Page 43 of Strangers She Knows

“Of course I would,” Rae snarled. “I’m not stupid!”

Max looked startled.

Kellen had been assessing her as they walked. “You’ve got contusions on your cheek and forehead.”

Rae held out her hands.

“On your palms.” Bits of dirt and rock were embedded in the skin. “I’ll bet that hurts.”

Rae nodded, and the tears started again.

“Your left knee and calf are ripped up and it looks like you scraped off a toenail. Nothing serious, but nothing fun. What were you doing?” She really expected to hear something about riding fast downhill.

“I just… I was trying to…”

“Trying to what?” Kellen asked.

“I built a jump.”

Max made a noise deep in his throat.

Kellen looked back at him in bewilderment.

Proudly, he tapped his chest and mouthed,My kid.

Kellen turned back to Rae. “You built a jump? For your bike?”

“Out of the boards in the garage.” Rae sounded less sniffy and more enthusiastic. “It was working great!” She sagged. “Then one of them broke.”

Max held the screen door for them. “Those boards are so old, honey, they’re rotten.”

“You’re telling me!”

Kellen helped Rae inside. “Let’s get you in a bathtub, clean you up and see what exactly we’re dealing with.”

Max slammed the screen and said, “I’ll see if I can find something to make a jump out of that won’t break.” He didn’t even notice the blistering glare Kellen gave his retreating back.

15

“You know, Owen, if you’d been smart, you might have entertained doubts as to why I wanted to learn how to handle your yacht.” Mara Philippi glanced at Owen Kenoyer, seated at the back of the…at the stern, strapped in and trolling for some game fish to mount and stick on his wall. “But you thought it was cute that a beautiful, saucy woman wanted to handle such a massive vessel. I made you feel indulgent.” She shot a grin at the back of his head. “Like most men, you’re easily led with the stroke of a finger. So to speak.” She checked the rudder to make sure it was cranked to the left, allowing the yacht to make lazy circles in the water. “Probably all this knowledge I’ve gained will be useless in the future, unless I decide to buy my own yacht, and if I do, I promise never, ever to take on a young lover I pick up in church. When your wife finds out, what will she say?”

Predictably, Owen didn’t answer.

“Probably nothing, or maybe she’ll want to thank me. I imagine she’s used to your philandering, and with the money you’ve got and the nasty little fetishes you enjoy, she’ll be relieved to have you out of her hair.” Mara laughed. “So to speak again… Have you noticed when you talk about sex, almost everything you say becomes a metaphor, and humorous? Stay there, I’ve got to go below to open the bilge pumps.” When she returned, she leaned on the rail and gazed at the faint smudge on the horizon that was Isla Paraíso. “It’s sort of a shame to scuttle this vessel when I was really getting the hang of it. I could get used to living like this.” She looked around affectionately.

This beast must have cost two hundred thousand or more.

She focused on Isla Paraíso again. Her humor faded, and she began to breathe deeply, like a woman on the verge of orgasm. “I hate to leave you here, but I have an appointment with Kellen Adams and her family. Her husband, Maximilian. Her darling little girl, Rae. I think in the past few years, while I was in prison, Kellen has grown quite fond of them. The best part is—they’re afraid that I’m coming. They think they’ve outsmarted me…and they did for a while. I followed them to Italy before I realized I was on a wild goose chase. ThatIwas being followed. That was a mistake. The woman they hired was tough, but not as tough as me. Burns are such painful wounds, the little pieces of agony that make up successful torture. When I was done with her, she told me where they had gone. I removed her hands—my signature, as you now have discovered—and left her to die.” She swallowed in chagrin. “I should have known. I should haveknown. I went to Morocco and almost got killed before I found out she hadn’t known where they were!”

She thought she heard a whisper on the wind, whipped her head around and glared at Owen. “I can hear you laughing. Don’t think I can’t. Don’t think this doesn’t add another hour to Kellen’s torment. I’ll see to it myself.”

The yacht was riding low in the water now, starting to flounder.

She loaded her supplies and weapons into the dinghy. “I wondered—where will they end up? Where will they think themselves safe? Somewhere in the States, of course, on one of the Di Luca family properties. Someplace safe. That narrowed it down considerably. They weren’t going to a busy winery where every guest is welcome. No. It had to be isolated, easily guarded. I admit, Isla Paraíso wasn’t my first guess. I didn’t even know they owned an island off California. I mean, who does that? The family’s got money, I’ll say. After I got it narrowed down, all I had to do was check their spreadsheets.” She turned to face Owen. “Did I mention I spent the time in prison learning how to read? I demanded they teach me to overcome my dyslexia, and theyhadto. A judge made them, and I didn’t even have to sleep with her. I was condemned to life in prison, and the governmentstillhad to give me a chance for employment. God, these laws! You know what I mean. I hear you carrying on about exactly this. So wasteful!”

The yacht shuddered and tilted toward the port bow.

She stumbled and clutched the railing. “I’d better be careful. I’d hate to end up floating on a door in freezing water.”

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