Part 15 (1/2)

”I haven't forgotten.”

”I want to be sure. Please get him back to the States. Give him a false name and put him into a child-services department somewhere. Any foster home would be better than being with Kray.”

”I agree. I've already given you my word, but if you need to hear it again, I swear I'll take care of your son. Kray will have to come through me to get to the kid. But you're not going to die.”

The fear was growing. She knew she could handle it, although she wondered how much faster her heart could beat and still stay in her chest. ”I know. I just want to be sure.” He grabbed the door handle,then released it. ”While we're making promises, I want you to make me one.”

”Which is?”

”No heroics. If something happens to me tonight, get the h.e.l.l out of there. Take the Jeep and drive back to this house. You'll be safe here for a couple of weeks. Once Kray knows we're together, he'll start searching the island inch by inch.”

”You're saying you're expendable?”

”Exactly.”

”All right, I promise.”

Jeff stared at her. ”If they get me and Bobby, leave him with his father and get the h.e.l.l away.”

”What?”

”If you're alive, you can hire someone to kidnap him back. If you're dead, Bobby is stuck with his father and no one is going to come looking for him.”

”I couldn't.” Leave her son with that murderer?

”You don't have another choice.”

She didn't like what Jeff was saying, but she couldn't deny he made sense. Better to live to fight for her son, than to die in some useless act, abandoning him forever.

Oh, G.o.d, she couldn't do this. She didn't have the strength. She pictured Bobby's smiling face. ”So, neither of us can be caught,” she said.

”That would be best,” he admitted. ”You ready?”

No, she wasn't ready. She would never be ready. But she didn't have a choice. Until she was off the island, she was playing on Kray's terms. She trusted Jeff. He was risking his life for her.

”I'm ready,” she said, and followed him out into the hall.

Jeff drove through the empty streets of St. Lucas. They didn't have to go through town. The route he'd chosen to the public dock on the far side of the island was indirect and took them on narrow, ill-kept roads.

The storm from the night before had moved on, leaving behind brilliant clear skies and millions of stars. It had also washed mud onto the streets. Jeff drove slowly, trying to avoid most of it. He didn't want to come this far only to be late because they got trapped in some dirt road.

There weren't any streetlights at this end of the island, and very few houses. They didn't pa.s.s any other cars. Of course it was late and a weeknight. Most people were already home in bed. He wondered how many of Kray's men still roamed, looking for their employer's son.

The crawling sensation at the back of his neck refused to go away. He told himself it was nerves and nothing else. He wasn't used to being in the field anymore. He'd gotten soft.

”Five years is too d.a.m.n long,” he muttered.

”What?” Andie asked from the seat beside him.

He glanced at her, then at the boy curled up in the back seat. The strangeness of leaving the house in the middle of the night had kept Bobby up and bouncing for about the first fifteen minutes. Then even his nap that afternoon hadn't been enough to keep him awake. He'd gotten more andmore quiet before finally collapsing in the corner.

”I was just thinking out loud,” he said, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't carry and wake up the kid. ”It's been five years since I've been in the field.”

”Are you nervous?”

”A little.”

”This probably sounds dumb, but I'm glad I'm not the only one.” She gave him a quick smile.

”It's going to be okay,” he said.

”Are you trying to make me feel better, or is this some gut instinct?”

He didn't think she would want to know that he had no instincts about this mission. Reactions like that came from training and detachment. He had neither. He was rusty as h.e.l.l and far too personally involved to have a sense of anything. Two things were certain though. First, he would risk it all to get Andie off this island, and second, he still wanted Kray dead.

”It's going to be all right because we're willing to pay a higher price than they are,” he said.

”That makes sense.”

She s.h.i.+fted in her seat. She hadn't been able to find a comfortable spot since they'd left the house. He figured the gun was digging into her back.

”Why are you leading this mission if you haven't been in the field for so long?” she asked.

”I volunteered,” he said. A committee of one. He wondered what she would say if she knew the truth. Just as well she didn't. He wanted her to think of him as one of the good guys. Stupid. He wasn't, of course. The second he pulled the trigger on Kray, he crossed the line. This time he wouldn't be able to find his way back.

”Will it be in the papers?” she asked. ”Will I know, or will it be hushed up?”

He thought about the headline. RogueU.S.Government Agent Murders Crime Lord. ”I think it'll make a paper or two.”

”Good. I'll check. I hope...” She paused and drew in a breath. He glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead. ”You probably think this is horrible, but I hope you're successful. I hope you do what you came to do and I hope you get away. Maybe you could make sure they put that in the papers, too.”

She wanted to know that he was okay. Despite his att.i.tude, despite the fact that he'd been a complete a.s.s around her. She thought he was some good guy, wearing a white hat, riding in to save the day.

Now that she was leaving, now that the dock was less than five miles away and he could begin to believe she was going to get out, he could admit the truth to himself. He claimed to hate her because she was once married to Kray and because she made him forget, but the only person he hated was.h.i.+mself . Andie was what she said she was an innocent, caught up in a frightening world. She had neither the temperament nor the training to survive there, yet she'd hung on. She'd escaped and made a life for herself. She had grit and backbone. More courage than any five men he knew. She was sweet and funny, and G.o.d help him, she got to him. Not just her body or the thought of making love with her. This wasn't just about s.e.x. The s.e.x was easy. It was the feelings that were difficult. He didn't want to think that he would miss her.

But he would.

From the corner of his eye, he saw her s.h.i.+ver slightly andfold her arms over her chest. He could smell her fear. He reached out and placed his hand on her thigh. ”Hang in there.”

She nodded. ”I will.”

He withdrew his hand. At least she was leaving. If she wasn't, he would start to worry about himself. He couldn't afford to care anymore. Not just because of what was going to happen after he shot Kray, but because he couldn't handle the emotions. He could spend the rest of his life in mourning for his wife and son and it would never be enough. He would never be able to make up for what he did to them. Nothing, certainly not caring about someone else, could distract him from his penance.

They rounded a bend in the road. Once again Jeff could smell the sea. He forced all personal thoughts from his mind, mentally shutting down. From now on there was only instinct and survival. No distractions.

The dock was up ahead. He'd chosen it specifically. It was public, but closed at dusk. Because of its out-of-the-way location, it wasn't used much during the week. There were no guards, no fences,no gate.

He slowed the Jeep. The crawling sensation on the back of his neck continued. He adjusted his hat. Would the boat be there? Were Kray's men waiting? He pulled his pistol from its holster and set it on his lap. Beside him, Andie stiffened. He didn't spare her a glance.