Wanna Play (Ghost Unit, Book Three) (17 page)

“They were close enough for her to trust him completely like this? She’d still have his cell phone number?” Blaster asked.

“Yeah. That’s why we were out drinking that night. Jose had just broken up with her because she refused to commit. Actually she was drinking. I was baby-sitting. I only had one drink. Then these two cute guys came up. She was dancing with one of them and the other offered to get me another drink. It was iced tea, for God’s sake. I figure he put something in it.”

“You think she knows who the real threat is?” Jackson asked this time.

“She has to. That’s what changed, made it time to finish the game. The drug worked differently on her than me. She’s been getting flashbacks. I knew it’d only be a matter of time before she remembered everything. But the guy had that ski mask on. I didn’t think she’d be able to identify him. Course I thought I already knew who it was anyway. We weren’t worried about that part.”

“Shit!” Blaster spat out the curse. If the Liana woman did know who the threat was, her life was in the wind. It seemed she was smart enough to know it and had gone to ground immediately. The play with the fingers had been a blind and accomplished exactly what it’d been intended to. Bad Guy must know Liana hadn’t been in contact with Jas and he’d planned to have his game over before anyone realized Liana was alive. That meant he had surveillance capabilities. He had to be monitoring Jas’ cell phone.

“You need to get out of sight. The people who know you’re alive can be trusted but I don’t want anyone else to see you,” Blaster concluded.

“What are my options? Staying out of sight here shouldn’t be too difficult. Problem is, we don’t know what the chances are of Bad Guy making the connection between Liana and Jose. And we sure don’t want to bring this battle to these folks,” Jas pointed out.

“Yeah, we can’t stay here until we know more about who we’re dealing with,” Blaster agreed.

“Time to be pirates,” Jackson said to Blaster with a crooked grin. “He sure as hell doesn’t know about that place.”

“Right,” Blaster agreed.

“Pirates? What are you two talking about?”

“The Glades have always belonged to the Seminoles,” Blaster explained, “but it’s also a handy place to disappear. Pirates have long known the value of disappearing. Ever been on an airboat ride?”

“No.” Jas shifted to look at Blaster. Her brows went up at his gleeful face. “I’m guessing it’s fast, dangerous and therefore fun?”

“It can be. Let’s go.”

“Where do we get a boat?” Jas wanted to know.

“At the dock.” Blaster laughed then he sobered. “You need some downtime, Jas. I need to look after you. Let’s both get what we need, just for a little bit. Let’s steal time away from it. Tomorrow your friend will join us and we can figure what to do.” A rakish grin spread across Blaster’s face. “Come on, matey. We’ve a pirate’s booty and a pirate’s watery path to take. Get dressed so we can get out of here while it’s still dark.”

“We’re pirates now?” Jas laughed.

“Jackson, go raid the kitchen for some supplies, we’ll be down in a few minutes. Let Gray know what’s up and tell the others what you need to to keep them quiet. Rem will know how to get ahold of Jose. When Liana gets here, we can meet up and go over what we have and who this person is.”

Jackson turned to the door. “Get a move on you two. No time for kissy face.” He was gone, sprinting down the hall.

The time for modesty was gone. They needed clothes on fast to beat the sunrise. Jas stripped out of the leggings and sports bra while walking to her own bag. Behind her there was a low-timbre growl.

“See something you like, Huckleberry?” Jas asked as she plucked panties and a bra out of the clean laundry. Turning to face him with the two items in hand, she stepped into the panties first then straightened to slide on the bra.

If a man’s eyes could burn, his were. He hadn’t stopped moving for a second, nor did he take his eyes off her body. “Oh yeah, Sheena. I see something I need to lick from head to toe again and again. You enjoying this? You didn’t have to strip.” His voice vibrated with the sincerity of his need.

Looking at this woman naked and not being able to touch her was about as close to hell as Blaster wanted to come. Perfection in a live body was almost more than a man could bear. Damn well more than he could deal with. If she wasn’t already as involved with him as he could get her, he would have had to shoot someone. Or blow something up. Time to touch her was becoming as urgent a need as keeping her alive.

