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“They’re good. Vivienne’s been asking about you.”
“I’d planned to take a few days off and come up to see you guys, but that was before you called me.”
Diego put his arm around Ana’s waist. “Ana, do you remember Jacob? He came to my wedding and the baptism.”
She stared at the tall man in the gaudy shirt and tattered Miami Dolphins cap. Her gaze went from his face down to his jeans and worn sandals before reversing to linger on his face. He wasn’t what she would consider handsome; nonetheless he was attractive in a masculine sort of way despite his tacky shirt and ragged hat. His dark eyes in a face the color of golden-brown autumn leaves were mesmerizing.
“Yes, I do remember him.”
What she meant was she’d remembered him from the baptism, but not the wedding. Then he’d worn a tailored suit and shoes. But that was all she’d recalled because the man who’d come with her to the soiree that followed the sacrament at the church had made it his intent to put pressure on her to take their friendship to the next level. What he hadn’t realized was that there was no next level, but that hadn’t stopped him from reacting like a spoiled child when she’d told him it was to become their last date.
Jacob extended his hand, palm up. “And I remember you.” He wasn’t disappointed when she placed her tiny hand on his, he giving her fingers a gentle squeeze before he released them. He nodded to the taciturn driver/bodyguard who’d removed his sunglasses and wiped his face and sable-brown shaved head with a snow-white handkerchief. Despite the heat Henri wore a black suit, tie and white shirt. He hadn’t removed his jacket, and Jacob knew the man always carried a concealed handgun whenever he traveled with Diego.
“Hello, Henri.”
“Mr. Jones.”
Pressing a button on the fob to the Jeep, the hatch lifted as Henri carried Ana’s bags to the SUV, then returned to assist her up onto the passenger seat. “I’ll take good care of her,” Jacob promised Diego.
“I know you will.” He leaned closer. “She’s not too happy about this.”
“She’ll get over it.”
Diego’s eyebrows lifted as he stared at his cousin sitting in the vehicle. She was so still she could’ve been made of stone. “I’ll call you with updates.”
“I hope it won’t take too long to catch the bastard. By the way, how’s Tyler?”
“He’ll be released tomorrow. He’s going to stay in West Palm until he’s cleared to fly. His wife and children are here, so there’s no need for him to worry about rushing back to Mississippi.”
Jacob rested a hand on Diego’s shoulder. “I know you have your people on this, but tell them to concentrate on rogue professional snipers, former-military or even SWAT.”
“We’re going to find him, Jacob, and hopefully there’ll be something left to prosecute.” Diego saw Henri tap the face of his watch out of the corner of his eye. “I have to leave because we’ve been cleared for takeoff. I’ll call you later on in the week to check on Ana.”
Jacob smiled. “Have a safe flight.” He knew as soon as the wheels were up that within minutes the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation G550 would prepare to touchdown in West Palm Beach.
Turning on his heels, he walked to the Jeep and slid in behind the wheel next to Ana. The hauntingly sensual, subtle scent of perfume filled the interior of the vehicle. Sitting less than a foot away from her made him aware of things he hadn’t noticed or had forgotten the last time they’d met.
He’d thought she was taller, her body fuller. And he’d remembered her hair was longer than it was now. However, the pixie hairstyle was perfect for her face, showing off her exquisite bone structure. “Do you have a cell phone on you?”
Ana turned to look at Jacob, her gaze fixed on the shape of his mouth. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself, but he had the sexiest mouth of any man she’d ever seen. The top lip was firm, the lower fuller, sensual. “Yes. Why?”
He held out his right hand. “Please give it to me.”
“Why?” she asked again.
“I’ll tell you after you give it to me.”
Reaching into her leather handbag, she took out the BlackBerry, placing it on his outstretched palm. “Now tell me.”
“You are not to use your cell as long as you’re here. If you need to make a call, then you can use the one in my house or my cell. Are you carrying any credit cards?”
Ana blinked as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was no doubt Jacob wanted her to turn her credit cards over to him. “Yes. I suppose you want those, too.”
“I do.”
She gave him the case with her cards. “What if I need to buy something?”
