Virginia Smith - Into the Deep

With jerky gestures, she flipped open her phone and located Allison’s number.

The call went to voice mail.

“She’s not answering,” Nikki told Ben as she hung up without leaving a message.

A frown creased Ben’s brow. “Isn’t that weird? Why wouldn’t a friend take your call?”

“It’s Friday night. She’s probably out on a date or something.” She set the phone on the counter and sipped from her juice glass. “I’ll try her again later, but I’m telling you, it’s a useless effort. You may not believe in coincidences, but I do.”

He placed an arm on the counter and leaned toward her. “All I know is you showed up at my work after more than two years without a word, and the same day someone shoved a threatening letter under my door. Coincidence or not, I’m staying here tonight.”

Now heat did flood her face. “That is so not happening.”

When the realization of what he’d just suggested set in, matching red blotches appeared on his tanned cheeks. His gaze dropped, and it took Nikki a moment to realize he was staring at her necklace. She plucked at the chain and held the cross between her fingers.

He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean it like that. This condo has two bedrooms and a couch. I’ll sleep on one of them.”

A heavy silence fell between them. The thought of Ben sleeping in the same town would probably have kept her awake all night anyway. To have him in the same condo, on the other side of a door?

No.

Her fingers tightened on the cross. “What’s going on, Ben? Why are you so worried?”

Nikki watched a struggle play across his face. Finally, he spoke in a low voice. “I don’t want to involve you any more than you already are. It’s safer if you don’t know.”

The memory of being watched crept over her like a wave washing up on the beach. She glanced toward the closed patio curtains again. Was someone out there now? What had Ben done? Who had he run afoul of?

With a jerk, Nikki straightened her spine. It didn’t matter. Ben Dearinger was no longer a part of her life. Whatever trouble he’d gotten into, he could get himself out of. She wanted no part of it. She would leave Key West tomorrow, first thing in the morning, birthday or not. Forget the vacation. Forget the beach. She just wanted to go home, to safety and to Joshua.

She picked up his untouched glass and slung the juice in the sink. “You need to leave now.”

“Nikki, I—”

His protest died in the face of the glare she turned on him. With a resigned sigh that sounded more like a huff, he reached near the telephone for the pen and notepad with the resort’s logo. He jotted a number on the top sheet and shoved it across the counter in her direction.

“My cell phone. Call me if you hear anything weird. Even if it’s just the wind blowing.”

Though she would never admit it, having his number made her feel a tiny bit better. She followed him to the door. When he’d crossed the threshold, he turned. His mouth opened, then he hesitated as though he changed his mind about whatever he’d been about to say.

“Goodbye, Nikki. Lock the door behind me.”

Any words she might have said were impossible. Her throat was too tight. She searched his face, memorizing the features she had never forgotten, and then gave a single nod before closing the door.

Not only did she lock the dead bolt, she shoved a chair from the dinette set beneath the handle. Then she rummaged in the kitchen drawers for the largest knife she could find. No doubt she wouldn’t get a minute’s sleep tonight. That was okay. She’d sleep on the plane tomorrow, on the way home to Oregon.

In the breezeway outside Nikki’s door, Ben waited until he heard the lock click into place. A slivered moon cast white light across the resort grounds, but deep shadows darkened the areas beneath the many trees. He made his way to his bicycle, tense knots in his gut.

Nikki hated him. And he had no idea why.

No, hate was too strong a word. He hadn’t sensed any strong emotion from her at all, other than an intense desire to get rid of him as soon as possible. Which wasn’t fair. What did he ever do to her? Nothing, except be honest with her. Hadn’t he told her right up front, before she moved into his Cozumel apartment, that he wasn’t interested in a permanent relationship? That if she was looking for a husband, she should return to the States with her friends and leave him to his carefree life in Mexico?

He walked the bike over the winding path toward the resort entrance, his mind filled with memories of the pretty blonde tourist who came into the dive shop with her friends. They’d wanted to go snorkeling in Cozumel’s crystal clear waters. The attraction had been instant and mutual. Ben and Nikki spent every minute together for the next week, and when her friends left to go home, she stayed. Quit her job over the phone, had her roommate send her belongings to her mother’s house for storage and slipped easily into the life of a beach bum. His life.

Then she started going to that church and all the problems started.

Ben reached the main road. He waited for the traffic to pass, then swung his leg over the bar of his bicycle and planted a sandaled foot on the pedal. The bike picked up speed as he pedaled, generating a warm, salt-scented breeze to ruffle his hair.

Apparently she hadn’t gotten over her religious phase in the years since she left. She’d clutched that cross like a talisman. Like he was a vampire and she needed protection against him. Which was ridiculous. They might not have parted on the best of terms, but surely she knew he would never hurt her.

But apparently, there was someone who would.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. The Reynosa drug cartel wouldn’t hesitate to kill if it accomplished their purposes.

Even an innocent. Even Nikki.

And he would be responsible.

