Chapter 8
Viviana closed the door to her sitting room and leaned back against it. Allowing her breath to wheeze out of her, she sank to the floor. She wasn’t surprised she couldn’t stand upright. The only way she’d managed to make it to her suite was with Dubois firmly holding her elbow as he guided her through the crowded resort. Chatting pleasantly with Felix Garcia, he’d caught up with two of the men who’d shared a nightcap with her on the patio last night. Chagrined, she remembered her snotty good-bye as she’d sauntered away from them, certain that, as always, she’d put the surprised men in their places. Her pounding heart and quaking knees confirmed that memory was long gone, unlikely to ever rear its cocky head again.
Dubois’s voice was cool, nonchalant as he faced his colleagues. Nodding to Garcia, who was standing at a short distance, he said carefully, “Brent, Serge, our friend here indicated that Madam Ortiz wants us to join her and her men on an outing this afternoon. Apparently we’re going to be treated to an exploration of Belize’s famous barrier reefs.” He grinned. “Wear your boating gear, but be prepared. There’s no telling what our hostess has in mind for us.” He smiled down at Viviana and pinched her cheek. “As for you, Miss Sweden, you wear your skimpiest swimsuit, although I’m confident you don’t need wardrobe advice from me. You seem to have an unerring sense of what will have every man on the expedition begging for relief.”
At her door, he took her key from her hand and unlocked it. Nudging her inside, he brushed his lips across her cheek, allowing them to rest against the sensitive spot below her ear. “Don’t tarry, Maja. You know Madam Ortiz doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” He added, his eyes twinkling with mirth, “No telling what dire deeds she’s conjured up to punish you for your disgraceful behavior last evening.” He allowed his voice to drop and murmured, “But never fear, outrageous one. You can relax now that you know I have your back.” He chuckled. “Among other parts of you.”
With that sexy insinuation, he gave her a little shove, pushing her into her room, then turned and joined the other men. She could hear him laughing as the trio turned the corner onto the crowded patio.
****
Raising her face to the glorious, cloudless blue sky, Viviana allowed herself to give in to the heady beauty of the Belize waterways leading to the Caribbean Sea. She congratulated herself that after Dubois had deposited her in her room, she’d managed to drag her tortured body into the shower. Following twenty minutes of scalding water torture, she emerged somewhat in control of her battered body. At least she was able to make it to her dressing table, where she sank onto the padded stool and stared at herself in the mirror. She was frankly amazed that she looked reasonably like the woman she usually saw reflected there. It didn’t seem possible or right. How could she look like she always did when her life had changed forever?
At the memory of the daunting man attacking her on the path, a scarlet flush of color stained her cheeks. She wasn’t surprised. At least her body knew what had happened even if her mind was still refusing to acknowledge it. The rush of heat that exploded between her thighs was further evidence that she was irreparably different than she had been before she headed out for her morning run. She still didn’t understand how she had let him sneak up on her. Why hadn’t she heard him? Was she really that out of it, as he had admonished her? And when he caught her, why hadn’t she pushed him away and shamed him for his disgraceful behavior instead of encouraging him? She gave an aggrieved sigh.
Resting her head on the vanity top, Viviana refused to look at the flushed woman staring at her in the mirror. It was bad enough that she couldn’t erase the X-rated memories of what she’d done. She didn’t have to see her beaded nipples or the rosy glow on her breasts to remember his startling overtures. Even now, her lips were red, puffy, swollen from his demanding kisses. Embarrassed, she knew without looking that her intimate folds were as swollen as her lips. Probably they were still slick with her erotic juices, although she’d scrubbed them ferociously with her shower-gelled loofah. She groaned. As if she could wash away the sensations sparkling across her agitated nerve endings.
****
Now clinging to the railing of the impressive fifty-foot yacht, Viviana forced herself to focus on the present. She hadn’t missed the glaring welcome their indomitable hostess had given her or the glowering stare a drugged-out Martinez had pinned on her. She was glad that she’d screwed up her courage and chosen her skimpiest bikini, topping it off with a flowing, multicolored, sheer cover-up. Seeing Dubois’s appreciative smile when she sauntered up the gangplank onto the deck was reward enough to allow her to face Madam Ortiz’s smoldering anger with a nonchalance she was far from feeling.
Marshaling her reserves, determined to put the unnerving experience with Dubois in the back of her mind, Viviana reminded herself that she was, at most, a day away from implementing her dangerous plan. The evidence she’d gathered and sent to her team was damning. If what she heard in the conversations she had recorded was accurate, it was likely the exchange of weapons and drugs would take place as early as tonight. Casting a veiled glance at the trio in front of her, Viviana believed that capturing Martinez would be a slam dunk. However, she admitted that taking down the glaring queen bee and the daunting Frenchman at the hostile woman’s side was anything but a given.
As if he were taunting her, underscoring the dangerous position she was in, Dubois turned to his hostess and said in a silky voice, “Please confirm, Madam Ortiz, that Señor Muñoz will join us for dinner tonight. I’m looking forward to making his acquaintance.”
The haughty woman couldn’t hide her surprise at his impertinent assertion. Clearly she was unaccustomed to anyone speaking el Jeffe’s name, especially as casually as Dubois had. Turning her frowning gaze on Dubois, she said carefully, “Why is that important to you, Lucas?”
To Viviana’s surprise, Dubois shrugged, then said blandly, “Because, Francesca, as I believe I have made clear, I only deal with the man in charge.”
The angry flush streaking across her face confirmed that Madam Ortiz noted that he’d addressed her familiarly by her first name, underscoring that as important she was, her name wasn’t Muñoz. “Do you mind telling me what difference it makes to you, Mr. Dubois, who is or is not at the dinner table tonight?”
