Risky Business

she worked in the shop, waiting for Scott Trydent to approach. Every evening she locked up, went home and waited for the phone to ring. Jonas said little. She no longer knew what he did with the hours they were apart, but she was aware that he was planning his own move, in his own time. It only frightened her more.
    Two days passed until her nerves were stretched thinner and tighter than she would have believed possible. On the beach, people slept or read novels, lovers walked by arm in arm. Children chattered and ran. Snorkelers splashed around the reef. She wondered why nothing seemed normal, or if it ever would again. At sundown she emptied her cash box, stacked gear and began to lock up.
    “How about that drink?”
    Though she’d thought she’d braced herself for the moment when it would begin, Liz jolted. Her head began to throb in a slow, steady rhythm she knew would last for hours. In the pit of her stomach she felt the twist come and go from panicked excitement. From this point on, she reminded herself, she hadno room to panic. She turned and looked at Scott. “I was wondering if you’d come back.”
    “Told you I’d be around. I always figure people need a couple of days to mull things over.”
    She had a part to play, Liz reminded herself. She had to do it well. Carefully, she finished locking up, then turned back to him. She didn’t smile. It was to be a business discussion, cut-and-dried. “We can get a drink over there.” She pointed to the open-air thatched-roof restaurant overhanging the reef. “It’s public.”
    “Suits me.” Though he offered his hand, she ignored it and began to walk.
    “You used to be friendlier.”
    “You used to be a customer.” She sent him a sideways look. “Not a business partner.”
    “So…” She saw him glance right, then left. “You’ve mulled.”
    “You need a diver, I need money.” Liz walked up the two wooden stairs and chose a chair that had her back to the water. Seconds after she sat, a man settled himself into a corner table. One of Moralas’s, she thought, and ordered herself to be calm. She’d been briefed and rebriefed. She knew what to say, how to say it, and that the waiter who would serve them carried a badge and a gun. “Jerry didn’t tell me a great deal,” she began, and ordered an American soft drink. “Just that he made the drop and collected the money.”
    “He was a good diver.”
    Liz swallowed the little bubble of fear. “I’m better.”
    Scott grinned at her. “So I’m told.”
    A movement beside her had her glancing over, then freezing. A dark man with a pitted face took the chair beside her. Liz knew he wore a thin silver band on his wrist before she looked for it.
    “Pablo Manchez, Liz Palmer. Though I think you two have met.”
    “Señorita.” Manchez’s thin mouth curved as he took her hand.
    “Tell your friend to keep his hands to himself.” Calmly, Jonas pulled a chair up to the table. “Why don’t you introduce me, Liz?” When she could do no more than stare at him, he settled back. “I’m Jonas Sharpe. Liz and I are partners.” He leveled his gaze to Manchez. This was the man, he thought, whom he’d come thousands of miles to see. This was the man he’d kill. Jonas felt the hatred and the fury rise. But he knew how to strap the emotions and wait. “I believe you knew my brother.”
    Manchez’s hand dropped from Liz’s and went to his side. “Your brother was greedy and stupid.”
    Liz held her breath as Jonas reached in his pocket. Slowly, he pulled out his cigarettes. “I’m greedy,” he said easily as he lit one. “But I’m not stupid. I’ve been looking for you.” He leaned across the table. With a slow smile, he offered Manchez the cigarettes.
    Manchez took one and broke off the filter. His hands were beautiful, with long spidery fingers and narrow palms. Liz fought back a shudder as she looked at them. “So you found me.”
    Jonas was still smiling as he ordered a beer. “You need a diver.”
    Scott sent Manchez a warning look. “We have a diver.”
    “What you have is a team. Liz and I work together.” Jonas blew out a stream of smoke. “Isn’t that right, Liz?”
    He wanted them. He wasn’t going to back off until he had them. And she had no choice. “That’s right.”
    “We don’t need no team.” Manchez started to rise.
    “You need us.” Jonas took his beer as it was served. “We already know a good bit about your operation. Jerry wasn’t good at keeping