Colby
With the early morning sun shining down on me, I begin my leisurely stroll through the glorious scenic pathways…
What the fuck was that? Who the fuck talks like that? When the fuck did I start talking like that?
I let my swagger come back full force. I may have even given a well-timed ‘sup to a guy I passed along the way and dared my inner pussy-whipped poet to even fucking mention the sweet-smelling flora.
This Island is playing havoc with my brain. I know we’re here to do a job, that is top priority and as epic as Bri’s bedroom skills are, I need to focus. I round the bend just in time to see a tall man veering away from Nadia’s hut and my gut tells me that this is the one to follow. No point in hanging around to see that woman get frisky again, once was enough.
Although the experience did bring out a pretty impressive reaction from Bri… for fuck sake, focus.
I match the guy’s pace and manage to snap off a few shots, albeit of his back, and soon realize we’re heading away from the living quarters and towards a harbor. The resort has a small jetty with roughly a dozen boats docked. Only one or two are private, the others are for hire. The guy in front is heading down towards the private boats and I can’t follow without looking suspicious, so I duck into the tourist hut on the pier.
Which is a stupid move. The second I set foot inside I’m being accosted by a pair of kids no older than twelve, trying to book me in for a trip on their boats. I try to keep an eye on the target, but he’s already out of sight. Some fucking detective I am.
“Hey kids, listen up. I’m not sure what day I’m going to book for yet, just wanted to get some information. How much…”
“40 American dollars, best buy,” one of them shouts.
Not to be outdone, the other one grabs my shirt and pulls me away offering his boat for 30, plus a deep-sea fishing lesson from his dad. They start bickering and tugging on my arms, each one trying his best to give me the hard sell. I suddenly know what it must feel like to be the last chicken wing at a barbecue.
Breaking free, I’m backing slowly towards the door when I bump into someone.
“This man is with me boys, go bug the newlyweds walking on the beach.”
Two crisp $100 bills waft past my nose and those boys don’t waste a heartbeat. They snatch the money and then they’re off, chasing each other down the pier and off into the distance. I let out a sigh of relief and turn to thank my brother-in-arms.
“Thanks for that, I thought I was gonna be ripped apart by the locals,” I quip, only to startle inwardly when I recognize the back of the man’s head as he watches the ocean. It’s the same man I followed down here.
“No problem son,” he chuckles. He turns back to me and I’m overcome with a strange feeling, almost like I know him from somewhere. He looks a lot like Calvin, only older and much harsher. He has the type of weatherworn face that comes from living outside. Where Calvin was rough but polished, this man was hard.
And Jesus he was tall. I come in at a solid 6’ 2” but this guy? I have to crane my neck to look at him.
Deep brown, almost black eyes appraise me and if I was a lesser man, I would squirm under his scrutiny. Lucky for me, I have the art of standing my ground well in hand. Mostly.
“Here, let me repay you. It’s the least I can do for having you save my life,” I quip as I bring out my wallet and open it up, making sure it shows a glimpse of my fake driving license.
He glances down casually and waves his hand. “Nonsense. It was my pleasure.”
He steps back out onto the pier and I follow carefully, trying to get a measure of the man. “Are you a local? Or a tourist like me?”
I fall into step beside him and note that we’re heading back towards the private boats. “A little of both. I tend to favor this island when I want to relax but work always seems to find me.”
I laugh and gesture towards the boat we’ve stopped beside. “She’s a beauty. Is she yours?”
“Yeah, she’s my pride and joy. The only woman I want beneath me for the long haul.”
I chuckle at the joke and hide the sarcastic retort that’s begging to slap him in the face. Briella is going to hate this guy.
“Ah well, I can see the appeal but I’m a happily married man so if anyone asks, I completely disagreed with you.”
