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that allowed you to be alone with nature; but he knew that Pam merely felt alone。 Kelly walked out to her as quietly as he could and touched her waist with both his hands。
‘Good morning。‘ She didn‘t answer for a long time; and Kelly stood still; holding her lightly; just enough that she could feel his touch。 She was wearing one of his shirts; and he didn‘t want his touch to be sexual; only protective。 He was afraid to press himself on a woman who‘d suffered that kind of abuse; and could not predict where the invisible line might be。
‘So now you know;‘ she said; just loudly enough to be heard over the silence; unable to turn and face him。
‘Yes;‘ Kelly answered; equally quiet。
‘What do you think?‘ Her voice was a painful whisper。
‘I‘m not sure what you mean; Pam。‘ Kelly felt the trembling start; and he had to resist the urge to hold her tighter。
‘About me。‘
‘About you?‘ He allowed himself to get a little closer; altering his hold until his arms wrapped around her waist; but not tightly。 ‘I think you‘re beautiful。 I think I‘m real glad we met。‘
‘I do drugs。‘
‘The docs say you‘re trying to quit。 That‘s good enough for me。‘
‘It‘s worse than that。 I‘ve done things …‘ Kelly cut her off。
‘I don‘t care about that; Pam。 I‘ve done things; too。 And one thing you did for me was very nice。 You gave me something to care about; and I didn‘t ever expect that to happen。‘ Kelly pulled her tighter。 ‘The things you did before we met don‘t matter。 You‘re not alone; Pam。 I‘m here to help if you want me to。‘
‘When you find out。。。‘ she warned。
‘I‘ll take my chances。 I think I know the important parts already。 I love you; Pam。‘ Kelly surprised himself with those words。 He‘d been too afraid to voice the thought even to himself。 It was too irrational; but again emotion won out over reason; and reason; for once; found itself approving。
‘How can you say that?‘ Pam asked。 Kelly gently turned her around and smiled。
‘Damned if I know! Maybe it‘s your tangled hair … or your runny nose。‘ He touched her chest through the shirt。 ‘No; I think it‘s your heart。 No matter what‘s behind you; your heart is just fine。‘
‘You mean that; don‘t you?‘ she asked; looking at his chest。 There was a long moment; then Pam smiled up at him; and that; too; was like a dawn。 The orange…yellow glow of the rising sun lit up her face and highlighted her fair hair。
Kelly wiped the tears from her face; and the wet feel of her cheeks eliminated whatever doubts he might have had。 ‘We‘re going to have to get you some clothes。 This is no way for a lady to dress。‘
‘Who says I‘m a lady?‘
‘I do。‘
‘I‘m so scared!‘
Kelly pulled her against his chest。 ‘It‘s okay to be scared。 I was scared all the time。 The important part is to know that you‘re going to do it。‘ His hands rubbed up and down her back。 He hadn‘t intended to make this a sexual encounter; but he found himself being aroused until he realized that his hands were rubbing over scars made by men with whips or ropes or belts or other odious things。 Then his eyes looked straight out over the water; and it was just as well that she couldn‘t see his face。
‘You must be hungry;‘ he said; stepping away from her; holding on to her hands。
She nodded。 ‘Starving。‘
‘That I can fix。‘ Kelly led her by the hand back to the bunker。 Already he loved her touch。 They met Sam and Sarah ing from the other side of the island after a morning‘s walk and stretch。
‘How are our two lovebirds?‘ Sarah asked with a beaming smile; because she‘d already seen the answer; watching from two hundred yards away。
‘Hungry!‘ Pam replied。
‘And we‘re getting a couple of screws today;‘ Kelly added with a wink。
‘What?‘ Pam asked。
‘Propellers;‘ Kelly explained。 ‘For Sam‘s boat。‘
‘Screws?‘
‘Sailor talk; trust me。‘ He grinned at her; and she wasn‘t sure if she could believe it or not。
‘That took long enough;‘ Tony observed; sipping coffee from a paper cup。
‘Where‘s mine?‘ Eddie demanded; irritable from lack of sleep。
‘You told me to put the fucking heater outside; remember? Get your own。‘
‘You think I want all that smoke and shit in here? You can die from that monoxide shit;‘ Eddie Morello said irritably。
Tony was tired as well。 Too tired to argue with this loudmouth。 ‘Okay; man; well; the coffeepot‘s outside。 Cups are there too。‘
Eddie grumbled and went outside。 Неnrу; the third man; was bagging the product and kept out of the argument。 It had actually worked out a little better than he‘d planned。 They‘d even bought his story about Angelo; thus eliminating one potential partner and problem。 There was at least three hundred thousand dollars‘ worth of finished drugs now being weighed and sealed in plastic bags for sale to dealers。 Things hadn‘t gone quite as planned。 The expected ‘few hours‘ of work had lingered into an all…night marathon as the three had discovered that what they paid for others to do wasn‘t quite as easy as it looked。 The three bottles of bourbon they‘d brought along hadn‘t helped either。 Still and all; over three hundred thousand dollars of profit from sixteen hours of work wasn‘t all that bad。 And this was just the beginning。 Tucker was just giving them a taste。
Eddie was still worried about the repercussions of Angelo‘s demise。 But there was no turning back; not after the killing; and he‘d been forced into backing Tony‘s play。 He grimaced as he looked out of a vacant porthole towards an island north of what had once been a ship。 Sunlight was reflecting off the windows; of what was probably a nice; large power cruiser。 Wouldn‘t it be nice to get one of those? Eddie Morello liked to fish; and maybe he could take his kids out sometime。 It would be a good cover activity; wouldn‘t it?
Or maybe crab; he told himself。 After all; he knew what crabs ate。 The thought evoked a quiet bark of a laugh; followed by a brief shudder。 Was he safe; linked up with these men? They … he … had just killed Angelo Vorano; not twenty…four hours earlier。 But Angelo wasn‘t part of the outfit; and Tony Piaggi was。 He was their legitimacy; their pipeline to the street; and that made him safe … for a while。 As long as Eddie st