Page 23 of Special Agent Rylee


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Chapter Seventeen

By the time Carlos could speak again, Jake had decided that Leo’s ploy of Jake escaping his tormentors by taking this trip was a total bust. First, Madelaine had appeared in the dining room only to be waylaid by the princess.

Then Hakim and his tribe had surprised him by their sudden, unexpected emergence on the scene also. Danger surrounded him, even more so than it had in Miami. He’d be a sitting duck on this ship without Leo covering his back.

Once Carlos’s nose stopped gushing, and his color returned, Jake asked him the question that hung in the room like the fucking elephant everyone referred to in situations like this.

“Man, how did you know I was in trouble? That a woman had gotten into my suite and was attacking me?”

Surprise appeared first and then a cagey kind of a furtiveness that spiked Jake’s curiosity.

“I was called to the room next door. Ahhh… they wanted a-a sandwich. It was when I was in their room that I heard the commotion in here and used my master key to see what was going on. By the time I got to the bedroom, I figured something wasn’t right and seeing you struggle with the female, my instincts to – ahh, help kicked in.”

Not understanding why Carlos was being so cautious, not stepping forward in recognition for his part in saving Jake from who knows what kind of treatment, Jake held out his hand. “Thank you for following your instincts, Carlos. I did need help. That crazy lady has been following me for weeks now, and I thought to get away from her by coming on this cruise.”

“Looks like she found out you’d booked and decided to surprise you. But why would she have come to your cabin? And why did you let her in?”

“Hell, I didn’t let her in. She climbed in from the balcony.”

“That’s impossible, Señor.” Carlos appeared shocked and almost disbelieving. “She must have gotten a door key somehow.”

“No, Carlos. I saw her coming from the balcony. She had to have climbed up the side of the ship. How the hell she managed to do so, beats me.”

“No, no, Señor. That’s highly unlikely. I’m thinking she somehow broke in, hid behind the curtains and waited until you fell asleep before she attacked.”

“Shit, you’re right. Now why didn’t I think of that. Okay. I need to be a lot more careful from now on.”

“Me, too. I need to inspect your room ahhh… better. Be sure no more women are waiting for you. What happened tonight, it’s bad. Please don’t tell my boss.”

“Hold it, if it wasn’t for you, I could be in a lot more trouble. Not only will tonight be our little secret, I want to ask for a favor. Can you give me more of your time while we’re travelling these next two sea days. If you could be watchful, make sure my room is always safe and if you see anyone lurking around, let me know. Can you do that? I’ll pay you for the extra time you’ll spend here.”

“It’s my pleasure, Señor.”

“Hey, it’s Jake remember?”

“Okay… Jake.”

Just then Jake heard a plaintive meow and looked to the kitten limping its way out from under the bed. He quickly rushed to pick the bedraggled kitty up in gentle hands and cuddle her to his chest.

“Poor baby, got the scare of her life.”

“Truly, I saw it the other way. When I arrived on the scene, this poor little baby was spread over the crazy lady’s face, claws open and hissing like an insane wild cat.”

Jake’s laugh caused a reaction in the kitty and the sudden loud purrs made both men grin.

***

Fifteen minutes later, flopped over the sofa like a sprawling drunk, Carlos was jabbering away like a chimp on speed. Jake finally gave up trying to make any sense of his blathering and just watched over the man.

Obviously describing a series of dangerous incidents on an FBI show, and some woman agent that had his admiration, the poor man carried on in Spanglish, jumping from one set of circumstances to another in a voice high and weird so that Jake was totally lost.

What blew Jake’s mind was the techie descriptions Carlos voiced, as if he himself were living through the dangerous episodes. People he mentioned by name as if he knew them also struck Jake as odd. At one point, shocked enough to try and question the victim, he could have sworn Carlos had said the name Rylee.

But when he spoke, it visibly upset the man, and so he sat quietly while the episode ran its course. These reactions to whatever drug was in the needle she injected into Carlos interested him. He’d seen the results of speed and meth on street users, and he knew it would wear off eventually. This was kind of similar, but the manic aspect was missing. Carlos didn’t seem violent and Jake knew that was one of the reactions common to the drug. Someone who understood the properties of the drug had customized this injection to control the man without having him flip right out.

Feeling huge guilt, knowing the drug had been meant for him, Jake watched over the affected man and waited for the results to fade.

Whether he would have had the same reaction to it, he had no idea. Seeing the addiction with Katrina and her friends, he’d had a close relationship with the consequences without really experiencing them personally.

He’d stayed away and never knew why. Self-preservation, a strong need to always be in control, whatever. All he knew was how thankful he now was that he’d made that choice. If anything had become his drug of choice over those years, it was the computer and his driving need to create. And he’d done that through the apps he’d invented and sold to give him more money than he could ever have envisioned.

But all that wealth generated a huge pile of responsibilities. Thankfully, he shared them with Leo, but the weight of their decisions rode heavily on him and had taken away most of his freedom.

Now, so many people depended on him. He couldn’t just turn his back, certainly not for more than a few weeks. Considering he felt like a prisoner to his wealth, he knew it went deeper than that. He loved his life, the ability to give and share, to make dreams come true for others. But everything had happened so fast, he’d driven himself so hard for too long and his body had caved.

If the truth were known, he’d looked forward to this escape on board this gorgeous ship and felt angry that the nightmare had followed him.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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