"WELL," pondered the huge ginger, "I WAS SHOT IN THE CHEST. TWICE."
Mr. Sahnoun entered, smiling to see them awake. "Excellent. I am ordering food now, why don't you two prepare for the evening and we can speak of what happens next?"
"Good idea," James agreed, groaning under his breath as he got out of bed.
Maura moved painfully, heading for the bathroom. She turned back to Sahnoun. "No matter what you get from the menu, don't order the crab. I mean it." Shuddering as she pictured the plethora of body parts currently littering the bottom of the bay, she limped to the shower. His dark brows drew together in confusion, but Sahnoun nodded and left the room, drawing O'Connell with him.
Steam was already filling the bathroom as she entered, James slowly removing clothing, trying to not disturb his bandages. "Here, let me help." She gently pulled off his shirt and pants, examining the doctor's work from last night. Heaving a sigh of relief, Maura smiled up at him. "Everything looks good, the stitches held, no sign of infection."
His expression was unreadable as he looked down at her, but James put a calloused hand to her cheek. "Thank you for saving my life. In the most impressive possible way, I might add. What made you think of hiding the Corporation accounts?"
She shrugged. "I learned from the best, remember? Plans within plans within plans..." Maura smiled mischievously.
"Genius," he complimented. "Will you share the shower, darling?"
They were confused, standing under the cascade of warm water and letting it soak in. Both expected to touch and caress the other, stroking away the pain of the day before and sharing - gingerly - reunion sex. But it didn't happen. Both Maura and James soaped and washed, sharing smiles but nothing else. Drying herself with the fluffy towel he passed her, Maura felt a stubborn sense of dread.
Chapter 32: Does Nothing Make You Happy, You Daft Prick?
In which James is unreasonable.
Mr. Sahnoun was clever, he knew they needed to hide somewhere - as he put it - "On the other side of the planet.” Slipping aboard a jet under the cover of darkness, the four flew to New Zealand, renting a huge house on the Karekare Beach near West Auckland.
Oddly, no one wanted to discuss what would happen next for several days, preferring instead to eat and drink, sleep and play in the exquisitely clear waters.
While James never entered the surf, there was a huge hot tub attached to the swimming pool on the terrace where he and O'Connell would sit for hours, marinating in the heat and swapping stories from past adventures. Maura and he still shared a bed - Mr. Sahnoun had their bags placed in the huge master bedroom - but they didn't share themselves with each other.
At first, she kept her distance, other than offers to massage his sore and beaten body. But as the days passed, the chasm between them grew, both of them seemingly helpless to bridge it. Despite their wildly passionate past - or perhaps because of it, Maura thought bitterly - she had no idea how to seduce the man she was coming to love. Coming to bed in a delicious scrap of lace teddy a fortnight after arriving in New Zealand seemed to have no impact on James. He gave her a chaste kiss on her temple and fell asleep, his back to her. Lying there in the darkness, she felt frustrated tears slip down her face.
Angrily taking a run the next morning on the beach, Maura could hear the voices of James and O'Connell before she could see them, thanks to the wind and the Irishman's inability to speak under the volume of a cannon going off on a battlefield.
"WHAT'S WRONG WIT' THE TWO OF YOU?"
"Nothing, O'Connell. Now shut the fuck up." James was annoyed, she could hear it. But his friend continued on.
"DOES NOTHING MAKE YOU HAPPY, YOU DAFT PRICK? YOU GOT OUT- YOU'RE FREE OF THE CORPORATION. AS FAR AS ANYONE BUT THAT BASTARD MAAZIZ KNOWS, YOU'RE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MEDITERRANEAN WITH THE OTHER TWO OF THE - WHAT DID BELFAST CALL YOU? - THE MURDER TRIPLETS. YOU CAN HAVE A LIFE NOW WITH A BIG GODDAMN FISTFUL OF MONEY. WHY ARE YOU BEING COLD TO THE GIRL? AND DON'T YOU LIE TO ME. I WATCHED YOU SEND OFF GIRL AFTER GIRL AT CAMBRIDGE. I KNOW YOUR EXIT STRATEGY."
Maura could hear James growl irritably. "That's exactly the point. Everyone on both sides of this mess thinks we're dead. Maura could go back, be with her family and no one could trace her. There's no reason to keep her here."
"KEEP HER? YOU MARRIED HER, YOU FOOL!” O'Connell was pacing, she could see his huge form stomping back and forth.
"Belong together?" James was angry now; she could see the stiffness in his form as he got up to make another drink. "Really? A cottage in the countryside and what- children? What exactly do you think I can give her, O'Connell? Other than waiting for someone to figure out I'm alive and where I am? Waiting for someone to kill her to get to me?"
O'Connell sighed. "IF I WERE SLIGHTLY DRUNKER, I'D BEAT THE SHITE OUT OF YOU UNTIL YOU SAW THE LIGHT, PINE. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THAT ON YER OWN. I ONLY HOPE YOU DO BEFORE YOU LOSE THE GIRL WHO IS UTTERLY PERFECT FOR YOU. AND TO TOP IT ALL, MAURA LOVES YOUR STUPID ARSE. THINK ABOUT IT."
That night, Maura sent O'Connell and Mr. Sahnoun out for dinner. "You don't need to babysit the two of us," she smiled, "go take a break. I know how annoying the two of us can be. Especially James."
Even the stoic Mr. Sahnoun guffawed at that before schooling himself into calm. "Very well, Miss Maura."
James came down from taking a shower that evening, still drying his hair. She was at the stove, stirring something. "Where are the others," he asked, "aren't we dining together?"
She turned with a determined expression, "They're sick of us. I sent them out, I thought we could cook together?"
Even his smile looked forced, Maura noticed miserably. "Of course, darling,” he said, "good idea."
This was something she loved, cooking with James. She’d known from that first night at his house when he’d made her dinner that he was a spectacular cook, and her best memories here in their beach house were spent learning how to make some of the local dishes. He moved behind her to deftly flip the prawns in white wine sauce while she went out to set the table on the terrace, lighting the lanterns and enjoying the sound of the surf. James plated their dinner, bringing out the food while she uncorked a bottle of chardonnay from a local vineyard.
James tapped his glass to hers, “This is the Hawkes Bay white, isn’t it?”
