Summer Vows (Arabesque) by Rochelle Alers Read Free Book Online

boyfriend’s time.”
    Throwing back his head, Jacob laughed loudly, the sound
reverberating inside the SUV. “Do you really believe that all you have to do is
write a check and make it okay? Money isn’t the cure-all for everything in one’s
life,” he added.
    “Are you telling me your girlfriend would refuse a
no-strings-attached gift?”
    “I’m certain she would if I had a
girlfriend. I happen not to like women who are fixated on money, because as a
government worker I’ll never make the Forbes list of the wealthiest people in
America.”
    Punching the Start Engine button, Jacob signaled and then
smoothly maneuvered away from the curb. Reaching for the sunglasses on the
console, he placed them on the bridge of his nose as he followed the signs for
the airport exit.
    “You didn’t answer my question, Jacob,” Ana said when he headed
north.
    “What’s that?”
    “Why did you take my phone and credit cards?”
    “The plan is for you to disappear.”
    Her eyes were wide behind the lenses of her oversize
sunglasses. “Like in the Witness Protection Program?”
    Jacob nodded. “Exactly. And you’re not to use the internet.
Without your cell and credit cards it will make it difficult for someone to
track your whereabouts. It will be the same with your car parked in the reserved
spot at your condo. Even if someone decided to fit it with a tracking device
they’ll be disappointed because it won’t be moved for weeks.”
    “I live in a gated community.”
    “That may be a slight deterrent, but it’s still penetrable.
What makes you think your condo’s security can’t be compromised?”
    She exhaled a soft breath. “I didn’t think of that.” A
comfortable silence ensued, Ana staring through the windshield at the Atlantic
Ocean on the right of the highway and the Gulf on the left. “And you think I’ll
be safe here in the Keys?”
    Jacob took a quick glance at the woman who unknowingly had set
into motion a private war that was certain to end in casualties, while he’d
pledged Diego that his cousin would not become one of the victims. “You’ll be
safe with me .”
    “You sound very confident, Jacob.”
    He smiled, exhibiting a mouth filled with straight white teeth.
“I am not a neophyte when it comes to protecting witnesses.”
    “I’m not a witness, because I didn’t see who shot Tyler,” Ana
argued in a quiet voice. “One minute I was standing talking to him, and then the
next second he was on the ground bleeding from a chest wound.”
    “Tyler’s lucky that bullet didn’t hit an artery otherwise his
wife would’ve found herself a widow and her children fatherless.”
    Ana closed her eyes as if to shut out the scene that continued
to haunt her. “His wife is five months pregnant with their fourth child.”
    Jacob didn’t tell Ana that the shooter had probably worked
alone, but if he’d had a spotter, then she wouldn’t be sitting next to him. He
wasn’t certain whether something had spooked the sniper or he felt he had to get
off the shot or lose his target, but destiny had determined that his target
would get a reprieve.
    “My dad hired some people to try to find whoever shot Tyler. Do
you think they’ll catch who’s behind it?”
    “I’d like to believe they’ll find him.”
    It was the first time Jacob heard a modicum of fear in Ana’s
voice. He didn’t want to believe that she didn’t know that the Coles would spend
every dollar of their vast wealth to keep her safe. He’d agreed to look after
her because of his close bond with Diego. It wouldn’t be the first time he would
step in to help the Coles. At Diego’s request he’d helped Vivienne Neal uncover
who had been responsible for her husband’s hit-and-run. His involvement in
solving the conspiracy that led to the death of the U.S. representative was
instrumental when he was recommended for a promotion as an assistant director of
the Miami-based federal detention center.
    Diego married Vivienne and they had