The Only Way Out Part 23

Andie tried to catch her breath. She felt as if she'd been running for hours. It was nerves. Her stomach fluttered and her palms were damp. They were really getting out of here.

She supposed she should be happy. Once they were inFlorida, they had a chance of escaping Kray. Yet she didn't want to go. It wasn't just because she was going to miss Jeff. Of course she was; he'd become a big part of her life. But the worst part of leaving was what he was going to do when she was gone. Whether Kray's men killed him instantly or he found his way back to the States, he was dead to her. The man she loved, the man she'd spent the night with, would be gone forever.

She wanted to sit down and cry, but there was no time for tears. Besides, she didn't want to scare Bobby.

As Jeff walked down the dock, she placed her hand on her son's shoulder. Bobby glanced up at her. His face was solemn. She gave him a half smile. "It's going to be okay."

He nodded. "Jeff told me I have to be brave for you, Mommy."

"You're very brave. I'm proud of you."

She squeezed his shoulder, then bent down and took his hand. When Jeff turned back toward her and waved for them to come toward him, she bent down and pulled Bobby against her, then started toward the boat.

The morning was steamy. As she hurried along the wooden dock she felt perspiration break out on her forehead and back. Jeff moved toward her and met her halfway. He took Bobby from her and led the way to the boat. The closer they got to the vessel, the larger it appeared. It had to be at least forty feet long.

Jeff stepped into the boat and set Bobby down, then turned and a.s.sisted her. The deck shifted beneath her feet. She had to hold on to him to keep her balance. Jeff wrapped his arm around her waist.

A man stepped onto the deck from below. Andie stared at him. He was tall and muscled like Jeff, with blond hair. But the stranger's hair was more golden and hung just past the collar of his polo shirt.

"You'll get your sea legs soon enough," the man said,then grinned. He was handsome, although not as good-looking as Jeff. His eyes were brown instead of blue and there was a scar on his face, from the corner of his mouth down across his chin. "I'mCort ." He held out his hand.

"Andie." She glanced at Jeff. When he nodded she shook the other man's hand. "This is my son, Bobby."

Cortsquatted down in front of the boy. "Hey, kid, how's it going?"

Bobby straightened. "I'm brave."

"Good for you." He glanced at the bag the child held. "Are those your toys?"

Bobby nodded.

"Why don't I show you where to store them, then we'll leave. Okay?"

He was asking the question of Bobby, but looking at Jeff.

Bobby hesitated.

"It's all right, honey," Andie said. "Go explore the boat, then come back and tell me what it's like. We're going to be on board for a couple of days."

Cortstood up and took the bag, then led the way down to the main cabin. Andie could see through the open door and the large windows flanking either side. There were two small sofas in the salon, a television and even a narrow coffee table. Beyond that, she saw part of a kitchen.

"Cort'sa good man," Jeff said. "You'll be safe with him. The boat is large enough to be comfortable."

She didn't want to hear about being comfortable. She stared into his familiar face,then leaned against him. Instantly his arms wrapped around her. "Don't go," she pleaded. She touched his shoulders, his back, his sides, then felt the pistol tucked in the waistband of his shorts. "Come with us."

"I can't."

"You won't." She pushed away from him and folded her arms over her chest. "There's a difference." His blue eyes met hers unflinchingly. "Why do you have to be the one to do this?" she asked.

"There's no one else."

"Entire governments are looking for Kray. They'll catch him. Don't you see? If you kill him, he wins. He'll make a mistake eventually. He has to. Everybody runs out of luck. Don't destroy your life over this. Don't destroy us. Or me."

He touched her face. She wanted to duck away, but she couldn't. His fingers stroked her cheek. "I know how hard this is for you."

"You don't know anything about what I'm feeling. I've spent the last six years living in h.e.l.l. I finally find a little peace and comfort and you want to destroy it." The anger gave her strength and she did step back then. "I won't wait for you. If you get away, if your government forgives you, don't bother coming to find me. What you're going to do is wrong and once you do it, you won't be a man I can love anymore."

