The Choice (38 page)

“See Dan? Isn’t this cool, look what happens when I fire this.”

“Wow man, that’s awesome; you’re really good.” His eyes never left Maggie as he slid his hand down Ryley’s arm. “Hey Maggie, it’s good to see you. You got quite the champion Game Boy player here. He knows how to kick some serious butt.” Ryley gazed starry-eyed at his hero. Lily began to squeal and kick as she twisted and rocked the rope swing, making eye contact with no one.

“Ah, I think she wants me to push her again.” Dan stood up, but this time Marcie watched an agitated Maggie skirt around him, block his path and push him with both hands splayed hard against his chest.

“No.”

“Whoa Maggie, sorry, if you don’t want me to, that’s fine. I’m just trying to help. I like Lily, I think she’s a great kid, and look, she liked it. She was having a great time.”

“Stay away from my kid.” Maggie’s sharp voice shook.

Dan held both hands up in a show of surrender. His face took on a remarkable image of a man seriously wronged. What a performance. But the eyes, Marcie could see from where she sat, they sparkled and glowed with something mischievous and lizard-like. She looked closer. His eyes had changed. They were darker, heavier than she remembered.

Her gut ached watching Maggie stand her ground breathing as if she’d sprinted a mile. But Marcie knew she was close to losing it. And to made it worse, Ryley was sidling closer to Dan. What did he want with them?

“Hey Ryley, go inside and help your mom make me some toast? I’m starving and didn’t have a chance to eat. And Maggie, would you mind making a pot of green tea?”

“Mom can do it by herself. I want to show Dan how this works.”

“Ryley, I’d really like you to go in with your mom and Lily now. Dan came to see me, and he wants to go over some adult stuff in private. Isn’t that right, Dan?” Her smooth voice was determined, even when she turned her entire focus on Dan—whose focal point shifted back to her—with the lopsided grin he used to snare vulnerable women.

“Ryley, listen to Marcie, go inside with your mom.” His eyes never left Marcie’s while Maggie hurried Lily and Ryley past Dan into the cottage.

“So Marcie, you didn’t answer me. How’s the leg?”

“I didn’t think you cared. But it’ll heal.”

He moved with such grace and confidence, sitting right beside her. His leg brushed her brown capris as the bench shifted to support his weight. He scanned the circumference of the yard, looking over her head, which barely topped his shoulders, into the distant brush that covered her granny’s property.

“Wow, look at this place. We should’ve grown one large garden here; look at all this space. The salal over there? There’s no better camouflage. How many acres again, thirty, right? That’s a lot ground cover in one spot, safer for you. Look what happened riding your dirt bike on the back trail.”

Being with him confused her, and she struggled to separate reality from illusion. She was riveted to his words when he gently touched her leg.

“And then there’s us, Marcie. You know.”

“What Dan, what about us? There’s no us. That was you fitting me in, when it was convenient for you.”

His face softened. He clasped his hands in front of him, but not before she caught the slight tremble in his hand. Even his cheeks tinged a subtle shade of pink. He leaned forward, tilting his head to the side a little sheepishly. “I screwed up, and I know I hurt you badly. It wasn’t fair what I did, and I can’t make excuses; sending you off alone, letting you take all the risk. I’m under so much pressure with what I’ve taken on. I took you for granted. I thought you’d always be there, and that you clearly understood how much you mean to me. It was my fault for not telling you every day how special you are. What a good loving woman you are. You’re the only one who’s slipped in.” Dan placed his hand over his heart. “And I vowed I’d never let anyone in, but you're here, and no matter what I do, I can’t get you out.”

His voice softened in a way that made her want to cuddle the vulnerable little boy inside of him. A familiar pull and giddy feeling inside her tummy had her spiraling back into that lost world. Suddenly she was jerked back, as if drowning in a pool of water. “Did you set me up in New Orleans?”

