8
“LUKE!”
Mariana came toward them from across the lush breezeway built between two wings of the large home. It provided a covered but open space that overlooked the jungle and the ocean. Luke had always loved this house and once thought he would buy or build one that was similar, but none of that was important anymore.
“Mari, I’m so glad to see you.” Luke’s smile was full as he stepped forward to embrace his longtime friend.
Mariana was one of the only people who had always been there for him, other than his cousins. She gave him straight answers, even when he didn’t want to hear them. Luke could count on one hand the number of people he could say he trusted completely, and she was one of them.
She’d never liked Nicky, he remembered as she slipped from his arms, looking in mild surprise at Vanessa.
“Is this your friend?” Mariana asked.
“Yes. Mari, this is Vanessa Grant. Vanessa, you know Mari from her books—Vanessa has read them all.”
“Welcome, it’s so nice to meet you,” Mariana said cautiously, taking Vanessa by the elbow. “And it’s always nice to meet someone who likes my work.”
“You’re a wonderful writer,” Vanessa said, clearly a bit starstruck, which made Luke repress a smile. “Your books keep me up at night, reading,” Vanessa added, making Mari smile more widely.
“Ah, but now you have Luke to do that,” she said mischievously.
Luke let out a relieved breath. He hadn’t anticipated what Mari might say upon meeting Vanessa, considering her resemblance to Nicky.
Vanessa’s cheeks turned a deeper pink, like one of the lush flowers that lined the breezeway. Luke swept in to the rescue, sliding his arm around Vanessa and pulling her in close to his side, where she fit perfectly.
“Mari, behave.”
“Oh, what fun is that?” she said with a laugh. “But you are in time for brunch. Let’s go eat and get to know each other.”
“Actually, we were hoping to go—”
“You can go after. What kind of hostess would I be, sending you off without a proper meal?”
Mari sent him another covert, curious look when Vanessa wasn’t paying attention, and he knew he had some explaining to do. The question was how much he should tell her about why they were really there. He could trust Mari, he knew that, but he didn’t want to put her in any more danger than they did simply by being here. The less she knew, the better.
Luke didn’t want to make any trouble for Mari and her husband.
As they turned a corner toward the dining area, Luke heard a growl and paused.
Two black dogs—looking like black Retrievers, though one had a white crest on her chest—stood before them, and the one with the white advanced, putting herself between Mari and Luke and Vanessa with a warning growl.
“Luna, baby, it’s okay,” Mari crooned in Spanish, leaning down to pet the dog. The other waited cautiously in the doorway, assessing the situation. “These are friends, see?”
She hugged Luke and then Vanessa, and while doing so, snuck something into their hands.
“Treats,” she whispered to Luke.
He bent down to the dog’s level and put his hand out.
“She responds to Spanish better than English.”
“Luna, aren’t you a brave, special girl,” Luke said in a soft tone in Spanish, as Mari instructed. “What is the other’s name?” he asked, looking up at Mari.
“Wendy. She’s a bit shy. Luna is very protective of her.”
Luke made friends with Luna first, who sniffed him tentatively, and then Vanessa, before accepting treats. Wendy also came to meet them. Before long, both dogs were happily munching on treats and licking the hands of their new guests.
“They’re lovely animals, and you’re so remote, it’s good to have some protection here.” Luke petted the dogs, both of whom had taken faster to Vanessa and were nearly knocking her over with doggy affection.
“Thank you. We have three more, but they’re off for grooming right now. Luna and Wendy stay with me. We got them a few months ago from a local rescue organization I support, Save a Sato. They were both satos, or street dogs. Very hard life, very abused, starved. They are getting better, but are still nervous, as you could see, but very friendly, good souls. They just need love, and time. As we all do.”
“You’ve always been good-hearted, Mari,” Luke said approvingly, but then looked up. “You have five dogs?”
“Yes, and eight cats, three birds. Several wild pets that come and go.” She laughed. “They are our babies. For now.”
“Wait, are you saying...?”
“No, no,” Mari corrected him quickly. “Not yet, anyway. While the books and the movies are happening, and my husband is working all the time, pets are more than enough.”
Vanessa finally extricated herself from the dogs’ attention and stood up, smiling.
