31

Jinx and Rita returned to the cabin. Eva took one look at her cousin and knew the worst had happened. She didn’t even want to know what was going on in Jinx’s head.

“I’m going to my room to change,” Rita said softly.

“I’ll go with you,” Eva said.

Jake looked up but held his tongue.

*   *   *

The instant they were in Rita’s cabin, Eva jumped on her. “Tell me what I think happened didn’t.”

Rita kept her back to her cousin.

“Rita … Oh, God. Why All you were supposed to do was fix his drink.”

“I know. I know.” She turned to Eva. “He’s … not what you think.”

“Not what I think! Have you lost your mind He’s a murderer, for godsake. And if I’m not mistaken, he’s had Traci disposed of.” She told Rita about what had happened earlier.

Rita’s insides sank. She could still see Traci being carted off by those two well-dressed goons.

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“Maybe not. But one thing I do know is that you hurt Jinx to no end.”

“Since when did you give a damn about Jinx’s feelings”

“Since I realized that … men have feelings too, Rita. That they hurt too, have wants and needs and secrets too.” She slowly approached Rita, who looked like she wanted to run. “Just like me and you. We’ve been running and searching for something all of our lives, and it’s been right in front of us for a long time. But we’ve been so busy looking for the next best thing, we couldn’t see it.”

Tears filled Rita’s eyes. “Jinx can’t really want me. He can’t really want me, ’cause at the heart of him with all his faults and quirks, he’s a good guy—and good guys don’t go for women like me.”

“But he has gone for a woman like you.” She reached out and wiped the tears away. “And it’s about time you started thinking of yourself as someone worthy of being loved and not used.”

Rita hung her head. “It’s probably too late now.”

“One thing I’ve discovered on this little excursion is that it’s never too late.” She paused for a beat. “Now come on. We have some diamonds to lift.”

*   *   *

Rita put the stash of zirconia in her oversize pocketbook. “Sure looks like the real thing,” she muttered as she closed the pocketbook.

Jake handed her the encoded card key for Xavier’s box. “This should work.”

“Should” Rita said.

“It will. Trust me.”

“Get in and out of there as quickly as possible,” Eva said. “I’ll be nearby just in case anything goes wrong.”

Rita nodded. She looked at Jinx. He flexed his jaw and turned away.

Eva followed her out.

*   *   *

When Rita arrived at the security desk, she cringed when she realized that the young man she’d flirted with was not on duty.

She turned left and headed toward the noisy casino.

Eva frowned. Moments later, Rita’s voice came through her headset.

“You’re going to have to cause some kind of diversion,” she whispered into the tiny microphone attached to her bra.

“Why What’s wrong”

“There’s a different guy at the desk. The cameras are going to see that I’m not opening my box.”

“Shit. Okay. I’ll think of something. Just go ahead.”

Rita went back to the security desk. “Hi. I need to get into my box.” She smiled. He ignored it.

“ID.”

She went in her bag and pulled out her identification and slid it through the small opening.

He looked it over then at her. “Card key.”

She handed that to him as well. He slid it through a slot next to the computer, and a signature card spit out of the printer. He pushed it through the slot.

“Sign at the X.”

She did as instructed. “Busy night, huh”

He muttered something she couldn’t understand.

Her signature approval popped up on the screen. The side door beeped open, and she stepped through.

Rita walked down the narrow walkway, passing the boxes. Xavier’s was next. All she could do was pray that whatever Eva had in mind worked.

She took the card key and slid it in. The door to the box popped open without a hitch.

She held her breath, waiting for alarms to go off. She took the metal box out and went into the private room. She pulled the curtain.

Pulling the bag of zirconias from her purse, she made the transfer, leaving enough of the real thing in the box as instructed.

Drawing in a breath, she stuck her stash down in her purse, closed the box, and returned it.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she walked back to the door.

She saw Eva through the Plexiglas partition chatting amiably with the surly guard.

She knocked on the glass to get his attention. The door buzzed.

“Thanks and good night.” She gave him a finger wave and walked away.

Her legs felt like spaghetti, and she was sure that at any moment a big grubby hand was going to clamp down on her shoulder and drag her away for eternity.

She collapsed in relief when she finally made it back to the cabin.

Jake was beaming. “Good job.”

“It ain’t over yet. We still have to get off this ship,” Jinx said. “How long is loverboy going to be out”

Rita grimaced.

“At least twelve hours. Stuff works like a charm,” Jake said from experience.

Moments later, Eva arrived. “Close one,” she breathed, shutting the door behind her.

“What did you say to that guy anyway” Rita asked.

