Shock registered on Jack’s face. Shock and dismay. “Jenny has MS?” He held her close, pressing her to his strength as if he never planned to let her go. “I’m so sorry, babe. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Ali laid her head on his chest and fought with her tears, trying to take comfort from the feel of his heart beating against her cheek. “She didn’t want anyone to know.”
Jack’s chin rubbed the top of her hair as he shook his head. “That explains why your business was in so much trouble. You weren’t just fighting with low client numbers, you were juggling living and medical expenses too. Damn it, Ali. I wish you’d told me earlier. I could have made everything so much easier.”
“It wasn’t my decision to make,” she replied, closing her eyes as she drew the heat from his body into her own. She was cold. Cold and scared.
“You Graham women.” Jack’s chest rumbled with a wry chuckle. “You’re too damn stubborn for your own good.” He pulled away from her a little and lifted her chin with his finger, a gentle smile on his lips. “We’ll fix this. We’ll fix everything. I promise.”
“How?”
His smile widened, but for just a quick moment, it looked cold. As did his eyes. “Trust me.”
Sailing into Sydney Harbor was both wonderful and damn petrifying. Watching Jack walk up the jetty towards the clubhouse, leaving her completely alone on
Wind Seeker’s
deck, was far more terrifying again. And yet she’d ordered him away. Ordered him to leave her.
She could picture the expression on his face with no difficulty at all. It would be the same one he’d worn for the last day and a half. Serious. Deadly. What she didn’t know was how things were going to end.
Badly?
Watching Jack until the busy Sunday crowd swallowed him up, Ali turned back to
Wind Seeker’s
boom. As soon as she was finished tying down, she’d check in her return with the commodore and call her mom. Then she’d come back and finish cleaning up. After that…who knew?
She shot a glance across the mariner at the motorboat pens, eyes falling on
Mako II
all too easily. Peterson’s boat. Was he in there? Watching her?
Suppressing a cold shudder, she went back to work fastening
Wind Seeker
to her moorings quickly. Time was passing and she desperately needed to hear her mother’s voice. Maybe then she would feel better. Safer.
An hour later, after a long and wonderful conversation with her mom during which Jenny sounded more like her old self than she had in months, Ali stepped back into
Wind Seeker’s
cockpit and, unlocking the door to the cabin, went below.
“Hello, Ali.”
Ali froze, her heart trying to explode from her chest, her glare snapping to where Zane Peterson lounged behind the saloon’s small table. “How did you get in here?”
He held up a small key and smiled, his expression smug. “Surely you don’t think I wouldn’t have a key.”
Ali clenched her teeth. “Give it to me and get the hell out.”
“I saw McKenzie storm off earlier.” Peterson ignored her outstretched hand, returning the key to his hip pocket. “I take it things didn’t work out for you two? Such a shame. Tell me, what did he think of my little present?”
“Get out.”
His smug smile turned flinty. “Where is it, Ali?”
“Where is what? The necklace?” Ali crossed her arms. “I gave it to a street kid in the Solomons.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, sugar pie. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Ali cocked an eyebrow, not making any attempt to hide her contempt. “Those disgusting swimmers you wore on the charter? Didn’t you take them with you when you left?”
Peterson got to his feet, raking an insidious gaze over her in that slow, hungry way she hated so much. Her flesh crawled, her belly knotted, but she held her place.
“Now you’re just being foolish. Not a smart move. The last little girl that didn’t play ball learnt her lesson the hard way. Now where is it?”
“I threw it overboard.”
Peterson narrowed his stare. “I hope you’re telling lies. For your sake.”
Ali’s eyebrows shot up. “For my sake? What are you going to do? Try and rape me again?”
A black scowl fell over his face. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing, Ali. There’s only one way to win, and that’s my way. Now tell me where the package is or your life becomes a whole world of pain.”
Ali snorted. “What can you possibly do that’s worse than what you’ve already tried? I could have you charged with attempted rape.”
