Bermuda Nights - The Boxed Set (20 page)

She blushed, and her smile was brittle. “Oh, that. A little misunderstanding, that’s all. It was late. Sure, you should talk with Evan. We have our game we’re playing, where you find out about him, and then I’ll find out about Sven. We can’t play if you don’t talk to Evan, right?”

She was the same Kayla, the same girl I had raced bicycles with on crisp autumn afternoons. And yet so much had changed. “I suppose, if I stopped talking with Evan, that our little game would end fairly quickly, wouldn’t it.”

She bobbed her head. “And that would be a shame. So you feel free to chat away with him. Talk it up! See what you can find out.”

I found I was mesmerized by the blood-red streaks along the edges of her eyes, the spider-webs of veins against the paler white. Had the signs always been there, and I just hadn’t seen them before? Or was the stress of the ship already taking its toll on her?

I glanced around us at the swarms of loyal Sox fans in blue and red. “So, you’re pushing me at Evan again. What does Jeff think about all of this?”

She made a dismissive motion of her hand. “Don’t you worry about Jeff. I’ll take care of everything.”

Her eyes veered back toward the gazebo again. “Wanna come watch the Sox game down in the room with us, after the gig? Should be an awesome game! And it’ll give you two time to chat. You could learn all sorts of stuff, after we get through a case or two.”

I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was to be in that room, to watch them injecting heroin into their systems, to know this was the life Kayla had waiting for her.

“I’m still feeling worn down. I think I’ll watch Game One quietly in our own room, away from the crowds.”

She shook her head, smiling. “You always were an odd one, Amanda.”

Heavy drumbeats flared, her eyes lit up, and then she was gone in a swirl of dance.

* * *

I leant back against my pillow, smiling in contentment. Lester had been amazing, and the Sox had thundered into the lead with an 8-1 win. It was the perfect beginning to a Championship series.

The phone rang, and I glanced over, amused. To Kayla, even though midnight was fast approaching, apparently the night was still young. I picked it up. “Yes?”

Kayla’s voice was bright, almost too bright, and I wondered just what she had been doing in that cabin. “Hey there, sweetie, are you dressed? I wanted you to come out with me for a little walk. I wanted to talk with you about something.”

I looked down at my sweats and t-shirt. “Sure, I’m dressed, but can’t we just talk in the room?”

“Nah, I’ve got too much energy after that awesome game. A stroll along the deck in the night air is just what I need. So I’ll be there in five?”

“Sure thing, if you –”

A click, and I was speaking to empty air.

I swung out of bed and pulled on socks, then sneakers. We’d left the tropical warmth of Bermuda behind and already it was getting a bit nippy out there. I even grabbed the turquoise sarong to wrap around my shoulders. By the time Kayla pushed the door open, I was ready for her.

Her movements seemed tight, and when we stepped into the elevator she punched at the button as if it were red-hot. I glanced over at her as we ascended. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Of course I’m all right,” she returned shortly. “Just a wild game, that’s all. How about that call reversal on Kozma? Talk about fate!”

“Fate, indeed,” I murmured, my stomach tightening.

The elevator drew to a stop at eleven and we got out, moving to the heavy door which shielded us from the outside world. It was a lush kind of dark as we stepped through – velvety, soft, as if one could drag a hand through it and feel the ripples.

She turned left and headed up a flight of stairs. I slowly followed. “What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

She half glanced around. “What? Oh, well, it’s not really me, you see.”

My eyes drew ahead – and stopped. We were standing at the door to the mechanical room. The same room Jeff and his squad had threatened me in only two days before.

Cold anger swept through me. “What has Jeff got you up to now?”

Her face blanked in baffled surprise. “Jeff has nothing to do with this.”

She pulled open the door.

Chapter 10

I’m not quite sure what I expected to see in the room, but this was definitely not it. Evan was standing against the wall of machinery which only two days ago had shielded me from harm. His hands were down at his side, and his face was laced with taut tension. Sven, Tom, and Hank were circled around him, Hank’s stringy brown hair dancing in time to his rhythmic head movements. Apparently he was dancing to music only he could hear.

I stepped into the room in confusion. “Evan?”

His head shot up, his eyes widening in surprise. He shook his head as Kayla stepped in behind me and closed the door. His voice was hoarse. “No. Don’t involve Amanda in this. She doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

Sven’s teeth glistened in the fluorescent lights. “Whether she does or not, my dear friend, I get the sense that she’s become something special to you. And that means having her around during our little chat might be useful.”

Evan’s tone dropped to a growl. “You hurt her, and I swear I’ll –” His arms swung up – then caught. I realized that he’d been tied to the machinery with heavy rope.

My throat went dry.

I turned to Kayla. “What’s going on here?”

