22

Jake sat in the side chair, and Jinx took a seat on the edge of the bed. Both had a drink in their hands.

“You’re really twisted about Rita, huh” Jake asked after a long silence between the two brothers.

Jinx looked up. “Yeah.”

“Does she know how you feel”

“Not really. I mean I know she understands that I care about her.…”

“How does she feel about you”

“Hmph, with Rita, who knows She doesn’t ever say how she feels. For all I know, I’m just another job.”

“They’re both cut from the same cloth, like me and you. They had it rough coming up.”

Jinx took a long swallow from his drink. “Yeah, but we weren’t supposed to get caught up in the love thing, ya know”

Jake nodded slowly.

“That’s why you totally blew me away when you actually married Eva.” He looked into his brother’s eyes. “I figured it was just for the sex. But sometimes I look at you when you’re watching her, and it’s in your eyes, man. You love her.”

Jake looked away. It was true: he did love his wife, and it made him crazy. It was his weak spot, and he wasn’t supposed to have any. And now this baby thing …

“So what are you going to do, man” Jinx asked, as if reading his mind.

“Eva’s been hinting for a while that she wanted to get out of the game. I figured it would pass, ya know. I mean, this is what we do. It’s what brought us together.” He glanced off into the distance, shook his head in confusion. “I just don’t know. I don’t think I can handle it.” He looked into his brother’s eyes. “It scares me, John. What if I turn out like our father”

Jinx grimaced, the horrors of their youth flashing before his eyes. He remembered that Jake was always there to protect him, promised that he’d take care of him no matter what. And he’d never broken that promise in all these years.

“Look, we may have his genes, but we’re nothing like him. You’re nothing like him. You’ve proved that over the years. Do you think that if you were the man our father was, you would have cared about me all this time, gotten me out of scrapes, made sure that I finished school You didn’t turn your back on me when I went to jail. You stood by me.” He paused. “And if you were anything like him, you wouldn’t give a damn about Eva being pregnant. It wouldn’t touch you. It wouldn’t worry you. The only emotions our father had were bitterness and anger. And that’s not you, man. He didn’t know how to love anything. You do. Don’t blow it.”

A half smile widened Jake’s mouth. “Never thought I’d get a life lesson from my baby brother.”

Jinx chuckled. “I’m all grown up now. Maybe it’s time we let go of the past. Forget some of those ‘survival’ promises we made, ya know. You got a great woman, and I have one that I want to make mine. We can either step up to the plate and go for it or let them go and keep living the way we’ve been living. For me, I’m ready to start living a new life.”

Jake listened to his brother’s words. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was time to let go of the past and move on. This was just supposed to be another job, but every step of the way had offered a new revelation. He’d been forced to confront things about himself and his relationship with his wife that he’d otherwise been able to avoid. He sighed heavily, stood, and went to refill his glass.

“I told Eva about that day at the beach,” he said, his tone quiet and pensive.

Jinx was silent for a moment. “What did she say”

“Said it wasn’t my fault and that I had to let it go, couldn’t hold on to the guilt.” He turned to Jinx. “She didn’t blame me.”

“Something you’d been doing to yourself for years.”

“Yeah. It messed with me. It really did. Made me overprotective, overly cautious, guarded. And at the same time, I lived on the edge with everything that I did, almost as if I wanted to live dangerously—with the secret thought that I’d get caught and pay for what I’d done.”

“You know what You don’t need a brother and a drink—you need a psychiatrist,” Jinx joked. He got up, crossed the room, and slapped Jake on the back. “You got issues.”

Jake laughed. “You’re probably right.”

“But—” He held up a finger. “—you got a good woman who’s willing to put up with all your bullshit and your phobias.”

Jake grinned. “Yeah, I do, don’t I”

Jinx’s expression grew serious. “Don’t blow it. Besides, I kinda like the thought of being Uncle Jinx. Has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think”

Suddenly the whole notion of becoming a father filled him with a sense of awe. The weight and responsibility of bringing into the world and shaping the life of another human being was the biggest challenge he would ever face. He knew all about cracking computer codes, breaking and entering the most secure locations. But being a father, a daddy, was not for him. That was a job he couldn’t afford to fuck up.

“Me and Eva are gonna have to deal with it when we get this job out of the way and we’re in the clear. No point in planning for a future that I’m uncertain about.”

Jinx slowly put down his drink on the nightstand. “What do you mean … uncertain”

Jake lowered his head. “We have a little problem.” He looked up and told Jinx about the codes for the safe. “But now that Rita’s substantial winnings are locked up in the ship’s safe, we have a good opportunity to get in there. We’re going to have to plan to make the switch when she goes in there.”

Jinx nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we let Rita go in first to check on her winnings and to check out the system.”

“Right. And when it’s time, Rita will make the switch.”

“If Suarez’s stuff is even in there. What if it’s in his suite”

“It’ll be a helluva lot easier getting into his suite than the ship’s safe.” At least he hoped so, considering his earlier fiasco with the cabin lock.

Jinx finished off his drink. “Speaking of the women in our lives…”

“Yeah, let’s go find our women.”

*   *   *

Eva held her breath and her body in a tight ball. She didn’t dare move an inch and silently prayed that Suarez wasn’t coming into the room to change clothes.

“You certainly travel in high style,” she heard Rita say.

“Only the best,” Suarez responded.

The closet door suddenly opened. Eva almost gasped.

Suarez pulled a silk robe from the hanger and closed the door.

Eva closed her eyes and shook in relief. What in the world was she thinking coming here without letting anyone know where she was

“I’m going to change.” He smiled full of innuendo. “Make yourself comfortable in the meantime.”

