered. “She could be trying to make off with the goods.”

“Jenna wouldn’t do that.”

“How would you know?”

“I just know.”

Rex pressed his lips together for a moment in thought. “I'm going to talk to the prince.”

“What?”

“The prince. That rich bastard that came onto the island a few days ago. I'm going to see if he's interested in the artifacts. If he is, then we could be done with this by the end of the week.” He pulled his hands out from under Caine’s and finished untying the boat. “If it works out, I'll text you with the location of the drop-off. We’ll make a clean getaway under the cover of night. By the time people figure out what happened, we’ll be long gone.”

“Mr. Vardalos will come after us.”

Rex made face of disgust. “Please, the man has more money than God. He's not going to bother with small stuff like us.”

“I wouldn't be so sure.” Caine glanced up at the castle as an uneasy feeling crept down his spine. “You know as well as I do that weird stuff goes on inside that castle. Otherworldly stuff. It’s almost as if…”

“As if what?”

“Do you ever...do you ever get the feeling that we’re being watched?”

Rex stared at him for a full moment before responding. “You're sick. That's it. You're running a fever. Go home and go to bed. Tomorrow you’ll feel better.” He stepped back onto the boat. “I'm going to go hide these artifacts in a different place than the others and lie low for a while. Once I get things squared away, I'll text you the details. If you care anything about me, you'll meet me in the drop-off location without the girl.”

“Are you guys okay?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah, we're cool,” Rex said as he started the motor. “You'll be hearing from me, cuz'.”

“What was that all about?” Jenna asked as Rex sped away. Caine put his arm around Jenna and steered her away from the water. “It's just Rex being Rex.”

“What is he going to do with the artifacts?”

“He's going to put them in a safe place until we contact the Master of the Island. Then we'll bring them to him.” It was a lie, but he didn’t want Jenna to worry. Rex had acted rash before. After he had his accident outside of the bar, Rex had changed. He was no longer the fun cousin who loved to kick back with a beer on a boat. He walked around with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. By the time he had gotten out of the hospital, their contract with ‘Scuba Adventures’ was up. Rex had insisted that Caine come with him to the Island of Eden to explore a new venture. When Caine hesitated, he had used his injured leg to guilt him into going. Rex had been manipulating Caine ever since.

“So Rex agreed that we should give all of the artifacts to the master?” Jenna asked.

Caine hesitated before responding. “Yeah.”

Jenna grinned. “I knew that there was good in you, Caine.” She kissed his cheek and gave him a big hug.

“Yeah.” God, he hated lying, but he knew that Jenna would tear the island apart looking for Rex and those artifacts. She didn’t know him like Caine did. Once Rex cooled off, he’d see that Caine and Jenna were right and return the artifacts. He hoped.

Chapter Nine

Days passed, and it felt to Jenna as if her life was on hold. The Master of the Island was still away on business and would be returning at the end of the week. Until then, they weren't quite sure what to do with the artifacts. Caine had her move into his private quarters in a cabana not far from the castle. Rex had all but disappeared, but Caine assured her that his cousin wouldn't leave the island without him knowing about it. She tried not to worry, but part of her felt that his cousin wasn't entirely on the up and up. Still, there wasn't much that she could do until Mr. Vardalos came back to the island.

Since Rex had the boat, they could no longer go out to the excavation site. Caine set her up temporarily in the front office, helping to schedule appointments and give an occasional massage—straight massage, of course. She and Caine would work amicably throughout the day and then meet up at one of the many castle bars for dinner. Outwardly, both Jenna and Caine fell into old patterns, joking and laughing like they used to do on St. Lucia. When the sun set, Caine would take her back to his room, and their laughter would dissolve into passion. Never before had Jenna been so happy—or so worried.

It wasn't just the problem with Rex. It was the fact that Caine never wanted to talk about the future. While things seemed to be going well now, she had no idea how things would change after they returned the artifacts to Mr. Vardalos. At that point, Caine’s business on the island would be officially over. She didn't technically have a position at the spa, so she wasn't sure what would become of her. Would Mr. Vardalos offer her a full-time position? Even if he did, she wasn't sure she'd take it. While working at a spa paid the bills, Jenna wasn't passionate about it. After going out to the shipwreck site, she longed for those days on St. Lucia again.

Perhaps Caine would leave the island once the Master came back. If Caine asked her to go with him, she wasn't entirely sure she'd go. It was obvious that Caine still loved adventure and didn't seem like the type who would settle down. Where would they go? What kind of life would they have? Jenna wasn't sure if she'd be up to traveling around the world and she absolutely did not want to cheat people out of money. It was hard for her to envision a future for them together.

The only other option was to not be together, but Jenna couldn't bear to think of a life without Caine, either. She had already tried to do things on her own and while she had made ends meet, she was so damn tired of being lonely. After her mother passed, she had no one to lean on and nowhere to go. The thought of being in that situation once more brought tears to her eyes. She had no idea what the future was going to hold for her and Caine and for a girl who obsessively planned every detail of her life, it felt like a living nightmare.

Then one night after work, they ran into a petite dark-haired girl at the poolside bar, and Jenna got a glimpse of what was to come.

“What's going on?” Jenna asked as she approached Caine at the bar. He had been talking to a young woman in a sky-blue sarong and printed bikini-top. Jenna was stunned to realize she was blind.

“This woman claims to be a soothsayer,” Caine said. “But I don't believe it.”

The younger girl only smiled. “He wants me to prove what I told him.”

“You gave Caine a fortune?” Jenna asked.

She turned to Jenna and cocked her head, as if trying to sense her. “Maybe you’ll find a way to make him believe me. I gave him a warning—”

“A warning?” Jenna asked as Caine put his arm around her. “About what?”

Caine squeezed her shoulder. “She believes that I'm going through some sort of test.”

“Not test—trial,” the girl answered patiently. “There's a difference.”

“Please.” Jenna put her hand on the girl’s arm. “What else did you say?”

The girl was silent for a moment, chewing on her lip as if undecided on how to explain what she saw. Finally, she waved her hand in the air around them. “Look around you.”

Jenna looked at tourists lounging by the pool in brightly colored swimsuits and hats. Staff members weaved in and out of the rows of pool chairs, carrying fruity drinks with the Oasis Spa emblem. At the far end of the pool, a young couple appeared to be flirting with each other. Jenna bit back a sigh as they reminded her of herself and Caine in St. Lucia.

“Yes,” Jenna said.

“This isn’t real,” the girl said quietly.

“What?” Jenna dragged her gaze away from the couple making out at the far end of the pool and focused on the soothsayer. It was unnerving to find the blind girl looking at the exact same couple she had been staring at moments before.

“When it’s fantasy,” the girl said softly, “you see only what you want to see—only what the heart wants.” She paused then her face turned towards the setting sun. “Do you see a couple over there?”