Enjoying her soul made it painful. If she’d just been a beautiful body, he could have relaxed. But she was more. She was Jas. A complex creature who fascinated him. She challenged his world, his point of view, his very soul. The wildcat in her seduced the insane beast within him so completely that he was breathless with awe sometimes. She met and matched him.
Mate
, whispered through his mind again. Close on its heels the logical side of his brain inserted,
We are so screwed
.

The bra in place, Jas cupped her full breasts to adjust the fit. Not that she really needed to, she did it to see him jerk as he tried to get his boots on and not look down. “Yeah, it’s part of your punishment.” She chuckled softly. “You need to be sorry and this is the best I can do in the circumstances. You’d better start convincing me you’re really sorry about last night and that it’ll never happen again.” Jas stepped into a pair of jeans that rode low on her hips. A tank top quickly followed.

Blaster was done with clothes and boots, he was about done stashing the guns and knives as Jas started the process. “Baby, we don’t have enough time for me to list the ways I am sorry at this moment. Sorry we never have time. Sorry I lost my mind. Sorry you got sucked into this…”

Jas glanced at him sharply as she holstered the guns. “The attack was not your fault. Do you think you put me in danger? I was there long before I knew a thing about you.”

“It escalated the moment I stepped into the picture and started poking around. I wanted him to see me, know the Unit was involved. I had Gray do a computer search and do it loud. The point was to give the bastard a reason to get nervous. Yeah, it could be my fault.”

“Get over it, Huck. This would have gone down without you. Just so happens, I get to remain alive in the version that includes you so don’t expect me to feed your need for guilt. What is that anyway?”

Blaster held the door for her. They both carried a duffel bag as they strode down the hall. “Beats the hell outta me. Guilt is new to me but I seem to be getting acquainted with it since I met you. First in the truck when you were alone in battle because I wasn’t there and now this. Stop it.”

“Stop it?” They entered the kitchen. “Stop what? I just told you to quit it,” Jas snapped at the frowning man beside her.

Jackson glanced up as he zipped an insulated bag of food. “Why is it every time you two appear you’re either killing each other or climbing each other?”

Jas handed Blaster her duffle bag and grabbed the food bag. “Because Samuel is a sensitive, high-maintenance boy toy.”

Jackson barked out a laugh.

Blaster scowled as they all headed out the kitchen door. “Boy toy? Don’t you have to toy with me some for me to be one of those? I’m your boyfriend and I’m not high maintenance. I’m willing to sleep on the floor, remember that? That shit is damn low maintenance.”

Jas shook her head as they piled into the Escalade that was still parked at the kitchen door. “See how he is?” she commented to Jackson as both she and Blaster took the seat behind the driver’s.

“Then why are you back there with him when you could be spending time with a real man like me?” Jackson wanted to know as he started the vehicle and pulled away from the house without turning on lights.

“Because we need you to live long enough to drive us to the dock,” Blaster growled, his arm sliding around Jas. “You keep getting confused, Jack. First it was the deep cover concept and now your ability to survive touching Jas.”

Jackson chuckled as the nearly silent vehicle glided through the half-light before dawn. “Is it safe to let you two go off alone? Will there be two live bodies when it’s time to come back? It’s hard to tell which way you guys are headed.”

“Don’t stress over it. Keeping her alive should be easier if there isn’t anyone blowing things up,” Blaster responded.

Jackson raised a brow. “You giving up explosives? I thought that was your first lover.”

“Do you see the woman back here with me? I’m not giving up a thing.”

The drive out to the edge of the Sea of Grass was twenty minutes, headlights were flicked on after they left the ranch buildings far behind and out of sight.

The dock was located on ranch property and therefore a private location. There were three airboats in the water and a boathouse with two more in dry dock. Muted early morning rays glinted off massive blades as they pulled the tarp off one. The sun had just risen above the horizon when they loaded into the wide, flat-bottom boat and hotwired it. No one took the time to search for keys. Pulling away, Blaster headed southwest as Jackson pointed the Escalade back to the ranch.

Airboats are fast and loud. They’re powered by man-sized propellers. The blades are housed in a large cage and the bigger the blades, the faster the boat. These were very fast boats. Huge and ugly, they could go more or less anywhere and were created for the Glades.