He reached a decision. With a quick glance over his shoulder to check for traffic, he executed a U-turn. Even if it meant spending the night beneath one of those moss-covered trees, somebody had to watch out for her, no matter what she said. Because she had no idea who she was dealing with.

But he did.

Ben arrived at the dock for work early the next morning. He wedged the front tire of his bicycle through the steel rack at the end of the pier and threaded the bike chain around the frame. A wide yawn took possession of him for a moment, and he was too exhausted to fight it. He’d finally fallen asleep, against his will, sometime after four. An angry resort groundskeeper had mistaken him for a transient and kicked him awake at seven. Though he’d been chased off the resort property, a quick inspection of Nikki’s building showed nothing out of place. At least, the door hadn’t been broken down or anything.

He unstrapped his backpack from the bike and shouldered it as he stepped onto the wooden pier, heading for the dive shop. Actually, he felt a little stupid for spending the night there. His fears in the darkness last night seemed unreasonable today with bright sunlight sparkling on the constantly moving waters of the bay. Nikki was probably right. Her being here was a coincidence. More than a million tourists visited Key West each year. Plus, he worked for the biggest water sports shop on the island, and they maintained a top-notch Web site. Anyone wanting to find out about booking an excursion long distance would naturally contact them.

But what about that note?

Ben’s step faltered as he passed a twenty-two-foot sailboat getting ready to leave the pier. Okay, the note could be explained, too. Somehow the Reynosa people had found out about Nikki’s visit. Or…maybe they’d witnessed the encounter on the pier. He’d long suspected they were keeping close tabs on him. Yeah, that was probably it. They jumped on the opportunity, decided to use her as another scare tactic to force him to act.

But there was no way they could know for sure he had the flash drive. They were guessing, hoping to force an admission out of him. The best thing he could do was treat this attempt like the others, and ignore it. As long as he didn’t confirm their guesses, he and Nikki would both be safe.

His course of action decided, the confidence returned to Ben’s step as he continued down the pier. Up ahead, he saw activity around the Sally Jane, the larger of the two dive boats owned by Key West Water Adventures. He bypassed the shop and went to the edge of the pier.

Tyler, co-owner of the shop and dive master on the Sally Jane, stood in the boat, snapping a diving cylinder into white plastic tank holders. On the dock, a cart with one more cylinder waited nearby. Ben dropped his backpack on the pier and grabbed it. When Tyler turned around, Ben handed the tank into the boat.

“Hey, man. You’re here early.” Ben nodded at the nineteen cylinders already secured. “I would have helped if you’d just waited a minute.”

“No problem,” Tyler assured him. “I wanted to get a jump on the day. Now that you’re here, could you grab the weight belts? We’ve got eight divers this morning, all renting equipment.”

“Sure thing.”

Ben scooped up his backpack and tossed it onto the empty metal cart. He started toward the shop, pulling the cart behind him.

“Oh, yeah,” Tyler said. “When I came in this morning there was an envelope on the floor. Had your name on it.”

Ben stopped. Though the early morning sun was already working overtime to warm the air, a chill cooled his core. He turned. “My name?”

Tyler nodded, unconcerned. “Somebody must have shoved it under the door. It’s on the counter.”

Without another word, Ben hurried toward the shop. He left the cart in the center of the floor while he scooped up a manila envelope from the edge of the counter. Careful block letters spelled out his name in blue ink.

Fingers trembling, Ben bent open the metal clasp and unfolded the flap. A single piece of paper had been slipped inside. A sentence of Spanish scrawled expansively across one side.

Tráigalo al Mallory Square en la puesta del sol.

The second note in two days, but this one had the unmistakable sound of a demand. Bring it to Mallory Square at sunset. No doubt what it the note referred to.

Ben turned the paper over to look at the back side. When he did, his heart skidded to a stop.

The door behind him opened. He whirled, and then leaped forward to grip Tyler’s shoulder. “Can you handle the morning dive without me?” He hadn’t meant to shout, but his voice filled the small dive shop.

Tyler’s eyebrows arched. “Sure, Ben. I’ll give Jason a call. He can always step in on short notice.” Concern colored his boss’s features. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. No.” Ben shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve got to go.”

He scooped up his backpack and shoved the door open with his shoulder. He stuffed the paper in the pack as he sprinted down the pier toward his bicycle.

Nikki’s resort was located near the center of the four-mile-long island. Ben arrived there in a matter of minutes. He didn’t bother bringing the bike to a stop before jumping off in front of Building C. By the time the bike hit the side of the building and came to an abrupt halt in a flowering shrub, Ben was already beating a fist against Nikki’s door.

“Nikki, it’s Ben.” When she didn’t appear immediately, he pounded the wood harder. “Come on, Nikki. Open the door.”

A sound came from inside. A scrape, and then the dead bolt turning. The door opened inward. Nikki stood inside wearing a pair of stretchy sweats and a rumpled T-shirt, a blue coffee mug in one hand.