Читать книгу Love, Lattes and Danger - Sandra Cox - Страница 9

I wake weak as a newborn kitten. Leif is bending over me. “What the hell happened?”

I look at him, confused. Memory snaps back. The men on the boat waiting for me. Craven trying to kill me. Amy’s blood must have been compatible. I’m still alive. “I’m not sure.” This could be tricky. I have no proof that Craven set those men on me, just a gut feeling. But who else could it be? Stranger? Maybe. I lift my arm to scratch my jaw. It takes too much effort. My arm drops back to my side.

“What do you mean, you’re not sure?”

“Mr. Voorhees,” the doctor protests. “He’s not strong enough to be interrogated.”

Leif motions him back.

“The oil was coming from another boat. When I went on board to talk to them, they pulled a gun on me, several guns.”

Leif jerks. His eyes widen. “Do you know why? Did you walk into a drug deal? Punks fooling around? What?”

“They knew me, Leif.”

“How could they?” He leans forward into my space. “Who do you think is responsible for this?”

I don’t say anything. What can I say without proof?

He swears low and fluently before he asks, “Did you get the boat’s decal number?”

I shake my head.

“Doesn’t matter. They’d be gone by now. Don’t worry, kid, I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” He turns to the rig’s doctor, who’s hovering anxiously nearby.

I wonder what he thinks of all this.

“Doc, would you excuse us for a minute.”

“Don’t overdo it, Mr. Voorhees. He lost a lot of blood.” With that parting shot, he leaves, casting a speculative look over his shoulder.

“We took a gamble and gave you a transfusion with Amy’s blood. Figured it would either kill you or cure you. Looks like you survived.”

“It was a good call.” My eyelids are heavy. I’m about to drift off again. “How long have I been out?”

“Three days.”

Three days. I can’t afford three days. “I have to get up.” But even as I say the words, darkness engulfs me.

* * * *

The next time I wake, I’m myself again. I pull myself up in bed as the doctor steps in, smiling. “How do you feel?”

“Much better. Thanks.” My stomach rumbles.

The doctor grins. “I’ll have some food sent up.” He checks my vitals. “You’re doing great. We gave you a second transfusion. Mr. Voorhees told me you had a rare blood disease. I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it there for a while, but your sister’s blood seems to have done the trick. She donated several pints.”

“Is she alright?”

“She just needs to rest and build her strength back up.” He clears his throat. His voice becomes guarded. “He wouldn’t even let me do a compatibility match. Or check to see what type she is. All hush-hush. ‘National security’ is what he said.”

For a moment, my mind goes blank. I rub my fingers against the sheets seeking inspiration. All I can think to say is, “You know Ziccon. Everything is hush-hush.”

“Yeah, I guess the more money you make, the more paranoid you become.”

“I guess so.”

“I’ll send you something to eat.” He takes one last look at the chart then hangs it at the foot of the bed.

Minutes later, Leif walks in.

“Looks like you’re going to live,” he observes.

“Planning on it. Any news on the boat?”

“No.” He scowls.

“What about Craven?”

“He’s outta here.”

“And his friends?”

“No one’s going to buck me.”

“Not unless he’s psychotic.” The problem is Craven’s crazy and so are his associates.

“Listen, I’m going to send you and Amy back to Houston to recuperate. Ziccon has an apartment complex. You can rest there.”

Will it help or hurt our chances of getting away? I do a quick assessment. It’s going to help. If we can’t find the parts, I’ll steal a couple of jammers then we’ll disappear.

“And if someone sees us?”

“I trust you’ll be resting in the apartment,” he says dryly, “but if someone does see you, you’ll just be guests of the company.” He grins. “My niece and nephew. Though you’re awfully scrawny to have Nordic blood in your veins.”

I snort.

“Be up top in five. I’ll take you. I have business at the head office anyway.”

“Where’s Amy? In her room?”

“She was packing your bag then heading up top. I’ll give you ten.” His glance slides over me. “Not sure you could make it in five after all.”

“I can make it in five,” I say, but Leif is already disappearing through the door. I throw my legs over the bed, stand…and reach for the bed rail as my legs buckle. I feel like an overcooked noodle. “This will not do.” I push myself upright, dress, and head for the stairs, walking more like a senior citizen who needs a cane than a nineteen-year-old. I was damn lucky.

After what seems an inordinately long time, I make it to the deck. Leif is pacing impatiently. Amy stands with her head down, twirling a lock of her hair. As if sensing me, she glances up. A smile spreads across her face and lights her eyes.

