Provocative Paradise: A Secret Stranger Romance Read online

  Once more, I tried to call Julie’s number. It went straight to voicemail. “Hey. It’s Julie. You know what to do.”

  As I walked down the hall, I saw Kanye again. “You haven’t seen my sister by any chance, have you?”

  “No, Miss. I’m sorry.”

  “No worries.” But, the fact was, I was worried. Where could Julie be?

  The first place I tried was the bar. Not there. “Jimmy, have you seen my sister?”

  “Can’t say I have. Sorry.”

  Those girls Kayla and her friend were there. “Did you lose something else now?” Evidently, they’d heard about Liam’s keys. I just walked away without a reply.

  I looked by the pool, on the beach, and in the courtyard. Fighting off panic, I tried Julie’s number again. “Hey. It’s Julie. You know what to do.”

  No. No, I don’t know what to do. On the one hand, panicking wouldn’t help me find my sister. On the other hand, how do you not panic when your sister’s gone missing?

  Does this have something to do with the cave?

  Not knowing what else to do, I dialed Liam’s number.

  Chapter Sixteen Liam: If You Like Piña Coladas...

  I figured it was time to finally get some food for the bungalow. Yes, the retreat was all inclusive, and I could have as much food and drink as I wanted at the Main House. But that meant getting in the golf cart and driving all the way there, or calling room service and waiting an hour. It’s not like I had a shortage of money. I’d just pick up a few things to keep on hand for when I wanted to eat and didn’t want to leave the room.

  So, as soon as I opened the door to the bungalow, I grabbed the golf cart key and headed out to go down to the little market I’d seen earlier. Maybe I’ll get some kind of tool and go down to that cave again tomorrow. See what’s in those crates.

  ***

  I had really fallen in love with the island and its rhythm. The sounds of the ocean were present everywhere. Sure, there were a lot of tourists, but everyone was happy. Who wouldn’t be, in this paradise? Even I was starting to feel alive again. A large part of that is Jenny.

  Parking the cart at the Island Market, I hadn’t even made it inside before my phone rang. It was Jenny, and she sounded frantic.

  “Liam. I can’t find Julie!”

  “What do you mean you can’t find her?”

  “I can’t find her anywhere! She’s not in the room, she’s not by the pool or the beach or in the bar or the restaurant.” Jenny sounded breathless and really worried. It seemed a bit out of proportion to me, but then again I didn’t know either of them all that well. Maybe Julie had a history of disappearing or something.

  “Maybe she just went for a walk.”

  “Maybe, but her phone keeps going straight into voicemail. I’m trying not to panic.” From the sound of her voice, it didn’t seem like she was doing a very good job of it.

  “Jenny, it’s probably nothing. But, I tell you what. I’ll come there and we can look together. We can also go to the front desk. Everyone’s key card is equipped with a GPS chip, so if she has her key on her, they can track it.”

  “Oh yeah! That’s a great idea. Thank you!” She sounded grateful and relieved.

  Looks like today isn’t the day I’m going to get food for the bungalow either. I jumped back into the golf cart and headed over to the Main House.

  ***

  Ten minutes later, I was there already, parking the cart in the lot next to the Main House. As soon as I walked into the lobby, she came rushing toward me. Throwing her arms around me, she said, “Thank you so much for coming. I feel stupid worrying like this, but she’s my little sister, and I’m the one who wanted her to come on this trip, and if something happened to her...”

  I gently put two fingers on her lips and said, “Shh... everything is going to be fine. People don’t just disappear. Let’s go take a quick look around and if we can’t find her in, say, ten minutes, we’ll get the front desk to track her key card.”

  She looked so relieved, and that made me feel better. Not to mention, it was just good to see her again.

  I took her hand and we checked the bar, the pool, the gift shop, the courtyard, and even walked down by the beaches. Julie really was nowhere to be found.

  “Is there anywhere you can think of that we haven’t checked?” We were headed back to the Main House.

  “Maybe the atrium?”

