Not sure how to read his mood, Marley eyed him cautiously as she approached the table.
“Morning,” he said with his ten-thousand-watt smile, the one he turned on a prospective client when he was about to seal a deal. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “Sleep well?”
Something was different about him this morning. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Gone was the combative man who’d gotten right in her face last night. In fact, the nice, agreeable Jake—the one sitting in front of her now—was one she rarely saw at work.
Hesitantly, she pulled a chair out opposite him and sat. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she knew a gloating Jake Ryder was never a good thing.
“I’d feel better if you’d stop shouting.”
He grinned wider. “I’m not shouting. Too much Colombian beer last night?”
Marley pressed her fingers against her temple. “It could have been that. Or the tequila. Or the guaro. Ronan knows how to drink a person under the table.”
Jake’s irritating grin faded, and disapproval clouded his eyes. “Hm,” he muttered. “Guy should know a person’s limits.” He looked away and signaled the waiter before Marley could respond. “Uno café, por favor.”
What was that look in his eyes? Was he jealous? No, she had to be misreading things. Jake Ryder was never jealous of anyone. The man had everything a person could possibly want. Property all over the world, a thriving security company, people at his beck and call, not to mention women falling for him wherever he went. He was powerful, wealthy, attractive, and built. And there was no way in any scenario he would ever be jealous of anything that had to do with her.
The waiter rushed over with a cup and poured the bitter brew into Marley’s mug. Shaking off the hangover-induced thoughts, she reached for the cream and sugar. “What are you still doing here, Jake? I thought you were leaving.”
“I decided to stay. As you said last night, we’re on vacation.”
“We aren’t on anything together,” Marley clarified, circling the spoon in her cup. She braced her elbows on the table, lifted the cup with both hands, and took a deep drink. Warmth flooded her tongue and immediately eased the pressure behind her skull. “You were taking your plane and leaving.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“No, that’s where I’m right.” The waiter rushed over again and handed each of them a menu. Marley set her coffee down and looked up. “Gracias. We have one more coming.”
“Actually, we don’t.”
Marley’s gaze snapped Jake’s way. “Excuse me?”
Jake smiled at the waiter. The guy glanced curiously between the two of them and scurried off. Jake took another sip of his coffee, looking smug and victorious all over again. “Hamilton left.”
“Left?” Marley’s eyes flew wide. “What the hell did you do to my brother?”
“Nothing. I just explained to him that—” Jake’s self-righteous smile faded. “Whoa. Wait. Your brother?”
“Yes, my brother, you idiot. Who did you think he was?”
Jake’s mouth dropped open, and his gaze scanned her face. She could almost see the little wheels trying to catch in his brain. “But you don’t have a brother.”
“Half brother. And you don’t know everything there is to know about me. Where is he?”
Jake stared at her another long beat, then seemed to relax even more. “He’s fine. I told him he didn’t need to stick around now that I’m here.”
“And he believed you?”
One side of Jake’s mouth curled. “I can be very convincing when I want to be.”
Marley sat back and stared at him. No, he wasn’t convincing. He was obnoxious as hell, and he bullied people until he got what he wanted. Though why he wanted to weasel his way into her business now, she didn’t know.
“I don’t need or want your help, Jake.”
He eased back in his chair once more and laid his arm across the chair beside him, cocky as always. “Well, you’re not getting rid of me. People are tortured and murdered every day down here. You were smart enough to know not to come down on your own. I think we both know you’re smart enough to see I’m your only option at this point.”
She clenched her jaw. She was going to strangle Ronan the next time she saw him. And right now Jake wasn’t safe either.
The waiter came back to take their order. Marley’s frustration shot up while she listened to Jake mutilate the Spanish language. When the waiter looked her way, she pointed to the first thing she saw on her menu, not caring what she even ordered.
As soon as the waiter was gone, Jake rested both muscular forearms on the table and pinned her with a hard look. One that was sexy and aggravating and made her want to slam her fist right between his eyes. “Now. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on. Who called that made you drop everything, steal my plane, and jet all the way to Colombia.”
She leaned forward. “You checked my cell phone records?”
“Relax. I pay your cell bill. It’s no big deal.”
No, it was a huge deal. A giant deal. And just the fact he thought it was no biggie sent her temper right back to red-hot. “That’s called invasion of privacy, Jake. Did you hack into my credit card records too?”
He winced and glanced around as if to see who had heard her. “I’d never do that.”
“No, I’m sure you had Eve do it.”
He exhaled a long breath and frowned at her.
Marley crossed her arms over her chest and sat back. “I really hate you sometimes.”
“I know.” A slow grin worked its way across his face. The big jerk actually grinned. “Start talking.”
Exasperated, Marley debated her options. She could refuse to tell him anything, but that would only tick him off, and the hard truth was if Ronan had truly left, then she really was alone and needed Jake’s help. She still wasn’t sure why—aside from the obvious—Jake had flown all the way down here, but there was one thing for sure she knew about the man. He had a strong personal code that wouldn’t let him walk away from someone in need. Ironically, that code was something she’d always admired and respected about him, but right now it was about to make her life hell.
