Breaking Even (2 page)

Laura had tried to make the second bedroom
feel like a home, but it never felt like hers. It never would, no matter how
many times she went home for the holidays. She had decided against getting an
apartment in Tallahassee. She had made close friends in the dorms, and their
little group stuck together. Besides, living in a dorm room, there had been
less pressure to be sexually active. The excuse that she had a roommate had
helped her several times.

Lindsey glanced at her phone, half
expecting a call from Laura when they left the hospital. It froze, and she had
to reboot it. When it came back on, several old messages and voice mails popped
up. She breezed through the first message, which was a general reminder from
Laura to call her. Guilt hit full force after listening to the second one.

Lindsey should have tried to call Laura
again on Saturday, but she knew Laura would tell her not to go with Vaughn. She
hadn’t wanted a lecture. Once she found her passport, she had gone with Vaughn
to the airport without calling again.

The second message was from Sunday. At the
time, she couldn't find her phone. Now, in hindsight, she guessed Ric had
already let himself into her room and taken it.

When she listened, Laura sounded like she
was almost in tears. “I don’t understand what has happened. Please call me. I’m
going out of my mind with worry.”

She couldn't dwell on it. When she played
the third message, Fox's voice sounded irritated. “Lindsey, this is Fox Thornton.
It is urgent that we meet with you and Vaughn. Please call me back on your
sister’s phone immediately.”

What was that about? Fox had been nice to
her, but was there more to the story? In this message, he sounded like another
man.

Lindsey was in her room throwing books
into boxes when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door for Fox, but
Laura wasn’t with him.

“Where’s Laura?” she asked.

“Asleep in the car. I wanted to make sure
you were home first before I tried to bring her in. I have her purse, but I
didn’t want to dig for her house key unless I had to.”

“Oh. You can just lay her on the couch—”

“I think it’d be better to put her in the
bed. The doctor said to keep her wrist elevated on a pillow, at least for the
first few hours.”

“Oh. Her bedroom is upstairs—can you carry
her that far?” Lindsey asked.

“I’ve got her. Just make sure all the
doors are open.” He went outside and came back carrying Laura.

“Upstairs, first door on the right.”

Lindsey wondered how he would negotiate
the narrow stairs carrying Laura, but he managed. He kept her bandaged wrist
resting against his shoulder.

When he laid her down, she helped him
arrange Laura’s wrist on a pillow. Through it all, Laura didn’t stir except for
a whimper.

Lindsey would have asked him questions,
but he shook his head no.

“They gave her a shot of something pretty
strong before we left. She's been sleeping like this the whole way over here.
They said she won’t wake up until tonight, but I didn’t want to chance it. She
might hurt more if she wakes up.”

After the voice message she had listened
to, Lindsey hadn’t expected Fox to be so nice. She still had to ask what
happened. “I need to talk to you.”

“Sure.” Fox sat down on the sofa and
clasped his hands loosely between his knees.

“I didn’t have my phone most of the time
when I was on the island. When we got back, I turned it off because it was
acting weird. When it came back on, several old voice mails popped up.” Lindsey
wanted to see what he would say.

“I was wondering if you had listened to
that.”

“And? You don’t have anything to say?”

“Money was missing. I found out about
Laura’s flight to Nassau. We detained her on the ship so she wouldn’t leave. My
theory was that she was going to Nassau to join Vaughn. When I found out about
you, I figured you were in on it.”

“So you kidnapped her?”

His jaw twitched. “Detained is a better
term.”

“So that explains why I never heard from
her. But you told Ric you were her fiancé.”

“My brother Lee and I went to Calliope to
find you. Your sister, not known for her patience, sneaked off the ship to try
to find you before we made it back. She disappeared.”

“Now that sounds like Laura. I guess
that’s when Ric’s people fired their Taser. But why would you suspect Laura?
She’s the most honest person I know.”

“I had my reasons. She lied to cover your
disappearance. I saw Vaughn leaving her apartment, when I warned her to stay
away from him.”

“Vaughn had come over to ask me to play a
blackjack tournament for him. We told Laura I was helping him with a new
company, so none of that was her fault. He said if I didn't help him, he would
tell her that I had lost money playing on-line. I knew Laura wouldn't like it
if she found out. So I went with him.”

“Ah. Laura told us you were being held
against your will. That didn't make sense when you asked to stay another night.”

