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“You do realize I had to ride through those same villages when I came here from the landing strip, yes?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And what? Riding through is a lot different than going for a visit. Strolling the streets.”
“I see you guys have bonded,” Syson noted when he arrived at the inn’s dining cottage that morning to find Ben and Luke arguing like squabbling siblings.
“A bond would be nice,” Ben said to Luke. “Maybe then you could understand where I’m coming from.”
“Same here,” Luke muttered, pouring an obscene amount of sugar into his coffee.
“What’s this about?” Syson waved off a server who attempted to fill his cup with coffee. “Juice,” he favored the woman with a smile that had her blushing madly.
“She wants to go traipsing-”
“I don’t traipse.”
“Fine,” Luke said as if it took all the patience he could muster to speak the word. “She wants to visit the villages.”
“You knew this wouldn’t be a relaxation trip. I’m already supposed to be out meeting with the executive board about my role here.”
“Which is what, exactly? Warrior Queen?”
Ben’s eyes narrowed with dangerous zeal. “That’s not what this is and you know it. You wanted me here, remember? Said I was needed here for the people-”
“I don’t need reminding, Benaja.” Luke’s brilliant blues had gone dark with frustration. “But I do wonder if you recall that the people who don’t want you here are on this island too? You traip-visiting among the villages could give them the chance they need to take a shot at you easy.”
“Luke,” Syson called in a warning tone.
Luke rolled his eyes, stood. “You talk to her then,” he reached for his coffee and; while doing so, caught the telling looks that passed between Syson and Ben.
“Terrific,” again Luke rolled his eyes. With a muttered curse, he left the table in a huff.
Silence held court at the table for several long seconds following Luke’s departure. The waitress returned with Syson’s juice and left. He helped himself to a filling swallow before he spoke.
“Ben, last night...I’m sorry.”
“Did I hint at all that I wanted you to stop?”
“You should have.”
“Why?”
“You don’t know me.”
“But you know me?” Her eyes flared with the same impatience she’d bestowed on Luke. Her regard for Syson, however, was primed by the unmistakable tinge of attraction. “Is that it, Sy? You know what I should and shouldn’t do?”
“It’s different,” he helped himself to more juice and grimaced.
“Why?” She all but laughed the word.
“The lady doesn’t look too happy with you, brotha.”
The grimace Syson wore for Ben was nothing like the near snarl that took hold of his mouth when he looked toward the man who had spoken.
“Tsk, tsk!” the man studied Ben with ever increasing approval, “only a fool would upset a beauty like this,” he extended a hand toward her.
Syson was out of his chair and knocking aside the outstretched hand before Ben noticed he’d stood. It didn’t take her long to realize he wanted to do much more than slap at a hand.
“Sy,” she took hold of his elbow, squeezed. Intrigued, she studied the other man- nearly as tall as Syson. Unlike Syson, he was more lean than massive. Their complexions were nearly similar. Instead of a full head of hair, the other man wore his shaved. His brown eyes were chilly instead of warm.
“No worries, beauty,” his eyes remained on Syson’s as he spoke to Ben. “We’ll shake hands later,” he looked her way then. “Sean Bolton,” he grinned. “Your bodyguard and I go way back. You tell her about that yet, Sy? Somehow, I doubt it.” He inclined his head toward Ben and then made his way from the room.
“Syson?” He felt rigid where she touched his elbow and Ben wondered if he heard her at all.
“Hey, hey! Saw Luke on the way in. He said you might be in the mood to get out of here for a while.”
Ben sent a crooked smile at Rhys who’d just sauntered up to the table. Avery and Jace were right behind her.
Syson chose that moment to rejoin the present. “Sounds like a good idea,” he said. “Don’t let ‘em out of your sight,” he told his friends and left the dining room without another look at Ben.
***
Activities for the day didn’t go as planned. Ben’s meeting with the Bino execs was cancelled. No reason was given. She couldn’t say she was all that upset by it. The way she saw it, the postponement just gave her more time not to fall on her face.
Ben decided to make the most of her unexpected free time by moving forward with the trip to the villages. Luke chose to keep his disapproval silent, letting his frustration play out on his expression instead.
She was happy to have Rhys’ company, but shied away from spending too much time thinking of how that came to be. Memories of ‘thanking’ Syson Faust were already wreaking too much havoc on her body and mind when she was alone.
Despite all she heard, Tesh was an oasis of beauty. She was looking forward to spending time getting lost in the brilliant sky and comfortably warm sea air. At the moment however, her time was devoted to meeting those she hoped to make a difference for.
~~~
“A view like this does something to people at night-during the day too!”
Laughter exploded over the response to Rhys’ query about how one wound up with eighteen grandchildren. The woman who had spoken her mind in such an hilariously suggestive fashion was Emte Caius. She and her husband Manoit were the elders of one of the oldest families on Tesh. Emte had immediately taken Ben and Rhys under her wing when they arrived in the village that morning. The clay streets were still relatively quiet. Emte, who rose early to open her pottery shop, was among the first to see the new visitors.
“Is everyone here as happy as you and Mr. Caius?” Ben asked once Emte had returned to the small screened parlor in back of the ship where she’d served tea to her guests. The spot faced the beach. Waves rolled in actively against the shore.