She blew out a long breath and dropped her arms. “My friend is in trouble. He asked me to come down and get him. He’s supposed to call anytime to let me know where to meet him.”
“He who?”
Marley pursed her lips. This was so going to get sticky. There was a reason she kept her personal life private from Jake. Because she didn’t need his disapproving looks or snarky comments about the men she chose to see. “Grayson McKnight.”
The waiter set their plates in front of them. Marley’s stomach rolled when she saw the fish, complete with fins and eyeball, staring up at her.
Jake reached for a biscuit, cut it open, and slathered jam inside. “That looks appetizing. Keep going.”
Appetite gone, Marley pushed the plate away and draped her napkin over the fish so it couldn’t stare her down. “He worked for my father.”
“Worked? As in past tense?”
“Yes.” She picked up her coffee and took a large sip.
“So, why did he call you?”
“Because we’re friends. Were you listening, Ryder?”
“I meant, why not call your father?”
She shrugged while he ate his breakfast and she tried not to get sick. “I don’t know.”
“Here.” He shoved the biscuit at her. “Eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re hung over. Eat it, Addison.”
Reluctantly, she reached for the biscuit and took a tentative bite.
“Better yet,” he went on, cutting into his eggs, “why didn’t you call your father? If the guy worked for Mason, and something happened to him down here, which, let’s get real, must have
if he needs help getting out of the country, then Omega’s responsible for him as his employer.”
Jake was right. And that feeling that there was so much more to the story settled hard in Marley’s stomach again. She swallowed the bite. “I’m not sure. I just know he called me.”
Jake’s fork hovered over his plate, and he looked up with pinpoint focus. The same focus Marley saw whenever he was in black ops mode. A shiver rushed down her spine. “Just who is this guy to you besides a friend? Because random citizens don’t take off without notice and go searching for people in dangerous countries. They call people like me to do it.”
“No,” Marley clarified. “They call you and you order your team to take care of it.”
He tipped his head. “That’s not exactly accurate and you know it.”
Marley did know it. But she wasn’t in the mood to be agreeable with him. He’d shown up unannounced, intimidated her brother, and wormed his way into something that didn’t involve him.
Pushing the biscuit away that really didn’t do anything but make her feel more queasy, she lifted her coffee, took another large sip, and told herself to play nice.
“So who is this guy, really?” Jake asked again.
Every instinct she had screamed not to divulge her relationship with Gray to Jake. The last thing she needed was any more of his judgment and disapproving looks.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket before she could think of an answer. Reaching for it, she glanced at the number but didn’t recognize it. Heart beating hard against her ribs, she hit Answer. “This is Marley.”
“Are you in Puerto Asis, Freckles?”
A relieved breath escaped Marley’s lungs. “Yeah, I’m here. Tell me how to get to you, Gray.”
“Do you have something to write on?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Marley reached for a napkin and signaled the waiter, holding her thumb and forefinger together as if writing in the air. The waiter nodded and rushed over with a pen. “Okay, go ahead.”
“I’m in Bruhia on the border of Colombia and Peru. It’s only about a hundred and fifty miles from you.”
Marley scribbled the name on the napkin. Jake twisted his neck so he could read her writing and mumbled, “Goddammit. That’s in the middle of the rainforest.”
Marley glared at him and refocused on her conversation. “How will I find you when I get there?”
“It’s a small town, Marlene. I’m the only American in the area. Trust me, you’ll find me.”
“Okay, right. That makes sense.”
“I need you to hurry, Freckles. I don’t know how much longer I can stand this.”
There was a note of urgency to his voice she hadn’t heard in his previous call. And it pushed her to her feet. Whatever had happened to him was bad if he wasn’t willing to call her father. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Hold tight, Gray.”
He said goodbye, and she clicked End. Turning for the lobby, she muttered, “I have to get my things.”
She made it all the way to the stairs in the lobby before Jake grasped her forearm. “Hold on a minute.”
She’d reached the end of her patience where Jake was concerned, and she’d played nice long enough. Now it was time to act. “I don’t have time to hold on. I need to call Tony.”
“You’re not taking my plane into the jungle.”
Marley tugged back on his arm. “Then I’ll find a car.”
“No, we’ll find a car.”
The determined look in his dark eyes told her loud and clear that he wasn’t going to give up. And that meant she was stuck with him whether she liked it or not.
Frustrated beyond belief, she tugged her arm from his grip and muttered, “Fine. Whatever. I still need to get my stuff.”
She twisted to move up the steps, but her foot slipped on the carpet. She gasped and reached out for the handrail. But before she could close her fingers around the solid wood, her center of gravity went out from under her.
“Dammit.” Jake wrapped his thick arm around her waist. His chest brushed her spine, his thighs skimmed the backs of her legs, then his hips cradled her butt as he pulled her back and into him to keep her from hitting the ground.
