Love and Fire (8 page)

He
didn’t want to leave her but there were a few preparations he needed to
solidify for Valentine’s Day.  Maxwell would be more than helpful with that. 
He left her a note and took her room card.  If she were still sleeping he could
just slip back in.  Hopefully she wouldn’t punch him later for it. 

As
he left her room, Jake didn’t notice the two figures stop dead in their tracks
behind him.  He whistled a choppy little tune and snickered at his own poor
whistling ability.

Sloan
had put an arm in front of Christy to stop her.  Her eyes narrowed as she
watched Jake turn the corner probably heading to his own room.  Christy pushed
her arm angrily away and snorted through her nose. 

“You
know, you said Jake Butler was perfect for
me
, and you were going to help
me snag him.  We’ve wasted days stalking this man.  It’s weird.  I’m going to
find someone for myself.” 

“He
was never for you anyway, sweetheart.”  Sloan said quietly, her eyes still
looking down the hallway. 

Christy
turned and glared at her friend.  “What’s
that
supposed to mean?” 

Sloan’s
cool eyes assessed her, but dismissed her right away.  The perky little airhead
obviously hadn’t been the right bait.  “Do whatever you want, Christy.  Jake
Butler was mine all along; you were just the worm on the hook while I fished.” 

Anger
flashed through Christy as she grabbed Sloan by the arm, forcing her to turn
and look at her.  “You’re a bitch!  Why didn’t you just say you wanted him all
along?  I could have any man on this ship!” 

“Obviously
there’s
one
you can’t have, because he doesn’t want
you.
” 

She
crossed her arms and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder with a snap of
her neck.  “Obviously he doesn’t want
you either
.” 

Sloan
pushed Christy into the wall and growled in her ear.  “He
owes me something
! 
I will collect.”  She released wide eyed Christy and smirked at the tears in
her eyes.  Not wanting her to blow the feeble cover, Sloan tried to temporarily
smooth things over.  She plastered an apologetic smile on her face and rubbed
Christy on her arms in a soothing way.  She flinched at first, but soon
relaxed.  “I’m sorry, pet, it’s just that my plans didn’t go as well as I had
hoped.  Come on, don’t cry.”  Sloan linked an arm through one of Christy’s and
began walking her up the hallway.  “Let’s go find you a nice man.  Would that
be better?” 

Christy
nodded slowly, still too stunned to speak.

Jake
returned to Tammy’s room a couple of  hours later to find her still sleeping. 
He woke her gently, marveling at the way her eyes fluttered open, and she
immediately moved into a long cat like stretch.  She sat up groggily and looked
around the darkened room. 

“What
time is it?”

“Almost
eight.” 

“Ugh.” 
Was all she said as she slid out of bed and moved unsteadily to the bathroom. 

Jake
turned on some lights and waited for her on the couch.  When she emerged for
the bathroom, she looked terrible.  “Are you feeling all right?” 

Tammy
shook her head and sat next to him.  “No.  I’m queasy.” 

He
frowned and touched her forehead.  “You feel warm, but it may be from the
sunburn.” 

Tammy
curled up on the end of the couch, drawing her knees into her chest and laying
her head on the back.  “Why don’t you go have some fun?  I don’t feel like
going out anywhere tonight.” 

“I’ll
just stay here with you.” 

Tammy
drew her eyebrows down and looked at him.  She vaguely remembered the dream she
was having before he woke her up.  High sexual tension seemed to be the theme,
but there was a darker presence that was lingering around them.  In the end the
presence had sucked Jake into it.  She shivered and closed her eyes. 
What
am I doing?  This has moved way too fast! 

“Let’s
order room service.” 

She
shook her head.  “I don’t want to eat.” 

Jake
sighed and tapped her on the knee until she looked at him.  “You at least need
some soup and definitely something to drink.” 

“Whatever.” 