Back to that again. Everyone wanted to
know the same thing.

“Initially, yes, Ric was holding me
prisoner in the tower suite. But then Vaughn escaped, and he locked me in the
tower for my protection. I didn’t think Vaughn would do anything, but Ric did.
Then we became close.”

“So the extra night. Was it worth it?”

Lindsey felt a big grin take over and
couldn’t stop it. “I think so. But don’t tell Laura any of that. After the ugly
Taser incident, she hates Ric. I don’t need to give her any other ammunition.”

Fox smiled at her then, and Lindsey
started to see why Laura had been spending time with him. When he smiled, he
was almost a different person.

“You know that she feels responsible for
you, don’t you?”

Lindsey sighed. “Yes, I’m aware of that.
But as much as I love her, she has to realize that I’m an adult. I may make
mistakes. Who doesn’t? But they are my mistakes to make.”

“I think she sees it as preventing
heartache, but I see what you’re saying. Lee would say the same thing about me.”

Lindsey glanced at her phone again. “I
hate to leave Laura here by herself, but I have dinner plans in about thirty
minutes,” she explained. Lindsey winced at how lame that sounded. “I tried to
postpone it, but it’s complicated.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay with her.
I’d worry if I weren’t here. I’ll stay down here and watch television with the
sound low. I’ll be able to hear her if she starts moving around upstairs or if
she calls out.”

Lindsey felt bad about leaving Laura, but
for whatever reason, Kayla wanted her to come to dinner. What was Kayla holding
over Ben’s head? She knew from experience that older siblings liked being in
charge. She went along with it, at least for a little while.

Vaughn Bruce
stared at the bars of his Bahamian jail cell. The metal was so clean it
glistened. Everything he had seen in the Bahamas was clean. He didn
’
t care anymore.
All he wanted was to go back home, but it didn
’
t appear that would happen any time
soon.

His head still hurt from where the resort
security had slammed him into the wall. He paced the small cell, rubbing his
shoulder. His torn shirt hung open from where the guards threw him on the
ground and cuffed him.

This was all Lindsey’s fault. The whole
point of her wig and skimpy clothing was for her to distract the dealers.
Instead, she had fallen for the casino owner. If she had been at the tables
flirting with the dealers, they never would have noticed the fake casino chips.

It disturbed him that he hadn’t heard from
El Señor yet. He had asked for help from the man who gave him the chips, but so
far, he had heard nothing. Vaughn wanted another chance.

He heard footsteps and moved to the door.
He held onto the bars, as if he could slip through them. A guard marched down
the hall and stopped in front of his cell. He stood at attention for a moment,
his black skin a dark contrast against the pure white of his uniform. He
motioned for Vaughn to step back.

“Someone is here to see you. Move back,
please.” All the guards sounded more British than American. This one was no
exception.

Vaughn shuffled back, not making any
sudden movements. The lock clanged when the key turned, the sound like
something out of a movie. "Hands in front, please."

Vaughn waited again as the guard locked
cuffs around his wrists in front of him. He didn’t know why they bothered. He
had seen the fencing and locked doors when they brought him in. He wasn’t going
anywhere.

"What, you think I’m running out of
here?”

“Just following procedure. Come with me,
please, sir.”

Vaughn followed the guard down several
hallways before they reached a windowless room. Vaughn didn’t resist when the
guard pushed him into a chair and attached the cuffs to a ring in the table. He
clicked his heels together and stepped took up his post outside the door.
Vaughn could see his shadow through the opaque glass.

He didn’t know who would be coming to see
him. For a minute, he thought that Lindsey had come to bail him out. He knew
she had money. The guards had all been talking about the young American woman
who won the tournament. With all the money she won after he paid the entry fee,
she should have found him and come to help. She had to know about his arrest.

The door opened and a Bahamian man in a
black suit and a crisp white shirt came in.

"Mr. Bruce, I am Mr. Sinclair, your
solicitor.” Sinclair half-extended his hand and paused with it in mid-air.
After an awkward moment, he dropped his hand and sat down across from him. The
man held his back straight, touching the smallest part of the chair possible.

"Earlier in the week the sergeant
told me that the Bahamas did not appoint a lawyer.” Vaughn shifted in the
chair, trying to get comfortable. The chain connecting the cuffs rattled.

"I am not a lawyer,” he said, and he
pulled out a folder. “I am a solicitor, hired for you," he explained.