A look of quiet resignation crossed the woman’s ageless nut brown face. “My husband and I have been here a long time. We met one summer working half time for your uncle’s company. This was back when it was run by your grandfather and his brothers. In Tesh, we’ve seen the best of times, the worst. Storms-natural born and man made-we’ve survived them all. They’re a part of life.”
“Do most share your outlook?” Rhys asked.
Emte sighed, followed the rhythmic tap of her fingers against the rim of her teacup. “Sadly, most do not. The young aren’t as easy to appease with beautiful sunsets and white sand. I can’t say I blame them. The world was a different place when Mano and I were just starting our family.”
“They want their children to have choices.” Ben noted.
Emte nodded. “Choices only an education can buy.”
“What’s happening here?” Ben leaned closer to the round bamboo table and lightly touched the back of the woman’s hand. “I know what I’ve read, but I’d like to hear it from you.”
“Those of us who don’t make our living off the land, earn it from your uncle’s company.” Emte straightened, took a sip from her cup. “There are far less of us earning our living off the land these days.”
“But Bino provided a better living?” Rhys asked.
“They did. Once.”
Ben and Rhys exchanged looks across the intimate table.
“How long?”
“Decades now.” Slowly, Emte returned her cup and saucer to the table. “As I said, the young want their children to have choices. Only education can bring those choices.”
“Education costs money,” Ben said.
“A great deal of it at a certain point in a child’s life.” Emte added. “Bino’s wages were fit for an island people content with island life-not so for a child needing to leave home to start a future.”
“The workers made their feelings known to Bino, I guess?”
Emte’s mouth tightened when she looked at Ben. “Made them known and were encouraged to let them go.”
“Encouraged.” Rhys probed.
“Stop making noise or lose your job.” Emte leaned in to top off Rhys’ tea from the stout shamrock green pot in the center of the table. “Of course the plan was to show the now unemployed worker how much worse it could be with no job instead of a low paying one. It worked...for a while.”
“What changed?” Ben asked.
“Competition came to the island,” Emte settled back in her cushioned wood-framed chair. “There were offers for transportation to neighboring islands for work, more money as well.”
Ben sensed a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “What happened?” she made herself ask.
Emte Caius closed her eyes as though gaining strength to continue. “Bino didn’t care for its workers being wooed and they let their competitors know it. It was all talk at first. The company rivals didn’t much like being told what to do. When talk didn’t work...”
“Faust.” Ben guessed, noticing when the older woman shivered amid the island breeze.
Emte put the back of her hand to her mouth. “Terrible people-the lot of them. I don’t know what your uncle was thinking when he brought them here.”
“Fighting fire with fire, maybe,” Ben turned worried eyes toward the active waves. “If his rivals were-”
“None of us around here believe they did anything to justify bringing in those devils to control them.”
Ben squeezed Emte’s wrist. “What have they done here?” she asked.
Emte’s dark gaze was unreadable when it met the shoreline. “They turned our heaven into a hell.”
~~~
“If the guys back home could see you now.”
Syson had to smile despite being frustrated by the ribbing he was taking from Avery and Jace. The two hadn’t let up since returning from the outing with Ben and Rhys. They found him in the suite and were supposed to be giving him an update on the island visit. First, they couldn’t resist a set of vicious teasing about how their very intimidating friend was being managed by a pretty face. A very pretty face as far as Avery and Jace were concerned. They couldn’t blame Syson. Benaja had charmed them as well and they were both a little in love with her.
“So she found what she was looking for?”
“More or less,” Avery gave a quick, cocky tilt of his head. “I think she was hoping it wasn’t as bad as it looked on paper.”
“It’s even worse than that, now,” Syson felt two sets of dark eyes shift toward him. “Bolton’s out,” he said.
Jace stood, almost knocking back the chair he’d chosen at the patio to be outside the suite. “Sean Bolton.”
Syson favored his friend with a sly wink. “That’s the one.”
Avery stood then with a little less rudeness than Jace but his fury was equally evident. “What the hell, Sy?”
“Drew played the same trick Luke did. Left our home away from home with some muscle of his own,” Syson sipped idly on his gin tonic while his friends muttered lurid curses.
Avery directed his frown toward Syson. “Where is he?”
Jace frowned anew when Syson continued to savor his drink while favoring them with a bland, yet answering, stare. “Are you serious here?”
“Absolutely,” Syson drained his glass.
“Is Bolt the only one he took out of there?” Jace asked.
“If he’s not, it’s safe to bet he’s already surrounded himself with like minds,” Avery predicted.
“I already doubled our forces,” Syson said in anticipation of his friends’ advice.
Jace and Avery nodded their approval.
“Have you told Ben about him?” Avery probed.
Syson left the table, preferring to do his brooding with his eyes fixed on the Caribbean. “She met him. He stopped by the dining room this morning before you guys got there with Rhys.”
Another round of curses carried on the wind.
“Does she know?”
Syson shook his head, needing no clarity on Jace’s query.
“Bolt’s just a distraction from your psycho uncle. Don’t fall for it.”
Relinquishing the view, Syson turned to leave the patio. He squeezed Avery’s shoulder as he passed and replied. “That’d be easier to do if Ben wasn’t in the middle of this.”