  “Isn’t that locked?”

  “It’s supposed to be, yes. But I didn’t actually try the door.”

  “Okay, let’s check it out. And if she’s not there, we’ll go to the front desk.” Personally, I was dreading the idea of talking to the manager again.

  Tucked off to the side of the courtyard was a small atrium filled with plants and flowers. They had offered a flower decorating class in there earlier in the week, but it was usually closed off to the public.

  Jenny walked over to the glass door and tried the handle. It opened! We stepped inside, and my senses were immediately hit with the heavy fragrance of orchids. It was hot inside, and even more humid than outside. It felt like being trapped inside a steam room full of flowers, but one that was the size of a small flower shop.

  Jenny went looking around, and calling her sister’s name.

  “Liam! She’s here!” Jenny called from behind some foliage.

  I stepped around and saw Julie, fast asleep on a lounge chair. She had a book on her chest and a very melted piña colada on the ground next to her. She actually looked more than asleep. She looked passed out.

  “Julie. Julie!” Jenny was shaking her sister. “Wake up!”

  Slowly coming to, Julie blinked her eyes into focus. She seemed a little disoriented at first, and said, “Jenny?” Sitting up and looking around, the book fell on the ground, and I grabbed it for her.

  “We were looking everywhere for you!” Jenny’s voice sounded like a combination of relieved and mad.

  “I...I’m sorry. I was reading and then I...fell asleep I guess.”

  I was starting to sweat profusely. “Not surprising. This place is like a sauna.”

  “Let’s get out of here, Julie.”

  “Good thinking.” Julie looked a little wobbly as she stood up, and so I offered her my arm for stabilization.

  I handed back her book. She was reading a romance novel, apparently. Women really seemed to love those things.

  As if she could read my mind, Julie said to me, “You should read this when I’m done with it. My friend Steve gave it to me. It’s by his favorite romance author.” When I raised my eyebrows, she said, “Not only women read romance novels. Or write them, either.”

  A few minutes later, we’d made it back to the Main House. Julie seemed to be walking a lot better with the fresh air.

  Jenny pulled me aside. “Thank you so much for coming to help me.” She stood there looking up at me with these blue eyes that were so pure it made my heart melt.

  “No problem, Jenny. Anytime you need me I’m here for you.” I was starting to swell just being near her again.

  She grinned naughtily. “Any time? No matter what the need?”

  I leaned over to kiss her cheek, and whispered, “Anytime, any need, anywhere.”

  Chapter Seventeen Jenny: Snapped

  “He’s falling in love with you. You know that, don’t you?” Julie was sitting on the couch in our room, drinking a sparkling water.

  I was sitting next to her, drinking glass after glass of regular water, trying to rehydrate after looking for her all afternoon. “Who? Liam? You’re crazy. This is just a holiday fling.”

  Julie raised her eyebrows. “If you say so.”

  I didn’t mind those thoughts at all, but had something else on my mind. Shifting my weight on the couch to face Julie, I crossed my legs and said, “I say so.” Taking a deep breath, and not really sure how to say what I had to say, I added, “I also need to say something else.”

  Julie rolled her eyes. “Here we go.”

  “Look. I’m
not here to lecture you.”

  “Really? Sure sounds like the beginning of a lecture to me.”

  “Julie. You scared the shit out of me. I spent all afternoon hunting for you only to find you passed out in a 98 degree atrium.”

  Julie got mad. “First of all, I wasn’t passed out. I was sleeping, and the last I checked napping while reading a novel on vacation isn’t exactly rare. Second of all, no one asked you to spend the day looking for me. You were off with your boyfriend, I wanted to have a drink and read. You are acting like Mom.”

  “I’m acting like Mom? Seriously?” I was becoming furious. “You travel to a foreign country with enough prescription drugs to become a drug lord, start mixing them with alcohol, disappear for hours, and then have the nerve to tell me I’m overreacting? That sounds like the logic of someone who has a serious problem with addiction, Julie.”