“I don’t have any money for a lawyer.
Nothing I can get to right now.”

“Your partner has it arranged. If you
plead guilty and pay the fine, the court will release you. If you plead not-guilty
and there is a trial, I do not know how it will go for you.”

At first Vaughn felt a wave of relief that
he wouldn't serve jail time, but then frustration hit. “I can’t pay a fine. My
money is in the states.”

“Your partner has taken care of it,"
Sinclair said. He wouldn’t meet Vaughn’s eyes. When he looked up from the
folder, he stared at a spot to the right of Vaughn’s head.

“I’m confused. Lindsey is paying the fine?
Then what?”

“Lindsey? I am not sure who you mean.”

“Lindsey Todd. My partner.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry. By your partner, I
meant …” Mr. Sinclair cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. He looked
back to the door, then leaned in and whispered, “El Señor. He wants to meet
with you in his home where you can discuss the details of his future plans.”

Not Lindsey. El Señor had put this in
motion then. What had happened to Lindsey? “What plans?”

“He did not share the details with me. Are
you in agreement?”

Vaughn didn’t want to plead guilty, but at
least he wouldn’t have a U.S. record. “Where do I sign?”

“There is nothing to sign. The hearing
will be at the end of the day. I will be in the courtroom and will pay your
fine. After your release, I will take you to him.”

Vaughn noticed that the lawyer hadn’t
spoken Miguel Salzana’s name. No one ever spoke his name, referring to him
always as “El Señor,” or “El Hombre.” He had met him the one time in Miami, but
they didn't use names then either.

Sinclair coughed behind his hand.
"Remember that you must dress for the court hearing. I brought a suit from
your luggage at the resort.”

Vaughn frowned. “How did you get my
luggage?”

The solicitor shrugged as if that was the
last thing that should concern Vaughn. “Make sure you shower, shave, and wear
the suit. It will be important for you to look your best.” He paused and looked
Vaughn in the eye. “Mr. Bruce, please show respect to the magistrate. If you
are disrespectful in any way, he will not honor the agreement.”

Just as Sinclair had foretold, the hearing
didn’t start until almost the end of the day. Vaughn waited several hours after
lunch before the court administrator called his name. Several drug offenders
received lengthy jail sentences. Vaughn feared his sentencing wouldn’t be as
straightforward as the solicitor had predicted.

When they called his case number, Vaughn
and his solicitor stepped forward. Despite his instinct to fight the charges,
he entered a guilty plea as advised. The judge began with a long speech on the
dangers of theft and larceny in a foreign country. Vaughn glazed out, but then
realized it was over. The judge had sentenced him to restitution plus a fine of
ten thousand Bahamian dollars. He was not to re-enter the Bahamas for five
years. An officer of the court would take him to the airport to ensure he
departed the country.

After the bailiff returned his property,
he released Vaughn to Mr. Sinclair. “So now what? The magistrate said something
about an escort?”

“Yes, I will take you to the airport so
you can leave the Bahamas. You’ll find a plane waiting.”

“A plane to where?”

“Venezuela, of course. You are traveling
to Santa Katerina Island.”

Mr. Sinclair—Vaughn never did find out his
first name—was true to his word. He drove Vaughn to the airport and escorted
him out onto the tarmac where the private jets waited. He spoke to the pilot
and turned to leave without a word.

“Wait,” Vaughn said, walking back over to
Sinclair. “I never received my passport. I know the jail had it—”

“I just gave it to the pilot. He will keep
it until you reach Venezuela.”

“I’d prefer to keep my own passport,”
Vaughn growled, tired of the whole affair.

“You can take that up with the pilot. I’ve
fulfilled my responsibilities.” He extended his hand. “Good luck to you, Mr.
Bruce. I recommend that you stay out of the Bahamas until the five-year term
passes. If the court learns that you are in the Bahamas, you would have to
serve the five years in prison.” With a short bow, Mr. Sinclair left Vaughn on
the tarmac.

Vaughn turned to the pilot. “I’d like my
passport, if you don’t mind.”

“I’m sorry sir, I’m just following orders.
It’s time to board the plane, if you don’t mind.”

Vaughn would have gone back inside the
airport, but wasn't sure what that would gain him. He knew it wouldn't go well
for him if he ended up before the same judge. This had all been set up. Vaughn
was thankful to be out of jail, but he wondered if he wasn’t just trading one
set of bars for another.

