Catherine had trouble sleeping that night. There was a hot tension in the air, and she couldn’t help but feel upset by the entire incident. Michael tried to make things right by gently wrapping his arms around her and offering soft words of encouragement, but she was angry. She would look away and work out of his arms, leaving him to watch in frustration as she walked back to the balcony without another word.
This went on throughout the morning. While Michael called back home and got an update, she remained unusually quiet, simply sitting on the balcony and watching the waves roll out on the ocean below. He hated this feeling. He wanted to make it right, but he didn’t know what he could do that would possibly change his exiled existence.
The crackle of the radio stirred him from his thoughts. “Michael, the gentlemen was spotted at the clinic. He has been harassing the employees as they come and go.”
“Fuck,” Michael grumbled as he rubbed his eyes and ran a hand over his face.
“Can we contact the Cuban police about any of this?” he asked his security lead.
“I’ll give them the report on the clinic situation and see if they can do anything, if not, I’ll send some of our guys up there.”
“Roger that, thanks, man.” He clicked off the radio and returned to watching Catherine.
He had never felt so strongly for a woman before. There was no denying this deeply embedded familiar feeling that seemed to stretch beyond their understanding—he knew deep down she was his and he was hers. He felt he knew her better than anyone, understood her thoughts, her actions, her decisions, and her very being. And as she brooded up on the balcony, he felt the raw pain of her denial hit him like a knife in the heart.
He stood up, knowing he had to fix this. That’s what he did, right? Fix things. Knowing he could make this work, he climbed the spiral staircase and opened the glass door, the sound of the ocean waves and the salty, moist warm air of the tropics greeting him. He silently stepped onto the overhang and walked up behind her, laid his hands gently on her shoulders and attempted to massage away the stress.
She shrugged him off and let out a frustrated sigh. “Not now.”
Her words were like ice—he felt the sting and let his hands fall to his sides. A moment of silence passed and he looked to the clear, blue waters as he tried to process it all.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Sure,” she snapped.
“Can you tell me why you’re so upset?” he sat down beside her and tried to meet her narrowed eyes.
“Why I’m so upset?” she scoffed, “Do you even need to ask?”
Now he was growing angry. He crossed his arms and leaned back with a defiant look, “You think I’d be asking if I didn’t feel the need?”
She paused and looked to him with hard eyes. “Yesterday morning, you just ripped us away from everything to run away from one guy who showed up at your doorstep. I just can’t wrap my head around it, Michael.” She shook her head and crossed her arms as she fell back in her chair.
He took a deep breath. “And if you were in my position, what would you do? Step out there and fight him? Chase him away with guns? Threaten his life? Huh? Any single one of those can have me dragged back to the states and arrested. Any bad decision I make can end everything, Catherine. I mean everything,” he argued coldly, his voice raised as he tried to convey the importance of his hiding away.
She shook her head. “Yeah, maybe that’s so. But what about everyone you left behind? Sounds like he’s a danger to them, and you get to just hide away on an island while they might be in danger? Real hero you are.”
He glared at her. “You still haven’t told me an alternative option to this. The question remains the same, what the hell do you want me to do?”
She threw her hands up. “You have all the money in the world! Can’t you just call someone and make all this go away? It’s what you do for everything else!”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked with wide, angry eyes.
“Anytime you want anything or need anything, it’s just a call away. Why can’t your big, bad lawyers fix this one?”
“Because I don’t even know what this is! Is it a fed with a vendetta? A crazy guy with a fake badge? We don’t know, and that’s why we’re out here—to stay safe.”
She let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s it? Sounds more like you’re being a coward and hiding from your problems instead of facing them.”
He clenched his jaw. “Why are you so angry about this? You knew from day one what you were getting into! What, the second shit gets real, you want to dip out? The glitz and the glam disappear and suddenly you’re not ready to stick it out with an exile?” He spat out a dry laugh. “Should have figured, just like the rest. Only after the money.”
His words were like venom and Catherine felt the sting as his poison coursed through her blood. She looked at him in shock then stood up, and his face fell as he realized what he had said.
“Catherine, don’t, I didn’t—” She silenced him with her hand.
“You think I’m just here for the money?”
“No, please—”
“No? Really? Because that’s exactly what you just said.” Her eyes glistened with emotion.
“You called me a coward and I got angry, I’m sorry.” His tone was low and apologetic, but her eyes burned into his.
