Break Point (17 page)

She shook her head. “I’m glad you did. I need to talk with him anyway.”

“What about, darling?” She jumped when she hard his voice, then fought the urge to shrug off his grip from her shoulder. “Is everything okay? I was in the box when they paged me.”

Dressed in tennis whites, he wore sunglasses and the same ridiculous straw hat he’d been sporting since he returned home from
Bermuda. Summer cringed, taking a seat on a bench beside her. “I’m great, I just wanted to see you before I went out.”

“Oh well, that surprises me.” Geoffrey stammered. “I know how you like to be by yourself before a match.”

“Well, this is an extenuating circumstance.” Tossing her braid over the shoulder, she spied Jake lingering with the other security men a few feet away. She could tell by the way he held his head that he was straining to listen. “I wanted to talk about last night.”

Geoffrey pushed up his sunglasses. “What about last night? The press hasn’t gotten to you already, have they?”

“I wanted to apologize.” Again she glanced at Jake. He had inched closer, rubbing the lenses of his Oakley’s with the hem of his shirt. “I was pretty out of it last night, and I was upset. If I brushed you off...”

“I understand, darling.

The sudden roar of the crowd outside echoed in the corridor. Steve leaned in the entryway and waved his hand. “Summer they’re announcing you and Nila. She’ll be entering on the other side of the court first. Then they’ll bring you out.”

She nodded, her eyes still fixed on Geoffre
y’s. “So our trip is still on?”

“Of course,” he said, the relief unmistakable in his voice. “We’ll leave tonight after the reception.” He kissed her hand before heading out to the stands. “Good luck, my darling. I’ll be rooting for you!”

A warm breeze wafted through the corridor, doing little to relieve the oppressive heat. Quickly she pulled an extra energy drink from the icebox beside her and sat down on the bench.

“Are you ready to go?” Jake nodded toward the building roar of the crowd. “You don’t want to keep the world waiting do you?”

Again her stomach jumped, forcing her to swallow hard. She leaned back on the cool cement wall, and took a deep breath.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, why?” she snapped. “Don’t I look okay?”

“You look great. You just seem like the heat might be getting to you.”

“I’m just tired. Almost being murdered tends to take it out of you.”

“I don’t doubt it. Can I do anything for you?”

She looked around the corridor at the familiar but nameless faces. People were everywhere, but somehow she felt alone. “No.” she sighed. “It’s just strange not having Anston here. We had a routine before matches. Talk strategy.”

“Like a crew chief.”

She wrinkled her forehead. “That’s a car thing, right?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “That’s a car thing.”
He looked around, before sitting beside her, smoothing a hair behind her ear. “Everything okay with Geoffrey?”

“All patched up.” she replied. “We’re leaving tonight.”

He nodded his gaze falling to the cement. “I’m going to miss you like crazy. You know that, right?”

“Me too.” Her stomach was swimming again. Unwilling to give in to it, she stood up, tossing her bag over her shoulder. The sudden roar of the crowd pulled her to the entrance and she refused to turn back around. She headed down the tunnel and out in to the sweltering sun, the blue sky looming like heaven above her. Twenty thousand people cheered as if heralding a hero. This was the moment she’d dreamed about for months. This was her home. The Queen had reclaimed her crown.

It was all she could do to keep from crying.

Chapter Seventeen

Jake sat in the stadium parking lot watching the asphalt melt around him. The air conditioning was on full blast, an indulgence he rarely allowed, but the heat of the day combined with the ache of his heart made him allow the exception. He looked at his tape deck, the digital red numbers reading play on the display. He’d only played half of it, and really didn’t ha
ve the stomach to hear anymore.

She couldn’t leave soon enough.

He turned the volume down and opened the window when he heard the crowd’s eruption. The announcer was presenting Summer with the Citrus silver bowl, a prize Geoffrey must have come up with for media sake. She was laughing, thanking the crowd for their support. He closed his eyes picturing her smile. Her pink, luscious lips; her rosy, dimpled cheeks. He shook his head chasing away the mental picture. It killed him that his imagination was the only place he would ever see her again.

“Jake?”

He jumped at the muffled voice on the other side of the passenger window. “Leslie? Geez, you startled me.” He pressed the stop button on the stereo then rolled down the window. ”What the hell are you doing out here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Is it Summer? Is she okay?”

“Summer’s fine. It’s you I’m worried about.” She opened the car door and got in, tossing a file on his lap. “The tattoo guy at the party
last night.”

“Malcolm Rodriquez.”

“He was found dead in back of Sea Side Bait Shop this morning. Bullet in the head, execution style. Sound familiar?”

Jake looked at her, then opened the file. A stack of crime scene photos were clipped together, each as bloody as the next. Obviously the work of the Riley Gang. He slammed the folder shut then tossed it back at Leslie. “He must have told Al about the tape,” she said. “I think we should assume he knows you have it. As long as it’s out on the streets, no one is safe.”

