Jingle of Coins (34 page)

Emily remained quiet as an orderly transferred her first to an ambulance, then onto a waiting plane. Her incisions throbbed painfully, so she downed a couple of pain tablets to dull the ache.

“Can I get you anything?” the young agent sitting across from her asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “There’s juice, soda, or coffee in the kitchen.”

“No, thanks.”

She watched him disappear behind a curtain, then closed her eyes. Sleep remained elusive, so she straightened her seat and stared out the window. A few minutes later, he returned, balancing a magazine in one hand and a glass of juice in the other.

“I brought this for you,” he said, passing the magazine. “Thought it might help pass the time.”

“Thanks.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, then decided to get up. Her vision clouded with the sudden movement, and she held onto a seat to steady herself. “Is it okay to move around? My foot’s cramping, and I thought I might take a short walk to work it out.”

“Sure. The kitchen’s down the hall and so is the restroom. If you want to change, your clothes are in the restroom closet.”

“Thanks." Emily pulled the front of her robe together and massaged the back of her neck. “I’ll be right back.”

The slippers on her feet made a soft whooshing sound as she walked toward the rear of the plane. Once inside the restroom, she washed her hands and, out of habit, reached in her pocket for a tissue.

Her fingers clamped around a folded wad of paper. Curious, she pulled it out and opened it. When she saw the familiar handwriting, her heart missed a beat. Glen!

The note read: Red Garter Restaurant, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Corner table. 2:00 P.M. November 29th. Next stop, Atlantic City, then onto Monte Carlo!

Emily perched on the edge of the toilet cover. Atlantic City? Monte Carlo? The man was insane! She suddenly realized that Dozer might have actually done her a favor, separating her from Glen. Obviously, the huge jackpot the two of them were going to split was not enough money for him. She briefly thought about meeting Glen, then quickly rejected the idea. Once she made the mistake of letting him know how to get in touch with her, he would probably never leave her, or more importantly, her talent, alone. He’d blackmail her into helping him, just like he’d done before. Granted, he was gorgeous, but so were a lot of other men—men whose plans didn’t include continually fleecing casinos with help of her talent. Sighing softly, she reached for her clothes.

“You okay in there?” the agent called out.

“Yeah,” she replied.

She lowered the toilet lid and perched on the edge. Had everything she’d gone through been worth it? All the running and hiding, the fear of being caught? Was being with Glen worth going through that again and again? More importantly, did she really want to live the rest of her life on the edge of the law? Granted, her talent wasn’t illegal, but it wasn’t entirely legitimate, either.

Emily took a deep breath, smoothed her shirt, and made her decision. “I’ll be right out,” she said as tore the note into strips and flushed the pieces down the toilet.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“Okay, Emily. I’m going to loosen the bandages now. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them.”

Emily felt the weight of the bandages lift off her skin and tried to remain calm. What would her new face look like? Would she be older, younger, uglier, more attractive?

A few minutes later, he placed a hand mirror into her palm. As her fingers wrapped around the handle, Emily prayed that the surgeon hadn’t screwed up her face too badly. Taking a deep breath, she slowly raised the mirror.

“Well, what do you think?”

Mesmerized by the strange face looking back at her, she took a few minutes to respond. “It…it looks good. Real good.”

“I’m glad you like it,” the doctor replied. Sliding his stool over to the counter, he scribbled on a prescription pad, tore off the sheet, and handed it to Emily. “This is for an antibiotic and pain medication. I want you to take the antibiotics until they are all gone. The pain medication you can take as needed.”

She lifted her glance to his. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, my dear,” the doctor replied. “I’m just sorry you had to go through this whole ordeal alone. I’m sure you can’t wait to get back to your family. You’re a brave young woman.”

If you only knew how I got here, you’d think otherwise, Emily thought, as she schooled her lips into a smile. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

Dozer met her in the waiting room and escorted her to the parking lot. Once inside their SUV, he stared at her for a few moments, then started the engine. “Well, you certainly look different.”

Dozer chuckled. “Typical female reaction. Believe me, Emily, you don’t look that much older. Five, maybe ten years, at the most. You just need some time to get used to your new face.” He stared at her for a few moments. “Besides, I think it has character.”

