Stolen Chances (34 page)

Rage flashed in his eyes. She knew that look, had seen it just before he’d hit her, and she lifted her chin, bracing for his temper. She knew she was antagonizing him, but she couldn’t help it. Just when she expected him to lash out, his eyes narrowed and the flash was replaced by amusement that raced across his features. “Why work my fingers to the bone when I know you and your pathetic father will do it for me?”

“And controlling others is always more enjoyable,” she added with disdain.

He smiled. “You know me so well, darling.”

She watched as he lifted his drink and took a slow sip. “Like those divers you sent into that cenote nine years ago. Did you tell them to kill Colin, or was that just a plus for you?”

His smile widened, a wicked and evil grin that sent revulsion all through her stomach. “Let’s just say that was a happy by-product of the situation. Come now, Maren, you know I use whatever means are at my disposal to obtain what I’m after. You’d have done the same. And if that means eliminating those who get in my way, so be it. It wasn’t planned, if that’s what you’re asking. The poor boy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

His eyes narrowed. “If you want to blame someone, blame your father. If he’d kept to his pathetic schedule, the whole incident would never have happened. As it was, I couldn’t let it pass once the man recognized me. Truth be told, I would have been much happier to have seen your boyfriend or even the elder Hudson fall to the same fate, but we can’t always choose the outcome of such rendezvous, can we?”

It wasn’t fury that flashed inside her, but pity. Pity for a man who would never know the healing strength of love. “How can you hate so much without it ripping you apart?”

He laughed. “You’re so naïve. It’s not hate, darling. It’s power.”

“She won’t save you, you know,” she said softly. “She won’t make you into something you’re not. Power comes from within, true power, not the sort you wield with an iron fist. People cower to you out of fear, not because they respect you. True power radiates from love, not hatred. And love is something you’ve never had, something you’ll never understand.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Always so high and mighty. Even when you’re caught, the fly in the spider’s web, you still taunt me.” He shook his head, his gaze sharpening. “Do you think I give a rip about love?” He laughed. “Do you think I care about your theories, Dr. Hudson? I don’t.”

He stepped toward her, and rage flashed in his eyes. “
La Malinche
is mine, just as you are mine. Five hundred years has finally brought me the two things I was always meant to have. Do you think this is all a coincidence? You and me here in this time and place? You talk about true power. True power is history. It’s fate and destiny, and it’s finally about to converge.”

He stepped even closer, his breath but an inch from her face. “Show me what you brought me, Dr. Hudson.”

“First I need to know Isabel is safe.”

He stared at her. Didn’t answer. Then he swooped her bag from the floor and yanked it open.

“
La Malinche
,” he murmured, drawing the statue out of its nest. Awe filled his voice and widened his eyes.

And every muscle in Maren’s body went sharp and rigid when she realized he was a man possessed.

T
had dropped his scuba gear on the swim platform of the
Marina
and withdrew what he needed from the waterproof bag. Boat lights twinkled across the water, a stark reminder Declan’s yacht wasn’t the only one in the vicinity. None of the other boats were close enough to see him peering up the ladder, though, and the nearest was at least a mile away. That, at least, was one thing to be thankful for.

A cool chill slid down his back as he checked his watch. By now Drummer had to have found the engine room. If, that was, he’d been able to get away from Declan like they’d hoped.

The second hand on his dive watch inched by as he added another full minute to his schedule. Another full minute Maren would be alone with the son of a bitch. He swallowed the sickness sliding up his throat and refocused on the plan. He had to give Drummer time. If the guy was late getting to the security system, then Thad would be in hot water if he went barging in. No question Declan had an armed bodyguard; probably several security personnel around as well. Slipping in under the radar was key.

When the second hand hit the twelve position, he dropped his arm and reached for the ladder. His shoes squeaked on the metal rungs, and twice he stopped, listening for any motion above. Nothing moved. Even the air seemed dead.

He pulled himself up and over the side, checked both directions, and crossed the deck. When he reached the door to the companionway, he took a deep breath. “Come on, Drummer.”

The door slid open without a hitch. No alarms rang. No footsteps echoed, indicating no one had been alerted to his presence.

Heart thundering, he slipped down the steps to the accommodations deck and ran through the boat schematics in his head for the thousandth time. When he reached the aft cabin, he paused around the corner from the room Drummer was sure Isabel would be held in.

Just like Drummer had predicted, there was one armed guard in the hall outside her door. Thad’s heart pumped while he waited for the guard to pace his direction, pivot not a foot from him, then turn back the other direction.

As soon as the guard swiveled, Thad hit him with the crowbar he’d brought along. The guard grunted and slammed into the wall. Then the weapon fell from his grip, and he dropped to the ground with a thud.

Quietly, Thad shoved the guard’s weapon in the pocket of his wet suit, then looked around for an empty room. The best he could find was a storage closet. Perspiration gathering under his wet suit, he dragged the guard inside then barred the door with a broom handle from the outside. Then he drew a deep breath, checked right and left to see if anyone had heard the commotion, and when no sound echoed through the corridor, turned for Isabel’s room.

The door opened and snapped shut. A shadow near the window shifted. “Who are you?” a wary child’s voice asked.

Words clogged in Thad’s throat. He stepped into the dimly lit room. “A friend of your mom’s.”

Isabel jumped off the desk she’d been perched on, trying to look out the small porthole window. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.

And Thad’s chest felt like it might crack wide open. Dark hair and eyes, just like his, Maren’s nose and chin, his olive coloring. He’d expected to be moved when he saw her, but he hadn’t planned on his knees going weak or all the air being sucked out of his lungs. And he hadn’t expected to feel an utter completion whip through him like a hurricane.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked when he could finally speak.

