Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 25

Jake eyed Sarah as she gripped the steering wheel of the midnight blue Tahoe, tight-lipped and eyebrows pinched. She merged into traffic onto Interstate 4 and mashed the accelerator. The V-8 engine roared as the speedometer climbed from fifty to over eighty miles per hour in seconds. Jake's head bounced off of the neck rest with a whiplash.

He glared at Sarah. "For the love of..."

"Would you like me to lose the mystery man?"

"Yes. Of course, I would like you to lose him."

"Then don't get all sensitive with my driving."

"Sorry."

"Good." Sarah's eyes flitted toward him, a frown forming, her cheeks flushing red. Her fair skin contrasted against her purple satin top and beige pants. Jake saw no fear, only anger and frustration in the stormy wrinkle on her forehead. More than the critique of her driving skills, she seemed tired of dealing with these people.

Jake checked the passenger side mirror. The black Mercedes was nowhere to be found. The mystery man must have fallen further behind, thanks to Sarah's heavy foot. Or he got stuck at a red light. Maybe Jake was overreacting, and there was no reason for concern. But it became clear they had a problem when the car stayed on their tail as they turned off Orange Avenue. The man's dark eyes oozed an air of deviousness. If he could have killed them with his stare, they'd be on their way to the morgue instead of Sarah's house.

The man could have sensed they'd seen him and slipped further behind them in the maze of rush hour automobiles. Jake scrutinized the vehicles in the side and rearview mirror. The gleaming car had vanished, no longer weaving in and out of traffic.

"I think we shook him," he said.

Sarah drummed her fingers on the wheel. She exhaled a gush of air and relaxed somewhat. Her forehead smoothed, mouth parted. "Hopefully."

"That was intense," Tony said. His knuckles cracked from the back seat.

Jake wished he could relieve the pressure like these two could. Gnawing on his bottom lip did nothing but hurt if he bit down too hard. Finally, out of the city limits and nearing the town of Kissimmee, Sarah exited off the interstate, and they soon found themselves in a more peaceful suburb. Sarah's home was in Cypress Lakes, a quiet community where a family could settle down and enjoy a normal life. Jake felt confident she made more money than most of the subdivision's residents, thanks to her position at Sea Lab and her doctorate degree. Yet she remained level-headed.

The sun dipped low in the sky as they neared their destination with the headlights on. Jake spotted the street sign, Blue Bayou Drive, long before Sarah made the turn. The Tahoe approached a one-story brick house on the right with a front facing garage.

Jake skimmed the neighborhood, looking for anything irregular. Nothing but front porch lights, cars parked along the side of the street, and a battery powered Bigfoot truck on a manicured lawn, small enough for a four-year-old to drive.

His paranoia eased a bit as Sarah pulled into her driveway and stopped behind her covered boat.

Everyone came to the same conclusion concerning the Mercedes and its driver. Too many bad things had happened lately for the run in to be a coincidence. Jake was glad, however, that Sarah and Tony were spending the night at his place for convenience's sake because of the drive to the airport in the morning. Then once their plane departed, he assumed at last, they could breathe easy.