“As long as I have it, Summer is. Al will come after me not her.”

Leslie leaned against the door to face him. “You know that Nila girl has a loose mouth.”

Jake looked at her. ”What do you mean?”

“Summer is leaving town with Geoffrey? Isn’t she?”

He looked at her then back out the windshield. If he didn’t answer, she’d take his silence as an affirmative.

“What’s on here anyway?” she asked nodding to the cover in his lap. “Is it stuff you can really use?”

“Yup,” Jake replied with no enthusiasm. “He’s responsible for crimes I would have never tied him to in a million years. The baseball player who was found dead in Baltimore last year, the bookie in Chicago?”

Leslie cocked a brow. “Al?”

Jake nodded. “Bastard's a busy man. Those gardens outside Giovanni’s? Dumping ground.”

“You're lucky you got this tape then.” She smiled and rubbed his arm. “Congratulations. You found the needle in the haystack.”

He was sorry he ever looked in the first place. He rubbed his fingers against his throbbing temples and pressed his eyes shut. “It’s not as great as you think, Leslie. Summer is on there. Not her voice, but they acknowledge she was a willing participant in the scam.” He frowned. “It also states she had already received down payment for her participation.”

“She took money?”

He held his left hand up. “The engagement ring. Her father gave it to Geoffrey the day before the attack.” Hearing the words out loud somehow made it more real. For years he had waited for this moment, a chance to avenge his misery. Now that it had come, he was more tortured than he’d ever been. To ruin Al, would ruin Summer.

“You love her, don’t you Jake.”

God, did he. With every bit of his soul. He looked over at Leslie, the words choking his throat. “All I know is the minute I met her, I felt her. Like she got under my skin and shoved everything around inside of me.”

“Yeah, that’s love all right.” Leslie patted him on the shoulder.
“I’m truly sorry it’s ending like this.”

He didn’t reply, but her stare told him she wanted one.

“It is ending, isn’t it?”

“Leslie, don’t lecture me.”

She exhaled loudly. “Well, love her or not, you have to turn this tape in. Destroying evidence is a federal crime. You are duty bound to complete this mission.”

“That is the problem, Leslie. This whole revenge mission of mine, it’s always been personal. It was stupid for me to think I could treat this as a job.” He swallowed hard. “I can’t let Summer pay for my shortcomings. Please try to understand where I’m coming from.”

When he heard her reach for the door handle he was relieved. They may not always agree, but Leslie always respected Jake’s decisions, even one as questionable as this.

“I’m going to head back to the match and cover for you. But I want you to remember one thing, as a person who cares about you.”

He looked her in the eyes. “What?”

“You almost lost your life because of Al Riley once. Please don’t give him a second chance.”

The door slammed before he could answer. He watched her disappeared back into the pavilion, then ejected the tape from the deck.

**
*

Summer sprawled on the locker room couch and stared at the textured ceiling. The flutter in her stomach had returned, bothersome enough to drive her from her own reception. The band had already played two songs since she snuck out. A few more minutes and Geoffrey woul
d probably send a search party.

The rain that moved in earlier was now heavy enough to hear on the roof. It reminded her of the rumble of the ocean she would hear falling asleep at Jake’s. A shiver passed through her, her blue chiffon dress doing little to warm her. She closed her eyes imagining Jake hands on her, and some
how her goose pimples vanished.

“Are you sick?”

Summer looked up at a smiling Nila in the doorway. “No.” she answered. “I’m just tired. It’s been a while since I’ve played a match.”

“You didn’t seem tired on the court.” Nila motioned to the cushion
at her feet. “Can I sit down?”

Too tired to protest, Summer mov
ed her legs to accommodate her.

“You aren’t mad at me, are you? I mean about Geoffrey, Vitalie. That whole thing.”

Summer shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I just want you to know if Geoffrey was favoring me over you, I certainly didn’t know anything about it, and if I had I would have told you. Really.”

Nila didn’t do “serious” much, which was why her words seemed all the more sincere. Summer smiled then nudged her with her foot, telling her the apology was accepted.

“And I also just wanted to say whatever goes on between you and Geoffrey is your business, but my relationship with him is strictly professional. I just wanted you to know.”

“Thanks, I believe you.”

“Even though you kicked my butt today, I still consider you as a friend.”

Summer did too. Nila was a good soul. And yes, a good friend. They were hard to find in this business, and too precious to let go. She adjusted the pillow behind her head and sighed. “You haven’t seen Jake, have you?”

“No, but that Leslie woman has been looking for you.”

She opened an eye a slit. “I know. Why do you think I’ve been hanging out in here?”