Slowly, she nodded.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No.” She shook her head, still staring at him with obvious caution. “My mom—”

“She’s fine,” he said quickly, not wanting to think about what was happening above. Not wanting to give Isabel any reason to worry. “She sent me to get you.”

When she didn’t move forward, didn’t respond, nervous fingers raced down his spine. “Look, Isabel. We don’t have a lot of time here. I need you to trust me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The floor creaked above, and he looked up, pausing to listen. Thoughts of Maren rushed through his mind, but he pushed them aside. Right now he had to focus on getting Isabel out of here and trust that everything upstairs went as planned. Breathing deeply, he looked back at his daughter.

She didn’t know what to make of him. The girl was smart. Carefully, so as not to spook her, he reached into his pocket, then drew out the locket. “Your mom wanted me to give this to you.”

Isabel glanced from his face to his palm. And when she looked up again, her eyes softened. In that instant, he was awed by how much she looked like Maren.

Her soft little fingers brushed against his as she lifted the heart-shaped locket and peered at the gold shimmering in the moonlight. “She gave this to you?”

He nodded, watching while she opened the clasp to peek at the small pictures inside. On one side was a photo of her when she’d been a baby. On the other, a picture of him and Maren when they’d been together in Mexico all those years ago. A picture he barely remembered being taken and one he’d been shocked to find in Maren’s locket.

“She never takes it off.” Concern crept into her eyes. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” he said in a thick voice. “But she wants you out of here, which is why we have to go now.”

Isabel bit her lip and nodded, any hesitation long gone. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Thad blew out a relieved breath. “Hold on.”

He peered out into the hallway, finding it both dark and empty. Turning back, he motioned for her to be silent. When he stepped out in the corridor, ready to lead the way, Isabel’s small hand slid into his, stopping him cold. He glanced down, and when she looked up at him with big brown eyes full of trust, his heart felt like it grew three times its normal size.

There was no way he could fall in love with her, right there on the spot. But he did. And whatever hatred he’d held on to over the years slid out of his heart to make room for her.

He swallowed hard, told himself to refocus. Quietly, he led her up a flight of stairs to the main deck. A hand on his arm stopped him cold.

He shoved Isabel behind him and whipped around, ready to rip someone’s throat out.

“Whoa!” Drummer held up both hands. Then whispered, “Save it for Declan.”

Pulse thundering, Thad clamped a hand over his heart. “Don’t sneak up on me, dammit.”

“Sorry. Aft deck’s empty.”

“Everything check out?” Thad asked quietly.

“Yeah. We’re good to go.”

Thad nodded, but his heart thundered hard. He drew Isabel across the deck toward the swim ladder. “Where’s Maren?”

“In the main salon,” Drummer answered. “With Declan.”

“Mom’s here?” Isabel asked, glancing from face to face.

“Don’t worry.” Thad rested a hand on her shoulder and forced back the fear. They’d been through this a hundred times. There was no way Maren wouldn’t have to be alone with the bastard for a few minutes, but he still didn’t like it. “Your mom said you can swim, right?”

Isabel’s eyes widened. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Thad helped her over the side and urged her to climb down the ladder. Whispering voices echoed up to them as they both descended the metal rungs.

When they reached the swim deck, Isabel slipped her mother’s locket around her neck, then looked from Sullivan and Lisa, both decked out in scuba gear, back to Thad. Her gaze darted to the tanks perched on the edge of the platform. “Sh-she wouldn’t let me take the scuba class.”

Lisa handed her fins and a mask. “It’s easy, Isabel. You can totally rock this.”

Thad knelt in front of her and strapped the harness around her small body. “Just breathe like normal.”

“Piece of cake,” Lisa’s husband said behind her. Isabel turned and looked at Lisa for reassurance. With her forearms perched on the swim platform, Lisa held up her thumb and smiled.

Thad pointed out the regulator, buoyancy control, and weights, giving Isabel a quick rundown on the mechanics. “If the pressure feels funny, plug your nose and blow gently to clear your ears like you do when you’re on a plane. You’re going to stay shallow and use the moonlight as a guide until you get away from the boat. Lisa and Rafe will be right with you.”

Lisa patted her foot. “It’s no different than snorkeling, except you can breathe underwater. Remember when we snorkeled in Hawaii?”

Hesitantly, Isabel nodded.

Lisa smiled while Thad fitted her mask. “You’re gonna love it, trust me.”

“You’ll do fine,” Thad told her.

“You’re…you’re not coming with me?” she asked him.

“We’ll be right behind you.” He crouched down so they were at eye level, then tightened her straps and checked her mask again. “Stay with Lisa. If you feel funny, surface, and she and Rafe will help you. Are you okay with this?”

She nodded, but the fear reflected deeply in her eyes. And as he ran his finger down her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin, he swallowed the lump in his throat.

He was just about to tell them to go when she threw her arms around his neck. His eyes slid shut, and he closed his arms around her and hugged her tight. Her tiny heart beat hard against his, and in that moment, any choice he’d still been unsure of was cemented in his mind. Revenge wasn’t worth losing this. And it sure as hell wasn’t worth the risk of losing Maren.

“Okay, you guys go before anyone notices.” Reluctantly, he peeled her arms from around his shoulders, then helped Isabel into the water. He waited while she practiced breathing through the regulator, getting used to the apparatus. And felt his heart squeeze tight. If something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.

“Relax, man,” Rafe said. “I got this.”

“You’d better,” Thad answered.

All three submerged below the surface, and he watched until their dark silhouettes disappeared from sight. Only when he knew they were far enough away not to be detected did he breathe a short sigh of relief.