Part 6 (2/2)
”Strawberry,” the boy said and smiled.
”Here.” Jeff dug a bill out of his shorts' pocket.
”Nonsense,” Mr. Coleman said, placing a hand on Bobby's shoulder. ”We haven't seen our own grandchildren the whole time we've been on the cruise. Let us treat the boy.”
”Be sure to say thank-you,” Andie called after her son. She'd pushed her sungla.s.ses on to the top of her head. Jeff could see the worry in her eyes.
”He'll be fine,” Jeff said. ”Mrs. Coleman left her purse with us.” He pointed to the large straw bag in the center of the table. ”Besides, they aren't going to hurt him.”
”How do you know?” she asked, giving him an angry glare before turning her attention back to the older couple.
”I can tell. They've never been out ofNebraskabefore. Mrs. Coleman's idea of doing something wicked is putting walnuts in her chocolate-chip cookies.”
”So she's not a really bad person, then. Nothing like me. Thatis what you're saying, isn't it?”
Once again he was surprised at how well she could read him. ”We don't have time for that now. I want to leave you here with theColemans while I do some shopping. You need some clothes so does Bobby and we need supplies.”
The older couple and her son were having a discussion with the ice-cream vendor. Apparently the decision about which topping to put on the ice cream was not one to be made lightly. Jeff stared at the trio and felt a twinge of longing. Had he ever taken the time to buy his son ice cream?
There'd been so many months spent away from his family. That was one of the reasons Jeanne had come toLebanon. She hadn't liked the long separations. Jeff hadn't enjoyed them, but they were a part of his job and he'd accepted them as such. It was only after Jeanne and J.J. were gone that he'd wondered about all he'd missed being apart from them.
”Wedon't need supplies,” she said, looking at him. ”We don't need anything from you. I appreciate all you've done, but this is where we part company.”
Her wide blue eyes held his own. He studied the straight line of her nose, the shape of her mouth. She had the picture-perfect face of a model and the body to match. That was why she got to him. There was no other reason that being close to her made himwant things. No other cause for his arousal. It wasn't her.
”What are you going to do?” he asked, resting his elbows on the table.
”I'll figure something out.” She glanced at Bobby,then glared at Jeff. ”Don't think I'm going to throw in with you, Rambo. You've made it perfectly clear what you think of me. Besides, I don't trust you.”
”You don't have a choice.” They were both speaking softly, whispering in the crowd of laughing tourists. ”Besides, if you'd really wanted to get away from me, you would have brought your suitcase with you and slipped away in the crowd. I'm your only prayer of getting off of this d.a.m.n island and we both know it.”
Jeff looked at her son. Bobby was licking a rapidly melting strawberry ice-cream cone covered with chocolate sprinkles. Mrs. Coleman was making almost as much of a mess while her husband smiled indulgently at her.
”It'll take a couple of days, but I can get you safely away,” he said, still watching Bobby.
He didn't want any part of this, but he didn't have a choice. His mission to take care of Kray took a back seat to a civilian's safety, even if that civilian was Kray's ex-wife. He didn't have to like Andie Cochran, but he did have to get her off the island. Only then would he be free to continue with his plan. With a little luck, by the time she arrived inFlorida, Kray would be dead and her problems would be over.
”Why should I trust you?” Or like you? But she didn't have to say that part.
”Face it,Andie, I'm all you've got.”
She sighed. ”I know. If I'd planned better or beenmore lucky I wouldn't be stuck with you.”
He turned toward her. She sat ramrod straight on the bench. Her mouth twisted with disgust.
”You're not my idea of a good time, either,” he said. ”But if you want me to help you, you have to do what I say. No surprises, no secrets. I can get you out of here, but if you don't cooperate with me, you're going to get us killed. You andme being dead doesn't help the kid.”
The afternoon sun beat down on them. Jeff removed his hat and wiped his arm across his sweaty forehead. He wanted a shower and a decent night's sleep. He could have the former as soon as they got back to the house, but he wouldn't be sleeping much until he'd finished what he'd come for.