Heat encircled her. A heat she didn’t expect. Her head grew light, and for a fleeting moment, she thought she was still drunk, but she couldn’t be sure because, suddenly, she couldn’t seem to think. All she could focus on was the warm, hard body at her back and the soft, sweet breath near her ear whispering, “Easy.”
Oh man, that felt good. To be held close. To be protected. But as soon as the thought hit, she remembered who was holding her. She found her footing, let go of his arm, and tried to push herself upright. Then realized something else was hard against her ass. Something that hadn’t been hard ten seconds ago.
She pulled quickly away. As if he’d just realized the same thing, Jake let go of her and stumbled back.
Marley turned quickly to make sure he hadn’t just landed on his ass. Luckily, he hadn’t, but he looked flustered.
Jake cleared his throat and nodded up the stairs, not meeting her eyes. “You should go get your stuff.”
“Yeah,” she said, eyeing him cautiously. “That’s just what I was about to do.”
He glanced past her toward the door, clearly not wanting to make eye contact. “I’ll find us a ride.”
He was rattled. She never saw the man rattled. A tingle lit off in her belly. The same one she’d felt over the last three months whenever he looked right at her at work.
She wasn’t interested in Jake Ryder. He was domineering, aggravating, and he had more baggage than she wanted to deal with. And yet, no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop that stupid tingle from spreading up her chest toward her heart.
He moved for the door, then turned back. “Don’t think about disappearing.”
Her heart made a weird little skip. It’s alcohol. It’s stress. It is not attraction, she told herself.
Bracing one hand on the handrail, Marley reminded herself this was Jake—her bullheaded, obnoxious boss—and flicked him a sassy look. “Why on earth would I possibly do that? We both know you’d just do something illegal to find me.”
“So long as we’re clear.”
Marley rolled her eyes and stomped up the stairs.
No, they weren’t clear on anything. And that stupid little bump in her heart said that was going to be a major problem for her. Probably soon.
“Gracias.” Jake climbed out of the beat-up Ford pickup and motioned to the driver he’d wrangled to take them to Bruhia. “Un momento, por favor.”
The guy nodded behind the wheel, then looked down to tinker with his phone. As Jake headed into the hotel, he pulled out his cell and dialed Eve back at Aegis headquarters.
“Well?” Eve asked as soon as she picked up the line. “Did you find her?”
“Yeah.” Jake moved up the stairs, pulled out his key, and unlocked the door to his room. “I found her.”
“And?”
“And she’s being evasive.” He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear and grabbed his bag. “I need you to run a search on a guy named Grayson McKnight. He used to work for Mason Addison over at Omega.”
“Oookay. And why am I running background on some random guy who works for a rival company?”
“Because whoever he is, he’s got Marley twisted up in knots.”
“Ah,” Eve said slowly. “Now it’s making sense. Marley took off on a romantic vacation with this guy and you don’t approve. Got it.”
“Don’t be a smartass.” Jake slung his bag over his shoulder and pulled the door closed behind him. “I couldn’t care less who she hooks up with. That’s not what this is about. The guy isn’t what she thinks.”
“Says your super jealous black ops senses.”
Jealous? He wasn’t jealous. “Says my gut. I
don’t need your opinion here, Wolfe. Just run the damn search.”
She sighed. “You’ve got a real way with women, Ryder. You know you’re not going to be down there long with that attitude, right? Marley will kick your ass clear back to the States if you pull that on her.”
He wasn’t jealous, dammit. But even as Jake thought the words, his moment with Marley on the stairs rippled through his brain, drawing his feet to a stop in the middle of the hall.
Just what was that anyway? Marley was his employee, not a woman. At least not a woman like that. Not one he was interested in. She was a friend.
He swiped at the sweat beading on his brow. Yeah, that made more sense. She was a just a friend. The same way Miller and Bentley were his friends. He’d do what he could to help those guys too. This was no different.
Telling himself there was nothing to worry about, he stopped in front of Marley’s room and banged his fist on the door. “Car’s downstairs, Addison.”
“Be right there,” she hollered back.
He headed down the stairs, but a little voice in the back of his head whispered, You don’t get turned on by Bentley and Miller.
“Ryder?” Eve asked in his ear. In the background, voices echoed as if from a TV. “Did I lose you?”
“No, I’m here.” Irritated with himself, Jake clenched his jaw. “And I know you’re in my office, Wolfe. I don’t remember giving you permission for that.”
“Moi? Why would you assume that? I’m only running the show while you’re off gallivanting around South America playing lovesick tourist.”
The woman could be such a smartass. Just like Marley. Why did he surround himself with sassy women?
“Don’t mess with any of my shit.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
The smile in her voice lifted his spirits, if only for a moment. He moved from the lobby to the street. Midmorning sunlight beat down to mix with the humid air, making him sweat beneath the white button-down and cargo pants. “And if you call me a lovesick anything again, you’ll be looking for a new job.”
“Got it, boss.” Her voice turned businesslike. “I’ll call as soon as I have info on Marley’s mystery boyfriend.”