Concern ripples through me. Her complexion is pasty. Slashes of purple emphasize her beautiful turquoise eyes. How much blood did she give me anyway?

She runs to me and throws her arms around me. “Joel, you almost died. You almost died.” I feel the leak of moisture against my neck.

I hug her back. “You saved me. I wouldn’t have made it without your donation. You gave me the gift that just keeps on giving.” She grins. I push her back and hold her by her shoulders. “How many pints did you give me anyway?”

She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.”

“That’s not good.”

“Let’s go. It wasn’t five but it didn’t take you ten either.” Leif’s voice booms over the noise of the chopper.

He climbs in the front. We haul ourselves into the back. I make sure the latch on the door has caught and is secured.

The pilot looks back at me and smiles. It’s the man who saved me. He’s young, probably not much older than me. “You’re looking better than the last time I saw you.”

I hold out my hand. “Thanks to you.”

He shakes it. “Glad things worked out.”

Amy talks when she’s nervous. In a low voice, so as not to disturb the pilot or Leif, she chatters through the entire flight. Once we touch down, we hail a taxi and drive through Houston. Twenty minutes later, we pull up in front of a five-story, glass-and-steel apartment complex.

A doorman ushers us in. “Good to see you again, Mr. Voorhees.”

“And you, Sam. This is my nephew and niece, Joel and Amy Eisler.” Eisler is my mother’s maiden name and the one both Amy and I use.

“Mr. Eisler. Ms. Eisler.”

“Please call me Amy.” My sister gives him her sweet smile. He looks bedazzled.

“Ms. Amy.” He nods.

“Joel.” I lift a hand in greeting.

“Mr. Joel.”

The doorman pushes a button and the elevator doors open. Soon, we’re rocketing up to the fourth floor, where Leif walks us to our suite. “I’m down the hall. I have a permanent apartment. The big dogs are up on five.”

“You’re a big dog. Why aren’t you on five?” I tease.

He just snorts. “I’ll probably be heading back out tonight. There’s a cafeteria on first. Order whatever you want. They have room service.” He hands us keys.

“If you don’t mind my asking, why keys instead of cards? Everything else seems to be modernized.”

He laughs. “One of the execs had problems with his key card two nights in a row. A week later, they were all changed out. Expensive as hell, but not my call. Get some rest.” He nods and leaves.

The apartment is spacious and well appointed. From the doorway, we can see a gleaming kitchen and large great room, with a wall-sized entertainment center. After we walk through all the rooms, Amy and I look at each other. “Weird.” We both say at the same time then burst into laughter.

“A little different from the cot in the bowels of the ship, huh?” I run my hand over a bronzed statue of a stallion sitting on the coffee table in the great room.

“Yeah. Pretty sweet digs.”

“No shi—” I catch myself.

Just then my stomach rumbles. “Let’s order something to eat. I’m starving.”

She looks me up and down. “I’m not surprised. You’ve dropped a lot of weight and you didn’t have any to spare to begin with.”

“Look who’s talking. How many pints of blood are you down?”

She waves a dismissive hand. “Now that you mention it, I’m hungry too.”

“Pizza?” I wiggle my eyebrows.

“Oh yeah.”

I call in the order. While we’re waiting, I check out the fridge. It’s stocked. I pull out sodas and find snacks in the cabinets. I pour us both Cokes, throw Amy a bag of chips, and take another for myself. We go into the living room, sink into the overstuffed couch, and put our feet up.

“What now?” The bag crackles as Amy rips it open.

I glance around uneasily. Surely the place isn’t bugged. Just in case, I rattle the chips as I talk. “We need to get the hell out of here. I need to get hold of Piper and tell her what’s going on then get the baby.”

“What about the jammers?” she whispers back. “I managed to snag a couple of watches and a mini-circuit mixer. I figure you can put them together, but I don’t know what to do about waterproofing them.”

“Wow, Amy. You’re amazing. I feel bad suggesting it after you went to all that trouble, but maybe we should just find an electronics shop and buy some that are already waterproofed.”

“How would we pay for them?”

The doorbell rings. I push myself off the sofa and open the door.

“Room service.” A young girl who looks to be Amy’s age hands me a pizza.

“Thanks.”

The smells wafting from the cardboard box nearly bring me to my knees.

I put it on the coffee table and we dig in.

Amy turns on the remote. “God, pizza and television. Do you realize we haven’t see TV in over eight months? Since we were sold from the lab.”

“I sure do.”

While Amy is sating herself with TV and pizza, I get up and roam around the apartment, thinking. Finally, I say, “I think we are going to have to borrow the capital from the company.”