“Children?” he repeated slowly.
“I was ten years old when I was sold into the harem. I was eleven when I left.”
“Christ. Sold? How?”
“The usual trade in white slavery. My parents were killed in an auto accident when I was a toddler. I had no relatives, so I was placed in an orphanage in London. It was a nice enough place, but unfortunately the administrator needed money to pay his gambling debts. So, periodically he’d claim one of the children was a runaway. They ended up in Istanbul.” Don’t think. Just say the words. Get it over with. “Of course, they had to be very special types for him to get the money he needed. They thought I was perfect. Blond, skin with the fresh bloom of childhood, and I had a quality they treasured. I looked . . . breakable. That was important. Pedophiles love to prey on fragile children. It makes them feel more powerful. The owner of the brothel thought I’d even be suitable for regular customers when I was a little older. So I was a true prize.”
“What was the owner’s name?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters. I’m going to rid the world of the son of a bitch. What’s his name?”
“Irmak. But he’s already dead. He was murdered before Kemal took me and the other children away from the harem.”
“Good. This is the Kemal who called you?”
“Kemal Nemid.” The words came easier now. Kemal was part of the good times as well as the nightmare. “He’s the man who brought me from Turkey to Chile. He was closer to me than a brother. I lived with him for almost five years.”
“I thought you lived with Luis Delgado.”
“How did you know I—” Her lips twisted. “Of course, you’d try to find out anything that might give you an edge. Am I telling you anything you don’t know?”
“Wilson didn’t find out about this Kafas,” he said grimly. “Only about your life in Chile and Luis Delgado.”
“Delgado was Kemal. His background was a little shady and he thought it best to buy us new ones. He called me Melisande—”
“And then he dumped you and you had to go live with Lontana? Great guy.”
She whirled on him. “He is a great guy,” she said fiercely. “You don’t know anything. He would never have deserted me. I’m the one who ran away from him. He was going to the United States and wanted me to go too. He was going to start a new life.”
“Then why cut and run?”
“I would have been in the way. He’d been tied to me for five years. He’d done everything for me. I was on the verge of a breakdown after I left Kafas. He got me a doctor, he sent me to school, and he was there for me whenever I needed him. It was time I let him go.”
“For Christ’s sake, you were sixteen. I wouldn’t have let you go off with Lontana.”
“You don’t understand. My age didn’t matter. I hadn’t been a child for a long, long time. I was like that little girl in Interview with the Vampire, a grown-up frozen in a child’s body. Kemal always understood that about me.” She shrugged. “Phil was done with his research on the oceanic vents off the coast of Chile and was going off on an exploratory trip to the Azores. I went to the Last Home and asked him to take me with him. I’d known him for years. He and Kemal got along fine after Phil started to hire out the Last Home to the Save the Dolphin foundation’s observation trips. Phil and I meshed well, and he needed someone to keep his books, deal with his creditors, and keep his feet on the ground.”
“And Kemal didn’t come after you?”
“I called and talked to him. He made me promise to call him if I was ever in trouble.”
“Which you probably didn’t do.”
“What’s the good of letting someone go if you jerk them back? He also persuaded me to accept his paying for my education and the fee for going to an analyst. I didn’t really want to keep on with the sessions. I didn’t think they were helping much. I was still having the nightmares.”
“But then you found Carolyn Mulan.”
“Then I found Carolyn. No mumbo jumbo. No pity. She let me talk. Then she’d say yes, it was ugly. Yes, I can see how you’d wake up screaming. But it’s over and you’re still standing. You can’t let it beat you. You have to deal with it. That was her favorite phrase. Just deal with it.”
“You were lucky to have her in your corner.”
“Yes, but she wasn’t lucky. If she hadn’t known me, she’d still be alive.” She shook her head. “She’d hate me blaming myself. That was one of my problems. It’s easy to teach children blame. If I wasn’t bad, why was I being punished? Somewhere inside I thought it was my fault I ended up at Kafas.”
“Then you really were crazy. That’s like saying someone tied to the railroad tracks is to blame if the train runs over them.”
“Carolyn agreed with you. It took us a long time to get me over that hurdle. She said blame wasn’t healthy and I should deal with it. So I’ll deal with it.” She stared him in the eye. “But I’ll also deal with Archer. He doesn’t deserve to live. He’s worse than those men who came to screw a little girl in a white organdy dress. He reminds me of Irmak. He deals in death as well as sex.”
“And you’re ready to take him on all by yourself. You’re going to let that pervert murmur in your ear and you’ll just take it. Isn’t that sweet?”
He had been so outwardly calm that she hadn’t realized the fury that was seething beneath. She noticed it now. It was tensing every muscle of his body. “I won’t have to do it by myself. You’re going to help.”
“How kind of you to let me have a small part.” He took a step closer to her. “Do you have any idea what I’m feeling right now? You tell me a story that makes me want to run out and carve up everyone who screwed that little girl in the harem. Then you tell me I have to stand by and watch Archer hurt you again.”
He was angry. She could feel the rage vibrating through him. “I hate being helpless too. But that little girl doesn’t exist any longer.”
