“We did, didn’t we? But you aren’t telling me everything. In fact, you aren’t telling the truth. I already have a difficult time trusting relationships and men, and I know you and Rainier are avoiding telling us the truth, if not outright lying. That doesn’t make me believe everything you’ve said to me, Zale. I’m trying, but it’s difficult. It’s been a long day. I’m tired and I hurt like hell. I just want to relax and not think about anything but having fun with Stella and the others. This was my time with them, remember? You and Rainier intruded on that.”
“We did, didn’t we?”
She noticed he didn’t deny that he was avoiding telling the truth to her. That hurt. She wasn’t going to bring it up again. This was Stella’s bridal shower. She’d been so patient and kind, allowing the men to disrupt her schedule time and again. The Airbnb had been rented in order for the women to have fun in the pool together and not feel self-conscious. With the two men there, that wouldn’t be easy to do. Certainly, they wouldn’t have their normal, hilarious discussions about men.
She noticed Shabina, in particular, had gone very quiet. Rainier seemed to intimidate her. Stella easily could have asked them to leave, but she hadn’t. None of the women had, and Vienna was proud of them for that. At the same time, it wasn’t fair that they were intruding on the bridal shower, and she wasn’t going to let Zale forget that was exactly what they were doing.
Vienna nodded. “Yes. This is what Stella asked for. She rarely takes time off for herself. She wanted to climb, get some biking in, and kayak, as well as just have time with us together here at the house. When we get back to Knightly, we’ve got a hike planned together right before the wedding. We’re looking forward to that trip as well. Hopefully, you and Rainier will have completed whatever it is you’re doing and can be at the wedding so Sam won’t have to replace you.”
“We’ll be there,” he assured.
Zale tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She’d braided her hair and put it up on her head as she normally did when she was going into water that had chemicals in it. Her hair was so naturally blonde it was nearly white, and she didn’t want it turning green. She’d saturated it with conditioner before she braided it just in case. She didn’t intend to get it wet, but there was always the possibility of an accident.
“That’s good, since Sam is counting on you.” She knew her voice was stilted, but she couldn’t help it. He was standing right in front of her, knowing he was lying to her, or at least withholding something terribly important, but it didn’t matter.
They can’t be trusted.That voice. Where had she heard it? Why did it sound so familiar? It wasn’t Mitzi’s voice. The register was a little lower. Softer.
Zale cupped her chin. His thumb slid along her cheek. “Don’t pull so far away from me, Snowflake. You know the kind of job I have. I can’t tell you everything I want to. Some of the information I gave you I shouldn’t have. I did because I put you in a dangerous position and I felt you needed to know in order to better protect yourself. Not to mention, you brought a different perspective.”
He avoided saying “like Raine,” which would have been natural, because he didn’t want to bring her into the conversation. Vienna kept her eyes fixed on his. She simply nodded. He was telling her the truth—and yet there was more to it. She was becoming so much more adept at reading him now that she’d been with him.
“The fact that two men entered your suite with the intention of killing you terrified me. I thought Rainier and I controlled the security cameras in the hallway and no one saw me coming and going from your room, but I must have screwed up and put you in danger.”
She had to quickly veil her eyes with her lashes. They had controlled the security cameras in the hallway, and he knew they had. No one had seen him coming or going from her room. He had been terrified for her. That much was true. Why was he lying to her, and over what exactly? He was mixing truth with lies, and he was really skillful at it. An expert. How did one enter into a relationship with someone with an expertise like that?
She rubbed her temples. “I need some space, Zale.”
She didn’t mean to tip him off with sheer despair in her voice, but she didn’t have the same skills he did.
He framed her face with his hands. “I can give you space, Vienna, but don’t pull away from me, not until this is all resolved and I can speak freely. Can you at least do that for me?”
She hoped she could do that for him, but she honestly didn’t know, and she didn’t make promises she couldn’t keep.
“I’ll do my best, Zale.”
He bent his head to brush her lips with his. Her stomach somersaulted in spite of every resolve to be strong. His palm slid around the nape of her neck and he rested his forehead against hers.
“I know we interrupted your time together and all of this looks bad. It has to feel that way too, Vienna. I just want you to know I’m trying to keep you safe.”
That did ring true, and she believed him. There was a raw ache in his voice that hadn’t been there before. Unfortunately for her, the sound slipped past her every defense. She didn’t dare raise her eyes to his. That would be a disaster for her. Instead, she nodded to indicate she heard him.
To her relief, Zale stepped back, giving her the ability to breathe again. She hadn’t realized she’d been breathing shallowly in order not to draw him into her lungs. She still had the spa towel in her hand, and she stepped around him and went to join Shabina and Raine outside on the deck.
Shabina hadn’t turned on any lights other than the LED lights that wound around the covered part of the deck and the colored lights in the spa itself. Steam rose from the surface of the water, shrouding the two in the hot tub in mystery. Vienna went up the two steps and swung her long legs over the rim to settle into the hot water.
“This is heaven,” she admitted. “I should have done this first thing.”
“Right?” Shabina agreed. “I brought out water for all of us. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.”
The three laughed together.
“If one of us was going to remember that important detail,” Raine observed, “it was going to be you, Shabina.”
Shabina tipped her head back and rested her neck in the padded slot so she could look up at the stars. “I was in that desert a long time. Water became very important to me. I would think about it constantly. Dream about it. After a while it was difficult to think about anything else if we were traveling. I watched them to see where the water supply was and where they would get it. From plants. Where they created holes. How far down. Rocks. It became an obsession, I suppose. Now I make sure I always carry a filtration system and enough water with me at all times. More than enough.”
Vienna found every single tiny detail Shabina was willing to share of her past very interesting. “It’s very clear that you know Rainier from somewhere other than when Sam had his friends help him keep all of us safe while he hunted for the serial killer. Would you mind telling us where you met Rainier and why he feels he can tell you what to do?”
Shabina sighed, but didn’t take her gaze from the stars. “He was the operative they sent to rescue me. He got past all the guards and came into the camp where they were holding me. I was in bad shape. The worst. I didn’t think I was going to live very much longer. I believe his intention was to get me out of there without any of them being aware I was gone until the changing of the guard.”
She fell silent. The sound of the bubbles filled the quiet. Vienna could feel the froth bursting against her legs, arms and back, massaging the sorest spots where she’d been so shaken by being thrown around in the truck.