A hint of a smile tilted the corners of Jacob’s mouth. “I don’t know what that could be, because it appears as if you brought your entire wardrobe.” The back of the truck was filled with at least half a dozen bags. Her eyes narrowed, reminding him of a cat’s.
“I wasn’t talking about clothes, Mr. Jones.” She’d spat out his name.
“It’s either Jake or Jacob. The choice is yours.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Jacob. What if I need to buy something?” Ana asked again.
“I’ll buy it for you.” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “Your father can reimburse me when this is over.”
“And I hope that’s real soon,” she said under her breath, “and I will reimburse you, not my father. He stopped paying my bills years ago.” She’d come into her trust at twenty-five and therefore had become independently wealthy.
Jacob saw the stubborn set of her delicate jaw. “This isn’t a walk in the park for me, either. When I put in for vacation I didn’t expect to share it with someone who didn’t want to share it with me.”
Shifting on the leather seat, Ana gave him a lengthy stare. “I’m sorry if the attempt on my life threw a monkey wrench into your plans. And tell your girlfriend that I’ll give her a gift card so she can buy something real nice to compensate for me taking up her boyfriend’s time.”
Throwing back his head, Jacob laughed loudly, the sound reverberating inside the SUV. “Do you really believe that all you have to do is write a check and make it okay? Money isn’t the cure-all for everything in one’s life,” he added.
“Are you telling me your girlfriend would refuse a no-strings-attached gift?”
“I’m certain she would if I had a girlfriend. I happen not to like women who are fixated on money, because as a government worker I’ll never make the Forbes list of the wealthiest people in America.”
Punching the Start Engine button, Jacob signaled and then smoothly maneuvered away from the curb. Reaching for the sunglasses on the console, he placed them on the bridge of his nose as he followed the signs for the airport exit.
“You didn’t answer my question, Jacob,” Ana said when he headed north.
“What’s that?”
“Why did you take my phone and credit cards?”
“The plan is for you to disappear.”
Her eyes were wide behind the lenses of her oversize sunglasses. “Like in the Witness Protection Program?”
Jacob nodded. “Exactly. And you’re not to use the internet. Without your cell and credit cards it will make it difficult for someone to track your whereabouts. It will be the same with your car parked in the reserved spot at your condo. Even if someone decided to fit it with a tracking device they’ll be disappointed because it won’t be moved for weeks.”
“I live in a gated community.”
“That may be a slight deterrent, but it’s still penetrable. What makes you think your condo’s security can’t be compromised?”
She exhaled a soft breath. “I didn’t think of that.” A comfortable silence ensued, Ana staring through the windshield at the Atlantic Ocean on the right of the highway and the Gulf on the left. “And you think I’ll be safe here in the Keys?”
Jacob took a quick glance at the woman who unknowingly had set into motion a private war that was certain to end in casualties, while he’d pledged Diego that his cousin would not become one of the victims. “You’ll be safe with me.”
“You sound very confident, Jacob.”
He smiled, exhibiting a mouth filled with straight white teeth. “I am not a neophyte when it comes to protecting witnesses.”
“I’m not a witness, because I didn’t see who shot Tyler,” Ana argued in a quiet voice. “One minute I was standing talking to him, and then the next second he was on the ground bleeding from a chest wound.”
“Tyler’s lucky that bullet didn’t hit an artery otherwise his wife would’ve found herself a widow and her children fatherless.”
Ana closed her eyes as if to shut out the scene that continued to haunt her. “His wife is five months pregnant with their fourth child.”
Jacob didn’t tell Ana that the shooter had probably worked alone, but if he’d had a spotter, then she wouldn’t be sitting next to him. He wasn’t certain whether something had spooked the sniper or he felt he had to get off the shot or lose his target, but destiny had determined that his target would get a reprieve.
“My dad hired some people to try to find whoever shot Tyler. Do you think they’ll catch who’s behind it?”
“I’d like to believe they’ll find him.”
