Cold in the Shadows 5 (17 page)

Oh. My. God.

Heat rushed through her in a wave that had nothing to do with terrible frog jokes and everything to do with the way Patrick Killion was looking at her—like tasting her was on today’s menu. Thankfully he left before her knees went weak and she dropped back onto the bed.

Would he have taken that as an invitation? Probably.

And for the life of her she couldn’t quite remember why she was supposed to say no.

Chapter Eleven

A
UDREY MADE QUICK
use of the bathroom and smoothed the sunblock she found in the cupboard over every inch of her pale skin. She pulled on the bikini that was a little loose but felt like it might stay in place if she tied the laces super tight. She removed her bandage and checked the wound. No inflammation or pain. The skin itched beneath the flaky scab, which was a good sign. The stitches should fall out on their own soon. Ugly as hell, and a vivid reminder that she’d almost died.

She left the bandage off to air the wound. Grabbed a big beach towel out of the bathroom and wrapped it around herself. Then she headed into the living room.

Killion was in the kitchen, wearing nothing but the low-slung board shorts. His washboard abs had a thin smattering of golden hair that arrowed down from his navel and looked like it would be fun to follow.

She watched him as he packed stuff out of the fridge—food, water bottles. She hadn’t hung out with a guy who looked this in shape since she’d dated a lacrosse player during her freshman year in college. The guy had turned out to be a jerk, but as far as eye candy went… She pushed the thought out of her head. Killion was a dangerous operative. He kept in shape to steal airplanes and seduce information out of unsuspecting women.

She bet he was good at it, too.

The atmosphere had shifted from captor and captive to something a lot more friendly. A lot more. Either he was playing her, or last night’s ineptitude with the gun had finally persuaded him she wasn’t the hit woman he was looking for.

She hoped it was the latter, but didn’t really know why it mattered. She was stuck on this island regardless.

He handed her a glass of cold milk. “Did you know people froze milk?”

She blinked.
What
? “Sure.” She took a sip and it was delicious. She tipped it back and drank the whole glass.

“I didn’t.”

“So you’ve learned something new on this adventure. Not a complete bust after all.”

He stared at her intently and said nothing. Then his gaze lowered to the towel, putting her under the microscope again. “Why are you so self-conscious about your body?”

She tugged the knot higher. “I’m not.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be.” He pointed toward some flip-flops near the door. “Put those on.” Then he grinned again. “Do you remember when we stole that plane?”

We
?

“You were out of it, but you told me even gorgeous women worry about not being perfect, whereas us fat ugly dudes think we’re sex on a stick?”

He was sex on a stick, and he knew it. “It’s a bit blurry, but it sounds like something I might say.”

“Oh, you said it.” He draped a pink towel around his neck and strapped the bag of supplies over his back. A proper boy scout. “And you kept going on about some guy called Dean Winchester.”

Her face heated. “I did not.” The fact she had a crush on the actor was not something she advertised.

He guided her out the door and closed it. It locked behind them. Talk about security conscious.

“You did. So I looked him up online when we were in Cartagena. You’re a
Supernatural
fan, and you like blonds.” He said it with such a self-satisfied grin she wanted to smack him.

“No,” she corrected him. “I like specific people, not generalized swathes of the population.”

The path was steep, and she was already feeling tired just looking at it. Still, she wouldn’t get stronger if she didn’t push herself. Then she yelped in surprise as Killion swung her up into his arms—again. Her fingers curled over his heart. No shirt to hold onto this time, just sleek hot muscle.

She swallowed nervously and raised her eyes to meet his. “I can walk you know.”

It felt weird to touch him skin on skin. Intimate. Considering the complicated nature of their relationship, she probably shouldn’t enjoy feeling the beat of his heart against her palm, but she did.

“A day ago, Professor, I didn’t even know if you were going to make it through the night. Swimming was my idea, but let’s take it slow, okay? I don’t want you to suffer a relapse. Anyway, you can carry me back.” His grin told her he knew the effect he was having on her libido.

She sighed.