  “Oh, now I’m an addict? Because I had a fucking piña colada and fell asleep? Because I need some sleeping pills to help me after finding my mother dead on the floor? Jeez, Jenny. Check your privilege. Not everyone copes the same way as you.”

  I got up and stormed into the kitchen. “So you’re saying you don’t think you have a problem with prescription drugs? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Julie crossed her arms across her body, angrily. “I can quit anytime.”

  “Ha! Julie, that’s what everyone says.”

  “Don’t believe me?” Julie got up and headed for her room, and brought out the silver bag. She threw it at me. “Fine. You take them, then.” She then stomped back to her room and said, with tears in her eyes, “Thanks for trusting me, Jenny. Thanks a lot.” She slammed the door, and I could hear her crying.

  I felt like shit.

  Stashing the silver bag in the safe in my room, I realized I needed to get out of here. I was feeling angry, guilty, worried, and a whole host of other emotions that I needed to process. This was not turning into the vacation I’d imagined at all.

  Changing into my athletic gear and putting on running shoes, I decided to head to the beach for an evening run. Nothing cleared my mind faster than a good workout.

  ***

  It worked. An hour later, I returned to the Main House, sweaty and thirsty from a six mile run. I’d had a lot to think about, and running along the beach had done the trick.

  But, I wasn’t quite ready to go back up to the room, so I decided to stop at the bar. Jimmy saw me coming and set out a coaster and a glass of ice water. “You look t’irsty.”

  “I am, thank you.” Looking around the bar, I had to admit I was kind of hoping Liam would be here. But, he wasn’t.

  “Can I get you somet’in to eat?”

  I was still in a bit of a mood and definitely didn’t want anything healthy. I’d had a shit day and wanted to stuff my face with a huge burger and fries. Between the problem with the bank, spending so much time looking for Julie, who then acted like an ungrateful bitch about it, I was starting to think maybe this trip was a mistake. Sure, the thing with Liam was a lot of fun, but, where was it going anyway? It’s not exactly like he was going to fall in love with me and we’d live happily ever after. This wasn’t one of Julie’s romance novels.

  Taking a huge gulp of the wine I’d ordered with my burger, my mood started to plummet. I was going home to no job, no money, and a sister with a prescription drug problem. Because, despite what I’d said earlier, I knew it was a bigger issue than Julie was letting on.

  Just as Jimmy set the plate with my burger and fries down, that chick Kayla and her friend walked into the bar area.

  Strutting by me, they looked at my plate that was overflowing with fries and laughed. “We saw you looking for something all afternoon. Looks like you found it.”

  That was it. Something snapped. I whirled around on the bar stool and grabbed Kayla by the arm.

  “Look. I don’t know what your problem is, or why you seem to have chosen me to be the subject of your bitchiness, but if you don’t knock it off, I am going to kick your ass all the way back to the United States.” I was not normally a violent person, but I’d had enough of their shit.

  The friend just snickered and said, “I doubt you would be able to kick the bun off that burger.”

  Kayla shrugged her arm loose, and said, “Whatever, bitch.” But, I could see in her eyes that I’d made my point.

  Jimmy just stood at the bar, drying some glasses, and shaking his head.

  ***

  It was pitch black in my room and I could hear Julie coughing and walking around and basically having a difficult night, all night long. Not that I was sleeping either. I’d never intended the conversation with my sister to get so far out of hand that I’d be locking up her sleeping pills. I felt a little guilty, honestly. It was clear that Julie really did need them to sleep.

  On the other hand, I knew that it was much more than just sleeping pills. Julie had been mixing several prescriptions with alcohol. It was a dangerous, and potentially lethal combination.

  Finally, at 6:00 am, I got up to start some coffee. I listened at the door to Julie’s room, and couldn’t tell if she was sleeping or not.

  I went back over to the kitchen and poured a cup and took it over to the couch. The sun rising over the expansive ocean view was soothing to my tired eyes. The one thing I don’t regret is getting up in that bitch Kayla’s face. Hopefully she’ll back off now.

