Kay David - Obsession

They entered the club under a walkway of thatched material, the heavy vegetation close and humid. From the fronds of the nearby palms to the brilliant plumage of the raucous parrots, the jungle seemed to close around them. Raul almost expected to see a wildcat or an anaconda as they walked into the main area of the club. A huge open room, the place was packed with expensively dressed men and women. They were all holding drinks and talking. Looking over the crowd, Raul decided his expectations had indeed been met. They wore the same predatory look as the jungle animals. Emma waded into the crowd with determination, and Raul followed.

They’d been there an hour when Raul saw him.

With a sense of déjà vu, he watched as Kelman worked the room on the opposite side. Just as he had that first night at the Taminaca Bar, he was talking to everyone and acting friendly, but the man’s eyes searched the crowd continually. Raul followed his gaze until it stopped. Once again, it landed on Emma. They’d made the circuit of the room together, Emma introducing him to everyone. When she’d stopped to talk business with someone, he’d stepped away to give them some privacy, wandering to the other side of the crush. Now, as he looked on, she walked through a set of French doors to a terrace. Raul felt a flare of satisfaction, but it was followed by hesitation. Everything was falling into place exactly as he’d imagined, except for one troublesome exception.

He hadn’t counted on liking Emma Toussaint.

AROUND THE CORNER from the French doors, Emma walked to the nearest planter and dumped her glass of wine into it. She set the flute on the railing that edged the area, then turned around quickly, her dress brushing the yellow hibiscus blossoms.

She needed to go back inside and work the crowd, but the fresh air felt wonderful and she paused to breath it in. The crush of the crowd had been getting to her, or maybe, she thought belatedly, it wasn’t the crowd, but someone in particular. Raul.

His questions in the car had not been unexpected, but the interest with which he’d asked them had been. Despite all she’d heard and suspected, Raul Santos appeared to be a thoughtful person. There was a patina of something hard and impenetrable on the surface, but underneath, she sensed a man who truly cared, a man who was actually interested in her as an individual. At least, his questions had reflected that.

They’d also delivered a fresh level of pain, coming on the heels of Todd’s announcement. Most of the time she simply avoided the answer, but with Raul, she’d flat-out lied, told him she didn’t even have children. She didn’t want him getting any closer to her, and in her mind, anyone who knew her past knew her. At least she’d learned something about him in return. He didn’t like children, and he didn’t like entanglements.

Somewhat handy, she guessed, if you tended to disappear for five years at a time. The thought reminded her of Leon’s wild guess that Raul had been in prison. He might be right, but somehow she couldn’t reconcile that idea with the man she was getting to know. Did felons give money to beggars and donate large sums to hospitals? Reina had told her about Raul’s check to the Sisters. Emma looked out over the valley and shook her head. The contrast intrigued her, despite herself.

She started back inside, but as she neared the corner, a loud voice off to one side halted her progress. She told herself it was none of her business and continued on, then she recognized the cool timbre of Raul’s voice as he responded to the other person. She tried to distinguish the words, but the mountain breeze snatched them away.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Emma edged forward. All at once, she realized she didn’t need to get any closer. She knew exactly who Raul was speaking to; the unmistakable pungency of cigar smoke drifted to her in a haze of blue.

Following the smoke came William Kelman’s voice. It broke the night’s quietness with undisguised anger. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t-”

“I’m telling you you’re wrong, my friend.” In complete contrast to Kelman’s agitation, Raul chuckled. To Emma, the deep sound came across as something other than amusement.

“I’m here for the same reasons you are,” Raul went on. “To make my fortune. Nothing more. I had no idea you were here. Why would you think otherwise?”

Her surprise was quickly overtaken by confusion. They obviously knew each other, yet Kelman had asked her about Raul when they’d been having dinner. Still hidden, she moved a step closer.

“You’re saying your being here is purely coincidental?” Kelman’s voice remained uptight, angry.

“What else could it be?”

“You know exactly what else it could be, Santos. You followed me. You’re on some damned revenge kick, aren’t you?”

“Revenge kick?” Raul stopped, the puzzlement in his voice clearing as he spoke again. “Do you mean Denise? That’s over and done with, Kelman. Besides, why would I want revenge? As I remember it, the woman left you for me. Isn’t that what happened?”

Silence, tenser than the words they’d just exchanged, filled the sudden void, and Emma half expected to hear the sound of a fist against a jaw. Her mouth went dry, her throat closing. It seemed preposterous that the two men would travel so far to fight over a woman, but stranger things had happened.

Kelman spoke first. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled.

“Then why don’t you inform me? Tell me what really happened.” The sudden coldness-and the quick change-in Raul’s words sent a shiver through Emma. It would have been less frightening if he had hit Kelman. “Tell me what I’ve been missing all these years, Kelman. You do know I missed a few, don’t you?”

Another pause, then Kelman said heatedly, “I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, Santos, but I don’t want any part of it. I had nothing to do with your troubles. You brought them all on yourself. Now get the hell out of my way.” The pitch of his voice suddenly changed, and too late Emma realized why. He was heading straight for the corner where she stood.

She had a split second to think about it, no more. With a bravery she didn’t feel, Emma straightened her shoulders and took a single step forward.

And crashed into William Kelman’s chest.

“OH, MY!”

“What the hell?”

As they collided, Emma and Kelman spoke at the same time, her voice apologetic, his still angry from the encounter with Raul.

“Mr. Kelman, I’m so sorry. I…I didn’t see you. Please forgive my clumsiness.”

Emma’s pretty words were exactly what Raul would have expected to hear, but her expression, as she glanced over at him, was something else entirely. She’d overheard their conversation, he realized, and was wondering just what was going on. He stepped out of the shadows where he’d been and moved to her side.

He touched her briefly, solicitously, on the elbow. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, yes…I’m fine.” Glancing back to Kelman, she tilted her head. “I see you two have met.”

Kelman shot an angry look in Raul’s direction. “Yes, we have.”

Raul spoke easily. “Mr. Kelman and I go back quite a way, Emma. We’re old friends.”

Emma looked at Kelman with a puzzled expression. Before she could say more, he smoothed a hand over the front of his jacket and inclined his head. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the party.”

Emma nodded and stepped aside as Kelman brushed past her and disappeared into the room behind them. When she turned back and looked at Raul, her eyes were filled with questions. “He asked me the other night if I knew you. I just assumed you were strangers. What on earth was that about?”