She
could hear Jake talking into the phone.  It sounded like he was ordering a
truck load of food.  She was drifting into sleep again.  Her body felt
strange.  It was like she was floating in water.  Her ears seemed clogged and
she was having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight.  She didn’t fight
it.  She just allowed her body to slip back under. 

An
hour later, Jake was waking her again.  She looked groggily at him and could
smell food.  A cart had been brought to them.  He wrapped a blanket around her
shoulders, but took it away immediately when she winced at the fabric touching the
bare skin of her arms and shoulders. 

“Here,
try this.” 

“What
did you order?” 

“Well,
I wasn’t sure what to get, so I ordered chicken noodle soup, bottled water,
orange juice, and fresh fruit.  Oh, I had a sandwich sent for myself.” 

She
didn’t move an inch toward the food. 

“Don’t
worry, I had the order billed to my room.” 

“I
wasn’t worried about that!”  She snapped. 

“Okay,
I didn’t accuse you, I just wanted you to know.” 

She
closed her eyes again and mumbled an apology. 

“It’s
alright, Tammy, I know you don’t feel good.”  Jake was at a loss.  He didn’t
know how to care for someone sick.  He wasn’t sure she was sick, but he hadn’t
ever known  a sunburn to affect someone like this. 

Tammy
began to stir when the thirst became unbearable.  He watched her drink an
entire bottle of water, only coming up for air once.  Soon she was back in the
bathroom. 

“Maybe
I should call the ship doctor.”  He said through the door. 

The
only response was a flushing toilet. 

Tammy
swung the door open and grimaced.  “No, I’ll be fine.  I just want to go to
bed.” 

He
nodded his head and kissed her burning cheek.  At least she had drank the
water. 

After
he had left Tammy took off her pants and crawled into bed. Everything seemed to
be spinning.  She had wanted him to stay, but knew they had entered dangerous
territory as it was.  Maybe it was what he revealed to her earlier, maybe it
was the plans to see each other after the cruise, who knew; but she felt uneasy
all of a sudden.  Her grandmother had a keen sense of intuition, and her mother
had always said that Tammy was the only one that inherited it from her.  Maybe
she was feverish and that was the problem.  Either way, she could feel
something coming, and whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be pretty. 

Jake
stood outside of Tammy’s door leaning against the wall for at least five
minutes.  What should he do?  Should he knock on the door and demand to come
back in?  Tell her that she was too sick to be alone? 
No, that will scare
her off for sure, creepy. 
He didn’t want to go anywhere on the ship.  He
reluctantly pushed off of the wall and began walking slowly back to his own
cabin.  He had just rounded the corner of his own hallway when a voice spoke
from behind him. 

“Hello,
Jake.”  The soft purr was unmistakable.  He turned to see Sloan sauntering up
the carpet towards him.  A couple of young men passed her and gave her
appreciative looks.  He couldn’t blame them.  Her floor length maxi dress had a
v neck that plunged all the way to her navel.  Her makeup was done heavily and
he could smell perfume before she reached him.  As attractive as she was; she
wasn’t Tammy.     

“Sloan.” 
He spoke to her in a flat tone that wasn’t a warm greeting. 

She
smiled slyly.  “Finally we meet without our sidekicks.” 

Irritation
caused him to just turn from her and keep walking to his door.  She followed
and spoke from behind him.  “You don’t remember me do you?” 

He
turned slowly and looked at her hard.  Her face was familiar, but that was it. 
After all he had lived a racy life over the past several years, ten plus years
to be exact.  He could have met her previously anywhere, but he doubted it;
this smelled more like a ploy to get his attention.  “No, sorry, I don’t.” 

Instead
of being put off her smile only deepened.  “I was younger the last time you met
me, so it’s understandable.” 

He
searched her face again.  There just wasn’t any memory there. 

“Look,
Sloan, I just don’t remember you.  I need to get in my room now.  Have a good…”

“I’m
Paola’s niece.” 