A slow grin spread across Peterson’s mouth. “Who’d believe you?” That hungry look returned to his eyes. “It would be my word against yours. And trust me, I could do a whole lot worse. I have done a whole lot worse. It’s a very simple decision. Let me lay it all out for you.” The grin stretched, became a leer. “You know exactly what I want from you. In return, your mother will be cared for in the best hospital in the country, by the best doctors. Your debts will be cleared and you’ll have any boat you want. You’ll never have to worry about money ever again. You can spend every day of your life on the water.”
“And every night of my life in your bed?”
The leer grew. “Exactly.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Think again. All it takes is one word from me.”
Ali glared at him. “You planted those drugs to blackmail me.”
Peterson’s pout was melodramatic. “Blackmail? Such a horrible word.”
“Well, it won’t work,” Ali shot back. “There’s nothing on this yacht that you can threaten me with.”
Peterson chuckled. “That’s one of the things that attracts me to you, Ali. Your fighting spirit. I can’t believe you threw three million dollars’ worth of heroin overboard.”
Ali’s heart leapt into her throat, but she ignored it. “Believe it. Now get off my yacht. Before I call the cops.”
“The cops?” He chuckled again, moving from behind the table and taking a step towards her. “Do you think I care about the cops? The cops do exactly what I tell them to do. They see what I tell them to see. And unless you do things my way, they’ll see a money-grabbing little whore in a whole lot of trouble.” He took another step, closed the small distance between them and snatched her arm in a cruel grip before she could move. “It’s up to you, sugar pie.” His voice dropped to a low purr. “You don’t want to end up like McKenzie’s niece, do you?”
Ali’s heart took another heavy thump. “What do you mean?”
The sneer on Peterson’s face turned to a smile of malicious satisfaction. “She forgot how to play by the rules. Wouldn’t do as she was told.” His grip on her arm tightened to a painful grasp. “She thought she could end the game and go home to her mummy and daddy.” He shook his head and made a
tsk tsk
sound. “Such a waste of a pretty girl.” His grip tightened again as his eyes bored into hers. “I don’t want to waste you, Ali. You don’t want me to waste you.” With savage and unexpected strength, he jerked her against his body, the fingers of his free hand sinking cruelly into her chin, holding her head still. “You only have one choice,” he murmured, eyes cold. Supremely triumphant. “Trust me.”
Ali glared at him. “Perhaps it’s me you shouldn’t trust,” she ground out as Jack leapt down into the cabin.
Moving faster than she thought anyone could, he yanked Peterson away from her, spun him around by the shoulder and smashed a rock-hard fist into his nose. “I told you we had unfinished business,” he stated with icy menace as he watched Peterson drop to the cabin floor. “And I don’t play by the
rules
either.”
Peterson stared up at Jack, his face contorting in pain and fury. Blood seeped from his mashed nose, trickling down to his sneering top lip. “That was a mistake, McKenzie.”
Jack’s grin was as chilly as his voice. “So sue me.”
Heavy footsteps sounded on the companionway steps. Ali spun toward the cockpit and found the yacht club’s commodore standing by
Wind Seeker’s
nav station. “That may be a bit tricky for Mr. Peterson to do, Jack,” the older man said, “seeing as he’s going to be spending quite a bit of time in jail.” With that, he reached over and switched off the yacht’s two-way radio and threw a look of tempered disgust at Zane Peterson.
The range of emotions that crossed Peterson’s face almost made Ali laugh.
“You bitch. You set me up.”
She gave him a hollow smile, just as two officers from the Sydney Water Police dropped down into the cabin.
“Guess it was a case of the cops hearing what I want them to hear, yes?” she asked.
Peterson scrambled to his feet, or at least tried to. The officers stepped passed the commodore and snatched him off the floor before he could gain traction. The distinct chink of handcuffs locking filled the cabin space with a final click.
