Page 82 of Judged by Him

“All right?”

“Yes. Very.” Too drowsy to giggle.

Slumped over the table, she watched him adjust his clothing. Holding up the T-shirt, he pointed at the big wet patch in the middle and scowled.

Gemma stood up and stretched, searching about for the rest of her clothes. “Oh, God, I’m sticky icky.” She wiped between her legs with a handful of tissues.

“Messy, dirty girl.” Jason laughed. “I love having my evil way with you. Sinful as it is. Though hell could be quite tempting, bringing a little torture—”

Gemma froze, her own personal image of hell re-activated from her memories, and it was too real for her to stomach.

Jason quickly embraced her. “Sorry. Bad taste.” His words snapped her out of her unpleasant reverie. “Let’s go and have a shower. We’ll have to sneak up there, avoid the crew. I can’t possibly put this T-shirt back on and you, well, look at you. You’re a mess. A truly beautiful mess!”

***

Floating on the surface of the lower deck pool, Gemma drifted in body and mind. Under the baking sun, Sublime continued its course up the east coast of Italy. After lunch, Jason had gone out on the powerboat with Lubinsky. When he suggested she go with him, she protested she would be sick. Accepting her reason, Jason had put on his wetsuit. The material hugged the outline of his body, accentuating all his muscles and broad shoulders.

Once aboard the powerboat, the two men shot off northwards at a terrific pace of knots. Gemma had given a wave.

She relocated to the sundeck after her minor exertions in the swimming pool. Wearing shorts and a bikini top, she tried to occupy herself with a sketchpad while lying under a parasol, away from the unbearable heat.

Nearly an hour had passed since her husband’s departure. Peeking through the white rails, she hoped to catch sight of the powerboat. Restless, she couldn’t sit any longer. Pacing up and down, the hour became an hour and an half. She had an ominous feeling in her belly. Her stomach went into knots when McKenzie appeared below on the main deck with his binoculars. She filled with panic when, a few minutes later, he arrived on the sundeck with Ludo Savage.

“It’s probably engine failure, Mrs Lucas. It can happen. End up adrift.”

“But isn’t there a two-way radio on the boat?”

“Er. Yes.”

McKenzie didn’t offer any further reassurances.

Gemma could feel the blood drain out of her face. Sweat pooled under her armpits.

“Captain. The cove!” Savage shouted out from the other side of the sundeck.

Gemma could see the powerboat, drifting in the water some distance from a nearby shoreline. There was nobody on the boat. The water around it, deserted. She felt faint, a terrible light-headedness. Legs wobbled uncontrollably. Maria grabbed her hand to steady her.

“Mrs Lucas, please don’t panic. There is probably an explan

ation for all of this.” Captain McKenzie headed towards the stairs. “I’ll send the launch to bring the other boat back.”

Fetching one boat with another did nothing for Gemma’s nerves. Her heart pounded, thumping hard against her chest wall. Nausea crept into her throat. Close to throwing up on the deck, she heard Ludo shouting something.

“The beach. There are loads of people waving to us from the beach.” He held the binoculars up to his eyes. “I’m sure I can see your husband, Mrs Lucas.”

Gemma snatched the binoculars from Ludo. The lenses refused to focus correctly, and all she saw was a bleary image of the distant crowd. She twirled the dial around in her finger until she had a clearer image. The remote figures, sharply defined, jumped back at her. The powerful binoculars easily picked out Jason in his wet suit standing next to Lubinsky. The pair were deep in conversation with a uniformed man. Above the beach, nearly lost in the crowds, the blue flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Scanning around, she could see children milling around and a few adults.

Jason appeared unharmed. The nausea didn’t vanish immediately. She didn’t know what had happened. She sat on a sun bed, her legs shaking.

Ludo took the binoculars back. “Wasn’t engine failure. Kevin has got the boat up and running.” He gave a bemused shrug.

“I thought I saw an ambulance.” She bit down on her lip. He looked okay, didn’t he?

“Yes. I can see the provincial police, too. The captain is edging Sublime in closer. It looks like Kevin is going out on the motor launch with Nick. They’ll have your husband shortly.” Reaching down, he briefly patted her shoulder.

An eternity passed, at least to Gemma. The motor launch drifting in the shallows, but Jason remained on the beach. She had to wait nearly another hour before he waded out and got into the boat. Heading down to the main deck, she found McKenzie on the bridge, talking on a radio to Kevin.

“What’s been going on?” she asked

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