“Character?” She shook her head, then glanced at the mirror. “I…I don’t know. It just looks different. Older, but it’s really not that bad.” Sighing, she flipped up the visor. “Anyway, it doesn’t make any difference now what I think. I passed the point of changing my mind the moment my surgeon picked up his scalpel. There’s no going back, so I’ll just have to live with it, whether I like it or not. This is what I asked for, and I got it.” She remained silent for a moment, staring out the window. “Can we please change the subject?”

Dozer turned onto a dirt road and, a short time later, parked the car near a small hangar. He cautioned Emily to hurry, and as soon as they buckled their seatbelts, the plane took off. Dozer disappeared into the pilot’s cabin, leaving Emily to her thoughts. Unable to sleep, she straightened her seat and stared out the window. She tried to make sense of the past few months. Nothing had gone as planned. How had things gotten so far out of hand? There was no way she could go back to sketching and painting; that part of her life was over forever. She’d have to find something else to do. Would Dozer help her get started or would he simply dump her somewhere and leave?

At least she still had her talent. Yeah. Right. She thought about it and where using it had led. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried to build her nest egg with money from the casinos. All that did was lead her from bad to worse. She thought about Glen. He certainly was greedy. The note he left in her pocket, plus their last few conversations suggested that the money he received from her jackpot would not be enough; he wanted more. Would he ever stop wanting more?

She shook her head. Her relationship with Glen was over. Emily thought about her time with him and realized that all they’d really had was a few laughs, sex, and blackmail. Had she imagined a relationship when there really wasn’t one? Had Glen cared only for the money she could provide and nothing about her? If so, she’d certainly been foolish to think they had any kind of a future together.

Emily was suddenly very glad she’d torn up Glen’s note. Better to sever the ties now, before she started her new life. Handsome as Glen was, he could only lead her deeper into a life she did not want to lead. Damn him.

Several hours later, the plane landed on a narrow airstrip. Emily unlocked her seatbelt as Dozer walked out of the captain’s cabin. “Where are we?” she asked, unable to stand the suspense.

“In Louisiana,” Dozer replied as he unlocked the hatch and led her toward a waiting vehicle.

As the car traveled down mile after mile of road, Emily remained silent, nervously wondering where Dozer would stop and what awaited her there.

Dozer glanced toward her as they exited the freeway. “We’re almost there. Don’t worry, I’m not going to dump you off and leave you.” He cleared his throat. “I know you probably already figured this out, but you can’t ever contact Glen again. That would put your life in jeopardy. Once you hook up with Glen, everything we've done for you will be over. It wouldn't be long before Mike's hit man tracked the two of you down and killed you.”

She shook her head and managed a sad smile. “Don’t worry, Agent Dozer. There’s no way I will ever see Glen again. My relationship with him is over.” She blinked back tears that threatened to fall.

“You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

Dozer nodded, and a few minutes later, their vehicle slid to a halt in front of a large building. He climbed out and motioned for Emily to follow. “This is where you’ll be working. We’ve rented a small house for you a couple of miles down the road, with a six-month lease. That will give you time to look for a house to buy.” He grinned at her. “I thought you might want to make a few decisions about your future by yourself.”

Emily struggled to hide her dismay. Her voice, when she found it, came out in a rough squawk. “You’ve got to be kidding. This is what you picked out for me? When I told you I wanted my own shop, this was not what I had in mind.”

Dozer snickered. “What’s wrong with it? There’s no way we could put you up in another florist shop. That would be like putting a bull’s-eye on your back. We had to come up with something nobody would associate with your past. Sorry, but this was the best we could do. Welcome to your new life, Emily. You’re the new manager of Etienne’s Bakery and Wedding Shop. One of our men runs this shop, and he’ll teach you everything you need to know before he leaves. Don’t look so glum. The building may not look like much, but it’s structurally sound and any repairs will be cosmetic. Once you slap a new coat of paint on and add a few designs to the window, it will look like new. You’re going to love it. Just give it a chance.”

Emily stared at Dozer as if he’d lost his mind. She knew absolutely nothing about running a bakery. “Gee, Dozer. You shouldn’t have,” she managed to blurt out.