“They’re wonderful. I wanted to get a dog of my own, but I didn’t want to have to leave it alone all day when I worked. I think it’s great that you have so many pets, and that you have rescued these pups,” she said.
“They know you now, so there shouldn’t be any problem. They are very smart and will remember that you belong here,” Mari said, squatting down to ruff the dogs’ ears one more time before they all proceeded to the dining room. Wendy and Luna joined in happily, probably hoping for more treats.
“So,” Mariana said as they sat. “How long have you two known each other?”
Vanessa froze, and then broke into a forced smile. Luke knew that she was nervous.
“Would you mind if I washed up before we eat?” she said, clearly wanting to escape this conversation.
“Of course! Down that hall, to the left, you will find the washroom,” Mari said graciously.
As soon as Vanessa disappeared down the hall, Mari turned a knowing gaze on him.
“So, do you want to tell me what’s really going on here? Not that I doubt you are lovers. I can tell that by how she looks at you, and how you touch her. But she’s almost exactly like—”
Luke put up a hand. “Yes. Until we were standing in the breezeway and I saw your expression, I’d forgotten to warn you about that. I know you met Nicky that one time.”
“Once was enough,” Mari said with characteristic bluntness, frowning. “I didn’t like her at all, but then what she did to you, how she left you. I wanted to hunt her down myself. I’m surprised to see you with someone so similar in appearance.”
“You know I never stopped looking for Nicky. Turns out, I thought I got a hit on her ID and then it ended up being Vanessa. I met Vanessa in Florida, and mistook her for Nicky, at first. But it doesn’t take long to realize they aren’t the same at all,” he said. “They are completely different people.”
For one thing, Vanessa was kind. She was generous and sincere in a way that Luke couldn’t even imagine Nicky being. Everything he’d experienced with Nicole Brooks had been an act. Vanessa was incapable of being hard-hearted. That had been evident with him, and with the dogs—Nicky would have been screeching about getting dog hair all over her designer clothes.
“She is different. I could tell that right away, too. She’s also bruised and favors her left side.”
Luke sighed. Mariana was a writer, after all, and observant. He should have known she’d figure out there was something more going on.
“Someone else mistook her for Nicky, as well,” he said, and told Mari about the attacks, but nothing about why they were on the island. He’d said enough.
“How terrible for Vanessa. It sounds like something out of a book, but she’s living through it. So you are her bodyguard?”
“Yes,” Luke said with a cautious glance toward the hall, where he heard a door open and shut.
“And you’ve become involved? I thought that wasn’t allowed,” Mari said with a teasing smile. “Has the great Luke Berringer finally met a woman who has gotten under his skin?”
“There is definite chemistry. I don’t know if it’s because of Nicky, those memories, or the situation or if—”
Mari waved him off. “Luke, don’t be a coward. You’ve never been that. Vanessa deserves better, too.”
“You’re right, but sleeping together was an error of judgment, and it can’t happen again. There’s too much at stake, and when this is over, we will go back to our own lives.”
Mari wasn’t able to respond to him as Vanessa entered the room looking refreshed and smiling—maybe a little too much—as she took her seat next to him. She smelled wonderful, like some exotic flower. The humidity was making her hair curl prettily around her face and neck. Luke wanted to sweep her hair back, plant a kiss there to ease her nerves. Then he realized he was staring.
Mari was also watching him with keen interest. His friend was far too observant.
“I saw your new movie poster on the wall in the room next to the bath,” Vanessa confessed. “I hope you don’t mind that I peeked. I couldn’t help myself.”
Mari laughed. “No, I was going to show you. I’ve had to keep it secret until it’s officially released, and it’s killing me. I’m so happy to be able to share it with someone.”
“Any time you want to talk about it, please feel free,” Vanessa invited with a wide grin. “I’m so eager to see them, but I hope they are running close to the books. I hate when the movie or TV show completely reinterprets the story.”
Mari allowed the detour in conversation as they ate, always happy to discuss her work and clearly touched by Vanessa’s genuine enthusiasm. Luke was aware that she wasn’t going to let him off the hook, however, when it came to knowing more about his relationship with Vanessa.
