Unchained

by J C Ryan

  “Tell her thank you. I’ll be here. Now, where’s that rascal Gyan? It’s time I beat him at this game.”

  ***

  THE NEXT MORNING, Rex was at the door again just after dawn. He’d been stuffed as usual with Northern Indian delicacies the previous night and had slept only about six hours in the meanwhile. But he was alert and looking forward to the drive. He had all sorts of details to discuss with Rehka.

  On the way, they talked again about what he wanted her to do first, which was to bank the cash he’d get for the gold coins taken from Mutaib and develop the systems to track down his money in other places, to invest it, manage it, and distribute it to the seven women, including herself.

  Rehka protested. She told him he had offered her a generous salary and she didn’t need to share in the money as well.

  “Nevertheless, you will do as I ask?” Rex smiled. “We have become friends, do you agree?”

  “Yes, Ruan, we are friends, and you have my eternal gratitude for my rescue.”

  “I treasure that friendship, Rehka. But as your employer, I expect adherence to my terms.” Immediately after saying that and realizing what it might sound like to her, he held up a hand in apology. “I don’t mean in the ways you’ve experienced before.”

  “I know you would never do that, Ruan.” Rehka didn’t spell out what she understood. Both were thinking about the demands her last employer had placed on her body. “You’re saying I must include myself in the systems I create for distribution.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I will do so. As long as you note that I do so under protest.”

  Rex figured that was the best he was going to get. She’d see later what it would mean for her. Her share could help provide for her in her old age or send her children or grandchildren to school, she had her parents to support, and there were many family members she could help if she felt so inclined. Never again would a member of her family be put in the position she’d been put in and forced to indenture herself to an unscrupulous moneylender.

  He didn’t say all that. The matter was settled. She would learn for herself in due time. Instead, he began to discuss her preferences for living and work locations.

  Once again, they drove straight through, sharing the driving duties, not because Rex was in a hurry, but this time because Rehka was. The closer they got to Mumbai, the more excited she became. Rex enjoyed every minute of the drive.

  Digger, of course, insisted on frequent stops as usual. He and Rehka had become good friends, it was as if he sensed and pre-empted her bouts of sadness and would snug up close and comfort her at those times.

  Rex knew that there would be an extended retraining session needed to break the bad habits he’d let the dog fall into. Human food, for example, was now all he’d eat. He stood a chance of developing lifestyle diseases if Rex didn’t put a stop to that. Although he had read and was going to check it with a vet at the soonest opportunity that dogs can eat some human food. What he read all came down to the fact that most of what is healthy for humans is also healthy for dogs, with a few exceptions.

  He’d been quite surprised to learn that dogs thrived on vegetables and that it was actually good to give them a carrot every day, which helped to keep their teeth clean and of course had all the other healthy stuff in it. So, healthy eating was in the cards for both of them, which, he decided, was probably not such a bad idea after all.

  Rex also thought he might stick around Mumbai for a few weeks and get his buddy some obedience training. Or rather get himself better trained in handling Digger. He just didn’t know how to maintain discipline with the dog like his late friend Trevor did. The obedience school would be as much for his benefit as Digger’s.

  Rex, Digger and Rehka arrived in Mumbai in the afternoon of the second day after leaving Bilaspur. Rehka had submitted to Rex’s plea that they stop for a decent night’s sleep, a shower, and food other than that found in convenience stores, on the second night, just a few hours short of Mumbai.

  Rex got hotel rooms in the same place he’d stayed with Digger before and asked Rehka to inquire about apartments for her new home while he did a few errands. They had decided she would work from her apartment rather than getting her an office, which was an unnecessary expense on the funds he was about to turn over to her.

  Meanwhile, he called Aarav Patel.

  “Can you take a short break? I need a little advice. There’s a coffee or tea and some cake or sweets, whatever you prefer, in it for you.”

  “What I wouldn’t give for a great cup of coffee,” Aarav joked. He named a place where he’d meet Rex in half an hour.

  Sitting at an outside table under an umbrella that riffled in the breeze, Rex asked where he could exchange ‘a few’ gold collector coins for a fair price, and what establishments in the diamond trade were the most reputable.

  Aarav considered his answers carefully and then answered with caution. “Can I assume you won’t be able to prove the, ah, provenance of the items you mention?”

  “I could, if I am asked for it, but I prefer not to be asked. I’d like a quick transaction, but I don’t want to be robbed.”

  Aarav suppressed a grin. “I don’t suppose anyone wants to be robbed,” he remarked, “although I can imagine that some people deserve to be.”

  “Just so,” Rex agreed. He didn’t bother to suppress his own grin.

  “And these… items… were not um, acquired… in my jurisdiction?”

  “Not even in your country,” Rex assured him.

  “In that case, I can give you some names. However, I would still recommend caution in approaching the establishments. Wait for my all clear.”

  Rex nodded his understanding. Aarav was going to refer him to people who might be under observation by law enforcement, but who would treat him fairly.

  “Should I mention your name? As a reference?” Rex asked.

