Immersion (Magnetic Desires) (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Leo

"Good morning, gorgeous." As she exited her cabin, I pushed the Starbucks cup into her hand.

Cupping it between both hands, she raised an eyebrow. "I thought I wouldn’t be seeing you today."

My hand on the small of her back, I guided her to the elevator. "I don’t give up easily. We still have time."

"I’ve resisted your charms so far."

"Keep telling yourself that." I crossed my arms and smirked. "It’s only going to make it that much better when you admit you want more than my sex moves."

"So, Ocho Rios?"

"Yeah, I thought we’d check out the market. Soak in some culture."

"Buy art." She stuck out her tongue.

"Yes, buy art." I snuggled her into my side. "Though, the most beautiful piece of art is right here. So maybe we should skip it."

"No, let’s find you a piece of art you can cuddle up to when I’m gone." The elevator doors slid open and she disentangled herself, stepping out before me.

"You’re not going anywhere," I muttered under my breath, and followed her out to the disembarkation point.

The walk into Ocho Rios was a quiet one. Lola, as usual, became enamored with the culture, and I found myself snapping picture after picture of her and the landscape. Cruise passengers milled about the markets searching out souvenirs and gifts to take home. Lola let me hold her hand and lead her around the stalls. The locals were friendly, but went in for the kill if you stopped at their stalls. Her tense grip and furtive glances had me wondering what had happened to her.

Each port had been the same. She would fall in love with the landscapes and the architecture, but as soon as people were involved, she became edgy.

"Are you looking for a particular artist?" Lola interrupted my thoughts.

"No. Any pieces I buy here will be filler. They’re decor for the gallery with a price tag."

"So what are your main pieces?"

"Paintings like José’s. I have a few artists that bring in new pieces monthly. Then there’s my photographic pieces."

"You’re good? I mean you haven’t let me see anything you’ve taken."

"I’ve won awards. I do okay."

"Will you show me?" That delicious little pout of hers could have me agreeing to anything.

"Okay, come on."

Away from the market, I unpacked my camera and fiddled with it before propping it on a fence and coming to stand beside her. I grasped her hips and shuffled in closer. "Ready?"

"Ready." She gazed at the camera.

I grasped her chin with my fingers and tilted her head, covering her mouth with mine. She nibbled at my lip and I fought the desire to deepen the kiss. Instead, I dipped her back a little. The camera captured our picture, but I froze this image in my head. Even if I never saw the photo, this moment would be branded on me for the rest of my life.

With shaking fingers, I smoothed a hand through my hair. "Right. Okay. Do you want to see?"

She nodded and followed me to get the camera. A quick fiddle with the controls and I handed it over to her, watching her caress the picture with her finger and blink again. She gazed up at me, her lips parted while her thumb stroked over the blurred out picture, our faces sharp in contrast.  The temptation to snatch the camera from her hands and take a shot of her now was strong. This was the moment she realized she wasn't going to walk away, and in the years to come I wanted to be able to show it to her.

Her gaze shuttered and she thrust the camera back into my hands. "Let’s go find you a statue or something for your gallery."

Lola

"Isn’t this beautiful, Leo?" I turned the mask over in my hand. He didn’t respond and I glanced up. "Leo?"

There were tourist and locals everywhere, but I couldn’t see Leo amongst them. I'd become so enamored of the crafts, I’d wandered, leaving Leo to bargain over the statue he’d wanted for the gallery. Putting the mask down, I headed back in the direction I’d thought I’d come from and called out Leo's name again. My grip on my bag tightened as I made my way through the crowd. Part of the ship was visible from where I was so I walked in that direction. Either Leo would find me soon, or I would see him back on the ship.

Brady had me wound up. Each time I got off the boat, I was giving him an opportunity to find me. At least when I was with Leo I felt safe. I shook my head to clear it of the thought Leo could protect me. He was no match for the type of snake Brady was. It didn’t matter the more time we spent together the more I wanted to spend with him. Or that each hour made it more difficult to see the path ahead clearly. Even if I admitted I had feelings for him, which I wouldn’t, it couldn’t work out. Without him, I had his money, and with him I... I could never be with him.

A hand grabbed my arm, and I turned, expecting it to be Leo. Instead, a local had hold of me and was dragging me God knew where. My stomach flipped and my heart raced. "Let go of me."

The thought Brady was behind this froze me, and I couldn’t make out a word the man was saying. I glanced wildly about, begging Leo to be close by, even if it was only to see his face one last time.

"Sorry, but she’s not interested in buying from you." Leo miraculously appeared in front of us. "Let go of her."

The man complied, and I threw myself into Leo’s arms, trying to stifle the sobs that wracked my lungs. "I thought I’d never see you again."

