Ian began to move the dishes to the small table.
As I started to stand, the room lost balance and I sat back against the soft sofa. I reasoned my dizziness was due to the recent medication taken on my empty stomach. It wasn’t only the drugs that caused me to sit. Despite a painkiller the doctor had given me, my muscles seemed to stiffen by the minute.
Rett continued speaking to me as he helped Ian situate our dinner. “And after we’re done eating, you’re coming with me to my office. Ian will be there and two others of my trusted men. I want you to tell them everything that you remember.”
The combination of the day’s trauma, pain medicine, and shower worked as a sedative. With my elbow on the arm of the sofa, I rested my head on my hand. “I’m tired. Can’t that wait until tomorrow?”
Heck, it could already be tomorrow. I hadn’t seen a clock.
“No,” Rett said without further explanation.
I sat still as Ian took the cart away.
Rett gestured again for me to come over to the table.
Was this another time I wasn’t supposed to argue?
I decided it was, not because of Rett as much as my exhaustion.
With a deep breath I stood, wincing as I steadied myself, my fingers gripping the back frame of the sofa. Closing my eyes, I let myself adjust to the soreness as the room steadied. When I opened my eyes, Rett was beside me, his arm around my waist. The scent of his shower gel surrounded us in a cloud of freshness.
“Let me help you.”
I did, walking with him to the table. Just before sitting, I looked out the tall window. My smile formed as I took in the fountain below. “I see it.”
“What do you see?” he asked as he helped me with the chair.
“The Ramses family crest. I couldn’t see it when we were in the courtyard, but from here, with the lights from the fountain, I can.”
While the food before me smelled wonderful, the medication had my stomach in knots. Unexpectedly, my hand shook as I lifted the glass of ice water. I steadied it with my other hand as I brought it to my lips. The bandages peered out from under the cuffs of the robe. After setting the glass down, I noticed Rett’s dark stare. He hadn’t even lifted a utensil.
“You need to eat,” he repeated. “Dr. Dustin said that.”
“My stomach is upset. I think it might be the antibiotics and painkiller.”
Rett pulled out his phone. “Tell me what sounds good. I’ll call the kitchen and have it brought up.”
I looked down at the white fish covered in parmesan cheese and fresh green beans. “That’s silly. This is good food. Besides, it’s late.”
“It’s early if you want to be technical.”
No wonder I was tired. I wasn’t asking someone to create a new meal at whatever time it was in the morning.
I lifted my fork. “Then the cook can go to bed. I’ll eat this.” I cut a small piece of the fish. It was flaky and perfectly done. After a few bites, I looked across the table. Rett too had begun to eat. “I know you’re upset with me.”
He nodded. “I told you I was.”
“But you’re being...nice.”
Rett laid down his fork and leaned back against the chair. “Don’t misinterpret what I’m being. I’m not nice. We can settle that discussion right now. What I’m being is measured. I won’t bore you with my last twenty-four hours, but let me say, the two men in that warehouse weren’t the only in that time period to die by my hand.”
Now I set my fork down. My stomach twisted with his honesty. “Why?”
“A better question might be why I didn’t follow through on my original promise. Do you recall the one I made to you at the restaurant?”
I inhaled and did my best to appear strong. “You said you’d not let Kyle kill me.”
Rett’s lips curled in a menacing grin as he lifted the napkin to dab the corners of his mouth. “My dear, you have a way with words. I can see why you aspire to be an author.” He stood and walked behind me. Each step upon the wood floor was accentuated by the tap of his shoes. The sound gave me the sensation of drumbeats, signaling a coming change.