Page 15 of Special Agent Rylee


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Chapter Eleven

She’s hiding something.

When Jake had been at the purser’s office earlier, not only had they welcomed him on board with a bit too much fanfare for his liking, but one of the crew members had arrived to say how he’d witnessed a woman, with Rylee’s description, approach a couple of kids up to no good.

In an excitable fashion, he’d described her action in overcoming one of them, using a totally sweet martial arts move. She had the thief so he couldn’t escape and by the time the law had arrived, she pretended the one in her custody had gotten away. But this fellow had watched it all from one of the upper decks over the boardwalk side, and he knew she’d lied.

“She let him go.”

“What do you mean, she let him go?” The purser’s voice held contempt. “These kids need to be punished. We’ve had a number of thefts over the last few months and customers who lose their luggage are very upset and rightly so.” He turned to Jake adding, “We’ve hired more security, but folks are always demanding their attention, which is taking them away from the jobs they’re paid to do.”

“Don’t you have a video set-up to scan the area so the police can get the identity of the crooks?”

“They just wear hoodies that cover most of their faces. And as you will recall, at the time of boarding, the loading area is overcome with so much activity, it’s almost impossible to maintain control at all times. We do our best.”

“I’m sure you do.” Jake thanked the man for the Captain’s dinner invitation, but due to extreme tiredness, he asked to be excused for that night.

“Of course, sir. We’re happy to issue you a standing invite and you can just inform your room steward which evening you might feel up to a meal with Captain Ernesto and his staff. Any time you wish a personal tour of the ship’s engine room and bridge we can set that up for you also.”

Now Jake wondered if it would be something that his dinner partner would enjoy, and if she’d accompany him. Taking the chance that she wanted to spend more time with him, because he sure as hell wanted to be with her – as much as he could on the cruise – he told her about the offer.

“That sounds like fun. I’ve always wanted to be on the bridge of one of these big ocean liners. When were you thinking we could go?”

“How about tomorrow afternoon? I’ll set it up and let you know what time the captain has arranged for us to meet and where.” He pulled out his phone, asked for her number and added it to his contacts.

Once they finished with the ordering and the waiters had filled their glasses with the requested wines, the silence hit. That deadly time when two strangers were forced into blathering about inconsequential things or even worse, opening up about their personal lives.

Jake hoped that Rylee would take the initiative, but when he glanced her way, he could see her looking over the room, almost like she was scanning the vicinity as a precaution. For what, he had no idea, but when she caught him staring, she drilled him with a look that almost dared him to comment. And so, he did.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“Nope. It’s just a habit I have. I like to know who’s nearby and what’s happening around me.”

“Lately, I’ve been in a situation where it’s been necessary for me to be watchful myself and it’s very annoying. When a guy’s never had to worry about that type of precaution before, it’s unsettling.”

Interest peaked; she asked him point blank, “Why do you have to be on guard?”

Sorry he brought up the subject and yet finding himself willing to share more than he would normally with a virtual stranger, he realized one thing. He trusted her. Now why the hell he had that immediate reaction to a stranger, he didn’t understand. But nonetheless the feeling persisted.

“A female I barely know, and don’t want to, has taken it into her head that we should be more than acquaintances and has become a nuisance over her… ahhh, infatuation.”

“You mean Miss Chu?” Oh, crap! She wasn’t supposed to know that.

Mystified as to how Rylee knew about Madelaine, he nodded. “Yes, the very same lady you were talking with a short time ago. It’s rather odd, don’t you think?” He watched her squirm and waited, sipping his wine and enjoying her performance. How the hell she knew it was Madelaine Chu, he had no idea.

“I’m a people watcher. I told you.”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, when I saw the way she was looking at you, as if…. well as if she wanted—” Seemingly at a loss for words, she stopped.

Interrupting her, he kept poking, “How did she watch me?”

Anger appeared in her sassy tone. “Like you were a big freakin’ ice cream cone that she wanted to lick.”

Laughing now, loving the asperity in her voice and the brazen look in her blue magnets, he egged her on. “It’s true, she’d become a nuisance and was one of the reasons why I’m on this cruise – to get away from her intrigues. I just don’t understand how you knew she planned to approach me of all the people in this dining room, and you stopped that from happening. Not that I’m ungrateful. Don’t get me wrong.”

An expression of disgust appeared, and Rylee openly shared it with him. “Seriously? You didn’t see her perched behind the ice sculpture of the galloping horses over there, watching you? She hovered so long, two waiters asked to help her find a table, and she brushed them off, never taking her eyes from this table. When she made a beeline for you, I caught up with her and carried on our earlier conversation. Since she was the only person I knew onboard, I thought we could eat together. Unfortunately, she wasn’t happy being interrupted from her quest and left in a huff. Now does that satisfy your annoying male curiosity?”

Openly laughing at her sarcastic manner, loving the flares shooting from her eyes, he winked and added, “If you can keep that crazy woman away from me, Princess, you’ll have my undying gratitude.”

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