Chapter 5

Logan

The bastards had put me on hold.

I didn’t fucking hold for anyone. Not a king, and certainly not a wannabe mafioso. But I didn’t have a choice in this. The sooner I got Marino off my back, the sooner I could return to New York and my business.

That business was all I had. It possessed me. It kept me busy. It kept me from dwelling on emptiness and the past. And this criminal fucker had threatened to take it all away.

I glanced toward my door, the very same which led into the adjoined bathroom between the two rooms in the bungalow and frowned. It was ajar. The last thing I needed was for Katie to hear this and get spooked.

Spooked? Who cares if she runs? She’s a complication. The sooner she’s out of here, the better. One night was fun. That’s all it has to be.

But I wasn’t wired that way, for fuck’s sake. I didn’t do the “wham, bam, thank you, ma’am” shit. Sex was overrated when it was cheap, and what I’d just done with Katie was anything but. Just the thought had my dick stiff in my pants yet again, and her fluids still moistened the fabric at my crotch.

The minute I’d spotted her at the bar, I’d wanted her underneath me and that never happened.

The phone line clicked and my focus shifted immediately. I turned my back on the bathroom door and walked to my bed, resting my forearm against it. “Speak, for fuck’s sake,” I said.

Silence followed by a dull, rasping chuckle.

Oh yeah, that was Marino all right. He’d worn away his voice box with cigarettes and Cubans. That distinctive sound had been lodged in my memory since our first meeting half a year ago.

“I don’t have time to waste on this shit, Marino,” I growled. “Speak.”

“For a man in your position, Mr. Wright, you sure are cocky,” Marino said, that confidence brought on by being feared and loathed crackling through the speaker. “I’d curb my enthusiasm if I were you.”

“Why don’t you curb the crap and get to the point,” I snapped. “I’m not one of your lackeys. You don’t boss me around.”

The bastard didn’t chuckle now. The background on his side was totally silent. Where was he? Christ, I’d vowed I’d go through with this, but it still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Especially now that there was a woman here with me.

Complication, that’s all it is. You’re good at dealing with complications.

“Speaking of lackeys,” I said, since Marino still hadn’t spoken. Perhaps I’d stunned the fucker into silence with my attitude. He was used to people rolling over and kicking their legs in the air when he expressed the smallest measure of dissatisfaction. “If your emissary had actually fucking turned up at El Toro, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“My emissary,” Marino replied, almost purring the phrase, “was there. You just didn’t know it. You businessmen are so blind to the world around you, and that, Mr. Wright, will be your downfall.”

I sifted through the crap he’d just fed me. “Fine. If he was there, why didn’t he come forward? Why waste my damn time? We agreed we’d come to an amicable arrangement.”

“No, that was what you hoped. Yesterday I felt amicable, today…” Marino trailed off into another of his raspy chuckles. “You realize you made this more difficult for yourself, Mr. Wright. If you had met with me in New York, all of this would’ve been handled much sooner.”

“Handled? I know what your version of ‘handled’ means, Marino, and excuse me, but I’m not keen on being thrown into the East River with a cinderblock tied to my ankles.”

“Tsk, tsk, no need to be barbaric,” the gangster replied. “You chose this course of action. You assumed you would be safe on that little island, that you would have a point of strength to work from, a method of bargaining without the threat of my men breathing down your neck. You were wrong.”

“I own half this fucking island,” I growled. “If you try anything I’ll hear about it before the command’s left your mouth.”

“Oh? Interesting, Mr. Wright. Isn’t it true you have just as many connections in New York?” he asked. “But you didn’t feel safe there.”

I hadn’t, and only because Marino had more connections, dirty cops watching his back, people spying day and night. No one could be trusted. Here, I had some grasp of the situation. I knew the local wildlife, the people, the places—even in the seedier areas—like the back of my hand.

This island had been the sight of my recovery years ago after I’d left prison, before I’d become the man I was today.

“I’m here because I want to give you a chance,” I said, bluffing so hard my skin hurt. “I could turn you in, now, if I wanted to.”

This time Marino’s laugh was a roar of mirth. “Sure, buddy,” he said. “Sure. Listen, I know you’re there with a woman, that fox you picked up from the bar.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, ice dropping down my spine.

“The lady in the blue dress with the matching eyes and the fuckable tits,” Marino said easily. “I believe that’s how Julio described her. ‘Fuckable.’ I assume you’ve already had your taste. I hear you were very concerned about her wellbeing, that you took her back to your apartment.”

I refrained from answering. What was his ploy? Use the gorgeous girl against me?

“I’ve been watching you for a long time, Mr. Wright,” Marino continued. “Months before we first made contact, I had my eye on you. I wanted to ensure that any work you had done for me would be of the highest distraction. I admire a man who’s never distracted.”

The last thing I wanted was this criminal fuckhead’s admiration.

“One of the things I admired about you was that you were never seen with women. No one night stands, no interest. In fact, I wondered if perhaps women weren’t in your interest at all, but some research put that idea to rest. You were engaged once, yes?”

