Page 36 of Still Bruised
“The really dangerous jobs aren’t an everyday occurrence. Most are pretty standard. Slide in, drive or fly it back to the client. It’s a minimal amount of adrenaline. Sometimes I can even convince the owner to hand it over if I let them pretend they’re selling it to me. Avoids a little embarrassment and lets them save face. But it’s those wild ones that really get my juices flowing, though.”
“Wildest one?”
Cary thought about that for a minute. “I found a fifteen-foot anaconda inside one of the boats.”
“What?”
“I’d staked out this smaller yacht for a couple of days and saw an opportunity to grab it, so I did. I was in a rush. I didn’t check the boat for passengers before I took it. Once I was safely away from port I stopped to do a quick tour and make sure I hadn’t abducted anyone.” Cary grinned. “I heard a noise behind a door and freaked. I peeked in and nearly lost my shit. It lunged for me. I slammed the door and prayed the whole time that it couldn’t get out. I was never so happy to be back on dry land.”
“I bet,”Foster murmured.
“I later found out his wife had demanded he take the snake to a sanctuary—it had gotten a lot bigger than he’d told her it would. He wasn’t ready to give up his baby, so he decided the boat was the perfect place to store her until he could figure something out.”
“What happened to her?”
“I called in some snake wranglers. She ended up at a sanctuary after all.”
“Wow.”
“I know it sounds ridiculous and dangerous… but…” Cary said. His gaze whipped to Foster before he turned back to the road. “I’m my own boss. I work when I want to. And the money’s good.”
“How good?”
“I charge a straight fee for the service itself. Two thousand, in most cases. Then I clean up and auction off whatever I recover. I get a cut from the sale. I’ve made as little as twenty grand to as much as three million for two to three weeks’ worth of work. And most of what I do is legal.”
“What do you mean…most?”
“The defaulters sometimes take their goodies to countries outside the US where the repo laws can be a bit…murky.Sometimes I skirt around the rules here or there to get access and then get the fuck out and back home as soon as possible.”
“Which is why you have whole ass countries chasing after you?”
“I’m no longer allowed to step foot in Bolivia. Venezuela is a bit of a gray area,” Cary replied. “I might get locked up if I returned, but it’s unclear.”
Foster sat back in the seat, shaking his head. “Who thought our skinny, nerdy little team manager would turn into the big, wild-assed dude sitting beside me. You’re living life like it’s a Fast and Furious movie.I’mthe boring one now.”
“Not boring. You just made questionable choices,” Cary said. “Now you’re free of the worst poor choice and can be who you were meant to be all along.”
“And just who is that?”
“I don’t know. That’s for you to figure out,” Cary replied.
Jude eyed Antonas they sat across from one another on the Q. He couldn’t remember the last time Anton looked so nervous. One leg was motoring, bouncing like mad. He kept staring around, his expressions vaulting from casing the joint to a junkie looking for his next hit. Thank heavens no one was sitting too close to them because he’d probably freak them out.
“What’s up with tonight?”
Anton searched around them again before leveling his gaze at Jude. “Just a bit of fun.”
Jude eyed him. “Nah. There’s something upwith you.”
“Nothing up with me.”
Jude raised a brow. “Don’t lie to me.”
Anton took off his backwards ballcap and scrubbed a hand through his unruly hair. “There’s this guy…”
Jude grinned. “Anton’s got a crush?”
There was a hint of a smile on Anton’s face as he shoved his cap back on. “Shut up.”