Though he didn’t have a relationship with Vanessa, or at least, it was only a temporary one, formed by their attraction and common goal. Once all of this was over, there was a good chance she’d feel very differently about him.
He would be happy to have captured Nicky once and for all—to have found justice—but he knew the price of doing so would probably be losing Vanessa.
It was how it had to be. Nicky had hurt too many people, and she had to be stopped. She’d almost hurt Vanessa—and Luke would never let that happen again, even if it meant that she hated him in the end.
* * *
VANESSA STOOD in the entryway of the beautiful room beside Luke, staring at the single, huge bed. The door clicked behind her with a resounding finality as one of the housekeepers, Madra, showed them to the room.
“I hadn’t expected this.”
She was unable to take her eyes from the large, extremely elegant four-poster. It was draped in satin and delicate mesh curtains, and piled with luxurious pillows. It looked out over a fabulous view of the ocean. The patio had a hot tub and was surrounded by the same lush hillside vegetation as the rest of the house.
It was the absolute perfect lovers’ getaway. Except that she and Luke weren’t lovers. Not in the truest sense of the word. They’d had a night or two of sex. Which he had termed “an error of judgment”—something Vanessa had overheard on her way back to the dining room. He’d also said when this was over, they would simply go back to their lives. She knew he was right, and they had even said as much to each other, but it had stung, nonetheless.
“It won’t be a problem,” Luke said, his tone sounding a bit forced to her. “I can use that lounge, or the floor, even. I could even sleep on the patio.”
Vanessa didn’t reply, but went to look at the view as she struggled to clarify her thoughts. She was both scared and happy to be here with Luke, but still there was so much unknown.
Luke put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her intently.
“This is good. I want to be where you are.”
“You do?” Surprise at his words made her slightly breathless.
“It makes it easier for me to keep an eye on you and make sure you’re safe. So don’t worry, okay?”
“Oh. What did you tell Mari when I was in the washroom?” she asked as she went to the veranda.
“She knows what happened to you in Florida, but not the bigger picture, what’s happening with the software or that Julie is your sister. She knows you are under my protection, and I assume giving us this room is her attempt at matchmaking. She knows that—”
“That you suffered an error of judgment?”
So much for being able to let that one go, but she was human, after all.
This time Luke had the grace to wince, and he didn’t hide it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound so hurtful. It was only a means of trying to get her to understand.”
“Maybe it’s just as well. We shouldn’t let anything distract us, like you said.”
Vanessa wanted to sound normal, but the hurt of it all seeped into her tone. Luke walked up behind her, though he didn’t touch her.
How messed up was she that she wanted him to touch her so much she was aching with it?
“I didn’t mean any of this to cause you any pain. We’re in a very dangerous situation and we need to stay focused. And the knife cuts both ways, you know. This isn’t easy for me, but will you want anything to do with me after I put your sister away? Because that’s what I’m going to do. That hasn’t changed.”
Vanessa swallowed the hurt; it helped to hear him say it wasn’t easy for him, either.
He was also right. Someone wanted her dead, and that someone might be her own sister. Luke wasn’t her knight in shining armor; they only had mutual lust in common and a mutual goal to find Julie.
Yet they were also on opposite sides, as he pointed out. Would she be able to accept him taking her sister away from her? It had been stupid to give in to her desire for him in the first place, knowing what he ultimately wanted.
Her thoughts left her empty and cold, in spite of the tropical heat, but with that chill came a certain clarity. As if all emotion fell away and now she could see the truth.
“I understand. I’m sorry for being overemotional. I’m not used to this.”
“Vanessa, I hope you never have a chance to get used to situations like this.”
He planted a kiss on her hair and then moved away. The tenderness of the gesture made her heart hurt as much as the distance between them did.
“You should stay here, enjoy the place. You’ll be safe, but don’t go too far away from the house or gardens. I’m going to set our plan in motion and see what happens. I might be gone for a while. Will you be okay?”
Vanessa drew herself up straight, nodding. She didn’t say another word, but stared at the jungle gardens as he packed up and left. She didn’t walk back inside until she heard the door shut behind him.