“I started talking about the alleged person who went overboard. Told him how scary it was and whatnot. He said it was probably somebody throwing trash over the side. Said it happens all the time.”

“At least it kept him busy and his eyes off the monitors. By the time they play the tapes back, we’ll be long gone,” Jake said.

“We need to get everything packed up. I have some calls to make to my connections in Miami, make sure we’re all set.” Jinx got up from his seat. Rita approached.

“John.”

She rarely used his first name, Jinx thought, the sound of it softening the iron ball in his gut. He drew in air through his nose.

“Yeah,” he muttered, keeping his attention focused on packing up the equipment.

“Can we talk Later”

Jinx turned his head and looked up at her. He tried to see her without Suarez’s hands all over the body he loved, Suarez’s mouth on places that should be reserved only for him … He blinked away the vision. “Not sure what there is to talk about, Rita,” he said, the words falling like snow between them, soft but cold.

She turned away and ran into Eva’s stare. Talk to him, she mouthed.

Rita squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

Eva pursed her lips into a tight pout, crossed the room in two steps, and grabbed Rita by the arm, practically lifting her off her feet. She dragged her back to Jinx’s side.

His head snapped up.

“Look, we all make mistakes,” Eva said, looking from one to the other. “And there is no one in this room with a clean enough slate to throw stones. We all got dirty, stinking laundry. But the bottom line is we’re … family. We love each other. You two love each other,” she said, flicking her index finger back and forth between Jinx and Rita, “and we two love each other,” she added hooking her thumb over her shoulder at Jake. She huffed.

Jake stepped up and put his arm around Eva’s waist. “We’ve been in the game too long, bro. When you’re in it too long, you begin to believe your own con.” He reached toward Jinx. “We just get caught up, man.”

Jinx lowered his head. He ran his tongue across his lips. “You wanna help me with this stuff or just stand there” he asked, looking up at Rita.

Rita felt as if she would burst with relief. She blinked back tears and sat next to him on the small couch. She started wrapping up the wires. He may not be as dashing and insatiable as Xavier Suarez, she thought. But he loved her, and he wanted her in his life with no strings attached. All he wanted was for her to love him back. Her hand brushed his as they both reached for the next cable. She looked into his eyes. Yeah, she could do that.

Eva grinned and turned to Jake. She angled her head to the side. “So now you’re a relationship counselor too, huh”

“I call ’em like I see ’em.” He winked. “You ain’t too bad yourself.”

She tugged his belt and pulled him to her. “I think I’m going to have to check out your credentials … later.”

He leaned down and pecked her lightly on the lips. “Strip search” He put his hands on her waist.

“Uh, I think there’s something I need to tell you all.” Rita stood and instinctively smoothed her blouse.

“What” Eva and Jake echoed.

Rita glanced over at Jinx. She walked to the center of the room. “Before … Xav … Suarez passed out.” She swallowed. “He realized he was being drugged. He tried to fight it. He … tried to kill me.”

“What!” Jinx jumped up from the couch. He came over and grabbed her arms, letting his eyes run over her. “What did he do to you” he asked in a tone so chilling, it stiffened her spine.

She took the scarf from around her neck.

Eva gasped at the ugly bruises that circled Rita’s neck like a choker. But were they the result of an attack or …

The cords in Jinx’s neck tightened, rising above the muscles beneath as if pulled by an invisible string. He picked up a glass from the table and hurled it across the room in helpless frustration.

Jinx paced the room like a man possessed, hurling curses and threats. Pleas to settle down fell on deaf ears. He wanted to hurt Suarez, make him pay for hurting Rita. He’d been so ready to accuse her of sleeping with Suarez, and she’d been fighting for her life. He never even gave her a chance to explain. His shame slowly tempered his anger.

He looked at Rita, and the thought that he could have lost her sucked the air out of his chest. And for what For some crooked FBI agent whose hands were far dirtier than theirs.

Jinx ran his palm across his head and exhaled. “Let’s get this bastard.”

“That’s the plan,” Jake said in all seriousness.

Jinx walked up to Rita. His mouth tried to form words to apologize for thinking the worst, but nothing came out. He took her hand. “Let’s go. We need a good night’s sleep.”

*   *   *

As Rita lay next to Jinx in the comfort of darkness, a part of her hated that she led Jinx to believe that nothing happened between her and Suarez, that the bruises were all a result of her fighting for her life. But it was best this way. It was an episode of her life that she would tuck away out of Jinx’s reach. He need never know. Only she would.

She closed her eyes, and images of her and Xavier taunted her throughout the night.