“I think she does. And what do you mean by offering to go to bed with me? How the hell do you think I’d feel when I found out that I’d screwed a victim from that damn place?”
“I’m not a victim. I’ve even had sex since that time. Twice. Carolyn thought it would be good for me.”
“And was it good for you?”
“It wasn’t unpleasant.” She looked away from him. “Why are we talking about this? You turned me down anyway.”
“Because there’s not a doubt in my mind it would have happened. I’m like all those other sons of bitches who wanted to screw you. Shit, I still want to do it.” He whirled and moved toward the sliding glass door. “Which, considering the story you just told me, makes me feel real good about myself. But don’t worry: As your Carolyn would advise, I’ll deal with it.”
“What are you talking about? You’re not like those men at Kafas.”
“No? We have at least one thing in common, and it’s damn well not our self-restraint.”
She watched as the door slid forcefully closed behind him. Once again he’d surprised her. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t Kelby’s response. Part sympathy, part anger, part sexual frustration. It had jerked her from the horror of the past to the turbulent present.
But she was also feeling relief, she realized. She had never confided her past to anyone but Carolyn, and it had been strangely cathartic to tell Kelby about Kafas. She felt stronger. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Kelby had no medical training and was just an ordinary person. Maybe she hadn’t completely lost that trace of blame Carolyn had worked so hard to eradicate. Kelby had not blamed her. He’d blamed the men who’d victimized her. He’d been protective, angry, and . . . lustful. In a way, that lust had been welcome. Her time at Kafas hadn’t lessened his desire for her. It hadn’t twisted it or destroyed it. He’d accepted that period of her life as part of her. Even his anger had been comforting, because it showed that he thought she could handle it. Who would have known that the call from Kemal would bring her this sense of
greater peace and strength?
Kemal or Kelby? Kemal had given her gentleness and Kelby anger, and she wasn’t sure which had been more valuable.
She only knew when that phone rang and Archer came on the line, she’d be more ready to deal with him.
“Halley picked up Dansk and Cobb a few minutes ago,” Nicholas said when Kelby answered the phone. “Do you want me to do anything here in town or come back there?”
“Come back here. I need to get away for a while.”
“You sound uptight. Things not going well?”
“Why shouldn’t they? It’s such a bright, beautiful world filled with kind, caring people. It’s enough to make a man weep with joy.”
Nicholas gave a low whistle. “I’ll be back in an hour. Is that soon enough?”
“It will have to be.” Kelby hung up, left the house, and strode down to the pier. Nicholas couldn’t get here soon enough for him. He was filled with pity, anger, and frustration and was ready to explode. He needed to get out on the water, tear through the waves, and have the wind blow some of this damn emotion away.
If he couldn’t control it, he had to get away from it.
Swim toward the arches. . . .
No, that wouldn’t work. He mustn’t identify Melis with Marinth. She was the key, not the objective.
So sit down on the pier and wait for Nicholas.
And try not to think of a little golden-haired girl in an organdy dress.
“I know you don’t understand,” Melis whispered as she looked down at Pete and Susie in the pens. They were definitely unhappy. The dolphins hated the enclosures that Cal had helped build near the lanai a few days ago. “I wish I could explain it to you.”
“Can’t you?” Kelby said from behind her.
She looked up to see him coming toward her. He’d been gone all day, but he’d evidently just showered, because his hair was wet. He was barefoot, without a shirt, and he looked slightly rakish. “What do you mean?”
“I was beginning to think you could talk to them. There’s definitely a bond.”
She shook her head. “Though sometimes I feel as if they can read my mind. Maybe they can. Dolphins are strange creatures. The more I learn about them, the more I find I don’t know.” She glanced at him. “Did you get the ice-making machine?”
“They’re installing it in the jet now.” He grimaced. “The pilot was a little confused about the necessity of it. I had to convince him we weren’t planning a giant margarita party.”
“We have to keep the guys cool in the tank. It’s absolutely necessary. Cool and wet and supported.”
“Support. That’s why you’re going to keep the dolphins in those foam-lined slings?”
She nodded. “Dolphins’ bodies are built for the buoyancy of water. When you take them out of the water, their own body weight presses down on vital organs and injures them. There’s not going to be enough water in those transport tanks to do the job.”
“Stop fretting. I’ve done everything you’ve told me about making it safe for them. After we board those dolphins on the plane tomorrow, they’re going to be more comfortable than we are. They’re going to be okay, Melis. I promise you.”
“It’s just . . . they’re helpless. They trust me.”
“And they should. You’re a woman to trust.”
She looked at him in surprise.
“If you’re a dolphin,” he amended with a faint smile.
“I didn’t think you’d commit to a statement like that without qualification.”
“Hell, no.” He sat down beside her and dangled his feet in the water. “Then you’d think I’d gone soft.”
“No way.” In these last days she’d found that he was dynamic and forceful but not inflexible if he could be shown he was wrong. “You’re too stubborn to change.”
“The pot calling the kettle . . .” He took a fish out of the bucket on the lanai and threw it to Susie. “She hasn’t lost her appetite.” He threw another fish to Pete. The male tossed his tail and ignored it. “We may have problems with him.”
