Risky Business

responsible for more than fifteen murders in the U.S. and Mexico. Yeah, it was worth it.”
    She nodded. “I hope you understand that I never want to see you again.” After closing her hand around Jonas’s she managed a smile. “You were a lousy student.”
    “Sorry we never had that drink.” He looked back at Jonas. “Sorry about a lot of things.”
    “I appreciate what you told me about my brother. It makes a difference.”
    “I’m recommending him for a citation. They’ll send it to your parents.”
    “It’ll mean a great deal to them.” He offered his hand and meant it. “You were doing your job—I understand that. We all do what we have to do.”
    “That doesn’t mean I don’t regret it.”
    Jonas nodded. Something inside him was free, completely free. “As to putting Liz through hell for the past few weeks…” Very calmly, Jonas curled his hand into a fist and planted it solidly on Scott’s jaw. The thin man snapped a chair in half as he crashed into it on his way to the floor.
    “Jonas!” Stunned, Liz could do no more than stare. Then, incredibly, she felt the urge to giggle. With one hand over her mouth, she leaned into Jonas and let the laughter come. Moralas remained contentedly at his desk, sipping coffee.
    Scott rubbed his jaw gingerly. “We all do what we have to do,” he murmured.
    Jonas only turned his back. “Goodbye, Captain.”
    Moralas stayed where he was. “Goodbye, Mr. Sharpe.” He rose and, in a rare show of feeling, took Liz’s hand and kissed it. “Vaya con dios.”
    He waited until the door had shut behind them before he looked down at Scott again. “Your government will, of course, pay for the chair.”
     
    He was gone. She’d sent him away. After nearly two weeks, Liz awoke every morning with the same thoughts. Jonas was gone. It was for the best. After nearly two weeks she awoke every morning struggling to convince herself. If she’d followed her heart, she would have said yes the moment he’d asked herto marry him. She would have left everything she’d built behind and gone with him. And ruined his life, perhaps her own.
    He was already back in his own world, poring through law books, facing juries, going to elegant dinner parties. By now, she was sure his time in Cozumel was becoming vague. After all, he hadn’t written. He hadn’t called. He’d left the day after Ambuckle had been taken into custody without another word about love. He’d conquered his ghosts when he’d faced Manchez and had walked away whole.
    He was gone, and she was once more standing on her own. As she was meant to, Liz thought. She’d have no regrets. That she’d promised herself. What she’d given to Jonas had been given without conditions or expectations. What he’d given to her she’d never lose.
    The sun was high and bright, she thought. The air was as mellow as quiet music. Her lover was gone, but she, too, was whole. A month of memories could be stretched to last a lifetime. And Faith was coming home.
    Liz pulled her bike into a parking space and listened to the thunder of a plane taking off. Even now Faith and her parents were crossing the Gulf. Liz left her bike and walked toward the terminal. It was ridiculous to feel nervous, she told herself, but she couldn’t prevent it. It was ridiculous to arrive at the airport nearly an hour early, but she’d have gone mad at home. She skirted around a bed of marigolds and geraniums. She’d buy flowers, she decided. Her mother loved flowers.
    Inside the terminal, the air was cool and full of noise. Tourists came and went but rarely passed the shops without a last-minute purchase. Liz started in the first store and worked her way down, buying consistently and strictly on impulse. By the time she arrived at the gate, she carried two shopping bags and an armful of dyed carnations.
    Any minute, she thought. She’d be here any minute. Liz shifted both bags to one hand and nervously brushed at her hair. Passengers waited for their flights by napping in the black plastic chairs or reading guidebooks. She watched a woman check her lipstick in a compact mirror and wondered if she had time to run into the ladies room to examine her own face. Gnawing on her lip, she decided she couldn’t leave, even for a moment. Neither could she sit, so she paced back and forth in front of the wide windows and watched the planes come and go. It was late. Planes were always late when you were waiting for them. The sky was clear and blue. She