An hour later the landscape had changed from the Sea of Grass to dense undergrowth and trees. They were following brackish waterways that were only passable to a shallow-bottomed boat like theirs. Jas tried not to map their route as they twisted a mysterious path through the wilderness. She wanted to relax, needed it desperately.

Last night’s dark deeds came with a cost. Exhaustion was the only reason she’d been able to sleep a few hours. Her mind crawled over the events in an endless loop. There had been no choice, had there? She could have taken off in the opposite direction from that cabin. And what? Run away? No. There had been no choice. Even if she’d known those fingers did not belong to Liana, she still would have gone the cabin. The gruesome invitation meant someone had paid a high price to summon her. It was time to stand and fight the monsters, negotiating with them would be unacceptable. Ignoring them would have been criminal.

She looked over at the man beside her. His face was calm as sunglasses obscured his eyes, adding an air of rakish glamour to his already handsome face.

Trusting him had not been a choice either. It simply was. She’d tried not to but he was a force of nature, irresistible. He offered respect as if it were her right. Never withdrawing it or behaving as if she had to earn it over and over again. He gave it to her by never doubting her abilities, by being unsurprised at her intelligence. It was part of his appeal and inseparable from the mysterious relationship they’d developed.

He had the skills to take over. She knew he could have restrained her any time. Armed to the teeth was one thing. Guile and experience were another. He had them. Yet he’d never seemed to consider that path. The thing that apparently ticked him off was that she hadn’t let him help her. Not once had he demanded the “lead” position. He wanted to stand beside her.

Jas leaned back, her face turned up to the sky, letting damp heat seep into her bones. The loud drone of the flying blades behind her became white noise as calm came to her on the fragrant breeze. Fragile as dragonfly wings, peace fluttered through the horror and death. It wasn’t freedom, but it was enough for this moment.

Chapter Seven

Blaster glanced at her as he let the boat glide up the stream. Speed was not important. They were close to the destination but he didn’t want to disturb her. It seemed the storm had stopped in her at last. She was relaxed and calm in a way he hadn’t seen yet. The brackish water they glided over began to clear.

The boat slowed even more and Jas straightened. Around them the water was sparkling and clear, right down to a surprising sandy bottom. The body of water they drifted over was surrounded by towering cypress trees and lush undergrowth. It was a separate world. Rounding a slight bend, she saw a wide pool open before them, not quite big enough to be called a lake. The clear water showed the bottom dropping away ’til the other end went deep blue-black.

They pulled up to a short dock. Beyond the dock, a rocky path rose abruptly for a few yards and there it was. The building was magnificent and peculiar, appearing as if it’d been dropped on the banks of the jewel-bright water by otherworldly hands. Ghostly gray walls were covered in flowering bougainvillea, splashing it with bright purple clumps of flowers. The small Moorish castle looked both fortress and dreamscape. It rose out of the near jungle with elegant lines and gracious angles.

Blaster cut the engines and abruptly the sounds of the birds, insects and gently swaying trees seemed loud.

“What the hell is that?” Jas asked softly.

“The pirate’s cabin.” Blaster was tying up the airboat and turned to grin at her. “There’s a story to explain it.”

“Where is here? There’s nothing else around. Why would anyone build that gorgeous thing in the middle of nowhere?” They stepped off the boat and the old dock swayed gently. Jas immediately hurried off the wooden structure and frowned back at Blaster following her closely.

“That thing as old as the house? It feels like it’ll go any time.”

“It’ll hold ’til tomorrow.” He stepped around her to lead the way up toward the exotic little castle.

“So what’s the story? Are you sure it’s safe to go in there?”

“The place is semi-maintained by the Seminole tribe. It’s on tribe property. They keep it repaired enough not to deteriorate further. They don’t tell outsiders about it because they’d rather not have people trying to dig up the treasure all over the place. It’s safe.”

“Treasure? Pirates and now treasure?” Jas laughed as they crossed the wildly bohemian front garden. It had once been a formal garden. The structured remains barely visible. A few Greek-like sculptures peeked out of the greenery. The trees appeared to drip with orchids and vines in a lush landscape.