They laughed, Nila patting her on the leg. “Well, I guess one of us should go to our own party. I’ll hold down the fort. You stay here and rest. Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”

She swallowed the pooling saliva in her mouth. “Yeah, I’m fine, but can you keep an open eye for Jake for me? And if you see him...”

“You won’t see him. He’s go
ne. I’m here taking his place.”

The girls looked up to Leslie in the doorway with her standard black suit and scowl.

“Well, I guess we can talk later.” Nila hugged Summer before heading to the door. “Have fun in Switzerland.”

Summer held her breath, suddenly aware Leslie had heard her. She closed her eyes and fell back on the pillow, he stomach flipping against her.

“Switzerland, huh?” Leslie chirped. “So you haven’t reconsidered your plans, I guess?”

“I didn’t know you knew about them in the first place.”

Leslie loomed over her with her face tight with disgust. “So you’re running out on Jake, huh. How could you? That man is risking his whole life for you and you’re hanging him out to dry!”

If she had any strength left, Summer would have slapped her right in her mean little mouth. But all she had were words to defend herself, and even those she couldn’t find easily. “He’s the one who told me to go.”

Leslie took a step back, her mud brown eyes narrowed in disbelief. “He
told
you to?”

“That’s right.” Summer’s pushed herself to her feet and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I admit at first it was my idea, but I love Jake, Leslie. I don’t want to leave him.”

The gravity of her admission urged her stomach to churn. Eager to fight it off, she headed to the sink and splashed some cool water on her face. Leslie came up behind her, handing her a towel from the shelf. “Are you sick?”

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” She walked around her, sitting back on the couch. “Look, as much as I hate to admit it, we are both on the same side. We both have feelings for Jake and neither one of us wants him to get hurt.

Leslie rolled her eyes as if resenting the assumption. “But the difference is I understand what Jake stands to lose by helping you.”

“I do understand.” Summer whispered, her head resting on the damp towel. “But you need to understand I didn’t create this situation. I’m not a criminal. I’m a victim. I didn’t ask for Big Al Riley to be my father.”

“That’s not the point.”

“No, the point is I don’t want to let Jake down. He’s the only person in my whole life who hasn’t steered me wrong.” She lifted her head, wanting to look Leslie in her eyes. “Do you really think I am that awful a person I would ruin his life afte
r everything he’s done for me?”

“I honestly don’t know what to think.”

“Well than your instincts aren’t half as good as Jake believes them to be.”

A sudden burst of laughter outside the door startled Summer silent. The distinctive baritone made it obvious who it belonged to. She looked up at Leslie. “What the hell is my father doing here?”

“Shh.”

The voices retreated down the hall, presumably into the vacant player’s lounge next door. In the quiet she could near their muffled voices mingling with the distant rumble of thunder signaling a building storm outside.

“Does he usually come to your matches?” Leslie asked.

“No.” she replied. “You don’t think he’s here looking for Jake, do you?”

“That’s what I need to find out.” Leslie opened the door but Summer jumped in front of her.

“Let me go. If he sees you it might blow your cover. I’m supposed to be here. It’s okay if he sees me.”

Summer took a quick look around before slipping out the door. Despite the thick pile carpet she tread softly, sure the slightest sound would alert them. When she reached the lounge she pressed her ear against the crack in the door, holding her breath for fear she would muffle the sound.

“Are you sure Malcolm was telling truth? Is a man like that really trustworthy?

“Why would the jerk lie?” Al replied. “Listen, we have to get that tape or else we’re all in deep trouble.”

Summer didn’t need to see to know Geoffrey was the other man in the room. She pushed closer, straining her ears, her stomach pushing against her throat.

“If Harrison has it, why hasn’t he turned it in?”

“Probably to protect Summer from conspiracy charges. He's waiting for you two to leave the country,” Al said then lowered his voice. “But you and Summer aren’t the point. What I care about is finding that tape from
Harrison.”

“How do you propose we do that?”

“We eliminate him.”

“You mean kill him?”

“Geoffrey, keep your voice down.”

Summer covered her mouth with her hand. She pushed closer to the door, her legs qui
vering in the awkward position.

“Geoffrey, I thought you wanted to play with the big dogs now,” Al teased, frustration lacing his voice. “Sometimes you have to bite before you get bitten. You know what I mean. That’s the business.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I already have a guy on it.” Al assured him. “Don’t you worry. Al Riley always covers his bases. Once we clean up this mess we can make a new one.” They laughed and the sound drew Summer from behind the door.

She stormed in the room, her legs weakening under her. When her father saw her, he smiled as if he knew she’d heard every word of their conversation. “Is this what this is to you? A mess?”

“Summer, I’m glad you’re here! I watched your match. You do your father proud.”

“Please! You don’t give a rat’s ass about me.” She knew that now for sure. As a child she had craved his love, but now it was obvious he was incapable. “You’re my father. You’re supposed to protect me from people like you. What kind of monster are you?”