Guilty Pleasures (36 page)

Jinx grimaced, the horrors of their youth flashing before his eyes. He remembered that Jake was always there to protect him, promised that he'd take care of him no matter what. And he'd never broken that promise in all these years.

“Look, we may have his genes, but we're nothing like him. You're nothing like him. You've proved that over the years. Do you think that if you were the man our father was, you would have cared about me all this time, gotten me out of scrapes, made sure that I finished school
You didn't turn your back on me when I went to jail. You stood by me.” He paused. “And if you were anything like him, you wouldn't give a damn about Eva being pregnant. It wouldn't touch you. It wouldn't worry you. The only emotions our father had were bitterness and anger. And that's not you, man. He didn't know how to love anything. You do. Don't blow it.”

A half smile widened Jake's mouth. “Never thought I'd get a life lesson from my baby brother.”

Jinx chuckled. “I'm all grown up now. Maybe it's time we let go of the past. Forget some of those ‘survival' promises we made, ya know. You got a great woman, and I have one that I want to make mine. We can either step up to the plate and go for it or let them go and keep living the way we've been living. For me, I'm ready to start living a new life.”

Jake listened to his brother's words. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was time to let go of the past and move on. This was just supposed to be another job, but every step of the way had offered a new revelation. He'd been forced to confront things about himself and his relationship with his wife that he'd otherwise been able to avoid. He sighed heavily, stood, and went to refill his glass.

“I told Eva about that day at the beach,” he said, his tone quiet and pensive.

Jinx was silent for a moment. “What did she say
”

“Said it wasn't my fault and that I had to let it go, couldn't hold on to the guilt.” He turned to Jinx. “She didn't blame me.”

“Something you'd been doing to yourself for years.”

“Yeah. It messed with me. It really did. Made me overprotective, overly cautious, guarded. And at the same time, I lived on the edge with everything that I did, almost as if I wanted to live dangerously—with the secret thought that I'd get caught and pay for what I'd done.”

“You know what
You don't need a brother and a drink—you need a psychiatrist,” Jinx joked. He got up, crossed the room, and slapped Jake on the back. “You got issues.”

Jake laughed. “You're probably right.”

“But—” He held up a finger. “—you got a good woman who's willing to put up with all your bullshit and your phobias.”

Jake grinned. “Yeah, I do, don't I
”

Jinx's expression grew serious. “Don't blow it. Besides, I kinda like the thought of being Uncle Jinx. Has a nice ring to it, don't ya think
”

Suddenly the whole notion of becoming a father filled him with a sense of awe. The weight and responsibility of bringing into the world and shaping the life of another human being was the biggest challenge he would ever face. He knew all about cracking computer codes, breaking and entering the most secure locations. But being a father, a daddy, was not for him. That was a job he couldn't afford to fuck up.

“Me and Eva are gonna have to deal with it when we get this job out of the way and we're in the clear. No point in planning for a future that I'm uncertain about.”

Jinx slowly put down his drink on the nightstand. “What do you mean … uncertain
”

Jake lowered his head. “We have a little problem.” He looked up and told Jinx about the codes for the safe. “But now that Rita's substantial winnings are locked up in the ship's safe, we have a good opportunity to get in there. We're going to have to plan to make the switch when she goes in there.”

Jinx nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we let Rita go in first to check on her winnings and to check out the system.”

“Right. And when it's time, Rita will make the switch.”

“If Suarez's stuff is even in there. What if it's in his suite
”

“It'll be a helluva lot easier getting into his suite than the ship's safe.” At least he hoped so, considering his earlier fiasco with the cabin lock.

Jinx finished off his drink. “Speaking of the women in our lives…”

“Yeah, let's go find our women.”

*   *   *

Eva held her breath and her body in a tight ball. She didn't dare move an inch and silently prayed that Suarez wasn't coming into the room to change clothes.

“You certainly travel in high style,” she heard Rita say.

“Only the best,” Suarez responded.

The closet door suddenly opened. Eva almost gasped.

Suarez pulled a silk robe from the hanger and closed the door.

Eva closed her eyes and shook in relief. What in the world was she thinking coming here without letting anyone know where she was

“I'm going to change.” He smiled full of innuendo. “Make yourself comfortable in the meantime.”

Eva heard the bathroom door open and then close. Should she risk revealing herself to Rita

She eased the closet door open. Rita was on the far side of the room, going through the items on the top of the dresser.

“Psst, Rita…”

Rita jumped, dropping the wallet on top of the dresser. She spun around. Her eyes widened in alarm then darted toward the bathroom door.