It was the first time Jacob heard a modicum of fear in Ana’s voice. He didn’t want to believe that she didn’t know that the Coles would spend every dollar of their vast wealth to keep her safe. He’d agreed to look after her because of his close bond with Diego. It wouldn’t be the first time he would step in to help the Coles. At Diego’s request he’d helped Vivienne Neal uncover who had been responsible for her husband’s hit-and-run. His involvement in solving the conspiracy that led to the death of the U.S. representative was instrumental when he was recommended for a promotion as an assistant director of the Miami-based federal detention center.
Diego married Vivienne and they had asked him to become godfather to their son whom they named Samuel Jacob Cole-Thomas. Although they lived in the same state, he didn’t get to see his friends as much as he would’ve liked. Oversight of staff to supervise the U.S. Marshal Service at four Miami federal detention centers left him little time to socialize. It was only when the mandate came down that he had to take at least two months of his accrued vacation leave or he would lose it had he become aware that his career had taken over his life.
Jacob couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a normal relationship with a woman, at least one that lasted more than a few months, because they were no longer a priority whenever he was directed to search for a fugitive or assigned to witness protection. At first he’d come to regret sitting behind a desk, because he’d missed the adrenalin rush of being in the field, but after a while he’d come to appreciate a measure of normalcy when he wasn’t on the job 24/7, or on an assignment that took him away from home for weeks, or on occasion months.
Ana had asked if she was safe with him and he hadn’t lied to her when he said yes. No one he worked with knew he had a house in the Keys. Some of them had been to the renovated apartment he rented near downtown Miami whenever they got together to view a game, but on a whole most of his coworkers knew him to be a very private person. Even when some of the single guys got together socially they never saw him with the same woman more than twice.
Jacob didn’t know why he wasn’t able to form a lasting relationship with a woman because it hadn’t been that way with his parents. Theirs had been a fairy-tale love affair when at the age of seventeen his father had spied the woman he would eventually marry. The pretty girl had been a cheerleader for the opposing football team. He took her to his prom and he was her date for hers, sparking a lot of controversy that she was dating the running back from their rival team.
“What made you decide to live in Long Key rather than Key West?”
Ana’s query pulled Jacob from his musings. “Key West is too crowded and touristy. Long Key is more for those looking for laid-back solitude.” He gave her a quick glance. “Have you ever been to the Keys?”
Ana gave Jacob a spontaneous smile for the first time. “When I was sixteen I’d decided to leave home. Destination: Key West. I’d accelerated in high school, graduating a year ahead of my peers and I was ambivalent about going to college. I’d read about Ernest Hemingway living in Key West, and I was always drawn to the bohemian lifestyle.”
“How were you planning to support yourself?”
“I’d closed out my bank account, and I figured if I lived frugally then it would’ve lasted me until I took control of my trust.”
“How long was that going to take?”
Ana turned her head to stare out the side window. “Nine years.”
“At sixteen you’d saved enough money to last you for nine years?”
A smile softened her mouth. “At sixteen I’d believed I could live on five thousand dollars for nine years. What did I know about money? All I knew was when I asked for it to buy something, I got it. I loaded up my car and took off in the middle of the night. I got as far as Miami before the police pulled me over.”
“Were you speeding?”
“No. They told me the car had been reported stolen.”
“Should I assume the car was in your father’s name?” Jacob asked as he struggled not to laugh.
“It was. The police held me until Daddy arrived. What he didn’t say frightened me more than if he’d gone off on me. He refused to talk to me, then loaded my bags in his car and arranged to have my car driven back to Boca Raton. I didn’t get to see that car again until it was time for me to go to college. Having my dad, whom I adore, not talk to me for weeks cured me of wanting to live in Key West.”
“What made you decide to strike out on your own?”
“It had to be impulsivity or a temporary lapse of common sense. When Daddy finally did talk to me he said that if I’d wanted to go off and see the world, then he would’ve hired a chaperone to accompany me wherever I wanted to go. The fact that I didn’t trust him enough to tell him of my plan hurt him more than I could’ve imagined. He reminded me of that when the rumor about bad blood between Serenity and Slow Wyne was made public.”