Her clipped response would have admonished the most intrepid interrogator, but Dubois merely smiled. Meeting her hostile gaze, he said quietly, “When dealing with the sums of money that we are and the nature of the products, be assured, I only deal with the ultimate decision maker.”
Not to be cowed, Francesca pinned a stony glare on him, although her words were tauntingly sweet. “My, my, Lucas. Surely you are not saying that I’m not ‘man enough’ to secure our arrangement? That you only deal with men, not women?”
With a gracious smile that didn’t reach his emerald-hard eyes, Dubois said, “That is precisely what I am saying, Francesca. And as you are aware, that has been my condition since we began our discussions.”
Surprised that Dubois spoke so freely in front of her, Viviana couldn’t squelch the excitement that flooded her. Good God, was it possible that Carlos Muñoz himself would be at their dinner tonight? Pretending disinterest, Viviana did her best to act bored. As she walked away from the dueling pair, looking for a private spot on the crowded vessel where she could text her team, she heard Martinez’s ugly rant.
“Goddamn you, you filthy cunt! How dare you refuse me? What do I have to do to convince you that you will do whatever I tell you to do? Do you hear me, bitch? If it is taking my cock in your mouth, or my dick up your ass, or any other dammed hole I want, you goddamned better believe you’ll take it. And cunt, you’ll like it!”
Viviana turned in shock to see a half-naked young woman crawl up the stairs from the hold below. Her bruised face and bloodied lip left nothing to the imagination. Horrified, Viviana saw that the girl couldn’t have been more than eighteen years old, if that. Her dark brown hair flowed over her shoulders but wasn’t long enough to cover her naked breasts.
Grabbing her ankle, the glassy-eyed Martinez tried to jerk her back down the stairs. He was intercepted by Dubois and Garcia, who were at the young woman’s side in an instant. Dubois reached for the girl and tossed her to Garcia. Before Martinez could do more than scream in rage, Dubois planted a heavily booted foot in the shrieking man’s face, kicking him down the narrow staircase. As he prepared to leap on the irate man below, Garcia stepped in front of him. He passed the sobbing woman to Dubois and growled, “Flores is mine, man. We take care of our own.”
Seeing Viviana’s horrified expression, Jax knew she had to be reliving her experiences with the crazed man. He jerked his head at Brent and Serge, who had rushed in to help him subdue Flores. Handing the hysterical young woman over to his men, Jax looked for Viviana but ran squarely into Francesca. He could see the agitated woman was upset, but not for what had happened to the battered girl. Listening to her angry utterings, it was obvious she was upset about Martinez. She glared at Viviana, who was standing by the railing, her expression a mix of concern and anger. Francesca muttered loudly enough for Jax to hear, “It’s her fault. She’s to blame for this. He was never like this before she came into his life.” She added, her eyes gleaming with hatred, “She needs to go.”
At that moment, Martinez staggered up the stairs and wove his way over to Francesca. Garcia, who was on his tail, stopped when Francesca held up her hand. Making it clear that she was supporting the frothing man, Francesca eased Flores into the chair at her side. Within minutes the drunken man was banging his empty shot glass on the table, shouting for a refill. Watching the boorish drunk toss back shot after shot of potent alcohol, Jax stood at a distance, preparing to step in if either of the Muñoz leaders turned on Viviana.
“There they are! I told you they were here!”
Jax frowned as Martinez rose unsteadily from his chair and lurched toward the side of the craft. Clinging to the railing with one hand, he pointed excitedly at the rolling waves.
Seeing the crowning heads and gleaming silver bodies skimming the water, Jax realized they had come up on a school of sharks. He’d heard tales of the awesome creatures, who frequented the deeper waters surrounding the tropical paradise of Belize. Usually harmless, the powerful beasts had been known to attack unwary swimmers out too deep or if taunted by irrational assholes like Martinez Flores.
“Get some meat to throw to them!” Martinez’s voice was shrill with drunken excitement. He yelled to no one in particular, “Get the fucking chef, we need raw meat to attract them.” He shouted at the wait staff, who stared at him. “Hurry up, you lazy motherfuckers! Goddammit, get me some fresh meat. We can’t let them get away!” Whirling in a circle, Flores spotted the young girl hovering at Garcia’s side. His face lit up in an idiotic grin. With flashing eyes, he dove for her and shrieked, “Here’s fresh meat. Fuck it! She’s even bleeding!” Before Garcia could stop him, in a hideous movement, Martinez grabbed the injured girl in his strong arms and threw her over the railing into the teeming waves below.
Jax heard Viviana gasp and rushed to her side. He saw her reach inside her miniscule bikini and saw the flash of a blade. Grabbing her knife, he held her hard up against him. “No, baby. No, you don’t. She’s gone, sweetheart. She was gone when she hit the water.” The widening pool of blood catching the waves confirmed he was right. Rubbing his hand over her flat stomach, he tugged on the narrow strip of fabric comprising the bottom of her miniscule bikini. “So this is where you keep it. I’ve been wondering where your weapon was.” Jax knew he had to keep talking to her. Try to reach her through the fog of the hideousness of the moment. He could tell by her alabaster skin that she was nearly in shock. Seeing parts of the dismembered woman’s body float by, he wasn’t surprised at her reaction. His gut was roiling with a mix of horror and fury. Holding Viviana’s trembling body next to his, Jax saw how close she was to losing it. Given what had happened between them this morning and now this barbaric death underscored the dangerous race they were in. For the second time that day he acknowledged that the chances of the good guys making it out of this hellhole alive had dropped. Formerly 70/30 against, he now put their odds of survival at ten percent—if that.