Jeff knew he was just enough of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to hope Andie turned him down flat. He even thought about making it easier on her by setting the Jeep key on the table between them. She could grab it and the kid and make a run for it. If he didn't follow too fast, he could let her get away.
The vision tempted him, but he squashed it. He couldn't afford to let Kray know he was on the island. Kray would catch her before sundown and force her to tell him what she knew. Bobby would be safe from his father's anger, but Andie would pay a high price.
She half rose from the bench, then sagged back down. Defeatslumped her shoulders. ”You win,” she said quietly, staring at her son. ”I don't have another choice. I'll do anything for Bobby.” She straightened. ”No secrets, no surprises. I won't run away.”
Despite their situation, he grinned.
”What's so funny?” she asked.
”At least you didn't promise not to be any trouble.”
”Getting in trouble is what I do best, Rambo. I don't have to plan it. Things just seem to happen. You'll have to live with that.”
She blinked several times, as if fighting tears. He didn't want to know she was afraid. It made it hard to hang on to his anger. He didn't want her to be a real person to him. He wanted her to be an object Kray's wife. He could hate her then. It didn't matter that his body reacted to her closeness, as long as he could hold on to the hate. But the second she got vulnerable, he would start noticing things such as the bewildered innocence in her eyes. Such as the fact that she was in over her head and that if she really was a b.i.t.c.h, her kid wouldn't love her so much.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. ”I'm sorry,” she whispered, brus.h.i.+ng it away. ”I'm trying to keep it all together here, but I don't know if I can. I'm terrified. Of you, of Kray. What if I don't get Bobby away from him? Do you know what that man will do to my son?”
Jeff knew. Worse, he understood her fears. ”It's going to be okay,” he promised.
”How the h.e.l.l do you know?” she asked, her anger chasing away the tears. ”You don't have the slightest clue what I'm feeling.”
”I know more than you think. I had a son once. I know what it's like to be afraid for your child.”
”Are you divorced?” she asked.
”No. My wife and my son are dead.” For a moment he thought about telling her the truth. Then he realized where they were. Bobby was almost done with his ice cream, and he and theColemans would soon return to the table. ”It was a car accident.”
He spoke the lie he'd used many times before. Most people didn't need to know the truth. But the lie wasn't enough to keep him from seeing the bomb blast, hearing the explosion, feeling the heat or recalling the pain that had filled his broken body.
He'd long since realized he would never recover, never really be able to let go until Kray paid for what he'd done. He'd spent the past five years waiting to kill his enemy. Nothing was going to stop him now. Not circ.u.mstances, not even his enemy's wife.
Andie leaned forward and brushed her fingers against his arm. Her touch burned at him, hotter than the fires of the explosion. ”I'm sorry,” she said quietly.
He stood up, doing his d.a.m.nedest to ignore the need that swept over him. He wanted to lash out at her, to make her suffer as he had. Compa.s.sion softened her expression, turning what was merely pretty into breath-stealing beauty. Despite the heat and the smudges of dirt on her s.h.i.+rt, despite the fear and concern, she was lovely. At that moment he hated her as much as he hated her husband.
”Stay here,” he ordered. ”Talk to theColemans until I get back. I'm going to buy you and the kid some clothes, then get some food. If you're not here when I get back, I won't bother looking for you. You understand?”
He didn't wait for an answer. He turned his back on her and disappeared into the crowd.
Andie clutched the packages Jeff had thrust at her and followed him down the narrow street. The new hat he'd bought her to replace the one the man at the airport had pulled off made her feel slightly more hidden. The crowds in the shopping district were thinning as tourists made their way back to the cruise s.h.i.+p.
It was nearly three. Her body ached from lack of sleep, her nose was sunburned,her spirits sagged around her knees. Bobby chattered away at her side. He hadn't wanted to leave his new friends, although the three plastic action figures Jeff had bought along with the other supplies helped to ease the parting.
”I hated doing that,” Andie said, moving closer to Jeff. ”They're going to wait for us after dinner tonight, only we're not going to show up. I can see them sitting in the bar wondering where we are.”
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