“You didn’t tell him about what went down between you and Basil Irvine?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because if my father hadn’t thought I was capable enough to run the company, then he wouldn’t have relinquished control once he decided to retire. Would you have asked my brother that question if he were CEO?”
A frown settled into Jacob’s features. “It’s not about gender, Ana.”
“Then what is it about?” she asked, her voice rising in annoyance.
There was only the sound of the slip-slap of rubber on the roadway as he drove onto the Long Key Channel. “It’s about trust and respect,” Jacob said softly. “It couldn’t have been easy for your dad to start up a new record label when he had to compete with legendary giants like Atlantic, Capitol, Sony, Epic and RCA. Nowadays you have to go head-to-head with Virgin, Interscope, Slow Wyne and Island Records Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. The genre and players may have changed, but the business is still the same.”
“How do you know so much about record companies?” There was no mistaking the awe in her tone.
“I read a lot,” Jacob said glibly. “I need you to answer one question for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you feuding with Basil Irvine?”
“No. Basil has been in business long enough to know he can’t win every negotiation. Justin Glover isn’t the first artist he’s failed to sign to his label and I’m certain he won’t be the last. I’ve lost count of the number of performers we’ve lost to other labels for one reason or another. I just suck it up and move on.”
“Maybe that’s because you’re a gracious loser. I don’t like to keep bringing up gender, but you have to remember you’re a woman, so someone with an ego like Irvine’s isn’t going to accept defeat as graciously from a woman as he would from a man.”
Ana knew Jacob was right about her gender when it came to Basil, but she wasn’t about to admit that openly. Basil had earned a reputation as an astute and aggressive businessman, and despite his reputation as a misogynist women still fell over themselves to be seen with him.
Jacob turned off onto Royce Creek Drive, driving a short distance before pulling into the driveway of a two-story house. Maneuvering under a carport, he lowered the windows, and then cut off the engine. He rested a hand on Ana’s shoulder. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Unbuckling her seat belt, she shifted on the seat in an attempt to take in her surroundings. One side of Jacob’s house overlooked a canal with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. Ana smiled when she thought of waking up to water views. Her favorite pastime was sitting on her condo’s balcony at sunset drinking a chai latte. It was as if all the stress of the day faded as the sun sank lower in the horizon before disappearing and leaving the darkening sky with splashes of red and orange.
She didn’t have to wait long. Jacob returned, sans the hat he should’ve discarded a long time ago. To say he wasn’t into fashion was an understatement. She did recall him wearing a suit to the baptism, but that was expected because it was held in a church. What she couldn’t remember was him being at Diego’s wedding.
Ana stared, her eyes becoming wider behind her glasses as Jacob came closer. Without the hat she was able see all of his face. Her gaze lingered on the elegant ridge of his cheekbones before moving down to his sensual, masculine mouth. She found her protector to be genuinely handsome, and she could not imagine why he didn’t have a wife or a girlfriend. The only alternative was that he wasn’t into women. That would have been devastating because he was the epitome of masculinity. His cropped black hair, tall, broad-shouldered physique, lithe stride and soothing, modulated deep voice should have drawn women to him like moths to a flame.
Jacob opened the passenger-side door and extended his arms. Placing her hands on his shoulders, Ana found herself cradled to his hard chest before he slowly lowered her feet to the ground. “You can go in now and look around while I bring in your bags.”
She walked in through the side door, finding herself in a space that doubled as a pantry, laundry room and a place where Jacob had stored tool boxes, fishing rods and other boating equipment. A trio of bright orange life vests hung from hooks on the wall along with two racing bikes suspended from a rack. She then entered an all-white state-of-the-art kitchen. Beyond the kitchen was a living/dining room with a vaulted ceiling. A curving black wrought-iron staircase led to a loft. All of the floors on the first level were gleaming black slate, a shocking contrast to the lighter colored furnishings.
The house was airy, filled with an abundance of light, and spotless, and Ana wondered perhaps if Jacob employed a cleaning service. Ceiling fans in the living and dining rooms turned on at the lowest speed, dispelled the build-up of heat. She heard barking and went to investigate. She’d grown up with a menagerie of pets, but the condo where she now lived did not allow pets of any kind.
