Wise Moves (10 page)

T
hree tarot cards lay before Antonio Benito on the small terrace table covered with a white linen tablecloth. Bright, hot Miami sun shone down on him as a lithe, dark woman, Serena, sat across from him. She came to his house each day to read his tarot cards.

Ice clinked softly in Benito’s Baccarat tumbler filled with bottled water. “So what do the cards say? Does it say anything about my sister?”

Serena, aware of Benito’s reputation, spoke cautiously, as she always did. She despised the man but he fed her children and kept them safe so she remained loyal to him.

Serena tapped the center card. “This is the Ace of Cups. It reflects how you felt about yourself.”

Benito sat a little straighter.

“It means Abundance, self-love and love for the world.”

“Me love the world?” He laughed. “Perhaps, like a god loves the world he controls.”

“You have great insight,” she added, careful to keep her voice even. She had no wish to anger him. “The world is yours for the taking.”

He grunted, satisfied. “What do the other cards say?”

“To the right of the Ace of Cups is the Chariot. In the Challenges position this means you will be tempted by a new and dangerous element.”

“Like in business?”

Her long dark curls brushed her thin shoulders as she shook her head. “No, I sense this card refers to a personal matter.”

Benito leaned forward. “Does this have to do with my sister?”

Here she walked a fine line. She knew Benito wanted desperately to find his sister. Yet to give him hope and have it dashed was too risky. But today, she’d heard some of his men talking. The buzz of excitement hummed in their voices and she’d heard Elena’s name mentioned. “I believe that it does.” She tapped the last card. “The Six of Wands in the Situation position. You have the power to stir up long-term change.”

“Is that all you have?” He was annoyed.

She kept her face devoid of emotion and tapped her ringed index finger on the last card. She needed to give him more. “This change could have to do with your sister.”

“Such as?”

“If you are to have an answer it will come soon. Very soon.”

He leaned forward. “When!”

“That is all the cards gave me today. I wish there was more.”

Frustration seemed to eat at him. “The cards can be so fickle. Kind one day, cruel the next.”

“It is the way, no matter how much we will it otherwise. The cards reveal themselves as they choose.”

A heavy silence settled between them. “I need my sister back. She is all the family that I have. We are meant to be a united front.”

“The day will come,” she said.

He swiped the cards off the table, sending them fluttering to the tiled floor. “Leave.”

Serena dropped to her knees and quickly gathered her cards. If only she could see into the future. She would tell him what she saw. But like everyone else in Benito’s life, she danced on eggshells and prayed he didn’t get angry with her.

Benito listened to the click of Serena’s high heels as she hurried across the tiled floor. He’d begun to think that the woman was as lost as he and of no further use to him.

Sunlight winked on the monogrammed gold signet ring on his left pinky as his gaze shifted to the crystal blue Atlantic. Sailboats and yachts dotted the horizon. Sun sparkled on their white hulls.

Elena loved to sail. He’d bought her a fine thirty-foot yacht for her twentieth birthday. She’d loved it, spending hours sailing the open waters.

His Elena also loved the hot sun and the white sand. She would have so loved to be on the beach today.

A sudden crushing sadness overcame him. It had been over a year since he’d seen his beloved sister.

The lonely months had allowed his temper to cool. He no longer dreamed of strangling her until she was dead, as he had in those days after she’d gone to the police. Now he simply wanted her back.

She was his only family, his blood. And he would move heaven and earth to get her back. No matter what it cost. And yet what more could he do? The reward for her was five million. Every contact he had in the world was searching for her. And yet there was nothing, as if she’d fallen off the face of the earth.

The world could be a cruel place and his Elena was unwise in its ways. Last night he’d dreamed of her crying and alone, calling out to him for help.

He prayed nothing bad had befallen her.

After several minutes he was aware that his second in command—Manuel Ortiz—stood behind him. The short, stocky man never disturbed him unless it was important.

“What is it?” Benito said without turning around.

Manuel, his head bowed, stepped forward. In his hand he held a piece of white paper. “We’ve heard from a man. He is of no consequence normally, but this time he might have something of use.”

Benito sipped his water, his eyes trained on the boats. He prayed Elena had enough to eat, that she had a warm place to sleep.

Manuel, a file tucked under his arm, tugged on the cuffs of his white linen shirt. “He has heard that Elena might be in Virginia.”

Benito’s heart hammered faster but he kept his face impassive. There had been sightings of Elena before but all had been false leads. Bitter disappointment had eaten at him each time. He’d learned not to show his excitement, yet he still could not stop his heart from racing like a wild stallion. “We have heard claims like this before.”

“That’s why I wanted to check it out first before I came to you.”

“And?”