She was deep in thought as she started forming her own plan. Until now, she’d let Luke call the shots—he was the professional—but he was also deeply biased against Julie and wanted only to think the worst of her. Yes, he had evidence, but he didn’t have an open mind. There was no point in opening the conversation with him again—he was clearly against her being involved in any plan he had.
But Vanessa had her own thoughts on the issue.
He’d admitted that once they found out where Julie might be, or whom she was working with, that he would have her arrested, probably before Vanessa could even talk to her. That meant that the only time she would be able to see her sister was in jail. Or worse, if things went badly.
Which meant that Vanessa needed to find Julie first. She peeked over the veranda to the winding road in the distance and saw a black SUV speeding down the highway.
Luke.
For the first time since her house had been blown to smithereens, Vanessa believed that she had some power in this situation, and in her life. She wasn’t going to give it up. In fact, she knew exactly what she needed to do. Leaving the room, she went in search of Mari and hoped her plan would work.
“Is Mari available?” she asked Madra, whom she found in the main room, dusting.
“No, she is working now. She will not come out of her office until later tonight, and cannot be disturbed,” Madra explained.
That worked; Vanessa worried that Luke might have told Mari that she had to stay at the house, but he probably wouldn’t have told Madra.
“I need some supplies and clothes, I’m afraid. We left the States so quickly that I didn’t bring enough things with me,” Vanessa said with a slightly embarrassed laugh, hoping to win Madra to her side.
“Ah, what woman would not want to be swept away by Mr. Berringer?” Madra said with a grin.
“True, but he has to work today, and I wondered if there was a car I could borrow to go shopping?”
Madra shook her head, and Vanessa felt her hopes sink.
“There is no car, but there is a driver. He could take you.”
Relief. For a second, Vanessa thought perhaps that she was a prisoner here, but having a driver was even better than she’d hoped.
“Would he take me to town, do you think? He could drop me off and pick me up later. I could call?”
“Sí, I will let him know. You can meet him in the front hall,” Madra said, leaving the room with an accommodating smile.
Vanessa’s heart sped up in apprehension and excitement as she gathered her bag and her sunglasses and moved toward the front hall. As Madra promised, a car pulled up minutes later, an older driver getting out and coming around to open the door for her.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. I’m Richard. Where can I take you today?”
Vanessa blinked, surprised by the formal British accent, though Richard was definitely Latino.
“I need to do some clothes shopping,” she said, sliding into the sumptuous leather seat as he closed the door.
As he took the driver’s seat, he looked back at her in the rearview mirror. “Would you like some music? And is the AC too cold for you?”
“No, the quiet is fine, and it’s very comfortable, thank you. If you know where there are some stores where I could find essentials and perhaps a nice dress, I would appreciate that.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
“Please, call me Vanessa.”
“As you please, Vanessa.” Richard drove the car slowly down a sloping, curvy drive through thick vegetation.
“Is this rain forest?” she asked.
“No, this is jungle, tropical vegetation. The only real rain forest on the island is in El Yunque National Forest, at the top. It is a very nice place to visit, if you’d like to make plans to go. You can drive or hike to the top.”
“That sounds lovely.” It might be something she would do, someday. With her sister, maybe?
What a nice thought. She’d had hundreds like it over the years. The idea that she and Julie could ever have any kind of normal relationship had powered her through some very difficult times. Finding her family was the most important thing to Vanessa except for her teaching.
“There are some nice shops in town, only twenty minutes away.”
“Actually, do you know where this store is?” she asked as she pulled the picture of Julie from her purse, standing in the crowd near a small bodega.
“Yes, it’s a bit farther out, on the other side of San Juan, but not too far. There are many shops there and better prices. Many local goods in that neighborhood, though it is, as you Americans say, sketchy. I will stay close by, however.”
“Thank you, but I don’t know how long I’ll be. You don’t have to wait. I could call when I’m ready to go back to the house.”
“Mrs. Soltis would not be happy if I left you in town alone. I don’t mind if you take your time. I can wait at the café.”
Vanessa nodded, knowing she couldn’t push the driver away without seeming suspicious.
Her plan was simple. She wanted to let her sister know she was there. She wanted to be seen and hoped that word would get back to Julie, for better or worse. She would shop, buy some things using the credit cards that Luke told her not to use and ask around, showing Julie’s picture.