He didn't move, but she saw his muscles tense at her words. A flash of pain lit his eyes; then he blinked and all emotion was gone. "I understand."

She flew at him and started hitting his chest. "Don't understand, d.a.m.n you. Get angry, change your mind,stay with me."

He grabbed her wrists and held them to her side. "I can't do that. If there's anything else, anything, I'll do it or say it. Just tell me what it is."

He wouldn't be swayed. She hadn't thought he would, but a small part of her had continued to hope. If only she could make him see what the price would be. Yet he knew the price. He was willing to pay it. He would do what he felt he had to do,then face the consequences. He would risk everything, even her.

She tried to think of some last words to convince him. Instead she blurted out, "Tell me you love me."

He stared at her.

She flushed. "I know you don't. You're still in love with Jeanne, and you can't forget who I was married to. I know it's not true, but please, say the words. Just once."

She needed to hear them. They would keep her strong. He stared at her for solong, she started to tug to free her wrists. Then he let her go. Before she could turn away, he hauled her up against him and kissed her.

His mouth was hot and hungry. His lips pressed hard against hers, his tongue invaded, demanding her surrender. They clung to each other as if they would never see each other again.

They never would.

At last he released her. She had to fight back the tears. "I love you," he said, then took her hand in his and kissed her palm.

Before she could answer,Cort came out from the salon. "Bobby is having some juice and a graham cracker," he said. "We're ready to go. You sure you don't want to come with us, boss?"

"Thanks, but I've got to take care of business."

Andie didn't care about being strong. She grabbed his arm. "Don't do this. Don't throw everything away."

He bent down and kissed her cheek. "Take care of yourself, Andie. Don't hate me forever."

"I don't hate you at all. I love you."

He stepped away from her,then vaulted over the side of the boat onto the deck. Her chest felt as if someone were ripping out her heart.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"You have to be strong for your son,"Cort said.

She looked up at him and saw compa.s.sion in his oddly flecked brown eyes. "I know. It's hard."

He moved to the steering wheel on the left side of the deck. He turned a key,then pushed a red b.u.t.ton. Instantly, powerful engines started beneath the deck. She felt the rumble and bent her knees to stay balanced.

Jeff loosened the ropes holding the boat to the dock and tossed the lines back to them. The boat began to drift out to sea.

She stood at the side and stared at him. "d.a.m.n you, Jeff. I don't even know your last name."

He grinned. "Mark.u.m. JeffMark.u.m ." The engines made it hard to hear. He stood there, then called out, "I wasn't lying, Andie. I do love you."

ThenCort increased the power and they were moving away. Andie raced to the stern and screamed Jeff's name. But the wind caught the sound and carried it back toward her. Jeff stayed on the end of the dock, growing smaller and smaller. His figure blurred. She brushed away her tears. She stood there until she couldn't see him anymore.

"He'll be all right,"Cort said. "He always seems to land on his feet."

She nodded but didn't answer.No point in explaining it wouldn't matter if he landed on his feet or not. Once he crossed the line, the Jeff she knew would be gone.

"There'sa couple of things you should know about the boat," he said. "If you're up to it, I want you to practice handling her. Also, there's a special compartment below. If Kray's men catch up with us, we can hide Bobby. They'll never find him. As soon as we're away from the pleasure boat traffic I'll show it to you. All right?"

"Fine."

She turned back to look at the island. She could see the pale beaches and lush foliage, but the dock had disappeared. Jeff was gone. Now she only had herself and her son. Somehow she would have to stay strong enough to keep them safe.

Jeff waited until the boat rounded a curve and was lost from view, then he hurried up the dock to his Jeep. Once inside, he started the engine,then paused. She was really gone. He didn't have to worry about her or the kid. He was free to get on with his own business.

He should have felt relieved. Instead, he found he already missed her presence and Bobby's chatter. The Jeep felt empty and large without them.