“What is all this Michael? Huh? What are we? Ever since I’ve been here we’ve had this fling, but really, what are you after?” She put her hands on her hips and looked to him with a raised brow.
“I’m not after anything, Catherine. You know that, we have these feelings—”
“Really? Because we’ve never actually discussed our feelings or whatever this is, we just hang out and have sex,” she deadpanned as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“What do you want me to say? I have feelings for you, I thought they were mutual, and we were enjoying a good thing. Is that wrong? I feel like your twisting my every word.” He opened his arms in a defeated gesture.
She sighed and shook her head. “I’m just frustrated and confused, and I can’t understand this complete change of character. You’ve always been a leader, a take charge guy. And this one dude shows up and you freak… I’m just questioning everything now.”
He let out a sigh. “Look, why don’t I call and have you taken back home, alright? You shouldn’t be locked up here, you should be back out there helping people. I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”
She slapped her head and let out a sound of frustration. “For how smart you can be, you can also be incredibly dumb.”
He threw up his hands. “You’re the one not communicating!” he accused.
“I don’t want to leave here without you! This isn’t about me, this is about you figuring this shit out and not hiding out here. People out there need both of us, not us hiding here until the problem maybe goes away! What don’t you get about that?!” she yelled now, her voice echoing through the trees.
He stepped right in front of her. She could feel the heat radiating from him as he towered over her. “And what don’t you get about consequences? If I ever want to help a single person again, I can’t fuck this up by going back and being some macho man. All that will cost is my entire life.”
“I’m not asking you to be macho! When have I ever said that?!”
“Then what do you want me to do?!” he yelled back.
“We go back, you call the authorities and your lawyer and you get this guy taken away. The feds said he disappeared, or if it’s not him, it’s a fraud who is stalking you! I don’t see why this can’t be resolved with a call to the right people?” she argued breathlessly.
This time he ran a hand down his face. “Because, Catherine, if it is a fed and we do anything to him, I risk the case. Let me make that clear. If he’s a fed, even one overstepping his jurisdiction, and I do a damn thing, my ass is on the line. Simple as that. And then the robotic assist, the upcoming inventions, the funds for the medical facilities, it’s all gone, it evaporates.”
A moment of silence fell between them while they looked away from one another and let the harsh words that had been exchanged play again in their minds.
“I need some space,” she whispered softly, as she brushed past him and into the cabin.
He collapsed in the chair with an exhausted sigh, as he heard her footsteps echo down the stairs and the front door close behind her.
…
Catherine pulled out her phone and connected to the satellite. The past twenty-four hours had been a lot to handle, but still, she knew she was angrier at Michael than she needed to be. She just couldn’t help the emotions that welled within her at his choice to run. It felt so wrong and made her feel like she was seeing a side of him she never knew. He had always been there, always led and stuck his neck out for others, but now here he was, selfishly running away to a private island.
She pulled up Ella’s number, hit the call button, and a moment later heard the sweet voice of her friend.
“Catherine! How’s paradise treating you?” Her friend could be heard sipping a coffee as she spoke.
She let out a haggard breath and, in a voice laced with sarcasm, replied, “Oh, wonderful.”
“Uh-oh, sounds like trouble in the tropics. Lay it on me, girl.”
She could only tell Ella what the journalists were allowed to know, but she tried to express her upset at him running away from the problem, how it was a complete contradiction to his previous behavior and choices. Her friend listened carefully, but then interrupted her.
“Did you ask him why he wanted to take you?” Ella asked curiously.
Catherine paused, not expecting such a question, “No… I mean, the thought didn’t even cross my mind.”
Her friend tsked at her. “Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. You’re blind sometimes.”
She let out a laugh. The tension had started to disappear as she vented to her friend.
“Decrypt it for me, lady,” she asked, as she sat down at the edge of the dock and let her feet fall in the cool, clear water.
“He has a problem to deal with that you or I could never even imagine dealing with, and he wants to keep his assets protected. That means your ass, too! Why do you think he took you with him? Not his brother or some security?”
The idea rolled around in her head. “Honestly, I didn’t think he’d thought it through that much,” she replied with embarrassment.
“A king never reveals his game, but he has a plan and you’re part of it. He wants you there with him, see that for what it is.”
She hesitated. “And what’s that?”
Her friend could be heard smacking her head through the phone. “It’s, love, woman!”