His shoulders shook and his chest rumbled as he tightened his hold. "You care about me."

Yes I did, but letting him know gave him another avenue to try to make me stay. I took a deep breath and pushed at his chest. "I was scared for my life. Don’t let it go to your head."

The weight of his arm around my shoulder settled me. "He didn’t mean any harm. They get a little pushy around here is all."

"You could have warned me," I snapped.

"Sorry, I didn’t realize it would be such a big deal. Why is that, anyway?"

"Why?" I couldn’t tell him about Brady. "Because it is."

"Okay, let’s get you back on the ship. We’ll get you a drink to help settle the nerves."

He led me back toward the pier, and I bit my tongue in an effort to clamp down on my racing thoughts. No good could come of spending one more minute in his company. I’d been overcome by the fact I might never see him again, when my concern should have been for my life. Maybe the guy had been pushy as Leo had suggested, but if he’d been one of Brady’s friends… I would have been dead.

"How about we go dancing tonight? I promise you five minutes under a disco ball with me and you’ll be begging me to spend the rest of my life with you." He winked and squeezed my hand.

I already wanted that, I didn’t need him to keep pushing for it. A hand on the railing, I dug my feet in, forcing him to stop and turn back. "Don’t you get it? I am never going to stay with you. In four days we get off this damn boat, and you have no idea how excited I am to leave you behind."

His brows drew together, his lips thinning into a tight, white line as he stared at me. "That’s what you’re going with?"

I thrust a hand onto my hip and glared at him. "It’s the truth."

Pain skittered across his face, a sharp contrast to his usual cockiness, and he threw his hands up in surrender. "Whatever. I’m done."

He made his way down the crowded deck, and I sagged against the railing when I lost sight of him. An ache started in my chest and I rubbed at it. This was the way it had to be.

Chapter Nine

Leo

I paced the corridor outside her cabin. Almost headed out to the back of the boat and lit up before I went back to my own cabin to work through the rest of the trip. We were getting down to the wire, and Lola was still adamant about walking away from me. None of it made sense. Last night when I’d asked her if she’d say yes, I could have sworn she was in tears over her answer. I’d bet more than twenty thousand she’d fallen for me, so it made no sense for her to keep saying she wasn’t. Unable to knock, unwilling to leave, I leaned my head against the wall, exhaled, and tried to come up with an answer to what made it so complicated for her.

"Leo?"

I glanced over at her open door, where she stood staring at me. "I’ve had the money wired. You need to tell me where to send it, or do you want it now?" My chest ached at letting go, but I couldn’t keep chasing her. Anger prickled under my skin, needling me into stupidity. It had to end now.

"I..." She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall beside me. Pain flashed across her features. The worry lines that formed on her forehead begged to be smoothed away, but I couldn't anymore. Ending this game took that away from me too.

"I don’t want your money."

A lump formed in my throat as I waited for her next words.

"I need it. Even if I wanted…" She twirled hair around her finger and clamped down on her lip while she darted glances down both ends of the hall. "Can we talk inside?"

I nodded and followed her into the cabin. "What do you want, Lola?"

"Freedom," she whispered. "And you."

My heart leaped and I engulfed her in my arms. "You have me."

Extricating herself from my grasp, she put her hand up to my chest, keeping distance between us. "I can’t have you. I’m not free."

"I don’t understand."

Curled up with her knees under her chin, she rocked on the bed. "I know you don’t."

"So tell me." I sunk onto my knees and gazed into her eyes, hoping she would feel how much I cared for her.

"You’ll hate me." Tears welled.

I brushed her hair back behind her ear. "There is nothing in this world that could change what I feel for you. Let me in."

Her lip trembled. "When I was younger, I got into trouble and ended up owing a lot of money to some bad people. This guy, Brady, he bought up my debt." She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Until I pay the debt, he owns me. I mean... he literally owns me. If I run before I pay out my contract he’ll hunt me down."

I frowned. "Then how are you here?"

"I ran." All the color drained from her face. "Another girl, Tempest, ran before me. She knew she couldn’t escape, but she figured if she could find a way to make the money away from Brady, he’d let her go."

I clenched my fist. "Why haven’t any of the girls he’s let go gone to the police or something?"

"Brady’s got eyes in a lot of places. People who try to rat turn up dead." She shivered.

"So you ran onto a boat in the middle of the ocean. How were you planning on making the money to pay him off?"

"You."

Realization slapped me in the face. "You were planning on conning someone out of their money, and I made the perfect target didn’t I? That’s why you wanted the twenty thousand dollar wager."

"Yes."

