Bishop's Endgame Read online

  “Jeez, I haven’t changed my mind. I’m just a ball of nervous energy, that’s all. Cut me some slack.”

  He shoved out a sigh and smiled at her tone. “All right.” He glanced over at the drinks the staff had provided. “You didn’t want anything to drink?”

  She gave him a dark, searching look. “I’m an alcoholic.”

  He blinked, his eyes widening. “What?”

  “You kidnapped me outside an AA meeting… Still, I find it hard to believe you’re that much of a dick to keep mentioning alcohol. So cut it out.”

  Uh, what? “I thought you attended those grief meetings at the church. I never… Shit, I’m sorry.” He was sorry for a lot lately. “No wonder you looked like you wanted to throat punch me when I offered you a beer at the house.”

  She watched him carefully. “So you really aren’t being a dick?”

  “No. I really didn’t know. I never went into the church, and since you lost your mom and brother so close together, I just assumed…” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re barely twenty-five.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Yep. And I’m lucky enough to have figured out my problem early in life.” There was a whole lot of sarcasm lacing her words.

  “I didn’t mean… Okay I did mean it. You’re pretty young.”

  “Trust me. It doesn’t matter. I’ve been in AA and completely sober for three years. Technically I’ve been in AA three and a half years but it didn’t stick until after six months of meetings. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol in almost three years exactly. One thousand ninety-three days, if you want me to get specific.”

  He blinked. “Damn. I’m sorry.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Thank you. I take it one day at a time. And I know I was being a smartass before but I’m lucky compared to a lot of people. I didn’t lose a lot of friends because of it, mainly because all my friends were partying hard years ago. Some still do. And I did cut those people out of my life just for my own sanity. After I started going to AA, and hearing all of the horror stories, some so much worse than mine, I thought maybe I really didn’t have a problem. That I could handle drinking in small quantities. So I experimented, tried to have a glass of wine here or there. But it was never small quantities for me. Once I start, I can’t stop. It’s a compulsion and I give in to it every time. I hate myself the next day, but it doesn’t change anything. That’s when I knew I had a real problem and if I didn’t treat it, I was going to end up killing myself. Or in jail. Or hurting someone else. Maybe in jail for hurting someone.”

  “I don’t even know what to say.” It was brave of her to be so honest about it.

  She gave him a ghost of a smile. “That’s okay. Most people don’t. Though to be fair, I don’t tell most people that I’m a recovering alcoholic when first meeting them. Or even at all. Some of my friends have no idea. They think I just don’t like to drink. But you did kidnap me, so I feel like we are on a completely different wavelength than most people.”

  He let out an unexpected laugh at her blunt words and dry tone. It really was no wonder she was handling things so damn well. She had a sense of humor, and he found himself wishing he’d met her under very different circumstances. But he shoved that thought down hard. There was no room for that here.

  “So,” he said as the engine rumbled to life below them. Yep, they would be getting out of here soon. “Is the reason you’re doing this because you think those bank accounts aren’t real?” He didn’t want to tell her that had been his sister’s thought, because he hadn’t told Arianna who was helping them. Ellis had just told her that his friend was letting them use his yacht. He didn’t think she was lying to him, but he still wasn’t telling her about his sister’s involvement. If Arianna didn’t know about them, she couldn’t tell anyone. Plausible deniability.

  She paused but finally nodded. “Part of me hopes this is all a big mistake, that you’re totally wrong. That we’ll get to the bank and they’ll have no idea who I am.”

  He nodded, not surprised. Then he cleared his throat. “Look…I’m sorry for the way I took you.”

  “The gun wasn’t loaded,” she said offhandedly, but he saw the spark of raw pain in her eyes.

  “Yeah, but you didn’t know that. I had to have terrified you and…I’m ashamed of all of it. I researched you but I should have dug deeper. Clearly. I shouldn’t have made such a huge mistake. You didn’t deserve what I did and…I’m just sorry. If I could go back in time, I would. I swear I’ll help you figure out who set up those accounts. And if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make sure you’re cleared of any wrongdoing, should it ever come to that.” Though he was going to make damn sure it didn’t. He was going to figure out who had set up those accounts and why. “And if…you end up having nightmares because of what I did and need counseling or something, I’ll pay for it.”

  Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. “Um…okay. Thank you. And apology accepted. What you did was messed up—like, beyond—but stop beating yourself up.”

  “Seriously?”

  “No. You can keep beating yourself up for a while.” She grinned. “At least until after we figure out what’s going on with these accounts. Then once you clear your name, you’re totally going to make it up to me.”

  He leaned back against the bed as he faced her. She really was beautiful and only now was it hitting him full force. Before, when he’d thought she was a criminal, it had been easy to dismiss her beauty. Beauty in general was easy to ignore. But she was…funny and smart. And holding up like a champ. And that was sexy more than her looks. “How?”

  “Oh, I’ll think of something. This yacht for instance?”

  Ellis blinked, staring at the stunning woman. Her dark hair was down around her face in soft waves, she had no makeup on, and there was a slightly mischievous twitch to her full lips. Lips he wanted to stare at, but resisted the urge. “You want a yacht?”