A lifetime ago I’d been engaged. Young, stupid, engaged, ultimately betrayed. The catalyst for my initial track to demise and then recovery. I kept thoughts of that time far from my mind, focusing on the present.

“My personal life has nothing to do with our business dealings,” I said, the phrase sour on my tongue. Had I known from the start exactly who Marino was, I’d never have gotten involved with him. Never have accepted his order.

“So, you see,” the man continued, ignoring my interruption, “it is very interesting to see you with a woman. She must mean something to you, yes?”

“No.”

“Yes,” he replied. “Understand that I can take many things away from you, anything I want. And if you want that girl to survive this little seven-day trip to paradise you’ve taken, you’d better do exactly as I say.”

I railed against taking commands. I gave the commands.

“Julio will meet you on the beach tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. You will come alone. You will not bring the girl. And you will agree to his terms, or you will regret it.”

“Terms?”

“Yes, terms for the delivery of my jets, Mr. Wright. You haven’t fulfilled your side of the bargain, yet. You do that, and I will consider leaving your home intact for your return to New York.”

I couldn’t do what Marino wanted. I couldn’t give him the planes to his specifications, simply because it was fucking illegal, and I wouldn’t help the man smuggle drugs across the border.

“Have a good evening, Mr. Wright.” The phone beeped.

He’d hung up and left me here with my proverbial cock in my hand.

“Fuck,” I grunted. “Fuck!” I pulled the cell from my ear and opened up my contacts list, scrolling through them until I found Jessica’s and hit Dial. I waited for it to ring, tapping my heel impatiently.

It was evening in New York, by my calculation, but Jessica worked overtime for me and she was compensated handsomely for it.

“Mr. Wright,” she answered, her voice stronger than it’d been earlier in the night.

“Did they get that?” I asked, softly. “Five a.m. tomorrow morning on the beach. The emissary will be there, Julio.”

“They got it,” she replied. “I’ve got a thumbs up from the guy sitting across from me. Hold on a sec, Mr. Wright.” Her footsteps clacked on tiles, followed by the interference of fabric against her cell phone’s speaker.

I fixated on the painting on the wall, another oil work of the ocean and the sands, a cabana, and the shapes of people sunning themselves—”Paradise,” as Marino had called it. Since when had paradise become hell?

“Sorry, sir, I wanted to get away from the suits. It’s pretty irritating having them listening in on everything, I— You know what? Never mind. They tapped this phone, so why do I even bother?”

“What is it, Jessica?”

“I’m concerned, sir. Marino’s behavior is erratic at best, and the feds aren’t exactly going to let you have any inside information until it suits them. I’ve been keeping an eye on the situation. Don’t do anything dangerous. This meeting with the emissary sounds risky.”

Jessica hardly ever spoke out of turn. That she had this time meant she was truly worried. “It will be fine,” I replied and resisted the urge to grind my teeth. “What do they want me to do?” It ate at me to say it, but like it or not, I was caught between a rock and a hard place—between Marino and the FBI.

“They want you to go,” Jessica whispered. “But—”

“Then I’ll go.”

“But sir, this could be a trap. If they manage to get the better of you— Look, no one’s in position yet because Marino isn’t there. If—”

“Jessica, I appreciate your concern, but this is my cross to bear. I suggest you go home to your husband. Take the rest of the night off. I won’t need your assistance until tomorrow. I’ll be in touch.” I hung up before she could protest again.

I slipped my cell into my pocket and squeezed my eyes shut. What a total fucking wreck. Already, things were falling apart at the seams.

The plan had been simple.

Lure Marino to the island, make demands, anger him if need be, and take him down out here. My connections to the government here, to Marino through the fucked up business deal, had made this the perfect place for everything to go down with minimal loss of life.

Fuck, and now I had to worry about—

The door creaked behind me and I spun around. Shit, it was still open.

Katie! What if she heard? If she gets involved in this, it will go from complicated to total clusterfuck.

I strode toward the door and pushed it open. The inside of the bathroom was silent, the lights still on overhead, and my reflection in the mirror to the right stark. My shirt still hung open and there were dark circles under my eyes. What’s new?

My gaze locked onto the bedroom’s door, still slightly open as I’d left it. I trudged over to it, then entered the room.

Katie lay on her side, wrapped in the sheets, her strawberry blonde hair tussled and laying across the pillow. and her mouth slightly open, eyes closed. Her right breast peeked out from the covers, tempting me all over again.

I could wake her slowly, kiss her, go down on her, bring her to climax while she was still half asleep. What the fuck has gotten into you? Focus, fuckhead!

Instead of following through on my fantasies, I walked over to the bed, bent down, and brushed my lips across her forehead. She mumbled in her sleep but didn’t wake. I left her like that, angelic, perhaps only because I didn’t know the “real” her, and went through to the kitchen to work on my plans for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I’d convince Katie to leave, even if it meant pushing her away. Tomorrow, I’d meet with Julio.

Everything relied on the meeting with this emissary. The only contact I had with the outside world was Jessica. I had to believe that the FBI had my back, and that this would all end well.

But the doubt in my gut wouldn’t go away.