Карен Кингсбери - A Distant Shore [calibre]

He took a long breath and felt himself relax. The things she’d said, they were just words, nothing more. She didn’t love him. This was a job. And she was playing a part.

They checked in at the front desk of the Reef, the nicest of the seven hotels that made up Atlantis. Any doubt about Eliza’s intentions dissolved when they got to their suite. Often these suites were rented by different parties altogether. They were that private.

Eliza’s smile faded as soon as the bellman closed the main door behind him. She pointed to the separate room on the right. “I’ll take that one.” She grabbed her bag, unlocked the door and slipped into the room without looking back.

Jack watched her go. This was the last mission he would do with Eliza Lawrence. If she hated him, if she enjoyed mocking him, then she could work with someone else. And he would do his very best to put her out of his mind forever.

If only he could forget the way she had kissed him.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.

—Song of Solomon 2:8

The wall around Eliza’s heart had stood firmly in place since her first day at the Palace, the day she found out that her mother and Daniel were dead. It was a barrier made of solid brick and razor wire, that no one would ever breach. But today the fortress she’d built to protect herself was beginning to crumble, one chunk of cement after another.

All because of Jack Ryder.

Jack was different. He was the first man she’d ever known who didn’t want her body. He was also the first man she had ever kissed, though he didn’t want that, either. That much was obvious on the plane. He didn’t think she was capable of being an informant, pretending to be married and in love. Yet, for some reason, he treated her with kindness. Not the way she’d seen men treat the other girls at the Palace. Which created a situation Eliza wasn’t familiar with. Rather than hating Jack Ryder for not believing in her, she found herself falling for him, needing him.

The way she’d treated Jack earlier hadn’t felt like acting at all.

Jack was waiting for her when she left her room later that day. The two of them needed to walk the grounds, give off the appearance of a normal couple on their honeymoon. After how she’d broken the rules and kissed him, Eliza expected Jack would barely speak to her.

Instead, he held out his hand. “I’ll carry your things.” He smiled at her. “If you want.”

“That’s okay.” Eliza clutched her oversized leather bag to her body. She’d never had a purse and now this one held a cell phone, bottled water, and a small makeup bag, along with a scarf and perfume.

No one would carry it but her.

Jack looked tanned and muscled, dressed in the same short-sleeve button-up shirt and khaki shorts he’d worn in Belize. The sun was still low in the sky out the window at the end of the hall, and Eliza glanced at Jack. He wasn’t wearing sunglasses, but Eliza was. She planned to keep them on.

One more attempt at keeping the walls from falling apart.

Eliza allowed an exaggerated sigh. As if she were bored and not distracted by his cologne. “Tell me the plan again.”

“Okay.” If Jack was frustrated by her cool attitude, he didn’t show it. “We’ll walk from here to Marina Village on the other side of the island, get dinner, then walk back.” He reached for her hand. “Like any other newlyweds.”

Eliza said nothing. Before she could push the elevator button, Jack suddenly stopped walking. She had no choice but to do the same.

“Hold on. I need to talk to you.” Jack faced her and took her other hand. He kept his voice low. “Don’t kiss me again.”

The directive stung. Eliza released her hands from his and told him what she wished were true. “You liked it.”

“No.” He looked as serious as she’d ever seen him. “That was part of the deal, Eliza. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, we don’t kiss. This is a mission… not a vacation.”

She wanted to come back with something smart. What was he going to do, send her home? “Let me guess, Luke.” She stood a bit straighter and kept her cool. “At least you can’t accuse me of being inept.”

“Eliza.” His eyes pierced hers, even through her sunglasses. “You said you were ready to come to Nassau. Which means we do the operation by the rules.”

There it was again. His doubts about her ability to do this. “I had to prove myself.”

He didn’t blink. “Prove yourself… by following the rules.”

There. Her walls were intact again. He clearly didn’t care about her. She shot a mean look at him. “I get it.”

She turned and pushed the elevator button. Why did I say that? She didn’t want anything from Jack Ryder. Not friendship, not admiration—least of all love.

In the elevator he took her hand again. When another couple joined them halfway to the lobby, he whispered near her face, “You look beautiful tonight. If I haven’t told you yet.”

Don’t believe it, she told herself. This is a job. Nothing more. She gave him a plastic grin. “Aren’t you sweet.”

They strolled through the Reef lobby, outside and up the stairs to the Cove, the property adjacent to the building where they were staying. Eliza had thought the Palace was nice. It was nothing compared to the opulence and grandeur of Atlantis.

The outdoor walkway meandered under stunning massive chandeliers. Jazz played along the pathway from speakers hidden in tropical landscaping, and water spilled from ornate fixtures. They took another turn and after ten minutes walking in silence they were inside the Royal Tower.

He moved a little closer to her side. His smile was brighter than she’d seen it. “Rumor is Michael Jackson used to rent out the entire top floor here.”

“Really.” She took off her sunglasses and slipped them into her purse. Her smile was in place, but only on the outside. “Interesting.” What was she feeling? Like she hated him and never wanted to see him again? Or that all she wanted in all her life was for him to kiss her? To find her attractive, for real?

They were about to enter the casino when an enormous guard stepped in front of them. He looked like Asia from the Palace. “Hey! You have to be twenty-one to be here.”

“I… I’m sorry.” She pressed in close to Jack. What was the darkness circling around the man’s head? Or were those spots in her eyes?

“She’s twenty-three.” Jack stepped up. “Let us by.”

Again the man scowled and Eliza couldn’t look at him. The darkness around him was as terrifying as it was familiar. Finally the man turned and walked off.

Eliza could feel her body shaking. “C-can we go another way?”

“Of course.” Jack put his arm around her and led her away from the casino and out a side door. When they were a few feet down the path, he stopped and faced her. “I’m sorry. I have no idea why he would—”

“I do.” She was trembling harder now. “He’s… in the business. I could… feel it.” They were alone on this dimly lit part of the resort path. She leaned her forehead on his chest. “Did you see it?”

“See what?” Jack stroked her hair and held her. Like he really cared.

“The black spots. Little black clouds.” She lifted her eyes to his. “They were all around that man.”

Jack only searched her eyes. Finally he shook his head. “No. But I believe you.”

And the walls around her heart began to crumble again. No one was watching them, no tourists or workers or guards to give them a reason to keep up the façade. But still he held her. Her heart was still pounding. “He knew, too. That’s why he stopped us.”