He didn’t finish the thought.
This stretch of sand just outside Belize City was only a few hundred yards long and hard to find off the main road. Tourists usually considered it a private beach. Just a small parking lot and a grove of palm trees that opened up to the beach, all of it nestled at the base of a mountain plateau a few hundred feet up from the sand.
The place where the Palace stood.
Members from the Blue Breeze were the main beachgoers here. Oh, and Anders McMillan’s captives. Especially Eliza. Intelligence from other operatives had told Jack that Eliza came here at the same time every day. Her armed guards walked her halfway down the mountainside and waited there. She would walk the rest of the steep path by herself and for two or three hours she could sit in the sun and read or swim in the warm, clear water.
But Henry Thomas Ellington IV wouldn’t have known any of that.
So Jack had to act totally unaware of Eliza. He didn’t look around as he reached the clearing. Memorized instructions played in his head. Walk straight to the water. Casually turn left and count out fifty yards. If she’s not there, she’s twenty yards up the sand in the shade of the palm trees. Whatever you do, don’t look around. Her guards will be watching.
Jack wore Tommy Bahama khaki shorts and a dark blue tank top. He worked out two hours a day and it showed. His body was part of the job. He carried a backpack over one shoulder, a beach chair over the other, and an oversized towel. Focus, Jack. Don’t look for Eliza. Keep your eyes straight ahead.
He was definitely being watched. Jack could feel the eyes on him.
As soon as he reached the water and turned he spotted her. Ten yards down the beach, sitting in a low-slung chair reading; her pale hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Feet in the gentle surf. Jack slowed as he approached her.
Their eyes met and Eliza took off her sunglasses and stared at him. “My groom.”
Jack hated this. “I was. I… um…” He looked up the beach a ways and back at her. Play the part, he told himself. “I didn’t think I’d see you till tonight.”
“You?” She sneered at him. “You won’t see me. It’s not a date.” Hatred filled her tone. “You and your family… you bought me. It’s a business deal. Tonight you collect your purchase.” Her eyes were steel cold. “There’s a difference.”
Wow. Jack fought every instinct to apologize, to tell Eliza the truth that he would never buy a person. But this was the job, and if the mission was successful, it would save her life and the lives of every teen still being trafficked by Anders McMillan.
There was nothing Jack could say. He shook his head and stared out to sea for a beat. Then he started to walk past her.
“Wait.” Anger rang in her voice. “Why?” She looked him up and down. “Why would you agree to an arranged marriage? Don’t you have a choice?”
Jack felt his muscles tense. He didn’t dare look up the hillside to the place where her guards stood. Eliza had a point, but Jack was ready. “Relationships are messy.” He shrugged and cocked his head. Keep the attitude, he told himself. She’ll expect an attitude. “I’m not looking for love, Eliza.” He worked to keep a stone face. “I’m looking for obedience.”
For a few seconds she only stared at him, her contempt a physical presence. Then she gripped the arms of her chair and set her eyes on the horizon. “We’ll see about that.”
Again Jack said nothing. He set his things down and crossed his arms. “The deal isn’t set yet, Eliza. Remember that.”
Her blond hair blew in the breeze and a pair of seagulls flew past. It took her a minute, but finally she looked at him again. This time there was a sense of fear about her. Even with her sunglasses on, Jack could see it. She pulled her cover-up more tightly around her body. “I’m sorry. Please… leave me alone. Until tonight.”
Jack had no idea what to say next. He was her groom, not a customer. He steadied himself. “I’m sorry, too. For bothering you.”
As he walked a hundred yards down the beach and set up his chair, as he stripped down to his bathing suit, walked through the surf and dove into the salty smooth water, he could only hope he had passed yet another in a series of tests. Should he have been meaner, more angry? Sarcastic? He had no room for error.
He swam for half an hour and then returned to his chair. By then Eliza was gone, back up the hill with the guards, back to her bedroom at the Palace to get ready. Jack looked at the spot where she had been. Did she know she was a victim? That it was sinful and illegal and vile for her father to keep her in a place where he sold girls for other men’s pleasure? Or was she Anders’s accomplice, with no qualms about what she did?