25

Jake called Jinx on his cell phone. There always had to be a Plan B in the event that Plan A fell apart, he thought as he listened to the phone ring on the other end.

Finally Jinx picked up.

“You sound like you’re just waking up, my brother,” Jake said.

Jinx glanced over his shoulder. Rita was still asleep. They’d had one helluva night, and his body was still humming. He gently lifted the sheet from his body and sneaked out of the room so as not to disturb her.

“Hey, what’s up” he said, his voice still sleepy.

“I need Rita to make a visit to the safe today. We need to get in there and get a good look around. I’ve hooked up a microcamera that she can use undetected while she’s in there.”

Jinx yawned loudly and stretched. “I’ll let her know. When do you want to do this”

“Sooner rather than later. I want to have a chance to examine the pictures.” He brought him up to speed regarding the sketch of the suitcase and his calculations.

Jinx chuckled. “That Eva is a master,” he said.

“Hmmm. Anyway, give me a holla when she’s ready.”

“Hey, hold it a sec. What’s going on I hear something in your voice. Everything cool” He scratched his head.

“Nothing. I’ll work it out.”

“Good, but work what out Is it Eva And the baby thing”

“Something like that. Look, I really don’t want to get into it right now.”

“All right. Whatever you say. We’ll give you a shout when Rita is ready.”

“Cool.” Jake disconnected the call. Slowly he put down the phone.

Generally he wouldn’t have a problem kicking it with Jinx. He may not always have the best advice in the world, but he was always willing to listen—and sometimes that’s all you needed.

But this was different. He couldn’t even rationalize with himself why he’d acted like such an asshole. And he certainly didn’t need Jinx to tell him what he already knew.

Sighing heavily, he returned his attention to the problem at hand, cracking the combination for the suitcase.

*   *   *

Eva hoped that the spinning in her head and stomach would slow down to a manageable level.

“Are you okay You look perfectly ill,” Traci enunciated in that annoying New England accent—even though she was born and bred trailer trash.

Eva gulped back down the bile that had risen to her throat and washed it away with several swallows of orange juice.

Traci invited herself to sit down as if they were old friends instead of two women who secretly hated each other—at least it was a secret to everyone else.

“I was so sure that was you I saw the other day getting on the elevator.” She snapped a white linen napkin open and spread it on her lap. “But then thinking about it, I decided I must be wrong. No way would our Eva be caught dead in a servant’s uniform.”

Our Eva. Who in the fuck was she talking about

Traci’s trilling laugh was like nails on a blackboard.

Eva cringed. “You got me there,” she muttered.

Traci frowned momentarily in confusion. Then shook it off with a toss of her strawberry blond hair. “So tell me, what are you doing on the ship Vacation Business And where is that gorgeous husband of yours” She looked around as if expecting all the answers to her numerous questions to line up beside her.

Think girl, think. Eva rummaged through the lie she’d told Sebastian about needing the time off to look after Rita. She couldn’t imagine he’d think she meant on a cruise ship. Geez, this was getting sticky. Maybe they would hit an iceberg and plunge into the ocean.

“Actually it’s a mixture of business and pleasure.”

Traci’s thinly arched brows rose with expectation. “Oh, really” She reached for the extra glass of water on the table and brought it to her bloodred lips. “What kind of business and pleasure”

“The pleasure part is with my husband, and the business part is just that—business.” She flashed a sneer.

“I see.” Traci took another dainty sip of water. “Is Sebastian about” She looked around again.

“No.”

“Hmmm, he let you take care of business all this long way all by yourself” Her mouth puckered in a tight line of challenge, daring Eva to cross it.

Eva put one foot across the line and then the other. She balanced her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Let’s not bullshit each other, Traci. I don’t like you, and you don’t like me. I think you’re a gold-diggin’ phony that deeply hurt a very good friend of mine, and you’re still pissed ’cause I’m around and you’re not. And now that we have that old business out of the way, I’d like to get back to my breakfast before it gets cold.”

Traci’s near alabaster complexion flushed a deep crimson, almost a perfect match to her lipstick. She jutted her chin upward, giving Eva a perfect view up her Michael Jackson nose.

She tossed down her napkin as if she’d never been insulted before and pushed back from the table. “I was only attempting to make conversation. But I see that you still lack an iota of class.”

What in the name of all that’s holy did Sebastian ever see in this bitch “I missed that lesson. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m sure you have some unsuspecting fool lined up in your sights. Besides your perfume is disturbing my digestion.” She proceeded to chew on a piece of sausage.

Traci spun away with a huff, muttering something about a female dog while she marched off.

Eva rolled her eyes. Her hands were shaking. She’d been so pissed off at Jake, she’d totally forgotten about looking out for Traci. Shit, shit, shit. She should have tried to make nice, but it wasn’t in her to do so. Now she’d gone and ticked her off.

What if Traci called Sebastian just out of spite Or just caused some yet-to-be-seen trouble just for the hell of it Shit, shit, shit.

She let her fork clink onto her plate, her appetite gone. Wiping her mouth, she pushed away from the table and slowly stood, testing the readiness of her legs. At least her head had stopped spinning and her stomach was slowly settling down.

Now what she wondered as she exited the restaurant. No messages on her cell phone, so all must be well for the time being. Well, when in Rome, do like the Romans do. She was going for a swim. She headed back to the cabin, determined to give Jake the cold shoulder if he was still there. All she needed to do was pick up her bathing suit and she was out.

When she walked into the cabin, Jake was busy at the computer and didn’t hear her come in. For a moment she stood in the doorway watching him, wondering how things could have gotten so ugly between them.