It didn’t seem fair that he held all the aces. She was hardly some simpering female, but she was completely out of her element.

The blue eyes were serious for a moment, and his face was a lot closer to hers than she’d realized. His gaze dropped to her lips. There was attraction there, but she didn’t know how real it was.

Maybe it didn’t matter.

Maybe it didn’t have to be real. Maybe until she found her way back to civilization she should just take advantage and enjoy herself…

“So what happens next?” she asked rather breathlessly.

“We need to wait for transportation to the mainland and then you need to lay low until I can figure out who set you up and why
Mano de Dios
tried to kill you.”

“So you finally believe me?”

He nodded.

And because he didn’t try to elaborate, she actually believed him.

“That could take months.” She had a job, a life.

“Hey, look at me,” he demanded. “We’ll figure this out. The most important thing is you’re safe. The frogs will wait.” His arms squeezed her tighter against his chest and, even though she didn’t necessarily agree, she didn’t argue.

They followed the dirt path, passing under the dappled canopy of deciduous trees and coconut palms. A lizard darted into the bush, but it moved too fast for her to be able to identify it.

“It might take a day, a week, or a month. But I will get them and I’ll figure out a way to clear your name,” he murmured, almost to himself.

A lump formed in her throat. This man had saved her life even when he’d thought she was a killer. Despite everything, she realized, subconsciously she’d always trusted him. “I guess I owe you my life. I’m sorry I pointed your gun at you last night.”

“If I’d been in your position I’d have shot me days ago.” His irreverent grin made her pulse skip. “Just don’t do it again. And next time I say skinny-dipping we go skinny-dipping. Got it?”

“You are incorrigible.”

“Clothes are overrated,” he insisted.

“Stubbornness is a flaw, you know that?” He opened his mouth, but she beat him to it. “As is always needing to win an argument.”

He shook his head. “Jensen Ackles. Unbelievable.”

She grinned. “He’s hot. You’re jealous.”

“We’ve been over this.” Finally at the bottom of the steep hill Killion placed her carefully on her feet. Then he took her hand and she couldn’t remember the last time a man had been this considerate. She should get abducted more often. “Beach is just around this corner,” he said. “Come on.”

As suddenly as he started walking, he stopped and raised his free hand in warning. A snatch of sound drifted on the breeze. Voices.

Her eyes shot to his. From the tension in his grip they weren’t expecting visitors. He put his finger to his lips and spoke just above a whisper. “Could be day-trippers taking advantage of an empty private beach. Or it could be bad news. Let’s assume the worst.” He slipped off the backpack and retrieved his weapon, drawing her deeper into the shadows of the trees.

“We need to lose this.” He tugged the white towel off her shoulders and balled it up and stuffed it under a bush, sweeping dust and dirt over the top. He didn’t comment on her bikini, but his eyes went to her stab wound. He draped his dusky pink towel over her shoulders and gave her a tight smile. “Healing nicely. Now keep completely still. Movement attracts the eye.”

The voices seemed to be getting closer—men creeping along the path speaking Spanish. Killion drew her behind a large palm tree. Him facing the path, covering her with his body. They were hidden in dappled shade beneath dense coconut palms. Hard to spot unless someone was actively looking for them. The sound of a weapon being cocked sent a spark of fear straight through Audrey and she startled. Killion pressed his body more firmly against hers in warning. Out of the corner of her eyes she counted six men inching furtively along the trail.

“Okay. Plan B.” His words were a brush of air against her ear. “You okay?” he asked when the men were out of sight.

His fingers gripped her upper arm, and she realized she was shaking. She looked up at him. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“That’s my girl.” He took her hand and led her through the woods so they could see the beach from the safety of the trees. A guy sat in the sand guarding a small inflatable boat that had been pulled up out of the surf.

“Wait here.”

She sat motionless, crouched in the bushes, feeling pathetic and needy. All these years she’d preached equality, but she wasn’t holding up her end of the bargain. But she was a biologist, not some government agent or member of a criminal gang. She’d hinder rather than help if she started giving Killion orders.

He was back. “There’s a fishing boat anchored just offshore. How far do you think you can swim?”

