Guilty Pleasures (25 page)

“Hey, if he ain't, I'm gonna have the time of my life on this ship,” Rita responded from the bar. She caught the eye of a man who looked a heck of a lot like Don Johnson in his youth. He winked. She winked in return.

“He just walked in,” Jake hissed into his microphone.

“Where are you
” Eva asked, looking around from her station near the spa. She pressed her finger to her earpiece.

“Panorama Deck.” He glanced at the numbers embossed on the pillar. “Level ten. Rita, make your way up here.”

“Excuse me. Can you tell me where the sauna is
” a lithe female draped in a flimsy gauze wrap and a two-piece bikini asked Jake.

Jake blinked, for a moment forgetting that he wore the crew uniform. “Oh, sure, um, it's on the sixth level. You can take the escalator to your left or the elevator a little farther down the hall.” All that studying of the layout was paying off early.

Her blue eyes rolled hungrily over him. “Thank you. Um.” She put a red-tipped nail to her lips. “What time do you get off
Maybe we can have a drink together later.”

“Who the hell is that
” Eva blasted into his headset.

Jake winced. “Sorry, miss. It's against policy.” He smiled apologetically.

She pouted. “That's too bad.” She ran her tongue across her lips then walked off.

“Jake! Jake Kelly!” Eva barked, knowing full well that he was giving her that charming smile of his.

“Would you relax
It was a passenger asking for directions.” He chuckled to himself.

“She was asking for a lot more than directions.” Eva rolled her eyes as she trotted up a flight of stairs, turned left down a long, busy corridor then toward the escalator.

“Play nice, children,” Jinx said, making his way to the tenth level.

Rita arrived first. She spotted Jake, who walked in the direction of Suarez. Jake tipped his head slightly to the right to point Suarez out to Rita as he passed. Suarez took a seat at the bar. Two men flanked him.

Rita gave an imperceptible nod. Took her earpiece out and stuck it in her bag. Her eyes roamed the room. Jinx entered from the far right. Eva came up on the elevator.

“He's the one in the white shirt with the two bulldogs on either side of him,” Jake said into his headset for Jinx and Eva's benefit.

Rita surveyed the passengers. Checked out the two bartenders. She opted for the seat on the opposite side of the round bar. Suarez would have no choice but to notice her. She ordered a Scotch on the rocks, took out a pack of cigarettes from her purse. She reached for a book of matches in the circular ashtray on the bar counter. Lit her cigarette and blew a long plume of smoke into the air.

Her drink arrived.

As she raised the glass to her lips, she looked over the rim and directly into the eyes of Xavier Suarez. Her “G”-spot hit a high note. He was gorgeous. The blurry pictures that Jake had of him were a disservice.

His skin was the color of burnished bronze, and his face was chiseled. Dark soulful eyes, almost black with thick sweeping lashes that looked as if they'd been painted on with an artist's brush. His mouth was lush, his bottom lip full, the top kissed by a thin inky black mustache. The thick head of hair was raven black as well and combed back from the wide forehead. Raw, sexual energy radiated from him in waves.

Suarez took a cigar from the breast pocket of his snow-white shirt and cut off the tip with a deadly-looking object. The man to his right quickly took out a lighter and lit the cigar. Suarez barely acknowledged him. The bartender set a bottle of brandy in front of them and filled three glasses before returning his attention to the other customers at the bar.

The man on his left leaned close to Suarez, whispered something in his ear. Suarez pursed his lips and then slid his eyes in Rita's direction. She boldly stared back at him, leaned a bit forward to flick ashes in the ashtray and give him a momentary peek at her cleavage.

Rita watched his lips move but couldn't make out what he was saying. She sipped her drink. The man to his right signaled a passing waiter. Moments later, the three men rose and walked out into the adjacent dining room, Suarez leading the way.

“Elvis has left the building,” Rita murmured after replacing her earpiece under the guise of fixing her earring.

“He's being seated at a banquette in the dining room,” Eva said, walking into the elegant room. She picked up a discarded tray from the cart and walked around, recovering used glasses from the table. “All the way in the back,” she whispered.

“Notice any other players
” Jake asked, surveying the space as best he could, hoping to spot any likely bodyguards. He slowly walked toward the bar, around the tables with his hands tucked behind his back as if overseeing the activities.

“There's a guy standing near the elevators. Been there for a while,” Jinx said. “Short, kinda stocky. Dark suit, no tie.”

Jake retraced his steps and headed for the elevator. When he was in front of it, he pressed the button, checked his watch, frowned, shook his watch. “Do you have the time I hope my shift will be over soon.” He flashed an affable smile.

The man's eyes narrowed as if clicking a mental picture of Jake. “No,” he responded with a thick accent.

“Thanks, anyway. Enjoy your cruise.” He stabbed the button again, glanced up at the numbers, then hurried off.

“He's definitely one of them,” Jake said, walking toward the escalators. “That makes at least three that we have to concern ourselves with. I'm going back to the room. The ship's passenger list should be accessible now. Gonna find out what room Suarez is in. When I do, I want Eva to go by there and see if we have anyone guarding the front door.”

*   *   *

Jake returned to his cabin and flipped open the laptop. He loaded the spy program he'd perfected and began searching for the ship's manifest. Within moments, the entire list of more than two thousand passenger names appeared along with their room assignments. He grinned. “Technology.”

He scrolled the list and after several moments realized that Suarez's name was not on it. Concern carved several lines in his forehead. He searched the list again, thinking he may have missed it. He didn't.

“Damnit.”

He put on his headset. “Suarez's name is not on the list,” he said into the microphone. “He must have registered under another name.”

“What should we do
” Jinx asked.

“Rita, is he still in the restaurant
” Jake asked.