  “No, I suggest you don’t. It might make them nervous.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  Aarav gave him the names and they chatted for a few minutes as they enjoyed their coffee. Rex brought up another favor he’d like to ask.

  “I have an interest in a young woman who’s had a difficult time over the past few months. Strictly business,” he added. “Would you mind checking on her now and then? I’d like to introduce you if you’re willing.”

  “Please don’t tell me…” Aarav began. He stopped when Rex violently shook his head.

  “Nothing like that. Wrong choice of words. I assure you, it is quite the opposite. Her plight came to my attention through her parents. I investigated and was led to our mutual friend who divulged where I would find her. I went and removed her from that situation and brought her back. I have since learned that she is very well qualified and hired her to manage some financial business for me.”

  Aarav’s face betrayed confusion, and then he said, “Oh, that friend. The one who I have the misfortune of sharing a surname with? I see. A wise decision on your part. The young woman’s business would not be in the entertainment industry?”

  Rex was getting tired of the oblique references. “Can I trust you, my friend?”

  “With your life. You forget I owe you mine.” Aarav leaned forward.

  Rex leaned in to meet him. “You may have seen some news, about two weeks ago, maybe less, about an international search for seven women from the harem of a deceased Saudi prince?”

  “Indeed. Our department received a request for information. Are you telling me…?”

  “I’m not telling you anything. I’m just asking if you read the news.”

  Aarav grinned and nodded. “Then this young woman will not become a problem for us on the streets.”

  “Absolutely not. That would be the last thing she’d do.”

  “Okay, so what is that I can do to help you?”

  “She is going to live here in Mumbai. She needs someone trustworthy, like yourself, to make sure she is safe. She has enough money and I’ll pay her well for the
work she is does for me. It’s personal safety you can provide.”

  “That will be my pleasure. Please, bring her to dinner tonight at my home. I will tell my wife to expect an honored guest.”

  It was more, and more personal, than Rex had expected. He wasn’t certain Rehka would be happy about the invitation. He hadn’t thought through the implications of an older male visiting Rehka at her home, either for how it would look to her neighbors, or how it might complicate Aarav’s life with his wife. Introducing her to his family would solve both issues. He accepted the invitation on Rehka’s behalf and hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

  When he returned to the hotel, he rang Rehka’s room and discovered she’d found a few apartments she’d like to consider.

  “Make appointments for tomorrow. We have a social engagement tonight.”

  To his relief, Rehka welcomed the idea of meeting a family in Mumbai. She hadn’t made many friends in Mumbai before her life took a turn for the worse, and those she had made had turned against her because of the “scandal” they chose to believe without checking the facts.

  The dinner was a roaring success. Rehka impressed her older hostess with her respect and her facile ways with the two children, two girls of ten and twelve. It was a different experience for Rex, who had only been entertained for a meal by Rehka’s much older and more traditional parents. In Aarav’s home, his wife served everyone together – her husband, Rex, Rehka, the children, and herself at the same time, family style at a large table.

  A lively conversation about everything except anything that would’ve intruded on her recent life drew Rehka in and made the evening seem short. After dinner, the children went reluctantly to bed and the adults talked a bit more. Aarav told the story of Rex’s intervention that saved his life, making Rehka’s eyes light up with appreciation. When Rex and Rehka rose to take their leave, Aarav rose with them, glanced questioningly at his wife, and upon her nod, addressed Rehka.

  “We are so happy to know you, Rehka. Any friend of Ruan’s will always be dear to us. You are my wife’s young sister now, or if you prefer, the older sister to our children. You are always welcome in our home, and if you need anything, you have only to call and I or my wife will be there to help you.”

  Aarav’s wife stepped forward and embraced Rehka, who seemed overwhelmed by the show of affection from people she had only met a few hours before.

  “I can’t thank you enough.” For the first time that evening, she alluded to what she owed Rex. “He saved my life, too, Aarav. I gladly accept your friendship. And if you ever want to take your lovely wife out without the children, I’m a decent babysitter. I have about two dozen nieces and nephews.”

  Aarav and his wife both smiled.

  ***

  THE FOLLOWING DAY, Rex helped Rehka choose an apartment and then went shopping for furniture and appliances for it. She was like a kid on Christmas morning, he reflected. Rex correctly anticipated that Rehka was going to be frugal and did some research before. So, at the first indication that she was hesitant to buy an item because it was too expensive he told her what the budget was and that he expected her to use it, all of it.

  “Look at it as revenge shopping. It’s Mutaib’s money, and you more than deserve it.”

  Once the furnishings and appliances were complete, he took her to buy linen and kitchenware. Then they went computer shopping, getting all the equipment she would need, including a desktop computer and nice office desk for her home office, as well as a tablet and a laptop for when she wanted to be mobile.

  Then he took her clothes shopping again. Rex sat back in a chair, relaxed, and enjoyed the views as she paraded the garments for him. She was now free to purchase clothing that appealed to her without considering whether wearing it would get her arrested. However, when he saw her starting to look at underwear, he hastily made himself scarce and found a coffee shop.