I stood up and stalked away from her, my mind racing over her deceit. The way she stored food, her edginess when we stepped foot on land, and the tiny cabin when she wore quality clothes hadn’t added up before, but now made sense. "How’d you get the money to take this trip?"

So help me if she said she’d conned someone to get it, I’d walk away without a backward glance. I could forgive her for not telling me her story. We’d made a bet, and she hadn’t deviated from her end. But if she’d taken advantage before, then I’d never be able to trust anything she said or did again.

"Tempest gave it to me. She was trying to help me get out."

I bent over her, my hands either side of her legs. "And now you’re what, telling me you’re in love with me?"

She cringed and her throat tensed as she swallowed. "Yes, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t walk away as though there’s nothing between us, and I can’t stay. All I can give you is the few days we have left before the boat docks."

"Shit." I stood up and shoved my hand through my hair. "I don’t even know if I can believe you."

"It’s the truth," she said quietly and tucked her chin into her knees.

This girl in front of me was so broken, but for the first time I saw her clearly. My brain screamed she was a con artist, and still, I wanted every part of her. But, I needed to process and I couldn't with her staring at me like that. Covering the distance to the door, I yanked it open, and stormed out.

Lola

It had been a long time since I’d let myself feel anything. The pain of him walking out was a punch to the gut that floored me. I flopped onto my side, still hugging my knees as the ache splintered my chest. The burn behind my eyes turned into tears, and I let them trail down my nose and drip onto the covers. Before I’d met Leo this wouldn’t have happened. I lived to survive and emotions weren’t a part of that. Brady was a master at exploiting any weakness, and the only way to stay strong was to not feel. For six years, I’d been a rock, and in less than two weeks, Leo had cracked me wide open, taken my heart in his hands, and brought it back to life. How was I supposed to shut that off now? How was I supposed to forget him? Even with my eyes squeezed shut, I could still see him clearly in my mind, his face so detailed as he stared at me with those beautiful, expressive eyes. It would be all I would have of him when I returned to Brady.

I dragged myself off the bed, nausea and bile pushing up my throat. Clasping my hand to my mouth, I stumbled into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before I heaved. There was no way I could go back. Tempest had told me to do the job and then come back to pay out my contract. She’d hugged me tightly and begged me to remember there was no other option but to come back.

***

We’d stood at the door of the dressing room, the dim lights flickering while the music from the club drifted back to us. She’d cupped my cheek in her hand. "Even if you don’t get the money, you come back here. Remember what happened to Beth."

"I remember." I cringed. The police had waved a photo of Beth’s broken and bloated body in front of us girls after they’d fished her from the river. We’d all had our suspicions about what had happened to her, but none of us dared to be next. "I’ll come back."

Tempest pressed a scrap of paper into my hand. "When you leave here for good you call me, sweetie. I’ll be set up by then, and I’ll help you get on your feet."

I took the paper and clasped it in my palm as she hugged me once more and slid out the back door of Booty Trap for the last time.

***

I splashed cold water on my face with trembling hands and vowed to myself I would not end up like Beth. There was no time to follow Tempest’s plan, and besides, I had no doubt Leo would keep a close eye on me now he knew the truth. Without Leo and without the money, I had nothing. My only choice was to run at the next port, to get off the boat and keep running. Ransacking the cabin, I tossed all of my belongings into the suitcase and zipped it up. There was only one thing left to do.

Leaving the room, I raced into the elevator and made my way to Stag. Norah was at her usual spot behind the bar, the cloth over her shoulder a now familiar sight. Her smile wavered and fell as I approached.

"Honey, what’s going on? You look terrible." She poured liberal shots of tequila into a couple of glasses.

"That's nothing, compared to how I feel." I grabbed one of the shots.

She sliced up a lemon and passed me a piece and the salt shaker. "You look like you shouldn’t drink alone."

"I shouldn’t drink at all." I licked the salt, tossed the shot back, and stuck the lemon between my teeth with a grimace. "God, that’s terrible."

She poured me another. "Two to take the edge off, then I’ll make you something sweet."

"I need your help, Norah."

"What do you need?" One of her fancy cocktail creations landed in front of me.

"I’m getting off the boat tomorrow. I won’t be back. I can’t explain any more than that, but I need you to make sure Leo is all right. Could you give him this?" I pushed a folded rectangle of the ship stationary at her.

She frowned and shoved it into her pocket. "Are you sure getting off on an island is a good idea? How are you going to get home?"

My reply burst out with a strangled giggle. "I don’t have a home."

An eyebrow raised, she reached for my hand. "Lola, what’s going on?"

"Just give him the letter, please." I backed away from the bar before turning and bolting back to my cabin.