“You fucking little bitch.” Peterson lunged at Ali, his eyes bulging, his face red. “I’m going to—”
Jack slammed his fist against Peterson’s nose, cutting him off mid-tirade. “Shut the hell up.”
The entrepreneur slumped between the two grinning officers, fresh blood oozing from his nose. Jack shot them a quick look. “Sorry about that.”
The taller of the two cops raised his eyebrows. “About what?”
With a nod at Jack, and another to Ali, they dragged Peterson up the companionway, his moans the last thing Ali heard of him. She let out a shaky breath.
It’s over. Oh, thank God, it’s over.
The commodore turned to her, a reassuring smile stretching his mouth before he looked over her shoulder to Jack. “I was worried there for a moment, Jackson. I thought you were about to do something foolish.”
Jack moved to Ali’s side and placed his hand on her back, sending a warm shiver up her spine. “So did I.”
The commodore chuckled. “You might have some apologizing to do to the Water Police later. I’m not sure they appreciated being pushed aside back there in my office. I’ve never seen you move so fast.” He looked back at Ali. “That was a very brave thing you did, young lady. You’re just lucky Peterson didn’t think to check the two-way before you came back.” He smiled again. “Your dad would be very proud of you.”
A lump filled Ali’s throat, and for a second she had to battle with tears. “Thank you.”
The commodore shot Jack a meaningful glance. “Don’t be long, Jack. The police will be waiting on you both for your statements.”
“We’ll get there,” Jack answered, but Ali got the feeling from the way he brushed his fingers over the swell of her hip that he had no intention of hurrying.
The commodore nodded his head once, a knowing grin twitching his lips before he walked up the companionway. A second later,
Wind Seeker
rocked gently as he climbed over the side and onto the jetty, the sound of his footfalls fading telling Ali she and Jack were alone.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Alone. With Jack.
A gentle pressure on her back made her turn from the empty cockpit. She looked up at Jack and stepped into his arms. “You took your time,” she said, giving him a melodramatic glare.
He smoothed his warm, steady hands over her hips and up her back until he’d pressed their bodies closer still. “The cops needed Peterson to refer to the drugs directly. When he alluded to Trudi’s death, they wanted to see if he would incriminate himself even more. Which he did, thanks to you.”
“I can’t believe I had three million dollars’ worth of heroin in my possession.” Ali shook her head, suddenly all too aware of the delicious way Jack’s fingers were playing up and down her spine.
“I can’t believe you put yourself in danger like that.” He dipped his fingers to the curve of her butt and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We didn’t have to do a thing after we handed the drugs over to the Coast Guard, y’know.”
“I know.” Ali smiled, letting her own fingers travel up and down the smooth muscles in Jack’s back. “But what would that have achieved? Peterson would have been a few mil short but still unpunished. Now he’ll get exactly what he deserves.” She moved her fingers to the back of his head, tangling them in his hair as she drew his head down to hers. “And so will you.”
Her lips met his in a long, slow and lingering kiss, tongues dancing, seeking, exploring until they both pulled away, breathless.
Jack gazed at her, green eyes serious. “I don’t deserve you.”
Ali gave him a small, seductive grin. “No, you don’t,” she said, pulling his head down to hers again. “But trust me, you’re stuck with me all the same.”
About the Author
Lexxie Couper started writing when she was six and hasn’t stopped since. She’s not a deviant, but she does have a deviant’s imagination and a desire to entertain readers with her words. Add the two together and you get romances that can make you laugh, cry, shake with fear or tremble with desire. Sometimes all at once. When she’s not submerged in the worlds she creates, Lexxie’s life revolves around her family, a husband who thinks she’s insane, an indoor cat who likes to stalk shadows, and her daughters, who both utterly captured her heart and changed her life forever.
Contact Lexxie at
[email protected]
, follow her on Twitter
www.twitter.com/lexxie_couper
or visit her at
www.lexxiecouper.com
where she occasionally makes a fool of herself on her blog.