Her
softly spoken interruption could have been shouted considering the impact it
had on him.  Hearing her name from someone that he thought was a stranger, left
him reeling. 
Dear God, will this ever be over?
  

The
smile that still hadn’t faltered had suddenly taken on a maniacal look. 
Memories flooded Jake’s mind.  He hadn’t met hardly any of Paola’s family
before her death, but her funeral was swarming with them.  People that couldn’t
comfort him because they were in their own cocoons of denial and hate.  Hate
for him.  And no one could blame them. 

He
remembered a girl there, no more than twelve, with wavy black hair, and the
awkward stature of a pre-teen that hasn’t grown into her too tall body yet.  A
quiet girl with mean yes and pale skin. 
Sloan.
 

“What
do you want?” 

“Ah,
so you
do
remember!” 

“I
do vaguely now.  What do you want?” 

She
stepped towards him and laid a hand on his chest.  She lowered her eyes,
bringing them back up slowly.  It was meant to be provocative, Jake knew, but
its effect on him was sickening.  She lifted one shoulder casually.  “I want what
is owed to me.”

“I
don’t owe you anything.” 

“Wrong.” 
Her steely eyes looked into his.  “You owe me
everything
.” 

Jake
stepped away from her and swiped his card quickly.  He stepped into his room
and slammed the door in her face. 

“I
don’t know, Maxwell!” 

Maxwell
paced the room.  His short legs working quickly.  “She must have been watching
you before you came on the cruise.” 

Jake
rolled his eyes.  “Well,
yes
, I would think so!  She and that little
Christy have been popping up ever since day one!”

“We
have to get you off the ship then.  You can fly out of Saint Maarten
tomorrow.” 

“No!” 
Jake said and stood.  “Tammy is sick, and I’m not going to give up the last few
days I have her all to myself!” 

Maxwell
looked at him with surprise.  “You really
do
like this woman!” 

Jake
plopped back down on the couch and stretched his arms across the back.  “Yes, I
do.” 

“Well,
you’ve certainly spent a fortune on her, that’s for sure.” 

“I
have plenty of money, Maxwell.” 

“Yes,
yes you do.  Especially since you took my advice and sold those stocks before
the market fell.”

“I
don’t want to talk about my finances.” 

“The
best thing I can tell you to do is lay low.  Try to not be anywhere that she
can get you alone again.  Revenge is a dish best served cold.  She could try
most anything.” 

Jake
nodded.  He closed his eyes as Maxwell quietly shut the door. 
What am I
going to do? 

The
next morning Tammy could barely make it to the door to answer the knocking. 
She had spent more time in the bathroom hugging the toilet than she had in her
bed.  When she opened the door, Jake was standing there looking like he hadn’t
slept a wink either.  She didn’t say anything.  She just shuffled back to bed
and fell into it. 

“I’m
calling the doctor.” 

She
was too exhausted to care. 

“What
do you think, doc?”

“I
think it’s just viral.  She should be feeling better in the next twenty four
hours.” 

“Does
anyone else have it?”

The
doctor folded his stethoscope and put it back in his bag.  His dark skin was a
sharp contrast to his white uniform. 

“There
have been a few isolated incidents.  Same symptoms: fast onset, fever,
vomiting.  It seems to pass within twenty four to forty eight hours.” 

Jake
frowned.  “What about the sunburn?” 

“It’s
not bad enough to cause this kind of sickness.  I’m sure it didn’t help
though.  Just make sure she drinks clear liquids: broth, water, Gatorade if
she’ll take it.”  He winked and patted Jake on the shoulder.  “Don’t worry,
she’ll be up and around again before we take port in Miami.” 

Jake
nodded and walked him to the door.  “Thanks.” 

He
smiled and lifted his hand in a wave.  “It’s what I’m here for.”  He winked
again.  “This cruise has been quiet.  The last one, I had twenty seven people
with dysentery.”