  “Uh, no. Can you imagine the maintenance?” Her grin widened and it hit him right in the solar plexus how stunning she was when she smiled like that. “But I do want to throw a big party on it. Or take it out for a day and go diving. And I don’t want to be stuck in a room, hiding from the staff. I want to enjoy every single perk this thing has to offer.”

  He watched her for a long moment, entranced by everything about her. “I think I can manage that.”

  “Good. It’ll give me something to look forward to after…” She leaned back against the pillows, her smile fading. “After all this. I don’t even know what I’m going to do if those accounts are real.”

  They’d talked about what the next steps would be after this, but he knew what she meant. “One step at a time.”

  She snorted softly. “Yeah, I tell myself that every single day.”

  “What’s it like teaching third grade?” he asked after a pause. He’d been watching her—stalking her really—but he hadn’t paid attention to any of the small things. He’d been more concerned with getting her schedule right, with making sure he knew exactly when to take her. Ugh. Thinking of that brought up another wave of guilt he was certain he’d be living with for a long time.

  “Fun. Challenging. Exhausting. And fun,” she said again. “Kids are so great at that age. So ready to learn, eager to help out, and they’re just nice. Sure, they can pick on each other, but at eight and nine they’re still learning about the world around them and they’re so full of curiosity. If they hurt someone’s feelings, it’s never malicious. And they apologize and mean it.” Her eyes practically shone as she talked about teaching and her kids.

  “Sounds like they’re lucky to have you.”

  “I’m lucky to be able to do what I love. Because it’s sure not about the money,” she added on a laugh.

  “So…you want kids of your own?” He was asking a lot of personal questions but they had a lot of time to kill. And he wanted to know everything about her. The real Arianna. The one who wasn’t anything like he’d first assumed.

  “Wow, a kidnapper and su
per nosy,” she said, smiling as she reached for another piece of cheese. “Maybe. I love all my kids but it’s also really nice coming home to a quiet house at the end of the day.”

  He narrowed his gaze at the hitch in her tone.

  “What?”

  “You’re holding back.”

  “Of course I am.” She sighed. “Fine. I’m afraid to have kids because of my alcoholism. For so many reasons tied to that.”

  Ah. “Yeah, I can understand that.” He knew some men, and women, who drank far too much but they were all undercover agents. He understood what had driven them to drink. Arianna was so damn young and he wondered if something had triggered her drinking or if it was just genetic.

  “I also haven’t dated in…forever. And I have no plans or prospects on the horizon either.”

  He couldn’t understand why someone hadn’t scooped her up. Seriously, she was funny and gorgeous. Men in Miami were stupid.

  “So what about you?” she continued. “Turnabout is fair play and you’ve literally held me at gunpoint—”

  He winced.

  “Oh yeah, I’m not letting that go anytime soon. Maybe ever.” That infectious grin was back, her full lips in a wide smile. “And now you’re peppering me with a lot of super personal questions so you get to tell me everything about Ellis Bishop that I ask.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. God, he hadn’t smiled in months. Everything had been about surviving and getting to the truth—still was. But Arianna, the real her, was a breath of fresh air. She was all energy and sunshine and it was messing with his head. “That’s more than fair. What do you want to know?”

  She tapped her lips once and he forced his gaze not to stray to them. “Let’s see. Okay, so your family is pretty wealthy. Which I would never normally say to someone, but again, kidnapper, so…how did you end up working for the DEA? I imagine you could have gone to work for your family’s company and had a nice, cushy desk job.”

  “Man, you just get right to it,” he murmured, though he was glad she wasn’t holding back. He really, really loved this side of her. And hated himself more than a little bit right then, for ever thinking badly of her. “I was in the Marines years ago.” More years than he wanted to think about, especially since he was thirty-seven, more than a decade older than her. “When I got out, a couple buddies didn’t make the transition to civilian life well and got caught up in drugs. It happened so fast too. Drugs, heroin mainly, ruined their lives… And not just theirs, but it screwed up their families too.”

  She simply nodded, truly listening.

  “One thing led to another, and when I was graduating college I put in an application with the DEA. Honestly I was surprised to get hired without any law enforcement experience. But with my background in the Marines and my criminal justice degree, they scooped me up. Good timing more than anything.”

  “Undercover work, right?”

  “Not at first, no. I did a lot of grunt work in the beginning. But yeah, it evolved into that eventually.”

  “I’m kinda surprised you’re working so close to where your family lives.”

  He smiled faintly at her insight. “I normally work on the West Coast and…other places. I was working in Orlando for my last job because I was on the periphery of the actual job and there wasn’t much of a risk of someone recognizing me. And Carter and I had worked so often together before that it made sense for us to team up. It was supposed to be a small part of a much bigger operation. Then when Carter got killed…” Lifting a shoulder, he looked away.

  “I’m sorry about your friend. Truly.”

  “Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “Now how about something lighter for conversation?”

  “All right, then. Any girlfriends or a wife you left behind when you went on the run? I didn’t actually pay much attention to the news and I haven’t had a chance to stalk you online yet.”