He slaps me on the back and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me flinch. Dude is fucking strong for an old guy.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
Making a show of checking my watch, I sigh and jerk a thumb back. “I’d better get back. She sent me out to try and book a tour of the island, but I think a little lie about them being full won’t hurt. Don’t think I could cope with another guilt trip from the duo.”
“It doesn’t have to be a complete waste. If you want a tour of the island, you could always come on my boat.”
I hold my hands up. “Oh no, you’ve already come to my rescue once today.”
“It’s no bother, we’ve planned a trip for 2pm this afternoon. Join us?”
I pretend to mull it over for a moment, then hold my hand out to him. “What can I say? Thanks very much, we’d love to.”
He shakes my hand firmly and heads up the gangplank.
“Oh hey, I forgot. The name’s Charlie Masters.”
He turns and gives me a salute. “Colm O’Leary, at your service.”
***
“This is gonna take fucking ages, do you have any idea how many O’Leary’s there are in Ireland?”
“Jesus man is it your time of the month again?”
Marcus sighs down the line. “I can’t help it if I have a heavy flow and a wide-set vagina.”
“The fact that you’ve seen Mean Girls enough times to quote it is disturbing.”
“Yeah? What about the fact that you can name the film I quoted from? What does that say about your vagina?”
“I hate you,” I grumble.
The twat laughs.
“Look, I know it will take a while but anything you can get to me before we spend a grand afternoon at sea with the guy would be appreciated.”
“Is that so you don’t end up,” he drops his voice, “swimming with the fishes.”
“Fuck man, you so need to get laid!”
He grumbles something about his cock needing a break and as much I should be a good friend and ask… yeah, I wasn’t going there. I open the door to our hut and stop dead when I see a half-naked Briella sat up against the headboard, a horrified look on her face and her hands covering her ears.
That’s when I notice the audio is on from the live feeds with the unmistakable sounds of grunting filling the room.
“What the fuck? You better not be ringing me while you’re balls deep dude.”
“Paybacks a bitch,” I mumble and head over to the sound system to turn the damn volume down. Not that it’s loud, just disturbing. What the hell are they doing over there?
“Okay, this is weird. I’m gonna go… unless you fancy taking a quick snap of Bri’s…”
I hit the end call button and throw the phone down on the bed beside Bri. She tears her eyes away from the monitor and pleads with me. “It’s like Car Crash TV. You just can’t stop looking. You know it’s gonna be terrifying, but you just can’t help yourself.”
I turn in the direction of the toe curling (not in a good way) sounds and nearly gag. “Jesus fucking Christ!”
“Don’t look!” Bri screams and lunges for my face. Her hands cover my eyes, but it’s too late.
“How the hell does an asshole stretch that fucking wide? Is he using a fucking watermelon as a butt plug?”
“You can’t ever know. It will haunt you.” Her crazy eyes lock onto mine. “I’ve seen things, Colby.”
I laugh and jump from the bed, hitting the voice motion detectors and switching the screen to sleep.
“Why didn’t I think of that before she used the cactus?”
My eyes widen a fraction, my poor brain desperately trying to not give it much thought. That’s when I catch the twinkle in my girl’s eye. “You’re a dick.”
She laughs, and I don’t miss the way her eyes run all over me. She isn’t checking me out though. She’s making sure I’m okay and damn if it doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know she cares.
“I made contact.”
That gets her attention and we spend the next thirty minutes going over every single detail of my meeting with Colm O’Leary. She jumps into action, first getting Skylar to check in with Marcus. Two heads are better than one, although I think in their case that’s debatable.
I call Cross and tell him to check the timestamp on the microphone in my watch. He is a whizz with filtering out interference and promises to have a clean transcript of our meeting within a few hours.
That just leaves Bri and I with a few hours to kill and a game plan to hatch. We’re essentially going in blind. We have no way of knowing who else is going to be on that boat with Colm. Or for that matter how long or far this trip of ours is going to be. It’s too good a chance to pass up though.
I just wish I could shake this feeling that there’s more to this guy than meets the eye.