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Chapter Fifty-four
Back on board the ship, Rylee still hadn’t come to terms with their new norm. Surveillance in two rooms that needed to be monitored, again a precaution for Jake and an extra way to watch over the young ones, calmed her somewhat.
After the legalities had been dealt with and the papers had been signed at the hospital, Rosario had peacefully slipped away. Miguel, shoulders stiff and a new maturity surrounding him, had demanded to go into his house with Jake to fetch their belongings, pack up their meager possessions needed for the next couple of weeks and lock the place down.
Jake gave voice to hiring a nanny to travel with the kids and take care of their daily needs, but Miguel had poo-pooed the idea, saying he could care for them as well as anyone. Maybe, but should he carry such a responsibility at his age, and in his state of mind?
He’d argued that he needed something to do, to keep him from thinking about his poor mother. While Jake had finally agreed, Rylee decided to be as available as she could be without ignoring her main job as Jake’s bodyguard.
Knowing there were services offered on board, neither Jake nor Rylee continued arguing with the teen who was only holding his shit together by a very thin thread.
Aware of the caregivers other families used from the ship’s personnel, Rylee decided that between their occasional services, the adults and Miguel, surely they could look after two happy babies.
She wouldn’t have balked except for the fact that Jake’s precarious situation hadn’t changed. His app design was still a hot commodity, one the Pentagon had determined belonged to them. No way they wanted it to get into the hands of those nefarious people who would make a mint on the sale, or worse, a country who would claim it as their own. The opportunity to control anyone carrying weapons from something like a cell phone was a huge discovery. And they wanted it.
It was her job to make sure it happened, not to drool over two angels that made her heart sing or a teen who’d cried in her arms, clinging to her, showing she mattered, like she was his mainstay – his best chance to accept life’s new terms.
As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, her sister had left numerous voice mails, each one ramped up to where insanity had flared. She’d written umpteen texts bordering on lunacy, frantic for Rylee’s safety.
Uncontrollable since Rylee’s last case, when she’d been shot during the final takedown on her undercover mission, Mari had become a real concern.
Bordering on a breakdown, her oversensitivity about Rylee’s job had led to many arguments. Just because she could offer Rylee a partnership in a business she had no interest in, did not mean Rylee had to concede, quit her job and live in the safe bubble Mari wanted surrounding her.
Unfortunately, when Rylee tried to return the call, the lines were down.Dammit all to hell!Now she’d have to worry about soothing Mari’s fears before her sister did something stupid. And there was no putting anything past her when she was riled.
It had been hard on Rylee having only one person in her family to turn to, one relative. But for Mari Rae, it had been hell. She’d suffered hugely over the loss of their parents. Feelings of abandonment had surfaced. Alone and scared, Rylee had become hers to worry over – and worry she did.
Jesus, Rylee had people coming at her from every angle. And until the journey ended, keeping Jake safe had become the main function for her days and nights.
Just then, Carl knocked, interrupting her pity party, and she let him in.
“Okay, I have more cameras set up in the kids’ suite and a friend, she’s one of the crew, will stay with them tonight. Jake’s offered to pay huge money and many of the women who work on board are more than willing to help out during their time off.”
“I thought he let Miguel take over.”
“Let’s say he let Miguel believe he was in charge. Over these next few days before we return to Miami, he doesn’t want to take any chances and feels the backup he’s arranged will solve any problems. By the way, I’ve given him a photo of the male suspect the cameras picked up and sent one to your phone too. Keep your eyes peeled because times running out for him to make his move.”
“Right. What about Mad Maddy? Have you seen any signs of her?”
“Video surveillance shows her leaving the ship in Grenada, her fob was used to depart, and nothing shows up that she returned.”
“Good, one less worry.”
“Maybe.” He cracked the knuckles on his right hand and added, “Man, this case just keeps getting better every day.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his cabin steward’s jacket and pulled out scads of pink slips and handed them over. “From your sister. She’s gone looney tunes in case you didn’t know.”
Rylee’s head dropped, and she cussed under her breath, then reached out to swipe the messages from him. “Wipe that damn grin off your ugly mug before I do it for you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He walked to the door, opened it and then stopped to look at her.
“What?”
“I’ll have you know women consider my mug to be quite handsome.”
“Yeah, well they’re all fucking blind.”
His parting laughter forced a grin to replace the scowl she’d been living with for the last few hours.
The room phone rang, and she picked it up. “Rylee here.”
