Crystal Blue (Buck Reilly Adventure Series Book 3) by John Cunningham (novels for beginners txt) 📕

ready—my body felt as if every fold of skin had pulled taut, I was so ready. I ran my hands up her bare back, pulling her toward me—

What the hell are you doing?

John Thedford might still be out there. And one of us—more likely, both of us—would be regretting this tomorrow, whether he was or not.

I pulled her in tight. She tried to move her arms around me, but my gentle yet firm embrace pinned her arms. I slipped my hips slightly away so she couldn’t feel my response.

“Buck—”

“Let me hold you, Crystal. Just hold you.”

My whisper was met with a brief struggle. She whimpered, but I was doing everything possible to keep this delicate wall I had erected—ugh, bad word—to just focus on holding her, nothing else. After a minute, she melted in my arms. Her warm flesh, firm yet buttery soft, pressed against mine. It would be so easy to give her what she wanted—but not like this.

After a while her breathing slowed to a rhythmic pace. She was asleep, her head nestled on my shoulder, but my heart continued to pound like a snare drum.

I lay awake for an hour while she clung to me, and gradually I was able to roll over onto my side without waking her. She had used my name, so she wasn’t delirious. She spooned me, and as I drifted toward sleep my mind zigged and zagged through scenes sparked by the heat of our bodies pressed together. Finally, all thought eased to a deep blackness and I slept more fitfully than I had all week.

A PINK LIGHT IN my eyes brought me into the morning. My eyelids fluttered and I realized my face was inches away from a gap in the blackout curtains, the rising sun shining bright on my head. I had no idea of the time—

Memories of last night jolted me into full consciousness. I rolled slowly toward the center of the cot and felt nothing but springs pressing up through the cheap mattress.

Crystal was gone.

I sat up. She wasn’t in her bed.

On my feet, I found the bathroom door open and the room dark.

I noticed the sliding door ajar. I pulled my shirt and shorts on, pushed my fingers through my hair, and slid the door wide.

“Good morning.” Crystal offered a contrite smile.

“Did you get some rest?” I said.

She nodded her head slowly. Her feet were propped up on the railing and she was sitting back, staring into the blue sky and crowded harbor beyond the beach.

“Sorry for last night,” she said.

“Don’t be sorry. I hope—”

“I know it was foolish, but at the time it’s what my heart, and hell, my body wanted me to do.”

I smiled. “Yeah, well, my heart and body were right there with you.”

Her lips bent into a brief smile.

“Let’s forget it, all right?” she said.

There was no embarrassment in her eyes, and I realized all over again what a complicated woman she was, flaws and all.

We discussed the logistics of the day. She didn’t think there was any way to cancel the show at this point, given that all the television crews and talent were already on Jost Van Dyke. She had no intention of going there herself but asked if I could help her assistant, Scarlet, handle the situation after we went to Roadtown to meet the authorities and identify John.

“If it’s him,” I said. “They’re not certain, remember.”

I sent a text to Ray and Lenny and asked them to meet us on the beach at Cruz Bay so I could fill them in on what had happened and devise a plan to handle the post-concert departures.

I found a cab outside of Reception. When our eyes met, I could see the sadness, the emptiness I’d never seen in her before. From all she’d described, her relationship with John had been happy, and they’d changed their lives to pursue a shared dream.

The morning sun was bright, but the air was still cool. We rode in silence, seated close to each other.

We wound down toward the water, went around the square, and pulled up in front of the ferry dock. I paid the driver and we got out and walked toward the beach. The Beast remained at anchor amidst the American Watersports fleet, but Billy Hartman was nowhere in sight. Neither was any security.

“Buck, over here!”

I glanced up to the restaurant above the seawall and spied Ray and Lenny seated at a table. Crystal stopped in her tracks.

“I’ll wait here, okay?”

Ray was wearing the same outfit as the night before, and Lenny’s eyes were puffy slits. So much for not being hungover today. Lenny’s gaze was fixed on Crystal.

“Why’d you wake us up so early?” Ray said.

Lenny nodded toward the beach. “Why’s Crystal blue?”

I glanced from Ray to Lenny.

“The police found a man’s body with half his head blown off. They think it’s her husband.”

Ray winced and Lenny’s eyes bulged to capacity. I filled them in on the details and told them to get to Jost Van Dyke. One way or another, today would be the day when everything came together. Or went to hell.

They followed me down the steps and took turns hugging Crystal. No words were spoken. None would help.

She and I walked to the end of the beach. The Beast was anchored seventy feet off shore, just past the American Watersports fleet. As we trudged out into the water I realized the plane was askew in the surf. The starboard wing hung lower. My stomach dropped. In an amphibian, that was often a sign it had sprung a leak. And if that were the case, we might not be doing anything other than baling her out. Crap!

When I arrived at the hatch, the air froze in my lungs.

The lock had been tampered with. Fucking Billy Hartman!

I glanced back at Crystal. She was oblivious, wading toward me, her mind far away. Had the Beast been booby-trapped? Maybe a hole punched through the floor? I popped the hatch—

“About fucking time you showed