  He snickered. “No, no one. Doing undercover work doesn’t leave a lot of room for relationships. Not healthy ones, anyway.”

  “Oh, I bet.”

  “I don’t plan on doing this long term though. You know, if I manage to clear my name,” he said dryly.

  Which made her laugh lightly, as he’d intended. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Before everything blew up in my face, I’d been thinking seriously about getting out. I’d even put out a few feelers before…just before.” God, he hated thinking about Carter being gone. It cut too deep.

  “Well, when you clear your name people are going to be desperate to hire you, because you know this is going to make the news. You’ll be famous for fifteen minutes and get name recognition for good things.”

  “You’ve got a lot of faith in that outcome.”

  She ran her hand through her dark hair and shrugged. “I’m just trying to stay positive. I’ve found that it makes things easier in general. I’m trying not to let my mind wander and get sucked into…well, into what’s going to happen if everything goes sideways. There are so many things that could just pull me under right now, so I tend to make jokes to make things easier on myself. It’s either that or get pulled into a black hole of doom and gloom. You know?”

  No, he didn’t because he’d been living day to day the last few months and focusing on the negative, but he nodded because he wanted to please her.

  And that was a strange revelation. One he wasn’t sure what to do with.

  Chapter 8

  Arianna jumped to her feet when there was a sharp rap on the stateroom door. They’d stopped not too long ago and had been waiting for the go-ahead that they could disembark.

  Ellis stood as well, his movements liquid grace. “We’ve got a few minutes.”

  He’d warned her that when they docked, their boat might be checked, so the two of them were going to hide in a secret cubby in the closet. She was curious why it even existed, though could more or less gauge the reason. To hide stuff.

  She wasn’t sure who was helping them, just that one of his friends was apparently super rich. Yeah she knew his family was wealthy, but owning a yacht was a totally different kind of wealth.

  Like one-percent crazy money.

  Ellis opened the closet door, his broad shoulders filling up the sleek, teakwood frame. When he stepped farther inside, she followed after him. It was already cramped but then he pressed something on the wall—a button of some kind she couldn’t see—and the panel slid back to reveal a small, carpeted space that would fit two standing people. Barely.

  He stepped in first and pressed back against the wall.

  She moved in after him, plastering her body to his because there was no other choice. He was rock-hard against her, all lean muscles and raw strength. And good God, the man was tall and built. She’d known it, but being in the enclosed space really drove home that point.

  “It’s going to get dark in here, but it won’t be for long.” His deep voice was all soothing and gentle. Very different from when he’d first kidnapped her. Just the sound of his voice did strange things to her insides—things she was going to ignore. “And if things go sideways, just act like you’re here against your will.”

  “Okay,” she said quietly, trying to ignore how good he smelled. It was hard when her face was right up against his chest. That masculine, dark scent she was coming to associate with him wrapped around her, making her light-headed, and she leaned even closer against him.

  He pressed a section of a small double hook that looked as if it could be used for hanging hats or robes. As soon as he did, the wall slid back into place with a faint swishing sound.

  The architecture of this was incredible, and if he hadn’t told her about the buttons earlier, she never would have seen either one. She wondered if this storage area was for smuggling cigars or something.

  As she shifted against him, she tried really hard not to be aware of all of his sleek muscles and rock-hard body against her. She thought the sexual part of her had not only died, but withered away years ago. Around Ellis it was coming to life with a vengea
nce. Which was so inappropriate, and really, the worst timing ever.

  She hadn’t been with anybody since she’d gotten completely sober, had turned down so many dates she couldn’t count. It was as if men knew she wasn’t interested so they came out in droves or something.

  She simply didn’t want to get to know anybody because eventually it would lead to getting naked. And she was terrified of what that entailed.

  She wasn’t sure she could have sex sober. Or good sex. Ugh.

  Closing her eyes even though it was dark, she laid her cheek against his chest and took a steadying breath. He smelled spicy, something masculine that she was still trying to pin down. Whatever it was, she liked it as much as she liked the feel of his hard chest against her. The man might have kidnapped her originally, but right now she felt strangely safe with him. Bonded, almost. And when he’d kidnapped her, he’d gone out of his way to be gentle with her, even when he’d thought she was a monster. He could have done anything he wanted, but when she’d brought up rape, he’d been so disgusted and horrified.

  He shifted slightly, moving a fraction as he settled his big hands on her hips. And oh, wow, she liked the feel of his hands on her—way too much.

  Something she would not have thought twenty-four hours ago. She’d been surprised how easygoing and apologetic Ellis had been. Well, not the apologetic part—she’d expected that after what he’d done—but he’d been so sincere, so horrified at himself, that she’d made the decision to simply forgive him. Even after his original apology, he’d kept saying he was sorry.

  More often than not she found herself letting little things go with people because it was easier to live her life that way. But what he’d done was horrible and huge. Still, she knew he’d done it for what he thought were the right reasons and he hadn’t hurt her or taken advantage. Hadn’t even wanted her to come down here once he realized she was innocent. He seemed so averse to the idea, and damn, that heartfelt apology he’d given had melted her a little. Which was ridiculous.