Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
IT ONLY TOOK me five minutes to grab the essentials. Bradley kept my bags packed for a variety of climates, everything from the Antarctic to the Sahara, so I just shoved a few extra bits in. Black tossed his dive computer and a pair of handcuffs into his duffle before disappearing onto the balcony with his phone. Now, where had I left my favourite flip-flops?
I was rummaging in the closet when Black smacked me on the bottom. “Ready?”
No problem, I’d go barefoot.
“Stingray?” I asked as we ran down the stairs.
“Why not?”
I’d only driven the thing a couple of times, so I took the driver’s seat and off we went. But where to?
“Which direction?”
“Silver Springs. We need the jet. They’re refuelling it at the moment.”
When we got to the airfield, the ground crew were milling around our Lear. The Bombardier we’d taken to Colombia stood next to it on the tarmac, the early morning sun reflecting off one wing. Had our trip to South America really only been two days ago? My whole life had changed since then.
Black went to file a flight plan while I carried the luggage on board and started the pre-flight checks. And finished them too. What was the hold-up?
Finally, he strolled up the stairs, and my heart skipped. Probably it would keep doing that for a while, but I wasn’t complaining.
“That took a while. They were somewhat alarmed to see me.”
“It’s not every day a dead man walks through the door. Are you flying or are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“I’m flying, and it’s a surprise.”
Great. Another surprise. Because I hadn’t had enough of those this year.
Three and a half hours later, we began our descent, and I saw Killarney Lake below as we approached Lynden Pindling International Airport. We’d arrived in Nassau. Last time I visited the Bahamas, I’d almost got shot rescuing a kidnap victim, but it could have been worse. At least it wasn’t Colombia.
Black landed smoothly and parked the jet, then we each grabbed a bag and held hands in the middle. Such a small thing, but it meant so much. The warmth that spread through me was nothing to do with the sun. A black Mercedes waited by the plane, engine running, and Black tucked me against his side in the backseat for what turned out to be a short drive to the marina. Who knew Black would turn out to be a cuddler?
“We’re going sailing?”
He didn’t answer, just led me down the jetty until we reached one of the larger yachts. I read the name on the hull: Black Diamond.
“You bought a new boat!” I squealed, sounding like a complete girl.
Each of Black’s boats was named after a gemstone. There was the Black Emerald in Egypt, the Black Sapphire in the South of France, and the Black Ruby in Florida. This new Sunseeker was bigger than all of them, even the one in Nice.
“I haven’t been on board yet. It got delivered right before I… Before I left. The only person who knew was Oliver, but as I understand you never did anything with my estate, I guess he didn’t tell you.”
“No, I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. Having to deal with all that would have made it even more real.”
“Bradley also mentioned problems with Miriam?”
“There were some issues, yes.”
“How bad?”
“Put it this way, if I had two bullets and ended up in a room with Hitler, Hector Ramos, and Miriam, I’d shoot Miriam twice.”
Black wrapped his arms around me. “Diamond, I’m so sorry. I’ll fix everything when we get back. And what’s more, I’ll enjoy doing it. I suppose if something good’s come out of this, it’s the realisation I’m not genetically related to that woman.”
“We still need to talk about that, about who your real family might be. If you want to, that is.”
“Later. We’ll do all that later. I just want to enjoy being ‘us’ for a few days first, okay?”
That sounded great to me.
We jumped on board the Black Diamond, kicked off our shoes, and started exploring. I loved boats. Something about the way they were put together appealed to my inner sense of order. Basically, they were really expensive jigsaws.
Below were four double bedrooms, two with en-suites, and a separate bathroom. The main deck housed the galley plus a large salon and dining area. Oh good—someone had stocked the drinks cabinet. Behind the bridge on the top deck lay more seating and sunbeds. Tell me Bradley had remembered to pack my sunblock? Now that Black had washed the dirt off, he was super pale, and he wasn’t the only one who needed some colour.