The realization hit her as her friend said the words. She had been seeing Michael’s escape as selfish and cowardly, but Ella was right. He had been here for years, and the people back at the estate and the clinic seemed to know the plan. It was Catherine who was new and out of the loop, and he had been sure to take her with him to keep her safe. He didn’t ask her to leave. He didn’t tell her she had to get away. He wanted her at his side, with him, as he let this guy make his move.
“Oh.”
“You see it now, Ruby? The man loves you.”
She bit her lip. “In my defense, it’d be nice for him to say it.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll get there. Give him time, but right now, don’t give up on him. I know it’s hard for you to let someone else take charge sometimes, but let him lead and help him when needed.”
Ella paused to gauge for a response, but Catherine let her continue.
“Sometimes, you have to trust others. He has got this, so let him take care of you for once.”
“How’d you get so wise, Ella?” she asked in an exasperated tone.
Her friend laughed. “A lot of bullshit over the years, you’ll get there.”
***
Michael lifted the phone to his ear and heard his brother’s voice answer on the other end. “Hey man, how’s the fort?”
“It’s good, place has stayed intact nicely during the storm season. How’s the clinic? Heard our stranger is loitering?”
His brother let out a long sigh. “Yeah, dude was harassing people as they were walking in and out of the clinic like a complete douche.”
“What’s your take? Rogue federal agent or a crazy after something?” He sipped a glass of tequila he had grabbed before returning to his spot on the balcony.
He could hear Lucas shuffle as he moved around the warehouse, doing routine checks and getting things in order. “Coin toss, we’ve dealt with worse before.”
He laughed. “Oh yeah, remember the guy who kept trying to break into the warehouse with nothing but a wrench? Thought he was gonna find a stash and make it big.”
“Well, people get wind there is a multi-billion dollar company hanging around, they get desperate,” Lucas replied with a huff as he picked up something heavy.
“That’s the truth, everyone holding up okay over there?” he asked, his concern evident.
“Of course, we know the drill when the weirdos come out of the woodwork or the case is under threat. Same shit, different day. How’s everything going there? You two enjoying the complete isolation on a gorgeous, private island?” Lucas inquired impishly.
He chuckled dryly. “I wish, but not exactly.”
“No? What happened?”
“Catherine’s mad at me. She thinks running off to an island is cowardly.”
Lucas made a hiss. “Ouch, sorry man… I mean, from her perspective, I can see where she’s coming from. Did you explain the risks of sticking around?”
“I tried, she didn’t want to listen.”
“Well, that will happen sometimes,” His brother responded.
“I just don’t know what to do. I understand the frustration she has to feel, being yanked from our routine over one guy showing up…” The thought trailed off.
“Have you told her how you feel yet?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Michael asked cautiously. For the second time that day, he was being asked about his feelings.
“C’mon dude, you love the woman. She loves you. It’s clear as day to everyone else but you two, who continue to just dance around saying the damn thing.”
“I mean, yeah. I do, I just thought…”
“What, she could read your mind?”
He paused. “... I mean, kinda…’
“Michael, brother, don’t be stupid. Tell the woman you love her, explain this is the usual, and if she still wants to return, you guys come back and we’ll figure it out. Simple as that.”
“Not sure it’s that simple with her,” he joked, making Lucas laugh.
“You’re both too bullheaded to see each other sometimes. Just talk it out calmly and you’ll get there. It’s your first fight, isn’t it?” Lucas teased boyishly.
“Shut up, touch base with you later tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah. Stay safe out there, man.”
“Will do, you do the same,” Michael replied as he sipped his drink.
With that, he hung up the phone, looked out to the beach, and saw Catherine sitting on the dock in the distance, her legs hanging over and her feet in the clear blue water. The white sand shimmered through the light waves, and she leaned back in the afternoon sun, basking in the warm rays as they fluttered over her mocha skin. He let out a deep breath. Lucas was right—he loved her, and he needed to tell her. He wasn’t ready to give this up based on one fight. Couples fought. That was that. He stood up and headed down to the beach, the sand hot beneath his toes, but soft as silk. The scent of the ocean washed over him, the palm trees rustled in the breeze, and a faint clacking of coconuts could be heard from above. He found himself relaxing as he grew closer to the dock, a half smile resting on his lips as he watched her lazily stir the waters with her toes. She heard him approach, turned around, and gave him an apologetic expression.
“Hey.” Her words were a hushed whisper. “Hey, can we try that talk again?”