He reached in the glove box for his baseball cap. When he pulled it out, a small, plastic action figure fell on the floor. He picked it up and held it. Just a cheap toy, he told himself. Bobby wouldn't even miss it. Jeff tucked it into his shorts pocket and shifted into gear.

As he drove down the road toward Kray's villa, he wondered how long it would take to get over her. He had no way to reconcile his feelings for Andie with his mourning for Jeanne. Maybe Andie was right. Maybe what he was mourning wasn't hiswife, it was simply an excuse to wallow in guilt. Maybe he used the pain to keep him going because it was easier than actually facing life and his responsibilities. He couldn't take back what he'd done, but he could try to do better in the future. Not that he was going to have much of a future when he was done with Kray.

He approached the villa the long way, going by the expensive hotel on the edge of Kray's property. He parked in the guest lot, grabbed his binoculars,then strolled through the grounds. There were plenty of vacationers around. On the west end, a walking path meandered through the thick growth. He took it,then cut through toward the ocean. He came out on the beach.

A wall of rocks and boulders hid Kray's villa from the hotel guests. Jeff wasn't ready to take action. He simply wanted to get a look at things and start making a plan.

He glanced around the beach. The small stretch of sand was empty. He could hear vacationers beyond the sandbar, but this little cove was deserted. He walked toward the rocks and started up.

The climb was easy. Well s.p.a.ced boulders provided foot- and handholds. When he reached the top, he paused and looked around. No one was stationed at the top of the bluff. Slowly he pulled himself over and lay flat on the ground. He didn't want to get caught. Depending on who saw him, he might be able to bluff his way out of any trouble, but he didn't want to take the risk. Not until Andie was safely away.

The house was about a hundred feet away down a gra.s.sy slope. Jeff picked up his binoculars and scanned the property. There wasn't anyone around. No bodyguards, no staff, nothing. He carefully checked out all the windows but couldn't see any sign of life.

He rose to his knees, then to his feet. Quickly he hurried toward the shield of growth to the right of the gra.s.sy slope. Using it for cover, he made his way down to the house. He was on the opposite side from where Andie had entered through the French doors. Back here there were only windows. She'd probably come out this way with Bobby.

He circled around the house, toward the French doors. The silence was unnerving. He checked again for signs of anyone, but everything was still.

He crouched in the low brush. What was Kray up to? Before he could come up with an answer to the question, he heard Andie's voice telling him even if he made it out alive she didn't want to see him. He believed that she loved him. He also believed she meant what she said. If he killed Kray she wouldn't see him again.

He understood her feelings. He wasn't sure how he was going to live with himself. But he didn't have a choice. Kray had to be stopped and no one else was lining up to get the job done. Kray's death would solve all their problems.

But it wouldn't bring Jeanne and J.J. back to life.

He closed his eyes against the anguish. In that moment, with the hot, humid air stealing the breath from his lungs, with his fingers gripping the binoculars so tightly, his knuckles were white, with his heart pounding and his chest tight with pain, he knew the truth. His wife and child were gone forever.

All the mourning, the guilt and blame he could muster wouldn't bring them back. Kray's death wouldn't bring them back. He could scream at G.o.d about the unfairness, he could punish himself forever, but they were gone.

He wasn't sure how long he crouched there. Finally his legs started to cramp. He rose and walked toward the villa.

The French doors stood open. He hesitated before entering. Was it a trap? He listened to the silence, waiting for his instincts to warn him of the danger. He felt nothing. He reached behind him and pulled out his pistol. He lifted the binocular strap over his head and let them hang against his belly. Then he stepped into the villa.

The main room was empty. Jeff listened for the sound of conversations, or footsteps on the tiled floor. There was only silence from inside and the faint crash of the waves from the sh.o.r.e. He went from room toroom, half expecting to find a bleeding corpse, but there were only made beds and tidy piles of clean laundry.

He returned to the great room. Half-filled gla.s.ses and dishes sat on a table by the bay window, as if the people there had been unexpectedly called away from their meal. He moved closer and saw several doc.u.ments sitting out. He picked up the first one and scanned the sheet. It contained a schedule for laundering money at one of the local banks. Jeff set it down and picked up another piece of paper. Bribe information. There was enough here to lock Kray away for the rest of his life.

