“Doggy!” the child responded gleefully, her small pink mouth curled into a delighted grin that revealed four small, shining, front teeth—two on top, two on the bottom.
“Are you trying to drown the kid, Gertie?” a male voice teased from the bathroom door.
“You go on and mind your own business, Jake. Me and little Miss Crissy is having us a great time.”
Jake stuck his bald head in the doorway, and enjoyed the sight of his wife of forty-plus years sitting on the floor, seemingly oblivious to the puddle of water around her or the blouse that stuck to her like a second skin.
“Who’s giving who the bath?” he asked mischievously.
Gertie shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Listen to him, will you, Crissy? The man’s a certified comic, ain’t he?”
The little girl with the big blue eyes and honey gold ringlets tossed her head and giggled at a joke she couldn’t possibly understand. Gertie opened a towel and lifted Crissy out of the tub.
The sight of the child in Gertie’s arms caused Jake’s heart to constrict. The poor little thing had no idea she was being used as a pawn in a game where the rules were being made up as they went along.
“Gertie,” Jake said, his voice low as he edged over to the toilet and sat down on the lid, “do you think we did right by agreeing to do this?”
Gertie wrapped the plush white towel snugly around the child’s chubby middle and swept Crissy into her arms. “Of course we did the right thing. What’s the matter with you, old man?” When the child reached for her glasses, Gertie had to arch her neck to save them. “Besides, how could we have turned him down? After all he’s done for us, and never once asked for anything in return.”
Jake hung his head. “You’re right, hon. It’s just that—”
“It’s just nothing,” Gertie cut him off. “Reed McKenna asked us to take care of this little gal for a few days and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“You’re right, Gert,” Jake said as he stood up and followed her into the bedroom. “I just hope he knows what he’s doing. It don’t seem right for a child to be separated from her—”
Gertie interrupted him again. “Don’t say it,” she snapped, turning on him, “or else you’ll get her to crying all over again.”
Jake sighed and paced to the window to look out at the beach. “Reckon we could take her outside to play when she wakes up? The little thing is so pale. She needs some fresh air.” And so did Jake.
“Probably. Now, go take a walk, will you? You’re making me and the baby nervous with all your pacing.”
Jake Patterson started for the door. “Bring us back some sandwiches and chips,” his wife called after him. “And remember to get a carton of milk and some fruit for Crissy and a couple of them punch drinks for us. We’ll save them for later, and after this little dolly goes to bed, we’ll sit out on the balcony and have us a picnic.”
Jake forced a smile and walked out of his third-floor hotel room, making sure the door closed and locked behind him.
* * *
“I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!” Tess gasped. “Selena could never be involved in something like this. She just couldn’t! For heaven’s sake, Reed, you’re talking about organized crime!”
Reed merely shrugged, but the burning in his gut belied his show of nonchalance. “Whether you believe me or not, your cousin was Edward Morrell’s bookkeeper for almost four years. And that position has put her in deep trouble. You must know this wasn’t her first trip to Grand Cayman.”
She hesitated before she admitted, “Selena did mention that she’d been here before, but that’s hardly an admission of guilt.”
“Oh, she’s been here, all right. Seven different trips in two years. Although no one will ever find any documentation to prove it, she was probably hauling Morrell’s dirty money to the island’s various banks and opening accounts in every one of them.”
He hated the stricken look on her face. He remembered how Tess had always placed a high premium on loyalty, especially when she was championing the cause of an underdog. Unfortunately for her, this time she was attempting to defend someone unworthy of her loyalty, and something in her eyes—the sadness and disillusionment—told Reed she knew it.
“Do you know where she is?” he asked her again.
“No,” she said softly. “I haven’t seen her since she left our table.” She glanced at her watch. “That was almost two hours ago.”
Her face was too pretty to be so drawn with worry, and Reed couldn’t help feeling responsible. “I hope I can count on you to help me convince her to do the right thing. She has to go back, Tess. The only way I can help her is if she agrees to cooperate.”
She walked over to the window and with her back to him she said, “Why didn’t she tell me? How could she be in this much trouble and not tell me?”
Reed felt his heart go out to the woman he’d once loved. There were a dozen good reasons why Selena Elliot hadn’t confided in her cousin, and all of them were life threatening. “She couldn’t tell you,” he explained. “She would have been putting you at risk.”
She spun around to face him. “But if what you’re telling me is true, I’m already at risk, aren’t I?”
Reed didn’t try to dispute her logic, because he couldn’t.
When she strode past him to the door, he caught up with her in two strides and covered her hand with his on the doorknob. They were standing so close he could almost taste her.
“Get out of my way,” she said.
“Not until you tell me where you’re going.”
“I’m going to find my cousin,” she informed him as she jerked her hand from beneath his. “Just as you should be trying to do if you were really interested in helping her.”
He stood in front of the door, blocking her path, his feet braced and his arms folded over his chest. “No way, Tess. I can’t have you poking around in something you know nothing about. There’s too much at stake.”
She scowled at him and flipped her hair over one shoulder with an indignant toss. It was a familiar gesture that sent him into a time warp of remembering.
“I’m not asking your permission, Reed.”
God, but she was sexy. “Sit down, Tessa—”
“And will you please stop calling me that!”
“Sit down,” he repeated firmly, his tone unyielding.
It came as no surprise that she ignored him and remained standing. “Will you please just listen,” he said, working to sound more conciliatory. “Selena probably saw something or someone who spooked her. She’s obviously hiding, and more than likely you’ll be the one she’ll contact when she feels it’s safe.”
He