“Of course there’s treasure. How could it be a pirate’s hideout without lost treasure?” Blaster opened a high metal gate that protested as it gave them access to a walled patio. It was more grotto than courtyard as the abandoned plants had gone uncultivated. However a tinkling trickle of water drew her eyes to a functioning fountain pouring water down from the far wall into a pool at its base.

Blaster paused as she took it in. The relaxed smile on her lips as she gazed around was what he’d been seeking. She was so caught up in the surprising structure that she’d forgotten the last few days. He could give her that, at least for a short while.

“How in the world does that still work?” Jas asked in amazement.

“The man who built this place should have been an engineer instead of a pirate. He used forced water from deep in the spring, no mechanics. Come in. Let me show you the first air-conditioned house in the Glades. It’s actually water conditioned.”

The big double doors in front of them easily swung open to what had once been a grand entryway. There had been no lock. The first thing she noticed was the distinct drop in temperature as she entered. Then the house took over. The floor was inlaid stone in a pattern that appeared a random use of color but was very pleasing to the eye.

There wasn’t a scrap of furniture in sight and the wide windows were shuttered, only allowing thin strips of light. There had once been drapes, but only rods remained. The subdued lighting added an air of forgotten opulence as they looked around. There were great rooms opening off either side of the entryway, their murky depths beckoning the explorer in her. Shadows whispered invitations in every direction.

“Oh my God, Blaster, it’s fabulous!” Jas gazed around in awe.

“It is. Would you like to explore?”

“Yes! Who could resist?”

“Okay, go that way first.” Blaster indicated the left. “Give me ten minutes this way, then come out to the end of the building.”

Jas glanced at him. “You’re up to something.”

“Course I am. Indulge me.”

Laughing she turned to the left and slowly entered what must have been a grand parlor room. “It’ll be more than ten minutes.”

“I meant at least ten minutes.” Blaster turned the other way and strode through the house carrying both duffle bags and the food bag, disappearing out the back.

It was an hour later when Jas finally found him. Stepping through double French doors, still glassed in old leaded panes, she entered a wide patio whose low stone wall overlooked the spring below. Modern-looking screen panels had been rolled down from the tile roof shading this private haven and cutting off bugs from the amazing space.

On the stone floor sat several chaise lounges complete with cushions, obviously not original furniture. The cool floor made the space comfortable even though it was outside. One side of the patio was taken up with another ingenious fountain. Out of the castle wall spewed water into a wide rounded pool that was large enough for several people to sit comfortably on the stone ledge a few feet below the waterline. The water escaped through holes near the top of the pool and was funneled off to the side of the patio. It created an indoor spa of sorts.

The water was clear and the stone showed no signs of moss as she would have expected. Throughout the castle she’d come across these amazing uses for the water coursing through the walls somehow. The kitchen had running water, as did the surprising bathrooms. Obviously built before modern plumbing, she supposed the architect took his inspiration for the Roman’s use of running water. They too had engineered functioning indoor restrooms.

The chase lounges invited with overstuffed cushions and Blaster had pushed two of them together facing the equatorial perfection of the scene below. Beside the lounges was a low wrought iron table with bread, cheese and the fruit they’d brought.

The man himself was floating in the pool though. Completely nude and appearing asleep. Could someone sleep while floating without a raft?

“It took you long enough,” he murmured without opening his eyes.

“Have you seen this place? It’s astounding, a monument to engineering and ingenuity. How the hell has it remained a secret? Why isn’t it a national treasure? How come there’s no moss on the stone surfaces in the house?”

“Slow down, woman. I’ll tell you everything I know. Are you hungry? There’s some food if you want it.” Blaster still hadn’t opened his eyes as he floated so he was startled when the water was disturbed as Jas stepped into it.

“Holy shit! How come this water isn’t cold like it is in the rest of the house?” Jas exclaimed in shock as her body sank into the comfortable warm depths.

“He was a brilliant engineer. That’s why.” Blaster’s eyes were open, watching her.

Jas frowned as she floated beside him. “You don’t know how he did it?”

“Sure I know how he did it, but I can’t remember at the moment.”

Floating on her back beside him, as nude as he was, she presented a visual that drove the old pirate from Blaster’s head with a vengeance.

Jas glanced at him. “Huckleberry, don’t you dare glaze over and become an idiot. This place is amazing, I have a million questions.”