“I sent a man up north yesterday. He took pictures. When I saw the pictures, I thought you needed to see them.” Manuel opened the white folder he’d been holding and laid the color photos on the glass tabletop.

Benito drew in a breath and steeled himself before he glanced down.

At first, disappointment washed over him. He saw only the woman’s blond hair and her too-thin frame clad in simple clothes. She stood in front of a shabby youth shelter.

But a second look revealed more. He saw Elena’s sharp brown eyes. He recognized the firm line of her proud jaw. Her long delicate hands.

Dios.
He’d found his sister.

His pulse quickening, he shuffled through the photos. There were dozens just like the first.

He studied the woman in the photo again. He traced the blond hair, annoyed that she’d cut and colored the dark hair he’d taken such pride in. But hair would grow. Time would erase the changes she’d made to herself just as it had wiped away his anger toward his only sister. Time would fix everything. Soon life would be the way it was before Carlos had swept into her life.

She was his family.
His blood.
And her place was at his side.

Benito closed the file. “Get my plane ready. I am going to Virginia.”

Kristen lay on her side, her breasts nestled next to Dane’s side. Her hand lay draped over his broad chest and she could feel the steady beat of his heart under her palm.

This was the first time she’d really seen him relaxed, and she realized she liked looking at him. He had a strong jaw and the dark stubble on his chin combined with the longer bangs made him look a bit like a pirate.

She traced a heart on his chest.

He sighed but didn’t open his eyes. “I thought you were asleep.”

She smiled. “Moments like this are so rare. I don’t want to waste them sleeping.”

He laid his hand over hers and squeezed gently. “I wish it could be different.”

“How?” Their lovemaking had been perfect. “I thought it was ideal.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. This close she could see the splashes of gray in his blue eyes. “You’ve not been with a man for a long time.”

“Only one before you.”

“I can’t believe a beautiful woman like you didn’t have a legion of admirers.”

“My brother is overprotective. He chased most suitors away.”

Absently he rubbed her bare leg. “You’ve mentioned your brother before.”

“He’s a complex man.” Benito was the last person she wanted to talk about. “I’m better off with distance between the two of us.”

“Has he hurt you?” There was anger in his voice now.

“Everything he did he thought was for my own good.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “But at times he was quite cruel.”

Dane pulled her against his side. “I’ll never let him hurt you.”

The force behind the words surprised her. “I don’t ever intend on seeing him again.” She propped her chin on her hands pressed against his chest. “I don’t want to talk about my brother or anyone else outside of this room.”

He brushed the bangs off her forehead. “The world out there is waiting for us.”

“I know. But for now, this moment, it does not exist. It’s just us in our own world.”

A smile tipped the edge of his mouth. “We have work to do today.”

“Do we have to work today? It’s been so long since I really enjoyed a day.” When she was with Dane she didn’t feel afraid. The past was a distant memory that didn’t have the power to hurt her.

Dane traced his knuckle along her jawline. “Your offer is very tempting.”

She grinned. “Good.”

He hugged his arms around her. “I don’t deserve you.”

She stared into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts. “What makes you say that?”

He hesitated and seemed to choose his words carefully. “I don’t have much to offer. You deserve so much more than I can give.”

“I don’t want anything. I just want to be happy and you make me happy.”

He frowned.

There was so much to this man she didn’t know. Like her, he had demons. But she knew under the sadness there was a good man. “What is your idea of the perfect day?”

He smiled, perplexed by the sudden change of conversation. “I don’t know.”

“Would you go to a fine restaurant, go to a football game or climb a mountain?”

His hand slid down under the sheet covering her back down to her bottom. He squeezed gently. She could feel his arousal pressing against her. “This day is damn near perfect.”

Excitement simmered inside her. “But where would you go?”

He shook his head. Absently, he moved his hand up and down her leg. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about fun in so long I wouldn’t know what to do. How about you? What’s your perfect day?”

She chuckled. “You would be there, of course.”

He squeezed her bottom again in response.

“We would huddle on the couch and watch old movies if it were a rainy day. And if it were lovely, we’d go to the beach and I would lie in the hot sun and listen to the ocean waves. I haven’t seen a movie or been to the beach in so long.”

“One day I will take you to the beach and to the movies.”

Childish excitement bubbled inside her. “Truly?”

“When this job is over, if you’re still interested in going with me, I will take you.”

Excitement bubbled inside her. “Of course I will still be interested in going with you. Why wouldn’t I want to go with you?”

“Things change.”

“Not that much.”

He raised his head and kissed her on the lips. He tasted salty. His lips were soft. “I hope so.”

She drew more shapes on his chest with her index finger. The future was too dark and frightening so she chose to concentrate on now. “That sounds so ominous.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Then tell me everything.”