Vaughn climbed the steps of the jet and
sank down in one of the wide leather captain chairs that filled the cabin. He
had not felt such plush comfort in days. Perhaps throwing his lot in with
Miguel wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Vaughn remembered his trip to Calliope on
the tiny commuter flight from Nassau to the island. After the police caught him
the second time, he had traveled from Calliope to Nassau in a police boat. He
had spent four miserable hours chained to a bench below deck in a room with
four drunks. Lindsey could have prevented that. She could have told Ricardo
Salzana to free him. Instead, she had abandoned him.

He would show her the consequences of
leaving him in jail. When he had fulfilled his obligations to Miguel, he would
show her. She would wish she had never met him.

#

Lindsey saw Ben
waiting outside the restaurant. He swept her into an enthusiastic hug. Lindsey
didn
’t
know if he held on too long, or held her too close, but she shied away. She
still didn't anyone to touch her—at least not anyone but Ric.

“You’re letting your hair grow,” Lindsey
told him, noting the sweep of bangs that hung down over one eye. His hair had
lightened over the summer. Her mother would have called it dishwater blonde.
What had been just a little bit of stubble was now a full beard. “And a beard.
What’s this?”

He rubbed his hand along his chin.
“Something different. What do you think?”

“It makes you look older. I didn’t say
that I didn’t like it. I’ll have to get used to it.”

“Your hair’s longer, too,” he said.

Lindsey pushed it back behind her ears.
“I’m debating cutting it. I might let it grow for a while.” But not as long as
that blasted wig.

“I like it longer,” he said. Lindsey had a
feeling that Ric did too. She cringed at the raw feelings that erupted when she
thought about her island pirate. Not a good sign that she missed him this much
already.

“Remind me again why we had to have
dinner? I told you that I needed more time to get finish packing.”

“You know how Kayla is. Come on, she
already has us a table.”

Kayla and another girl sat at a booth in
the corner. Kayla stood up to say hello, and as usual, she towered over
Lindsey.

“Kayla, it’s good to see you again.”
Lindsey tried to sound festive.

“And it’s good to see you as well,” Kayla
said. Unlike Ben, Kayla offered neither a hug nor a handshake. She just stood
with her hands on the table. “I don’t believe you’ve met my roommate Brittany
Clarke, of the Atlanta Clarkes.”

I suppose if I knew who that was, I would
curtsy. “Nice to meet you,” Lindsey offered.

Brittany smiled and nodded. Her expression
wavered between a smirk and a sneer.

Kayla grabbed the conversation back like a
dog snarling around a bone.

“Lindsey,” she said, pronouncing a hard D,
“you can sit there.” She gestured to the opposite corner of the booth, against
the wall.

Lindsey didn’t know why the four of them
had to jam into a booth. She preferred her space, but she slid inside anyway
and hoped she didn’t have to go to the bathroom. Why did she feel like this was
a second-rate job interview?

The few times she had come here with Laura
she had never noticed the pub lighting over the booths. Kayla was so tall, her
face was completely in shadow. Lindsey felt like she sat under a heat lamp.

The waitress took their orders: an iced
tea for Lindsey, craft beer for everyone else. Kayla and Brittany each ordered
a grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side. Ben chose the cheeseburger
plate. Lindsey picked the meatloaf with mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans
with cornbread.

“Extra bread for the table?” the waitress
added.

“We don’t do carbs,” Kayla and Brittany
said at the same time.

“I’ll eat theirs,” Ben said, grinning, not
phased in the least.

Now she remembered why she hadn’t made
more of an effort to socialize with Kayla. Lindsey smiled at Ben, feeling a
little bit better about the evening. At least he was trying to put her at ease.
She missed Ric. He had never been pretentious with her.

Lindsey felt her phone vibrate and glanced
down to see Ric’s picture flashing. Irritated, she sent it to voice mail. She
had told him she would call him back.

“Do you need to get that?” Kayla asked.

“No, I’ll call him back.”

“Since that’s out of the way, we can talk
about the elephant in the room.”

“There’s not an elephant, Kayla,” Ben
said, his teeth smiling in a half-snarl.

“Sure there is.” She stared at Lindsey.
“Why would a girl like you want to move in with a guy like him? It makes no
sense.”