The swim platform at the stern held a small zodiac boat, and when I poked around in the lockers beside it, I found a dive compressor and a full set of scuba gear. This holiday got better and better. I hadn’t dived since my accidental trip to Dahab earlier in the year, and I couldn’t wait to get back underwater.
I found Black poking around below decks, checking the bilge pumps and the seacocks. While others might look at the massive engines and wonder how fast the boat went, Black’s mind worked differently. As always, he wanted to know how he could disable the boat and sink it if necessary. Old habits died hard.
“Are we setting sail?” I asked.
Black’s answer was to toss me over his shoulder and carry me to the stateroom.
Two hours passed before we came up for air, and by then we were starving. So much for the whole sailing thing. We found a little cafe at the edge of the marina and ordered a lunch of fresh fish and grilled vegetables. Black ate two portions. He’d lost at least twenty kilos, and he needed to bulk up again.
“I guess the food wasn’t great in Colombia,” I said.
“Could have been better. There wasn’t a lot to do in my cell except exercise, so I stayed fit, but I also got hungry. Getting enough to eat was the problem, despite Akari’s best efforts.”
She’d kept him alive. That was what mattered. I reached out and squeezed both of his hands in mine, amazed my cherry red manicure had survived a gunfight intact. Whatever Bradley’s pet manicurist had put on my nails, they’d probably survive an atomic bomb.
“Are we having dessert?”
Black picked up the menu. “I could be tempted.
After lunch, I took a shower to rinse away the sticky remains of the chocolate gateaux Black had eaten off my stomach, while he studied the operating manual for the yacht. Typical. No sense of adventure.
“Ready?” I asked once I got back to the salon, flicking the damp ends of my hair over my shoulder.
He gave me a look. That look. One day into the new us, and I’d already become well acquainted with what it meant. I shook my head and pointed at the bridge. “No. We’re going sailing.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Mrs. Black.”
We eventually got around to taking the yacht for a sail. As neither of us had driven the thing before, Black hired a pilot to take us out of the marina then we were on our own.
“Have a good day, ma’am,” the pilot said as I waved him off.
“Oh, I will.”
Black steered while I sat on his lap, his arms reaching around me to the wheel. He punched coordinates into the navigation unit, and we headed out to sea.
“Are we going somewhere in particular?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Oh boy, another surprise. But the last few had been good, so I could live with that.
In fact, I still couldn’t believe I was here, with Black, closer than we ever were before. The yacht cut through the waves, and I pinched myself as I gazed at the crystal blue water twinkling on the horizon. Ouch.
“Stop that,” he growled in my ear.
“Stop what?”
“Fidgeting. Here, take the wheel instead. You need to learn how to drive this beast, because I’m not doing all the work.”
It seemed Black was getting back to his old pushy self, and that made my heart sing. I twisted around and kissed him softly on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Mrs. Black.”
Two hours later, Black slowed the boat as we approached a small island. A harbour with a wooden jetty lay straight ahead of us, a single boat bobbing gently in the current. Not a yacht, just a small runabout that had seen better days.
Long white beaches stretched out on either side, backed by lush vegetation, and three hills rose in the centre. What was this place? A resort? Apart from a hut on the beach, I could only see one building, a large white house nestled in a dip near the top of the highest hill.
Where were all the people?
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. “Are we staying here tonight?”
“We’re staying here until we decide to go home. It’s called Lorelei Cay.”
Wow. I’d never seen anywhere quite so idyllic. Or so deserted. “Did you rent the whole island?”
“No.”
A sigh threatened to escape, but I stopped it. The selfish part of me wanted Black and the island all to myself, but I’d have to live with it and share the island part. It looked pretty quiet, anyway, and we also had the boat if we wanted to hide out.
“I bought it,” Black said.
“Sorry, you did what?”
“This place. I bought it.”
“You bought a freaking island?”
“We both had big birthdays coming up. You were about to hit thirty, and I’ll be forty soon. So I decided to buy us something special. I was going to bring you here for your real birthday last December.”
