CHAPTER TWELVE
Melancholy or dark moods never sat well on Vienna. She was by nature an optimistic person. When there was a problem, she faced it head-on. She knew she wanted to be with Zale. She’d never felt such a tremendous drive to be with any other man the way she did with him, and yet she continued to put up roadblock after roadblock. She didn’t know why, but she needed to find out. It wasn’t fair to either of them. She knew what Zale did. She didn’t want to change him or dictate to him. She wouldn’t want him to ask her to change her life for him.
She was aware of him sitting close to her through dinner. He took part in the conversation with the others far more than she did. At no time did he try to draw her out or even tease her. In his Zale way he seemed to know she needed space. It was strange how he always seemed to know what she needed, as if he had a special gift.
Rainier had followed Shabina inside. She looked as if she’d been crying. He looked grim, his skin gray, as if the pain of his injury was getting to him. He didn’t sit at the table but chose the longer couch, where he could stretch his leg out. He made no move to make himself a plate of food. Zale got up to fix him a plate and take it to him. Shabina disappeared for several minutes, presumably to wash her face, and came back looking a little better. She flicked a quick glance at Rainier to make certain he had everything he needed and then she sat with them at the table. That was Shabina. No matter how upset she might be, she would see to their guests first.
“What’s the plan?” Stella asked Zale. “Neither one of you look like you’re in great shape. We have room here if you need to lay low.”
Zale flashed her a brief smile. “That was the original plan, but after hearing what happened with the truck, it might put you in more danger.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Harlow agreed. “Or we have more protection. Do you think you were followed?”
“No. No one knows we’re here.” He said it with certainty, glancing across the room at his partner. “Rainier? You have an opinion?”
“It might be better if we stay. They’re only going to be here another couple of days. Tomorrow they’re staying in, and then they have a kayak trip before they head home. They’ll be safer with us looking after them.”
“Are you coming to Knightly or up to Sunrise Lake right away?” Stella asked.
“We have to wrap things up here,” Zale said.
Vienna’s heart jumped in her chest. That meant the two men were going to put themselves in harm’s way again. She looked up at him. “Wrap things up?” she echoed. “Are you any closer to finding out what’s going on? Who wants Wallin dead?”
“If Zale would stop being a pansy and give me an hour or two with one of these assholes we’d be out of here in no time,” Rainier snapped. He put the dinner plate on the coffee table.
“What does that mean?” Harlow asked.
“It means Rainier has seen things no one should ever have to see and he’s tired, a grump and in pain right now. Go to bed, Rainier,” Zale instructed.
“Not without dessert. Shabina just put together a fantastic dinner and there’s no way she didn’t whip up some kind of great dessert to go with it.” Rainier put his hands behind his head and smiled at Shabina. “I won’t say another word, I promise, qadri.”
Shabina stood very still and then she began to gather the plates. Zahra and Harlow leapt up to help just as Raine came into the room.
“Don’t tell me I missed out on dinner.”
“I saved yours for you,” Shabina said immediately. “Are you feeling any better?”
“The shot always works,” Raine conceded. “But it does make me sick if I haven’t eaten.”
She looked very pale. Vienna went to her and indicated a chair close to Rainier. There was a shared end table she could use when Shabina brought her a plate of food.
“Sit down, honey. We’re about to start on dessert.” While she helped Raine into the chair, she assessed the bruising on her forehead. The bump was larger than she would have liked, and the bruise was dark and angry-looking.
Rainier’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Raine, I’m sorry you were hurt. We would never have asked Vienna to take the truck back to the rental if we thought it would put any of you in danger.”
“I don’t understand,” Stella said. “No matter what, whoever wants Daniel Wallin dead must know you’re agents here to protect him or they wouldn’t be trying to kill you. They missed you once, so naturally they’d keep coming after you. Sabotaging your truck doesn’t seem like a huge jump to me.”
There was a small silence broken only by the clock and the sound of Zahra and Shabina rattling crockery as they scooped up the berry crisp and ice cream into bowls.
“You didn’t think we would be in danger because you killed them all,” Raine guessed softly.
Again, there was a telling silence. Vienna glanced at Zale. His hard features gave nothing away. Shabina and Zahra handed out the dessert dishes and spoons to everyone. Harlow brought Raine her dinner on a separate plate.
“Are you certain these people after you didn’t follow you here?” Vienna asked. “I would much prefer if you stayed at least another day so I could keep an eye on Rainier’s wound. I want to make sure infection doesn’t set in.”
Shabina spoke up. “I think that would be best, Vienna. I don’t mind giving up my room. They can stay in that one. It has two beds in it.”
“Mine has two beds,” Harlow said. “You can stay with me, Shabina.”
“That’s settled,” Raine declared.
“Do you know why someone wants Wallin dead?” Stella asked. “We’ve been putting together all kinds of theories.”
“So have we,” Zale answered. “But so far, we have theories and no real facts.”
“Well, if we’re going to talk theories,” Raine ventured, “I’ve got one. There is another possibility that none of us have considered. At least in all the theories we tossed around we didn’t. Maybe the two of you did.”
“That would be?” Zale prompted.
“Daniel Wallin may have a grudge against your boss and want to shut down your organization. All of you work in the shadows. No one knows about you. He calls this friend of his who knows your boss and suddenly you lose two agents when no one knows they’re supposed to be working at the casino but him. You and Rainier are compromised, and he isn’t in the know. If he had eyes on you and connected you with Vienna, he might think she works for your boss as well.”
There was a long, stunned silence. The women looked at one another and then at Raine almost accusingly.
Zahra sighed. “There goes my romantic theory. And it really was romantic. Poor Daniel, we were all feeling sorry for him. Now he’s the villain again.”
“I’m just playing the devil’s advocate,” Raine said. “It’s one more possibility to consider. The cameras in Vienna’s room really bother me. They don’t make sense unless Daniel is involved in some way.”
Vienna had to agree with her. She wanted to believe that Daniel Wallin was a victim because if he was threatening her, it was a huge threat—but what would be the reason? Someone had tried to kill her before she had won the last hand of cards. The cameras had been installed before the game she played with him. Yet he hadn’t been in the crowd when she’d felt an overwhelming threat. That didn’t mean anything. He could hire accomplices. She doubted if he would get his hands dirty and do the killing himself.
Raine was an analyst and a darn good one. Vienna knew her very well. When she came up with an idea, it wasn’t an idle one. She looked at her theory from every possible angle before she shared. Usually, Raine was fairly certain she was onto something before she actually expressed what she was thinking.