His face hardened. “Is that what you thought? That I’d do something like that to you? What kind of monster do you think I am? Fuck, I was worried sick about you. I called you over and over. Your cell phone kept going to voice mail. You’ve no idea what I went through tracking you down. I finally came out here, and by sheer luck, I found you. But you pulled the rug right out from under me when I discovered you had three cops with you. And yes, I threatened to set up that boy wonder you latched onto. Because I was jealous … angry … hurt … pick any one of the above. I thought you turned on me and betrayed me. And I thought it was the only way to get you back. I should never have made you go out there to get the weed. And I shouldn’t have involved Maggie. I wasn’t thinking. “You took ten years off my life when I found out you’d crashed.” He stopped, and her heart was shattered by the sheen of tears glossing over his eyes.

She looked away when doubts crept in. Maybe he wasn’t responsible for her attack.

“Look Marcie, you’ve had some fun with this cop guy. But I love you so much, I can get past this if you’ll come back to me and be mine.” He reached out and touched her forearm and then slid the back of his fingers up her arm in a gentle caress, stroking under the curve of her chin and gently tucked her long wavy hair behind her ear. “You and me, we’ll make a good life together. Marcie, I got plans, and you’re part of them, and everything good that’ll come with it. We’ll travel. Spend a few months down in South America.”

Fear or something like it thumped inside her head, her heart, her gut, screaming to wake up and shake off the magnetic physical pull toward him. Although no longer a desperate need, as if her heart would blister into a million tiny pieces, if he didn’t belong to her. Awareness blinked on, similar to a hundred watt bulb. This physical attraction was at a cellular level as is an alcoholic’s craving for liquor. Marcie shut her eyes to break the cord and his contact, sending a silent plea to her angels for help. When she opened her eyes, he studied her deeply. But the expression and blank look were nothing familiar. She couldn’t read him. Somehow, he had this ability to hide and block all access, while at the same time, he was a master at tapping into people, reading their most personal thoughts. And Marcie struggled to keep hers safely locked away.

“I can’t shake this want of you, Dan. I need peace, and I need to be loved. What do you want from me?”

He appeared to glow when he leaned toward her. “I told you I want you back, and I’ll do anything to get you.” Dan reached for Marcie’s hand, linking their fingers.

She struggled emotionally to pull away. But he was like a powerful magnet, yanking her back again and again. A single tear slid down the side of her bruised face.

“I promise you, it’s going to be better. Marcie, trust me, I’ll protect you.”

He took both her hands in his. “As soon as all the marijuana’s cut, you and I’ll take off and rest for a bit on a tropical beach down south. I’ll get someone else in to finish the rest of the gardens. You’re hurt, and you shouldn’t have been out there anyway.”

Marcie lifted her head and caught something in his eyes that made her pause.

“So how many gardens were missed?”

Marcie hesitated. “Nineteen. So is the bud I cut ready to go?”

“All trimmed and dried, but I need all of it.”

“Did Sandra trim it while looking after those disabled kids?”

“Look Marcie, I was as mad as you when I found out those kids were there. I laid into her pretty good. It won’t happen again, or she’s out of there.” He sliced his hand through the air. “I’m totally on your side, but let’s stay focused and finish. Forget Sandra, all right?” He smiled a devilishly lopsided grin in his unique way that lit up his entire face, snagging another hook in her tummy.

He pulled a folded rural map of the Gardiner area out of his back pocket and flattened it on the slatted wood table behind her. “I need to get someone out there now.”

“Do you think the gardens are still there?”

“They better be. My buyer’s waiting. After we get back from our little holiday, we can move on, get another one started indoors. But you know, for next year, let’s do it all here. We can fence it off, make it secure, and we’ll have more control. Don’t forget it’s closer and easier for you too, Marcie. With all the military sweeps around the state park, it’s getting way too dangerous on the mainland. And just think of all the cash we’ll make.”

Marcie sucked in her lower lip and nodded. “So if we start it here, you’ll help?”

“Oh, for sure.”

“Cause you know that’s a lot of water to haul, every day. Does that mean you’re going to move in?”

He touched her cheek with his thumb and forefinger, his face softened. “That’s what I’ve been saying to you. You and me, Marcie, it’s time.”