“Normally I can swim for at least a mile, but…” She held out her fingers, which were trembling “…I don’t have a lot of strength, so it depends on how strong the current is.”

From the tight expression on his face the currents were pretty strong. “Plan C. Give me ninety-seconds to get around the other side of the beach and then you drop into the surf when the guy isn’t looking. Stroll up onto the beach as if you’ve just come in from a long swim. I need you to deliberately draw his attention to you and away from me. Take off your top.”

“Seriously?”

“Trust me. All I need is a five-second distraction and your breasts will get me that.”

She instinctively held her hands over her boobs. Her cheeks were hot, but she could do this. Hopefully. “How should I act? Sophisticated or shy?”

“Men are idiots, so a little strutting would probably work best. But it doesn’t matter. He won’t notice anything except for your body. Not at first.”

And then he was gone.

Shit. Audrey couldn’t do this. She was not a Bond girl. She looked down at her chest. She was a shy person. Private.

Crap. She was supposed to be counting.

She started at ten because he’d probably been gone that long. She eased Killion’s towel from her shoulders and laid it in a neat pile in the sand. The idea of getting naked in front of a stranger made her feel sick. But these people were not day-trippers, they were here to hurt her and Killion. She wasn’t about to let a little natural reticence get them both killed. She might not be able to fire a gun, but she could show her breasts to some moron too stupid to know she was part of the plan. She got to seventy and pulled on the tie at the back of her bikini top, slipped it over her head, and dropped it to the ground next to the towel. At eighty-five she climbed gingerly down the rocks into the swell of the surf out of sight of the man on the beach. The water wasn’t cold, but it still took her breath. She struck out gingerly toward the beach and knew the moment he spotted her because he stood, resting one hand on his handgun. Even the short swim made her limbs quiver with exhaustion—or maybe that was fear. Her feet hit the sandy bottom and she stood, water streaming over her breasts and down her stomach. She grabbed the bikini bottoms as the weight of the water threatened to drag them down her legs. Crap. Now
that
would be a distraction.

She smiled at the guy and kept walking toward him, putting a little sway in her hips.

“Can I help you?” she asked in English even though she knew he probably didn’t speak the language.

She kept her eyes off the flash of movement behind him, just let her mouth open in shock as he grabbed his crotch and leered at her.

“
Ven acá, nena
.”
Come here, baby
. He reached toward her with grabby hands and she took a step back. He caught her wrist, dragging her toward him, eyes latched onto her jiggling breasts.

Killion grabbed the man from behind and twisted his neck sharply to an unnatural angle. The man fell dead at his feet. Bile seared her throat.

“Get in the boat.” Killion was ripping the dead man’s shirt from his body and putting it on, along with the greasy Panama hat and mirrored sunglasses. He stuffed the revolver in the back of his shorts.

Audrey ran to the boat and started pushing it into the surf, trying to be more than just a distraction. Strong hands gripped her hips.

“In the boat, Aud, now. Do as I say and we might get out of this alive.”

His fingers sent a shockwave of heat through her. Maybe it was being topless in broad daylight. Maybe it was knowing Killion had just killed to protect her—because she knew instinctively he could have swum as far as was needed.

She climbed into the boat and sat quickly as he shoved the craft back into the surf. Once they were floating clear of the breakers he jumped in and started the engine.

“Sit up front and hold your hands behind your back as if you’re tied up.”

Audrey did as she was told, painfully aware of the cold breeze scraping her exposed skin, her nipples beaded and goose flesh pebbling her body.

“I’d cover you up, but I need to use the distraction technique again.”

“What if someone finds the dead man and radios the trawler?” she asked, glancing back at Killion. The guy had seen her naked so often now she didn’t know why she even worried about clothes anymore.

Next time she’d make sure he got naked too, just to even the score. The idea made her tip her chin defiantly. Beat the heck out of vomiting over the side of the boat the way she wanted to.

“We need to take over the fishing boat before they make contact. These guys aren’t going to let us take it from them without a fight. The cartel will probably kill them if they fail.”