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Tim greeted the young woman with a warm smile. He left Maya standing in the path and walked up to his guests.
“Tim,” Felicity said, casting down her eyes, “this is my son.”
Her son? From what Ilano had said, Felicity was supposed to be a virgin. That was until Tim had screwed her. There was no doubt that the woman and child were related. They had the same black hair and eyes, and the same straight noses and full lips. He was a handsome child. He tightened his fingers on Felicity’s hand when Tim knelt down in front of him.
“What’s your name, son?” Tim asked in a gentle voice.
“Enrique.”
“How old are you, Enrique?”
“Ten.” He looked up at his mother, who draped an arm around his shoulders.
“You’re the man of the house, aren’t you?” Tim said, ruffling his hair. “Your mother tells me you take good care of her.”
Enrique didn’t reply, but his chest puffed out.
Tim straightened. “You’re lucky, Felicity. He’s a beautiful boy.”
Felicity’s eyes shone with tears. “I just wanted to say thank you,” she whispered, her voice near breaking, “for what you did for him.”
Tim touched her hair. “You’re welcome. He’s lucky to have you as his mother.”
His expression was tender as he said it, and it moved something deep inside Maya, something she’d buried a long time ago and didn’t like having awakened.
“Did your mom tell you I have a Jacuzzi upstairs?” Tim asked.
Enrique shook his head.
“How about we get the bubbles going, and then we find you something to drink? My secretary makes a mean milkshake.”
Without glancing back at Maya, Tim took Enrique’s hand and led him and Felicity into the house.
Cesar laid a hand on her arm. “I know it seems strange, but—”
His touch startled her. She shook it off. “What did Tim do for Enrique?”
He hesitated for a second, but then he said, “He paid his school fees for life, bought them a house, and opened a trust fund for the boy. He’ll never need for anything again. Nor will his mother.”
“What exactly is Felicity to Tim?” Maya asked, trying to understand.
“Nothing. They’re strangers.”
“Then why? Why would Tim do something like that for someone he doesn’t know?”
Tim spoke from the door. “Because no mother should have to do what she did to put food in her son’s mouth.”
Maya looked up to see him coming back down the steps.
“They’re with Frida,” he said to Cesar. “You stay. I’ll take Lee.”
Cesar seemed pleased. Maybe he had feelings for Felicity.
“Your boat’s ready,” Cesar said.
Tim nodded. “Thanks.” He pulled Maya back onto the path.
“Boat?” She glanced at Tim.
“I told you I’d find another way of impressing you.”
They walked to the beach where a Gladiator inflatable raft floated in the shallow water. Lee was knee-deep in the sea, holding onto the rope.
“Can you walk through the water, or do you want me to carry you?” Tim asked.
She rolled her eyes and made her way into the warm ocean, not bothered that her dress was getting wet up to her waist. Tim laughed behind her. She looked back at him over her shoulder. He’d taken off his T-shirt and was only wearing his Bermuda swimming shorts. His beautiful body glistened in the sun. Something stirred in her heart, but she squashed it under the weight of the mission. Tim was an arms dealer. He supplied weapons to bad people who supported Godfrey. Godfrey was the manifestation of evil. If he succeeded, her kind would become extinct, her art harvested by Godfrey’s gift hunters to grow his dark power. The mission was so much bigger than her and Tim.
For as long as she could remember, ever since Darren, she’d been fighting the bad guys, winning over evil. She knew what it was like to feel the breath of the devil on her face. She’d taken an oath to fight against that evil, to snuff it out with everything in her power. But Tim didn’t feel evil. The whole situation felt wrong. Yet, the facts showed otherwise.
Once all three of them were inside the boat, Tim looked expectantly at Maya.
She raised her brow. “What?”
“Aren’t you going to steer us?”
“Steer us where?”
A smile plucked at her lips at Tim’s panicked look.
“To that island over there.” He pointed into the distance to where a flat surface of land was barely visible.
“How about you, Lee?” Maya asked.
Lee only shook his head. He was as green as Tim was pale.
Maya chuckled. “Right then.”
She pushed past the men, primed the motor by squeezing the primer bulb, advanced the throttle to the start position, and yanked the rope to start the engine. The fumes that filled the air made Lee convulse, but he managed to swallow down whatever made his Adam’s apple bob.
“It’ll get better when we move,” she said over the noise of the engine.
Tim wasn’t listening any longer. He gripped the rope on the side of the boat as if his life depended on it.