He stared at her. There was something behind his eyes—something dark, painful. “For now, the less said the better. In time, I’ll tell you more about myself.”

But she couldn’t let it go. She’d spent the night with this man—made love to him twice—and sensed that she was starting to care about what happened to him. “What brought you to Lancaster Springs?”

“Work.” Even the terse word sounded guarded.

“There’s more to it than that.” A black thought entered her mind. “I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t a Mrs. Cambia and a couple of kids back home—wherever that is.” The thought made her sick.

He rolled on his side and faced her. “No wife. No kids. Just you.”

The information offered a measure of comfort but didn’t banish all the worries. “No, there’s more. I see it in your eyes. I see the anger. Something is chewing at you.”

He sat up slowly and stabled fingers through his mussed hair. “You’re imagining things.”

There’d been a time when she might have believed him and ignored her worries. She’d done it with Benito a thousand times, until the facts of who and what he was could no longer be ignored. “I’ve learned to trust my instincts. You are hiding something.”

He released a deep breath. “I’m not sure what you want me to say. We all have our secrets. You haven’t told me everything about yourself.”

“True.” She kept secrets to protect him. Benito had destroyed the only other man that she’d loved.

He ran his hand over her bare shoulder. “Are you ready to share yours with me?”

“Mine are quite ugly, Dane. You don’t want to know them.” She feared if he knew the truth of her past he’d reject her. Others had in the past.

Shadows slashed across his face as he stared down at her. “You can tell me anything.”

Oh, the urge to let all the hurt and pain tumble out was so strong. Thoughts of Antonio’s viciousness kept her quiet. “Maybe we both need time before we’re ready to talk.”

He cupped her face. “You’ve grown pale. Something has scared you.”

“Ghosts from the past. They can’t hurt me anymore, but they still frighten me sometimes.”

He kissed her gently on the forehead. “I won’t let ghosts or monsters hurt you, Kristen. No matter what happens, that I swear.”

She felt so safe when he was close. “I know you’d never hurt me.” She smiled. “I guess we’ll both have to trust the other and wait until the time is right to talk about our pasts.”

Instead of answering, he kissed and made love to her with such passion. It was almost as if he was afraid he was going to lose her.

Saturday, May 19, 7:59 p.m.

T
he instant Dane entered his darkened hotel room he knew he wasn’t alone. He reached for the .32 he kept strapped to his ankle, pulled back the hammer and flicked on the light.

In the corner by the window sat Lucian Moss. The man’s eyes were closed and his fingers folded over his chest. He looked perfectly at ease.

Dane lowered his gun. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you.”

Lucian opened his eyes. He wasn’t the least bit ruffled by the comment. “You’re late.”

“I took Kristen out to diner.” Her scent was still on him and he couldn’t stop thinking about touching her. Guilt ate at his gut. He should never have touched her.

“You mean Elena.”

“I’d prefer you call her Kristen.”

“Why?” His tone sharpened.

Dane wasn’t sure when he’d stopped thinking about her as Elena. “It keeps things simple. Less room for an avoidable slipup.”

Lucian twisted a ring on his pinky. “Reasonable.”

Dane’s head pounded. He was in no mood for visitors. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t seem put off by Dane’s gruff question. “Came by to check on the progress.”

It annoyed him that Lucian expected a report. The guy worked for him and he’d left accountability behind when he’d resigned from the FBI. “There’s nothing to report. It’s still a waiting game.”

Lucian studied him. “No signs of Benito?”

“None.”

“You made contact with your man in Florida?”

“Yes. The wheels are in motion.”

Lucian nodded and rose as silent as a shadow. “So you and Elena—Kristen—ate dinner? Cozy.”

The muscles in his jaw tightened. “Staying close to her was part of the plan.”

Lucian arched a thick, dark brow, condemnation oozing from him. “That so?”

Dane felt like a Judas…to Nancy’s memory, to Lucian and to Kristen. Irritation ate at him. “If you got something to say to me, then just say it. I don’t have time for a Q&A, Lucian.”

“It just seems like you’re getting too close to her. I wouldn’t want you to lose sight of the prize.”

“I haven’t lost sight of anything,” Dane snapped. “And isn’t that the point of all this? For me to get close to her?”

Lucian’s eyes darkened with an unnamed emotion. “As long as you remember she is the lure on the edge of our hook and nothing more. Catching Benito takes precedence over everything.”

The idea soured his stomach. He’d never bargained on caring about—
loving
—Kristen. “I have what it takes to do the job. Now if we are finished with our little chat, I need to shower and get back to Kristen’s.”

He didn’t like leaving her alone. Especially now.

“Do you have anything else to say before I toss you out of here?”

Lucian grinned. “Antonio Benito filed a flight plan to Virginia. He’ll be here by morning.”