He grinned and started to grab the doc.u.ments. Before he could pick them up, he reminded himself he was gathering evidence illegally. Not only couldn't it be used in court, but it went against everything he believed in. If he took the papers- The battle of his conscience stopped abruptly. He could plan to kill Kray, but he would quibble about picking up a few papers left lying around? Was he crazy?

If you kill Kray, Kray wins this round. Andie's words. He picked up one of the papers again and stared at it. He could easily take the lot and get them into the right hands without anyone questioning where they came from. It could simply be an anonymous tip.

But it was wrong. Just like killing Kray was wrong. Here was the line was he willing to cross it for good? Was he willing to go to the other side, to be just like Kray? Or would he rather fight the decent way, following the laws and keeping his honor in one piece?

He put the paper down and walked out the front of the villa. He had a radio in the Jeep. He would callCort and have him bring the boat back to collect him. There was nothing he needed at the house. Together the two men could work on a plan to capture Kray legally. He turned to start back along the beach when he heard a noise. A large pleasure craft came around in front of the house. It was flying across the water.

Jeff started to turn away, but there was something familiar about the boat. He grabbed his binoculars and looked out at the vessel. He focused,then swore under his breath.

Kray and three of his men sat in the back of the boat. They were all heavily armed. He lowered the binoculars. Somehow they had found out aboutCort's boat and they were after them.

Andie glanced through the big gla.s.s windows toward the salon. Bobby sat in the middle of the floor watching a cartoon video. He hadn't seen TV in so long, he was beaming with pleasure. She was glad he was happy. After all he'd been through, he deserved a treat.

Andie turned back toward the open ocean surrounding them. She sat in the same seat, at the rear of the boat. The warm tropical breeze tugged at her neat braid. She'd gone below to inspect the hiding place for Bobby and to grab a snack. Now she sipped on her soda and tried not to think.

Cortsat in a high captain's chair and handled the boat. In a couple of hours she would spell him; then she would rest while he took the first night watch. Together, they would make their way toFloridaand safety.

It would be easier if she could cry again, she thought. But ever since they'd lost sight ofSt. Lucia, she hadn't been able to do anything but breathe through the pain. She knew in time it would dull to a manageable ache. In a few weeks, she would go hours at a time without thinking about him.

Before they landed inFlorida, she was going to makeCort promise to keep her informed. She wanted to know if Jeff made it out alive. She wanted to know what happened. She wanted to know when to start her mourning.

A soft beeping caught her attention. She turned and sawCort picking up a headset. He spoke briefly, then set it down and turned to her.

"That was Jeff," he said, his expression grim. "Kray's after us."

Jeff twisted the wires together,then hit the starter. The speedboat's engine leapt to life. He leaned over and untied the lines holding the boat to the temporary mooring facility outside the hotel, then pushed off the dock. The needle showing the fuel level registered full. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had enoughdiesel to find them.

He turned the small steering wheel toward the open ocean,then pushed the throttle a quarter of the way forward. The boat started moving through the water. When he was clear of the dock and small sailboats, he pushed the throttle all the way and the slim speedboat soared over the waves.

From behind him he could hear the faint calls of the disgruntled owner of the boat. No doubt the harbor patrol would be after him. Good thing. By the time the police arrived at the scene, the battle with Kray would be in full swing. He andCort would be able to use the a.s.sistance. Thank G.o.d this small craft could outrun Kray's bigger, more expensive boat.

Jeff settled in the seat and checked the compa.s.s.Cort had given him their position. It wouldn't take him long to catch them. He only hoped he made it before Kray did.

That line of thinking made him worry about Andie, so he distracted himself by figuring out several different plans of attack. If Kray beat him toCort's boat which was likely, he had a big head start then he, Jeff, would have to come in quietly and surprise his enemy. No matter what, he couldn't let Kray get hold of Andie and Bobby. They were depending on him.