“So we’re going to make a lot of money?”

“We will, especially from the trade.”

“What trade?”

“Well this time, my buyer’s trading straight across for something even better. And it’s already been sold.”

“You did what?”

Marcie limped back and forth through the kitchen, stopping by the stack of shoes by the front door and slipping on a sandal. She felt completely off kilter, as if she’d gone two rounds on one of those rides at the fair filled with spins, twists and turns and then dangled you upside down. She couldn’t stand still and gave no thought to the persistent ache in her ankle.

“Maybe they can catch him getting the marijuana from your gardens.”

Marcie shook her head, as she continued to pace. “I don’t think so Maggie, Dan won’t get his hands dirty. He’ll get someone to do it for him.”

“Mom, can I go outside?” Ryley walked in with a challenging nine-year-old attitude.

“No, youcan’t. Go back in the front room and read that bone book you brought.” Maggie jabbed her finger in the air.

“Where’s Dan, can’t I hang out with him?” Ryley didn’t move.

Maggie’s face pinched as if at any moment she’d lose it. But to her credit, she shut her eyes for a second, swept back her shoulder length hair, while tapping her foot in one of her nice new runners. Marcie could tell she was counting down. “No, you can’t go and see him, he’s gone. Right, Marcie?”

Maggie’s fingers were still locked in her hair, but Marcie could see the slight shake and recognized the fear behind this sharp reaction with Ryley.

“Your mom's right, Dan left. Listen bud, go in the hallway closet and grab one of those jigsaw puzzles. Work on it in the front room, just for a little bit. I know you’re bored, but we’ll have some lunch and then after we’ll head outside and check out the lake.”

He was ready to argue but must have sensed his mother's rising temper. He frowned and left in an unresponsive huff, irritated and mumbling. Marcie smiled a little when she heard a few clunks and clatters in the hall closet.

“Maggie, it’s going to be okay…” The distinct churn of gravel sent Maggie and Ryley bolting to the door. Marcie struggled with her cast as she glimpsed her truck pull in. By the time she reached the doorway, Sam was on the porch walking through the screen door with Ryley dogging his heels, boisterously announcing that Dan just left.

“Dan was here? What did he want?”

“He wants me back.”

“You’re kidding.” Sam ground his teeth and scowled at Marcie. “And when does he want you to get the rest of the marijuana?” His response was unusually abrupt.

“He doesn’t. Someone else is going to handle it for him.”

Sam lifted her chin with his finger. “Well too bad for Dan. Because we found out his brother Greg will be here tonight with the cocaine. This time tomorrow, it’ll all be over. And that scumbag will be locked behind bars.”

“When he makes the exchange, you need to be in position.” Diane ordered her handpicked team: Green, Winters, Mercer and Craig. They mobilized at the old fire hall, now used for storage at the north end of Las Seta. Donaldson was noticeably absent.

Their boss, Dexter, and the rest of the team arrived with the Coast Guard after sundown and were in position at Scotty Bay waiting for Dan’s brother Greg to arrive with the cocaine and Dan to arrive with the marijuana. Dexter radioed once in place. This was expected to be the largest cocaine and marijuana bust in Washington history. These guys were organized and well financed. Until now, luck had been on their side; until this morning, when Diane snuck into Lance’s compound, planting a listening device outside his study. Sam, Richard and Jesse had camped outside the estate in the rugged forest, using the thick foliage as their hideout, and they listened, and that was when they hit the pot of gold. Tonight they’d nail all the players with enough evidence to put them all away and seriously dent this west coast trail of drugs, all the way down Interstate 5.

Sam closed his eyes to curb his worry for Marcie when her sweet bruised face snuck in his thoughts. He couldn’t relax. He was too wired. And it didn’t help that adrenaline pumped through his veins at a ferocious pace. His hands started to shake, more like a twitch, as if he’d drank a gallon of coffee, all because he’d left Marcie, alone. He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out hard, helping to steady his hands, but did little to comfort his unspeakable need to keep her close. Every morsel of decency stabbed his gut over how he could leave her unprotected around this predator. If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.