“He can’t be bribed.” Her gaze was on his hands, now lying on his knees. Beautiful, tanned, strong hands with long, capable fingers. She had always been fascinated by hands. Kelby’s were exceptional. She could imagine them either at hard labor or playing a piano. He was very tactile. She had noticed the tips of his fingers brushing over the lip of a glass, fingering the rattan on the arm of the lounge chair. He obviously liked to touch, caress, explore. . . .
“Well, is he?”
She jerked her gaze back up to his face. What had he asked? Something about Pete. “He’s a male, and they’re usually more aggressive. But Pete has always been gentler than the norm. It’s probably because he hasn’t had the opportunity to travel with a male group as most dolphins do.”
“They don’t stay with the band?”
“No, the females generally stay with a female pod and the males go off and join a male pod. Males usually bond with another male as a buddy, and the relationship sometimes lasts for life. That’s why the relationship between Pete and Susie is so unique. As I said, Pete’s unusual.”
“And you’ve made a pet of him.”
“I’ve not made a pet of him. I’ve made sure they could both survive on their own. But I hope I’ve made them my friends.”
“Shades of Flipper?”
“No, it’s a mistake to think of dolphins as being like us. They’re not like us. They live in an alien world where we couldn’t survive. Their senses are different. Their brain is different. We should accept them as they are.”
“But can they be friends with humans?”
“For thousands of years there have been stories of dolphins and humans interacting. Dolphins saving human lives. Dolphins helping fishermen with their catch. Yes, I believe there can be friendship. We just have to accept them the way they are and not try to see them in our image.”
“Interesting.” Kelby threw Susie another fish. “Are they brother and sister? Or can we expect little dolphins to appear on the horizon?”
“They’re not brother and sister. I had DNA taken when I first got them to the island. And they’re not sexually mature yet.”
“And they’re over eight?”
“Dolphins live long lives. Forty, fifty years. They sometimes don’t mature sexually until they’re twelve or even thirteen, but eight or nine isn’t that uncommon. So it shouldn’t be long for Pete and Susie.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Now they seem caught in a sort of jubilant childhood. Things will change.”
“And you think I’d mind?” Her lips tightened. “I’m not a cripple. I’ve dealt with dolphins and their sexual urges for years. Dolphins are a very highly sexed species. By the way Pete plays with his toys, I’d judge he’s going to be particularly sexual. There’s nothing obscene about sex in nature. I’d be glad to see the dolphins’ lives sexually fulfilled.”
“I don’t think of you as crippled,” he said quietly. “You’re stronger than any woman I know. You survived something that would have broken most people. Hell, you even keep your scars hidden most of the time.”
“Because no one wants to think about anything bad happening to children. It makes them uncomfortable.” She shifted her gaze to his face. “Didn’t it upset you?”
“It didn’t make me uncomfortable.” He grimaced. “It made me mad. For you and at you. I was all set to have a hell of a good roll in the hay, and you stopped me in my tracks.”
She moistened her lips. “I didn’t mean to tease you. I was upset and it was pure instinct. A throwback to Kafas. I knew it was something a man would value.”
“You can say that again. Pete isn’t the only one who’s highly sexed.” He got to his feet. “But I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to worry. I can’t promise not to have my moments, but I’m usually in control.”
“Are you? And is that what this chat is all about?”
> “We’re going to be together a lot. I don’t want you tense.”
“I’m not tense.” As he looked at her skeptically, she amended, “I’m not nervous or afraid of you. You just disturb me sometimes.”
“Disturb you?” His gaze narrowed on her face. “How?”
“I don’t know.” It wasn’t true. She knew all too well. She was too aware of him. He dominated any room he entered. She jumped to her feet. “I have to go check the thickness of the padding in the slings. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Right.” He rose to his feet. “It’s Nicholas’s turn to cook, so don’t expect much. He says it’s not included in the shaman job description.”
“I may be too busy to—” Her phone rang, and she went rigid. Not now. She had too much to do and her nerves were always in shreds after a phone call from Archer.
“Don’t answer it, dammit.” Kelby’s demeanor was as taut as her own. “You told me he’d hurt the dolphins if you didn’t talk to him, but they’re safe in the pens.”
“They won’t always be in the pens. Besides, he has to think I’m afraid and weakening.” She vaguely heard him mutter an oath as she pushed the button. “You’re early, Archer.”
“That’s because I’m taking a jet in a few hours and I couldn’t bear not to talk to you. I so enjoy our conversations.”
“Where are you going?”
“Where you’re going. Las Palmas. I understand the Trina arrived there last night.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Do you think I haven’t been keeping close watch on you? Kelby may have gotten to Cobb and Dansk, but it was easy for me to hire more men. And he really hasn’t tried to keep the leasing of that Delta cargo jet a secret. Taking those dolphins must pose all kinds of problems for him. Kelby must be completely besotted with you to put up with it. What did you have to do to persuade him?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
“Screw you.” She paused. “Cobb and Dansk?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know he took out two of my employees who were watching the island? Of course, they were very amateurish or he wouldn’t have been able to—”