She knew she was being stubborn and maybe even a little vindictive. It was her own guilty conscience gnawing at her, and she was taking it out on him. They’d promised each other that kids didn’t factor into their lives, but she’d decided otherwise without him. She supposed he had every right to be upset. But still …

She shut the door. His head snapped up and then turned in her direction. Her heart stilled. Say something, damnit. He turned back to what he was doing.

Eva walked off to the bedroom area. She took her swimsuit from the dresser drawer, a pair of flip-flops from the closet, gave him one last look from across her shoulder, and walked back out.

Jake hung his head, feeling like a pin-pricked balloon. Why did he let her walk out He knew why: He had no idea what to say to her.

He turned back to the computer and tried to concentrate on cracking the combination.

A light knock on the door drew his attention away from his work. He got up to answer.

“You look a little beat down,” Rita said, and stepped inside.

“Thanks.”

“Rough night” Jinx asked, clapping him on the back. He’d followed Rita in.

“Something like that.” He closed the door and walked inside. He went to the bed and picked up the micro digital camera and handed it to Rita.

“The pictures you take will show right up on this computer. It can take stills as well as video. Click the switch once, and it takes pictures. Hold it down for about five seconds, and the video will start to run.”

Rita held the tiny gadget in her hand, turning it over. “This is some real James Bond shit,” she said only half-joking.

The camera resembled a brooch that could be affixed to her purse or worn on her dress.

“Just click right here.” He pointed to the small switch on the side.

Rita nodded, pursing her lips. “Pretty neat.”

“Let’s try it out.” He took Rita to stand on the other side of the room. “Okay, go.”

She pressed down on the switch. Seconds later, a picture of Jinx appeared on the screen.

Jake grinned.

“I see you do have some skills,” Jinx teased.

“Very funny. Now listen, Rita, when you go in there, try to get as many pictures as possible of the inside, any cameras, the metal box layout with the valuables, stuff like that.”

“It’ll probably be better if I clip it onto my purse. I can get a better angle of stuff that way.”

“Right,” Jake agreed. He worked with it a little until it was secure on her purse. It looked like a fancy buckle. He stepped back to observe his handiwork. “Ready”

“Yep.”

“Easy does it,” Jinx said, giving her a light peck on the lips.

She used the pad of her thumb to wipe away the hint of lipstick on his mouth. She started for the door and then stopped. She turned, frowning. “Where’s Eva”

“Went for a swim.”

Rita eyed him for a minute, but Jake wouldn’t look at her. “Tell her to meet me at the casino around three. No, scratch that. Xavier will be there, I’m sure. He doesn’t need to see me and Eva together. Just tell her to call me so we can hook up later on. I’ll have my phone on vibrate, but she can leave me a message.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her,” Jake said, keeping his attention on the computer screen.

Rita gave him one more look, slashed her eyes in Jinx’s direction. Jinx shrugged his shoulders, not knowing any more than she did.

She closed the door behind her.

Jinx meandered over to the bar and poured himself a glass of Coke. He waited awhile, hoping that Jake would open up and spill his guts. The suspense was killing him.

“I know you’re waiting for me to say something,” Jake blurted.

“Naw, not at all,” he lied. “But hey, if you wanna talk…”

Jake chuckled, needing a bit of levity in his morning. He spun around in the chair to face his brother.

“Things are pretty bad between me and Eva.”

Jinx put his glass down and gave Jake his full attention. “You fucked up, didn’t you”

Jake twisted his lips to the side, ready to protest. “Yeah, big-time.”

“Is it about the kid”

Jake nodded.

Jinx was silent.

“Made me sleep on the couch. That never happened before.”

Jinx tried not to laugh. “Damn man, what did you say to the woman”

“That’s just it, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t respond, react, nothing.”

Jinx shook his head in disbelief. “You know better than that. I bet she had a fit.”

“Pretty much.”

“Did you try talking to her this morning”

He thought about their aborted conversation. “Not really.”

“Then you need to talk to her, man. Tell her how you feel and why. She’ll understand. Eva is good people, bro, and she loves you.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Of course it is. She’s your wife.”

“Naw, you don’t understand. See…” He reminded Jinx about his confession to Eva regarding their friend Earl and that even though she acted like she understood, she still had him sleeping on the couch, knowing how bad the ship was rocking last night and what that did to him.

“Jake, she was mad. And she had every right to be.”

He jumped up. “And I don’t We promised each other: no kids. We agreed. So how did this happen She did it on purpose, and that’s what’s really digging at me, man. She tricked me. It’s what trifling women do to a brother when they wanna hook ’im. Not to somebody you claim to care about.”

“Jake, be for real. Do you honestly believe that Eva is trifling Come on.”

He couldn’t answer. It wasn’t Eva he was angry with; it was himself.

“You have a chance that a lot of folks don’t get.”

Jake looked at Jinx. “What’s that”

“The chance to make things right.” He reached out and clasped his shoulder. “Right for both of us, with your kid.” He waited a beat. “Eva’s the best thing that ever happened to you. Don’t blow that for what you think might happen. The kid will have her genes too.” He gave his brother a crooked smile.

“What if it’s a girl” he asked, trying to imagine a tiny version of Eva.

“Then she’ll probably knock you upside the head every time you screw up, just like her mama.”

They both rolled with laughter.

“Yeah, man, you’re probably right,” he said, still chuckling.

“So … you gonna talk to her”

“Yeah.” He nodded his head. “I am.”

“Tell her the truth. All of it.”