Blaster swallowed and closed his eyes again. Safest way to handle this, he supposed, and started with the questions he could remember. “The water is warm because it flows through the roof of the patio before it enters the pool. I think this guy invented solar heating.”

“How does he get it flowing through the walls?”

“Apparently he used varied sizes of pipe. Water flowing down from a large pipe to a small one creates velocity that can be used to send it up if he wanted to. No one is sure because they’d have to take the walls apart to prove it, but it’s the theory that makes the most sense.”

“How does he get the cold water from the spring and it’s still cold when it gets here?” Floating beside him, her eyes closed, the water soothing stress out of her system, Jas wallowed in the puzzle of the house.

“Underground stone vaults. He starts with using the natural velocity from the flow of the spring deep down near its head, and then he uses pressure from pooled water escaping through small pipes to move it up while keeping it underground. Again, a theory, have to dig it up to know for sure. That’d be frowned on.”

“Why doesn’t anyone know about this place? How is it kept a secret?” Jas wanted to know next.

“Well, to begin with, it was a secret. The only way to reach it is the water. In every direction off this patch of raised ground are dangerous bogs with sinkholes, quicksand and all inhabited by the natural barriers of alligators, water moccasins and the like. You can’t physically walk here from another safe piece of land. No one knows how the captain found this spot. Later when it was abandoned, the Seminoles considered it cursed ground and saw little value in it. They never spoke of it simply because there was no reason to do so.

“When the reservation was given to the Nations this sat in the middle of it, unknown and unseen. The tribe became aware of the value they possessed and they still remained silent, sure the government would find a way to take it from them. There was an elder in the twenties who convinced the tribe maintaining the roof and storm shutters was important. So here it is.”

It was a perfectly peaceful refuge, Jas thought. The light waterfall sounds coupled with tropical birdcalls, even the insects outside the screen were soothing. Large, spreading trees filtered the sunlight streaming down around them, making it dance through the lush foliage fed by the spring. There was nothing but peace.

“Tell me the story of this place,” Jas murmured. She liked the sound of his deep voice mixed with the other noises. Something about his timbre and pitch blended with the wild, barely civilized surroundings perfectly.

Though they were both completely relaxed, luxuriating in the warm, natural hot tub, he was the energy that made this perfect. Alone she’d have enjoyed it but not as much as the decadent pleasure of being naked with a full-grown man-beast. It was somehow sweeter to indulge in complete relaxation of the muscles when at any moment his hands could be skimming over them. He wouldn’t force her, but there was no doubt she could trust him to tempt her. Perfect.

“That’s a long, twisted tale of an idiot and his poor choices. Sure you want to hear it?”

“I thought you said he was brilliant?”

“I said he was a brilliant engineer and eventually he turned into a very successful pirate by pirate standards, but he was a freaking idiot were women were concerned. Of course this huge project was constructed for a woman. Two women actually.”

“Two women?” Jas snorted, “I can see where that’d get his ass in trouble.”

“I’ll tell you as we eat.” Blaster stood and reached down to scoop up her floating form.

“Hey, I was floating there,” Jas protested mildly, way too relaxed to do more than hold on to his neck as he transported her to the lounges. He laid her down nearest the table and slid up next to her on the other side. Propped on his elbow, he reached over her, grabbed a square of cheese and held it to her mouth.

Jas opened to speak and he jammed it in. Chewing on the tangy treat, she managed around it, “Tell me.”

Blaster leaned over all that lush woman for another piece of food. Way back in the bleachers of his brain, logic was laughing its ass off while occasionally gasping out the phrase,
You are so screwed, idiot
. Point was, he was lying beside the woman of his darkest fantasies, naked as a drunk in a whorehouse, and she wanted him to tell her stories. He was too damn nuts about the woman to do anything but what she asked.

So this is why married people complained about not getting any? Naw, that couldn’t be it. He wanted to “do” her more than he wanted to live. Only reason he wasn’t convincing her that she didn’t really wanna hear the tale was that he knew she was tired…and fuck it all, he cared more about her being tired than the rigga’ that would soon be affecting his upper body. Cells deprived of blood long enough would die, upper torso was gonna go first on him.