Caitlyn smiled and crouched down to eye level, shielding her eyes from the rain with her hand, wearing a sweet, helpless expression Kurt had never seen on her face. “We took a wrong turn and our rental car broke down. We’re due backat the port in an hour or the cruise ship will leave without us, but the rental car company can’t get anyone out here fast enough,” she said, her voice plaintive and distraught. She glanced at Kurt. “We can pay you cash.”
Kurt nodded and hunched a little, trying to look as low-threat as possible while the man studied him in his side mirror.
“I, uh, I am not supposed to…”
“Please.” Caitlyn pushedwet hair out of her eyes. “We’re at the port in Ville-Nicolas, not the one in Sancoins. You might even get back before your clients realize you were gone.”
The driver cast a worried look at the police barricade.
“You know what? It’s okay. I’ll try the other guy.” She waved toward the limo in front of them.
“Three hundred.”
“Oh, thank you.” She managed not to look smug as she slid a stack ofbills from her small purse. “How about two hundred now, two hundred when we get there?”
The driver frowned and glanced at Kurt again, but unlocked the doors with a loud click. “Okay.” Maybe because they were coercing him, he didn’t offer the full white-glove treatment.
Fine by Kurt. He opened the rear door and gestured for Caitlyn to slide in. Then, he joined her on the plush seats and shutout the driving rain. “Nice job,” he murmured in her ear.
Caitlyn handed the money to the driver through the lowered privacy window.
“Which cruise line?” the man asked, his brown eyes skeptical in the rearview mirror, even as he started the engine.
“Caribbean Queen,” Caitlyn replied without hesitation.
What would the driver do if there was no Caribbean Queen ship in the harbor?
His expressionsoftened a bit. He maneuvered onto the road and sped away from Lambert’s estate.
“What’s up with all the police?” Caitlyn asked, looking over her shoulder as Kurt was, to ensure the cops didn’t react.
The police officers watched, but must not have thought it odd that a hired driver might eventually leave, especially since he was outside the barricade.
The driver shrugged. “There was a shootingat the party and they’re not letting anyone in or out.”
She visibly shivered and Kurt scooted next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“Any chance we can get the heat on back here?” he asked.
The driver fiddled with the knobs on the dash and the cool air blasting from the vents quickly turned hot.
“I thought the island was pretty safe these days,” Caitlyn said with a frown. “No morerebels and a recovering economy.”
“It is,” the driver said, bobbing his head. “Very safe. And especially in an area like this, violence is not usual.”
They sat in silence for a moment, Kurt and Caitlyn dripping water onto the vinyl seats as the warm air tried in vain to dry them out.
“Where are you coming from?” the man asked them.
Caitlyn named a restaurant that must have been in the rightgeneral area to make sense. “The seafood was worth it,” she said with a satisfied smile.
“I have never eaten there, but it is a popular place.”
She sat back and interlaced her fingers with Kurt’s at her shoulder. He held tight, not caring if she was touching him for herself or for show.
The tap of the rain overhead, the hum of the engine, the comfortable seats, and Caitlyn pressed to his sideall conspired to make him drowsy as he came down from the rush of adrenaline. But they weren’t safe yet. He couldn’t let his guard down.
“Thank you so much for doing this,” Caitlyn said. “We spent the whole day driving around the island, and it’s gorgeous, but I’d rather not get stuck here.”