Eva heard the bathroom door open and then close. Should she risk revealing herself to Rita

She eased the closet door open. Rita was on the far side of the room, going through the items on the top of the dresser.

“Psst, Rita…”

Rita jumped, dropping the wallet on top of the dresser. She spun around. Her eyes widened in alarm then darted toward the bathroom door.

She hurried across the room, keeping a lookout on the bathroom.

“What are you doing here” she whispered.

Eva peeked out from behind the row of suits. “Seeing what I could find. Where are his bodyguards”

“One is out in front of the door. Don’t know about the other two.”

“You gotta get him out of here and keep him busy. So whatever you had on your mind, forget it, Rita. Understood” she said in no uncertain terms.

Rita vigorously nodded her head. “Just be quiet and stay out of sight.” Rita straightened and quietly shut the door. She quickly crossed the room and sat in the chair by the bed, composing herself just as Suarez emerged from the bathroom.

“I’m sure I can find something that you would be more comfortable in.”

She licked her lips. “Oh, I had my heart set on going to the show. I thought that was the plan.”

Suarez walked up to her, lifted her chin with the tip of his finger. “Plans can always be changed.”

Her insides melted; her resolve faltered. She wanted him, but she didn’t want to arouse his suspicions. Too much was at stake. But then she pictured her cousin crouched in the closet. Could Eva sit there and be quiet while she and Suarez got wet and wild on his king-size bed

She took a step back. “Of course plans can be changed. I enjoy spontaneity in a man. But I did have my heart set on the show, especially after you recommended it.” She drew in a breath and stepped closer. “And you don’t seem to be the kind of man that would disappoint a lady.” She drew a long nail tantalizingly down the center of his exposed chest.

Suarez’s dark eyes grew even darker. His cheeks flushed beneath his even bronze complexion. “As you wish.” He walked away, back into the bathroom to change.

Rita sighed in relief. She walked past the closet and out into the front room, taking a seat on the couch. She didn’t want Suarez to come out of the bathroom, find her sitting on his bed, and get any ideas that she’d changed her mind.

Moments later Suarez joined her. He straightened his tie. Looking down at her, he said, “Never let anyone tell you that I didn’t make a lady happy.”

Damn that Eva! “No one would dare say that.” She took his hand and stood.

Xavier placed a light kiss on her cheek. “I also admire a woman who has respect for herself. It forces me to respect her as well.” He chuckled. “You have forced me to respect you, beautiful Rita.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the top of it. “Respect goes a long way. Always remember that,” he added, looking into her eyes. “Come. Let us go and be entertained.”

*   *   *

Once Eva was certain that they were gone and no one else was lurking about, she crept out of the closet. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out from being crouched for so long, and she wobbled to the floor. Wincing, she stretched her legs out in front of her and massaged her thighs and calves and wiggled her toes until blood started flowing again. She would have been a permanent pretzel if the two of them had hit the sheets and she’d been stuck in the closet the whole time.

At least she didn’t lose her cool, she thought, slowly standing to test out her legs. The closet experience with Jake taught her well how to remain calm under pressure and not get claustrophobic and flip out.

Jake. She sighed, arched her back, then continued snooping around. She expected all sorts of reactions when she told him about being pregnant: shock, surprise, elation, maybe even anger, but not nothing. Not a word, not an outward expression of any emotion. All that nothing made her feel like she was dying inside.

She knew Jake had issues about starting a family. She opened the drawer next to the bed and gently lifted the papers inside so as not to disturb anything. But Jake had never really discussed his feelings with her. She closed the drawer then stood in the center of the room and did a slow 360, taking in the room inch by inch. She also knew he and Jinx grew up pretty much on their own much like she and Rita. All he’d ever said about his home life was that it was bad. It was a touchy subject for both of them, and so it was easy to push the past to the side and act like it didn’t happen.

Eva crossed the room and went back to the closet, pulling out the locked suitcase. People don’t lock things if the stuff inside isn’t important. She could hear Jake’s voice as plain as day. She fought back a smile as she studied the lock. It wasn’t the lock that typically came with the suitcase. This one was specially made and from what she could see, brand-spanking-new. There were three locks on it: one on either end and one in the center. The one in the center was a combination lock. The suitcase was pretty heavy, but was it heavy enough to contain the money and the diamonds

No way of knowing unless they could get inside it. If anyone could, it would be Jake.

She snatched a piece of paper from the complimentary notepad on the nightstand by the bed and returned to the suitcase. Her years of sketching came in handy now. She quickly drew a duplicate of the suitcase, careful to include all the minute details, particularly the combination and the assembly around the locks.

Satisfied with her handiwork, she returned the suitcase to the closet, took one last look around to be sure she didn’t leave any signs of her entry. She went to the front door, listened for any sounds, and inched the door open, then remembered that she was dressed as one of the crew. She was in uniform.

Eva opened the door fully and boldly stepped out into the corridor. She pulled the door shut behind her as two couples walked in opposite directions down the hallway, neither of them paying her any attention.

She headed back to her room. Just as she reached the cabin door, Jake and Jinx were coming out.

“Jake—”

“Eva, I’m—”

“Why don’t I let you two chat.” Jinx looked from one to the other before walking off.

They faced each other.

Less than an hour ago, she was ready to do it on her own. Walk away from the job and the man. But now, standing in front of him, she knew that all she’d ever wanted was Jake Kelly. But something was different.

Jake’s always-ready grin, his devil-may-care charm were missing. In their place was an aura of tentativeness, a vulnerability that she rarely if ever saw. And that’s when it hit her. He was afraid, not of failing at this job but at failing her. She reached out her hand and took his.

The beginning of a smile warmed his eyes. He angled his head toward the door of the cabin, and they went inside.