12

The next day, Lenora sat next to Stan as she placed the call. It rang on the other end several times before the woman who’d set up her husband answered the phone.

Lenora had gone over every detail of information she’d been able to gather on Suarez and his secret trip into the United States. The shipment wasn’t his real agenda, only a small part of it, but it was the only part that interested her. According to everything she’d uncovered, Suarez was coming to the States to settle a personal score with a family member who’d absconded to the U.S. several months ago. That was his business. When she got what she wanted, she’d put in a well-placed call and have Suarez picked up. In the meantime, she had to stay focused.

“I will meet you and your husband at the designated drop-off point in Miami. No fuckups.”

“How do we know that this isn’t a setup” Eva asked.

“You don’t. But you also have a choice. Do what I tell you to do and walk away, or try to get creative and I can have an agent at your door in five minutes. It’s up to you.”

“We’ll be there.”

“That’s better. You have the phones that I sent to you”

“Yes.”

“Good. Make sure you have them on at all times. You never know when I may decide to check in. If you don’t answer…” She chuckled. “Well, we don’t want to think about that now, do we” She paused. “Are we clear about everything”

“Crystal,” Eva said from between her teeth.

“Excellent. Oh, and by the way, you could really stand to lose a few pounds. Your rear end doesn’t photograph very well.”

Click.

Eva’s neck snapped back. “Bitch!” She slammed down the phone just as Jake walked through the door.

“Who” he asked, hanging his jacket on the coatrack.

“Lenora Ingram,” she said, seething with outrage.

“We know that already. What did she do now”

Eva planted her hands on her hips and rocked from side to side as she spoke. “She indicated that my ass was fat and didn’t photograph well.”

Jake fought to keep from laughing. He slowly approached. “What does she know about fat asses anyway” He kissed her cheek and patted her behind. “Probably jealous.”

Eva gave him a hard shove.

He snickered. “What did she really want”

“Wanted to make sure we are going to be where we’re supposed to be to make the drop-off.”

He crossed the room, plopped down on the couch, and let out a long sigh. “I’ll be glad when this is over.”

Eva dropped down next to him. “Yeah, so will I. The little bitch is going to get what she deserves.”

Jake grinned and draped his arm around her shoulder. “She’s going to wish she would have simply paid us the money.”

“I know that’s right.” She turned to Jake. “What time are Rita and Jinx coming tonight”

“I told them to get here around seven. How’d you make out with the boxes”

“Believe me, it was touch and go for a minute. I got them out of there today. They’re in the bedroom.”

“You square everything away with Sebastian”

“He was pissed that I was going to be out, but I promised him he could always reach me by cell phone in the event of an emergency. But before we leave, I’m going to go over everything I can think of with Tara. She’s itching to run the studio one day. This will be her chance, and I’m going to impress that upon her. If I can get her to believe that contacting me is an indication that she isn’t ready to handle things”—she bobbed her head up and down—“I won’t be expecting any calls.”

Jake patted her thigh. “Always on the ball.” He pushed up from the couch. “I’m going to take a quick shower and get out of this monkey suit before they get here.”

Eva sat there for a few minutes more. Ordinarily she would have been eager to join him in the shower for a quick one, but for some reason she wasn’t in the mood. Her nerves were shot, and as much as she’d kept it from Jake, she hadn’t been able to sleep soundly since this entire fiasco began.

A part of her resented him for getting them into this mess, and the anger was making her distant. She hated to feel that way, but she did. She couldn’t remember a time since they’d met that she hadn’t been hot for him twenty-four hours a day. Sooner or later he would notice, if he hadn’t already.

She listened to the sound of the shower, tuned in to her body, waited for it to respond to the temptation that was only a few feet away. It never did.

*   *   *

“Did you get approval for the time off from work” Lenora asked Stan as they stood side by side in the kitchen.

Stan nodded. “It won’t be a p-problem.”

“Good. I don’t want to risk anything by flying down there and having our names on any flight itinerary. So we’re going to drive.”

“All the way to F-florida”

She chopped an onion into minuscule pieces with the precision of a samurai warrior. Stan winced at the intensity with which she wielded the knife.

“Yes.” She stabbed the knife into the wooden cutting board and turned to him. She wiped her hands on her apron. “It’s the best way. It will take two days. We can spend the night in a motel along the way, meet them for the pickup, and then be on our way.”

“Lee…” His throat worked up and down. “W-what are we going to do a-after this is o-over”

She looked into his pale blue eyes, hoping to see some remnants of the man she’d married, hoping that her heart would soften. “Don’t worry about it. I have everything under control.” She stroked his hand as she would a pet and went back to preparing dinner.

Stan left Lenora to her work and went into the living room to fix himself a drink. If there was one thing he knew about Lenora, she always had a plan, and his gut told him her plan did not include him. He’d have to have one of his own.