Her eyes were too bright, and her smile had a thin quality to it. “We’re just talking, Mandy. Remember I said we wanted to know more about Evan? Well, you were taking too long to ask him, and tomorrow’s our last full day before we land, you know. So Sven here just wants to know a few things.”

I swung my gaze to Sven, holding in a tremor. The man had to be six foot three, solidly packed, and the look in his eyes was no longer the charismatic playfulness which he exuded on stage. There was something colder in there, harder, a ruthlessness which chilled my very core.

I forced my tone to stay even. “What kinds of things do you want to know?”

Evan’s voice was hoarse. “Sven, let her go. It’s me you want to talk to.”

Sven’s eyes gleamed as he held my gaze. “Tell, me, Amanda, just what else does Evan do, besides playing his guitar?”

I blinked and looked over at Kayla. “I already told Kayla. He’s a musician. He plays gigs and benefits. For exercise he’s on a rugby team.” I wrapped my arms around my chest. “Why are you doing this to him?”

Sven’s grin deepened. “What if I told you Evan was something more sinister?”

My chest thundered with my heartbeat. I could not find words to speak.

Sven’s gaze drilled into mine, delving into my core, splitting open my hidden recesses.

“Evan is undercover. He’s working with the DEA.”

Time froze.

My mouth fell open in shock. The preposterous nature of the charge coughed a laugh out of me, and I turned to Evan.

The muscles of his biceps rippled, and I could see him straining against the ropes of his bonds. His eyes came up to mine, shadowed, fathomless –

My world stopped.

It was true.

It was as if our souls connected for a moment, a searing, infinitely long moment, and I was one with him. He wanted me to do whatever it took to get to safety. He desperately pleaded for me to find a safe harbor before they began in on whatever they had planned.

He was lost.

I drew in a deep breath. Steel coalesced around my spine. Adrenaline spiked every muscle in my body.

The last time we were in this room, he put his life on the line. He had been willing to do whatever it took to keep me safe.

Now it was my turn.

I turned to the room and brought a tone of sarcasm into my voice. “So, who’s brilliant idea was it that Evan here – a laze-about who can’t even make rent on his fleabag apartment – was trusted by the DEA to go after international drug smugglers?”

Sven’s brow creased in anger, and he took a step forward.

Evan lunged against his bonds. “Sven, if you –”

Hank’s bald head glistened as he turned. “Shut up, you.” He flexed his right shoulder, then his fist slammed hard into Evan’s abdomen.

Evan groaned, folding over, sagging against his bonds.

Sven barely looked around. “Well, Amanda, I’ll tell you how we guessed.”

A flicker of hope sparkled in my chest. They didn’t know. They were just assuming.

We could still get out of this.

Sven nudged his head at Kayla. “It was her that first had me thinking. She kept talking about how lucky we were to get such a top-notch guitarist just when we needed one. That we must have the right feng shui or karma or some shit. And it made me wonder. What were the chances? He’s hired on as a bartender as a fluke, when most of our crew are from the Philippines or other rat-holes? Why would a guy from the states take a gig like this?”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Pretty funny, coming from a guy who grew up in Miami.”

His eyes shot to bore into Kayla. “You told her that? You and I will have a little talk afterwards.”

Kayla paled, leaning back against the door.

Sven’s gaze came around to me again. “Yeah, me and my friends are from Miami. But we’ve got special reasons for wanting to be on this ship.” He nudged his head over to Evan. “This guy? With chops like that? No way he’s climbing on board a cheap cruise ship to pour drinks. And then he’s just so conveniently available when our guitarist falls ill?”

His grin grew wolfish. “Next, Kayla mentioned that you hadn’t seen any track marks on Evan’s arms. That seemed odd, especially since we’d all shot up together only a few nights ago. So, why would a man claim to like shooting heroin but not have any trace of use?”

My throat went dry.

He took another step toward me. “And then there’s the matter of him trying to get you off the ship in Bermuda. Why would he be doing that, unless something were about to happen with his bust? He wanted you out of the line of fire. He was trying to get you to safety.”

It all made sense.

A glow burnished within me, spreading outward, filling me completely.

It was suddenly staggeringly clear how hard he had worked to protect me. He had tried to maintain a distance between us at the beginning. When he realized that we were getting close, he’d done everything he could to get me away to safety. At every turn his thought was on keeping me safe, keeping me apart from what was going on.

And I had confounded him at every step.

I turned to him, then, and the look in his eyes took my breath away. If he could trade his life for me, I knew he would do it in a heartbeat.

My throat tightened, and I released the words that sung in my head.

“I love you, Evan.”

It was as if I had dipped him in liquid gold, so strongly did his body sing in response. He dipped his head as if I had bestowed the highest honor on him. His voice was hoarse when he responded.

“Amanda, I love you.”

He raised his head again, his gaze haunted. “Please, just –”