“Raine has to report any accident she’s in to her people.” Vienna refused to turn around. “They told us to get out of there and they’d have the truck towed. We saw the tow truck as we were driving away.”
“Her people?” Rainier echoed. “A computer analyst, an independent contractor for the government, has the kind of clout to call in that kind of cleanup crew that fast?” There was total disbelief in his voice.
Vienna did turn. She couldn’t push down the flash of temper. “Yes, Rainier. Her people. Zale said someone had to take care of the truck. I presume he meant your people. In this case, it was our good luck that when Raine reported she’d been in an accident, her people took care of the truck. If your people and her people want to sort that out between them and gather the evidence to see who wants you dead, it’s all right by me. I just don’t want to hear your take-charge voice in our house when we did you favors, and now, you’re sitting in our Airbnb and probably expect to eat Shabina’s excellent meal.”
“Vienna, honey, come here.” Zale’s voice was gentle.
She felt the burn of tears behind her eyes. She knew she was too tired and her body ached. She was still in mild shock from the accident. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to look at Zale. Really look at him. That first look always took her breath away. Always. It wasn’t that he was so incredibly gorgeous—and to her, he was—it was the way he appeared so invincible. He looked as if he could handle anything, no matter how difficult. Even more than that, it was the look on his face. His expressionless mask disappeared, his cold eyes softened and he looked at her with such raw intensity she didn’t know what to do with it. There was just a glimpse. Just a moment, and then it was gone, but in that moment, she felt as if she belonged.
“I’m going to check that wound, Zale.” Pride kicked in, mostly because Rainier was watching her and she had to put her anger somewhere. She was angry. At Rainier because he was still working in a field he should have gotten out of a long time ago. He was an intelligent man. He didn’t need to stay in it unless he was an adrenaline junkie, and what did that say about Zale?
“Snowflake . . .”
She glared at him. “Just don’t say anything for a minute. No one talk until I can breathe again. It was terrifying to have Shabina and Raine in the truck with me and know I had no control. It was terrifying to know you and Rainier were wounded. Rainier’s side of the truck had far too much blood on it. You may think only you two worry, but all of us do as well.”
She caught up the medical kit and stalked over to him, trying not to breathe him into her lungs. The moment she got close enough to him, Zale reached out and shackled her wrist, gently pulling her between his thighs.
“I have to know if you were injured.”
“Just knocked around. A few bruises. I don’t have a cut on my head like Raine does.” She tugged at his shirt until he obliged and took it off. The wound was lower this time—not his biceps, his actual chest. He was lucky the bullet didn’t hit a bone or an artery. She sighed and removed the bandage to take a closer look.
“What about you, Shabina?” Rainier prompted. “Are you injured?”
She glanced up from where she was working in the kitchen. “Nothing significant.”
He frowned. “That tells me nothing.” There was a distinct warning in his voice.
Vienna paused cleaning Zale’s wound and turned slightly to view Rainier. He did sound concerned. She shouldn’t be so upset with Rainier simply because he was still working at his chosen profession and she didn’t want Zale to make that same choice. That wouldn’t be Rainier’s fault. She knew she had to come to terms with her emotions. She wasn’t the kind of woman to believe a man—or a woman—should have to change to be in a relationship. She’d fallen for Zale because of his character. Rainier was very much like him.
“I didn’t hit my head, so no concussion.” Shabina was matter-of-fact. The Instant Pot was already on and she had prepared something else to slide into the oven. Vienna couldn’t see what it was on the flat tray, but the aromas coming from the kitchen were adding hunger to her already frayed nerves.
“I was thrown around, although the seatbelt did its job. I have quite a bruise across my body where it locked up on me and some bruising on my arm where the door crushed in a little bit. My neck hurts. That’s about it. I imagine I’ll feel it more tomorrow.”
“Shabina.”
Rainier’s voice was low. Quiet. Something in the way he said Shabina’s name made Vienna turn around fully and look at him. His entire focus seemed to be on Shabina. She kept her back to him. That was unlike Shabina. Her shoulders were straight, but her head was down. The other women in the room went silent at his tone as well.
“Where is your security team?”
The ticking of the grandfather clock could be heard in the silence of the room.
“I don’t see the dogs. Vienna treated my wound in the room you’re staying in, and they weren’t in there.”
Rainier’s tone was very low now, so low Vienna found herself straining to hear him, yet his voice easily carried. A frisson of fear crept down her spine. Rainier hadn’t moved from his chair. He was wounded and she knew he couldn’t move fast, but he exuded danger, a lethal energy that surrounded him, and even in his stillness made it clear to everyone that he was in charge and no one better cross him or they could be risking their life.
Shabina finally turned to face Rainier. “I decided to come with just my friends.” Her eyes didn’t meet his.
Vienna couldn’t quite understand how he knew Shabina had a security team around her all the time. Well, mostly it was her three Dobermans. As guard dogs went, they were very well trained, and Vienna never doubted for a minute that they would protect Shabina with their lives.
“You didn’t even bring the dogs?” There was an underlying hint of disbelief, as if Rainier couldn’t conceive of Shabina going somewhere on her own.
“No one brought their dogs on this trip.”
“It doesn’t matter what others do. It matters that you’re safe. That security team is in place for a reason. You have the dogs for a reason.”
There was no reprimand in his voice, but Rainier conveyed some kind of hard authority. Rainier had no authority over Shabina as far as Vienna knew. How did he know the first thing about what went on in Shabina’s life? Vienna had known her for years and yet she’d just found out the revelation that Shabina had been kidnapped in her teens.
Vienna glanced up at Zale. Zale was looking at his friend with that same mask he always wore, but she knew him better now. He was as puzzled as she was. It was clear Shabina and Rainier had a past relationship, but when? It couldn’t have been that brief time when they’d all been sequestered in Shabina’s house. She’d barely spoken to him—to any of the security personnel—other than to feed them.
“I feel perfectly safe, thank you, Rainier,” Shabina said.
“You aren’t safe and you know it. Thankfully Raine had threads on the windows and doors, so I wasn’t worried, but when we didn’t encounter your dogs inside, I thought you had taken them with you, although you should have left at least one behind in the house.” Rainier didn’t let the subject drop, and he sounded very stern. “I intended to talk to you about the need for doing that.”
Vienna turned back to finish cleaning Zale’s wound, but her mind went over what Rainier said. Shabina wasn’t safe? Safe from what? She did have security at her house, a high fence with a guard at her gate. Others patrolling the grounds. Was that all the time? Vienna wasn’t there that often. Shabina brought her dogs with her everywhere—even to work—but then, all of her friends brought their dogs with them when they could most of the time.
She looked across at Raine. If anyone knew what Rainier was referring to, it would be Raine. If Shabina was in danger—and it certainly sounded as if she was—they all needed to protect her. Raine watched Rainier carefully, one hand pressed against the side of her head, indicating she was still having trouble.
“Raine, go take your migraine meds right now.” She used her authoritative nurse voice. “If you don’t, I’m going to get your shot and give it to you right here.”
Raine gave her a look that said “back off,” but she slid off the chair on shaky legs and disappeared down the hall.
Vienna turned her attention back to Zale’s wound. Now that it was cleaned, she could see how truly lucky he’d been. She looked up at his face, her eyes meeting his just for a moment. “Another inch, Zale.”
“It didn’t happen. Missed bone. It skimmed across my chest. Burned like hell. Didn’t go in.”