  Finally, they went car shopping and bought her a car. On Rehka’s insistence they chose a small model that would be nimble in the city and fuel efficient for trips home to see her parents. The gift of the car so overwhelmed her that she asked to go back to the hotel to process how her life had changed so dramatically.

  Rex left Digger with her to provide his unique brand of comfort after he got the all-clear from Aarav, while he visited the diamond establishments Aarav had recommended.

  One of Rehka’s first tasks would be to deposit the enormous sums of cash in small increments to his various bank accounts, including a new one he would establish with her for the women with the proceeds from the gold.

  The next few weeks would be busy ones for them, as she worked on the systems he’d requested, and he trained her in how to handle covert money transactions.

  ***

  Rex was already feeling the call of his original plan to wander. He’d taken on an anchor of sorts that he never anticipated, but in a much deeper way than he’d thought possible, he was content with it. It seemed he was not cut out for a life of nothing but leisure and travel.

  As soon as Rehka was comfortable in her new life, he and Digger would set out for new adventure. He was not going hunt trouble, but if trouble found him along the way, he and Digger would be glad to sort it out.

  ~The End~

  REX DALTON’S NEXT ADVENTURE

  Sideswiped

  Rex and Digger are visiting the Taj Mahal when he almost bumped right into someone from his past. Josh Farley. A CRC agent, and with him was a woman Rex didn’t know.

  Were they looking for him, or were they on some other mission? Or were they on holiday?

  He didn’t have a good feeling about it. Cops, spooks, soldiers, military analysts, and many others don’t believe in coincidence, and neither did Rex.

  Coincidence is the word we use when we can't see the levers and pulleys. Emma Bull

  REX DALTON BOOKS READING ORDER

  No Doubt – A Free Short Story

  The Fulcrum – Book 1

  The Power of Three – Book 2

  Unchained - Book 3

  Sideswiped - Book 4

  The Inca Con - Book 5

  The French Girl – Book 6

  ALSO BY JC RYAN

  The Exonerated

  http://myBook.to/ExoneratedTrilogy

  Here’s what readers are saying about the series:

  “J.C. Ryan is an author that writes tomes. The great thing about that is that you get great character development and the plots are all intricate, plausible, suspenseful stories that seems to draw you in from the first scenario right up to the end.

  The Exonerated series is no exception. Regan St. Clair is a judge. Together with Jake she has her own way in pursuing justice in ensuring that the legal system is applied ...well, justly.”

  “What if you had the power to make a difference? Would you? Could you? What if in order to do so you had to join a super-secret organization that might not always play by the rules? What if you stumbled across this mysterious organization only to find out it had been polluted? What if you were a judge that has been worn out and disillusioned by the very justice system you thought you loved?”

  “What a great series of books. It seemed like one book instead of three books. The story flowed seamlessly through the three books.”

  The Rossler Foundation Mysteries

  http://myBook.to/RosslerFoundation

  Here’s what readers are saying about the series:

  “All in all, a brilliant series by a master of the techno thrillers turning old much debated mysteries into overwhelming modern engrossing sagas of adventure, heroism and a sense of awe for the many mysteries still unexplained in our universe. Enjoy!”

  “I LOVED this series! It's readily apparent that the author drew from a large body of knowledge in writing this series. It's just believable enough to think it could happen someday, and in fact, aligns quite well with some of the current relationships that exist between present day countries and the USA.”

  The Carter Devereux Mystery Thrillers

&
nbsp; myBook.to/CarterDevereux

  Here’s what readers are saying about the series:

  “Omg this series is awesome. Full off adventure, action, romance, and suspense. I've you start reading you are hooked. Carter and all characters are awesome, you will fall in love with all of them they become like family. I love the way J C weaves the human and animals together in the story. Try it you will love it.”

  “The best! What a joy to read these four books about Carter and Mackenzie Devereux bad their adventures. A very good read. I will look for more of JC Ryan's books.”

  “Suspenseful! Fabulous just fabulous! I enjoyed reading these books immensely. I highly recommend these books. Bravo to the author! You won't regret it.”

  “What a wonderful and intriguing book. Kept me glued to what was going to happen next. Not a normal read for me. But a very enjoyable series that I would recommend to everyone who likes adventure and thrills.”

  YOUR FREE GIFT

  Rex Dalton and his dog, Digger, visited the island of Olib in Croatia.

  A girl was murdered.

  The police said it was her boyfriend who stabbed her to death, but Rex and Digger had no doubt they were making a big mistake.

  Dalton decided to conduct his own investigation and bring the real killer to justice.

  A thriller with a quirks and twists that will keep you guessing until the end.

  Get your free eBook here.

  ABOUT JC RYAN

  An interview with the author by the editor of Books 'N Pieces Magazine, http://www.altpublish.com/jc-ryan/

  JC Ryan

  Editor’s note: “JC Ryan and I enjoyed an extensive two-hour Skype session where we spoke of all manner of things, especially his ranking as an author. The visibility of an author is often at the hands of readers. If you look at JC’s ratings, each book enjoys several hundred or more four and five-star reviews, enough to make him notable, and on par with mainstream novelists. I encourage you to read one of his books, or listen to his audiobooks, now in production. You’ll be hooked.”