That was it. I burst into tears.
“What’s the matter?” His arms tightened around me. “Emmy, what’s wrong? Do you hate it? I can always sell it again.”
“No,” I blubbed. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I’m just so freaking happy.”
He angled my face towards him. “Then why are you crying? You never cry.”
“I don’t flipping know.”
Black chuckled and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. I liked this new, tender side of him.
An elderly black man in a pair of Bermuda shorts and a worn T-shirt emerged from the trees near the jetty, and I made an effort to stop leaking and help Black to moor the boat instead. A quick hop up the gangplank, and Black introduced us.
“Emmy, this is Wilson. He and his wife are the caretakers here.”
I shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Wilson.”
“It’s good to finally meet you too, ma’am.”
“Emmy, please.”
“Emmy. I’ll take care of the boat, ma’am. You and Mr. Black go take a look at this beautiful island.”
Black led me along a path through the trees. Yes, I could definitely get used to this hand-holding thing.
“Last time I came here, this was more of an animal track,” he said. “They had to widen it when they renovated the villa.”
“When was that?”
“A year ago, while you were in Paris. I bought it six months before that.”
“It’s beautiful.” So was his smile.
“The only person I told was Oliver. He helped to organise the building work, even though it was outside his usual remit.”
I snorted at the thought of Oliver picking out sofas. “Bet he loved that. Bradley will be devastated he missed out.”
“Can you imagine what would have happened if I’d told Bradley? You’d have known within a day, and we’d never have managed a quiet getaway. He’d probably have flown a circus troupe out to welcome us.”
I laughed because that was exactly what Bradley would have done.
The house itself was stunning. Part brick, part wood, with airy, open rooms, huge windows, and a wide deck that looked out over the sea. The furniture was sleek and modern, but when I dropped onto the massive bed in the master suite, surprisingly comfortable. Black had decorated this place to my tastes rather than his own. Wow. This man was everything.
“Want to take this mattress for a test run?” I asked.
“Later.” He held out a hand. “First, I want to show you something.”
He led me up a narrow staircase in the corner of the room, and we emerged into the sun on a hidden roof terrace. Waist-high walls hid the double sun lounger at one end from wandering eyes.
“Look at the view.” Black waved an arm at the trees, the swath of white sand, and the crystal blue sea twinkling all the way to the horizon. “This was what made me buy the place. Once I came up here, I knew I had to have it.” He leaned down and kissed me. “A bit like you, really.”
I stepped to the edge and leaned forward, hands on top of the wall. Up here, I felt like the queen of the freaking world, and I had my king by my side. He stared off into the distance, a tiny smile playing across his lips.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“That I don’t want to go to Las Vegas. I’ve hit the jackpot here.”
“Nice try, Chuck.”
“How long have you been at Lorelei Cay, Wilson?” I asked over dinner that evening.
Wilson’s wife, Marcie, had cooked us up a feast of rice, vegetables, and grilled snapper. Apparently, Wilson liked to fish in his spare time.
“Ten years, now. We came here under the previous owner, and we don’t ever want to leave.”
“Don’t you get lonely?”
“Spent my twenties in New York, working as a broker. Destroys a man’s soul. One day, I stood at the window to my office, staring out at the lights, and I figured there must be more to life. I quit on the spot and moved to Nassau. Met Marcie and worked as a barber for twenty years before we came here. No, we don’t get lonely. The other islands are just a boat ride away, and friends stop by to visit.”
“You know how to cut hair?”
“Sure I do. Not that I’ve got much left myself.”
“Could you do me a favour?” I pointed at Black. “Fix that?”
“What?” Black asked. “The hippie-surfer look doesn’t suit me?”
“Sorry, honey.”
“She’s right. Can you fix it?”
Wilson laughed. “I’ll just find a pair of scissors.”
An hour later, Black had short hair again, and all was right with the world.