Vanessa would do what Luke had refused to do: use herself as bait.
If she was lucky, Julie would find her before Luke lured her in. In a public place, she should be safe. She only wanted to talk to her sister before anything else happened. Vanessa was willing to take the risk. She couldn’t believe that Julie was behind the attempts on her life. In fact, Vanessa worried that her sister could be under threat, too.
The thick trees and plants gave way to a more developed area as they entered town, and the streets were suddenly more crowded with people and traffic. Vanessa embraced it all—she’d always wanted to travel more, to get a sense of other cultures. The buzz of energy on the street had a way of reaching in and grabbing her just as it had been when she’d visited the first time, and she could barely wait to get out of the car.
Then she saw it, that familiar intersection. The bodega in the picture. A chill chased her spine. This was it. Somewhere, Luke was in this city, setting his own plan into motion, but she couldn’t think about that. He said he might be late—with any luck, he’d have no idea she was even gone.
Richard pulled into a parking space and shut off the car, coming around to her side. Vanessa had already opened the door, unused to it being done for her. She smiled as he stood by, letting her out. As soon as she stood on the paved street, the noise, colors and aromas surrounding her, she smiled into the warm sun.
“This is perfect. Thank you, Richard.”
“You’re welcome. Here is my card with my pager and cell phone number. The car will be here, but it’s locked. I’ll be at that café, over there, at the end of the street. If you stay on this main street, you will be fine at this time of day, but keep hold of your purse, just in case. Call me when you’re ready.”
Vanessa nodded, putting his card in her pocket and looking around for where she wanted to go first. Richard was already on his way down to the café. Taking a deep breath, she focused on a shop across the street with some colorful fabrics in the window, and headed there. She did need some clothes, and buying her own would serve her purpose nicely now.
Entering the small shop, Vanessa was taken with all of the brightly colored fabrics, the sundresses that hung on all of the racks around her. She ran a hand over one, loving the color and its softness, and smiled. These were likely handmade, and perhaps out of her price range, but she might just splurge.
“May I help you?”
A woman spoke from her left, and as Vanessa turned, the young girl stepped back in surprise. “Oh. How nice to see you again. I didn’t recognize your hair styled like that. It looks very pretty.”
It was clear to Vanessa that the woman recognized her, and that probably meant that Julie had been here before. But in what capacity? There was distress, if not fear, in the clerk’s expression, and then relief as she searched Vanessa’s face more closely.
“Oh, I apologize again. I thought you were...there was another woman who closely resembles you in the shop a few days ago. A man she was with was very, um, insistent that she leave with him. I offered to her to call the authorities, but she told me no and hurried from the shop. But clearly you are not her.”
“No, but I think I know her. She is my sister,” Vanessa said honestly, her heart racing. “I’ve been looking for her, and I am worried about her. Can you tell me anything more, about the man she was with, particularly?”
“She didn’t buy anything, and she rushed out when he appeared, so no, I’m sorry, I cannot help you.”
Vanessa’s gut said that the girl was not sharing everything she knew, but Vanessa could also understand why the clerk might not want to be involved.
“Might I leave her a note? Just in case you see her again?”
“Of course, though I doubt he will let her...that she will be back.”
The young woman’s words confirmed what Vanessa had feared, and she scrawled her number and a brief note to Julie, just in case. The clerk might know more than she was letting on, and Vanessa’s hand shook slightly at the idea that she could be this close to finding her sister.
She left the note in a sealed envelope, and asked the girl to pass it to Julie, if she ever did see her again. Then she bought some clothing items, and visited some other stores, hoping to find out more, including the bodega where Julie had stood in the picture, but there were no more leads to be found.
For now, she’d done all she could, and planned to have a cup of coffee before heading back to the villa. Approaching a street vendor, she took some money from her purse and ordered an iced mocha, spotting a small table on the sidewalk where she could sit for a minute. The more she could be seen, the better.
But as the vendor made her coffee and she took in the scene, Vanessa gasped when someone grabbed her arm from behind, pulling her around.
Luke. And he was not at all pleased to see her.