  Just then, Julie’s door cracked open. I was shocked at how awful she looked. Her skin was so pale it was practically translucent. Her eyes looked sunken, and there were circles so dark that they practically looked like bruises. She looked sweaty, and her hair was hanging down limp and stringy.

  “Are you okay, Jules?”

  She shook her head. “No. I think I need to go to the infirmary. I’ve been throwing up all night.”

  Oh god. It’s worse than I thought.

  “Okay. Let’s get you down there. I need to get dressed first. Do you want to try and drink something?”

  Julie shook her head no, and lied down on the couch while I went to throw on some clothes. Please let her be okay...

  Chapter Eighteen Liam: Snow and Hot Water

  Although I hadn’t been able to get any food for the cottage before the Island Market had closed for the night last night, I did manage to find a crowbar from a shed that was behind my bungalow. It was one advantage of being in a caretaker’s property, I guessed.

  When I’d gotten back last night after helping Jenny find her sister, the same strange activity had been going on at the beach. Voices and people moving something from a darkened yacht, to a dinghy, and from the dinghy to a wagon or wheelbarrow and then taking it into the cave. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a coconut smuggling ring.

  There’s only one way to find out.

  So, I set out mid-morning, bringing the crow bar, a flashlight, and my cellphone. I left the keys under a rock by the door this time, so I wouldn’t risk losing them again. God only knows how much they would charge me for another lost key.

  One main concern was to make sure that I was alone. I didn’t want a repeat of the other day, with the voice asking who was there. Jenny had texted this morning saying that Julie was in the infirmary. So, I knew she wouldn’t show up to the cave. I was a little concerned about them both, and figured I would just get in and out quickly. Find out what’s in the boxes and leave. Head over and check on Jenny and Julie afterward.

  Part of me wondered if I should just leave it alone. But, I was having fun solving a mystery and, frankly, it was refreshing to not be angry and drunk all the time.

  Walking down to the beach, once again the sand was pristine. No footprints of any kind, despite the noise and activity last night. The only markings went from the ocean to the cave and back. That meant I was likely alone.

  Taking the flashlight out of my pocket, I turned it on and went into the narrow cave. There were far more of the crates than there were the first two times I was there. The coconuts wer
e still there in the wheelbarrow, too. I grinned remembering Jenny throwing them at me. She was a pistol, that’s for sure.

  I walked over to the closest crate, put the edge of the crowbar under the lip of the top, and pulled. It didn’t budge, so I readjusted it and pulled again. Pulling one more time, using my body weight as leverage, the top cracked open.

  Here we go! I set the crowbar down, and used my hands to pry the lid off. Instead of being filled with coins or papers or jewels, the box was filled with plastic bags containing white powder. Unless this was for an extensive episode of Master Bake Off, the white powder was not likely to be sugar. It was probably cocaine.

  The whole cave was filled with kilos and kilos of drugs. Shit.

  Suddenly my fun escapade just got real. This was a very large drug operation and if I were discovered in here, with a crowbar and an open crate full of cocaine, I would be in huge trouble.

  Putting the lid back on and using the crowbar to attempt to seal it back up, I ran out of the cave. No one was there, and so I took off running toward the cottage.

  Thank god no one saw me.

  My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking a little as I opened the door to the cottage. Now what do I do?

  Figuring the best thing to do was to act normally, I took a shower, changed into some swim trunks, and headed over to the Main House to act like the retreat guest that I was.

  Maybe I’ll even take a yoga class. Anything to avoid attention.

  What I really wanted to do was talk to Jenny, but I also didn’t want to interrupt with Julie in the infirmary. Not to mention the fact that if someone thought she knew about the drugs, she could be in danger, too.

  ***

  I parked the golf cart in the parking lot and headed into the Main House. I was feeling paranoid that everyone was watching me, which was of course ridiculous. Just get to the pool and try and relax, Liam.