by Calista Fox
Dane’s chiseled-to-perfection features darkened. “Then we shouldn’t have been having sex these few—”
“Oh, no!” I cut him off. “I already checked, read, double-checked. The baby is well protected inside. Sex is okay.”
He eyed me skeptically.
“Really, seriously.” I gripped the material of his black dress shirt and said, “Truly.”
He finally cracked a real grin. “If you’re sure.”
“My OB-GYN confirmed it.”
The grin faded. “Christ,” he groaned. “You even have an OB-GYN that I didn’t find for you and whom I’ve never met, and I haven’t given you any sort of support or—”
“Dane.” I held his gaze unwaveringly. “I chose to keep this from you so that you could do what you have to do. The reason I was at Kyle’s aunt’s retreat is because she’s an M.D. and she contracts with really great specialists. I like my doctors—they’re all wonderful. Trust me when I say I have been well taken care of and that everything with the baby is just fine.”
“Except that you’re going through this alone.”
“I’m not alone.”
His jaw clenched.
I blew out a breath. Oops.
He stepped around me and stalked to the door.
“Where are you going?” Though I already knew.…
Panic seized me.
He flung the door open and I chased him down the corridor. Before we reached the main portion of the house, though, he whirled back around. I followed him as he returned to our suite. He slammed the door shut behind us.
I jumped. “Please don’t do that. I experienced enough slamming doors when growing up to last a lifetime.”
“Kyle knows,” he simply said. But his eyes told me he had much more to say on the subject. They burned with torment.
“Of course Kyle knows,” I said in a quiet voice. “He was the one to suggest the retreat when I was so sick.”
“When you were sick.”
He was so twisted with guilt, it made my heart hurt. I rested a hand on his arm and said, “You made some choices independently of me. I did the same. We had no choice. Neither of us did it in a conniving way—we did it to protect each other. We did what we thought was right. Okay, yes, I’m pregnant. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but if I had … The FBI wouldn’t be this close to busting apart the secret society that only intends to do more damage for the sake of their own bottom lines.”
“I’m supposed to be in control of what happens with us, Ari—with your safety.” His agitation mounted.
“Dane, I could slip and fall on wet tile, hit my head, and die tomorrow. You can’t control that. As much as you want to contain the environment in which I’m in until the danger passes, there is never going to be a one-hundred-percent guarantee. That’s not how life works, no matter how much money, influence, or power you have. We learned that with the Lux, didn’t we?”
I could see how torn up he was about all of this. Ready to spit nails if I gauged accurately. His fists clenched at his sides and I knew he was all kinds of pissed off.
Searching my brain for some way to placate him was futile. I didn’t blame him for the way he felt. I was pissed off myself. With the situation and with the fact that the urge to confront Wayne and get him to admit to all the damage he’d done practically burned a hole through my heart.
As I thought of this, there was a knock on the door. I was instantly taken aback, pretty certain Dane had told Amano not to disturb us—ever—when we were in the bedroom.
That thought, of course, made my cheeks flush.
Dane called out, “Yes?”
“It’s urgent. A call you’re going to want to take.”
Tenderly gripping my biceps again, Dane said, “I couldn’t be happier that we’re having a baby. I hate the timing and the circumstances. But I love you. More than anything. And I want this baby.”
I opened my mouth to speak. He cut me off.
“Ari, anything could go wrong at this point. You have to realize and accept that. And if things go bad for me, you have to stay strong for our child. The way you have so far.” He kissed me fiercely, then added, “You truly amaze me. And I know I have to do everything I can to put an end to all of this so that I can be with you from here on out.”
I smiled weakly as tears crested my eyes. “I’m glad you’re happy about the baby. I’m … so happy. All I want is to protect our child, Dane. But I need you to not be distracted. We have Amano. And Kyle is a huge help. We’re okay here. You can’t think about us when you walk out that door.”
He stared at me for endless seconds. I knew that what I said was literally an impossibility, but I needed that pledge from him.
“You want to keep a promise to me?” I asked. “Don’t think about what you’re leaving behind. Do what you have to do so you can come back to us.”
I nearly choked on my words but did my best to deliver them as succinctly and calmly as I could.
“I love you, Ari.” His hands cupped my face. “You’re strong. So strong. Our baby will be just like you.”
“Or you.” I gazed at him through watery eyes and said, “I can’t tell what I’m having, but a beautiful boy who looks just like you would be perfect. Just do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“Make sure he has a father.” More tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Ari.”
“Be safe. That’s what I’m asking.”
He kissed me again, then stepped away. Turned to go.
I felt a strange wrenching inside. None of this was right, but it was inescapable.
I watched him pass through the door.
Wondering, as always, if this would be the last time I saw him.
* * *
I splashed cold water on my face, fixed my slightly mussed hair, and joined Kyle in the kitchen for dinner.
“Quick conjugal visit?” he quipped.
I glared.
“Ew. Not a nice look for you,” he said.
Snatching the box of linguine from the counter, I opened it and poured the pasta into the water boiling in the stockpot.
“What are you making, anyway?” I asked. “Smells amazing.”
“Pesto chicken to go with the linguine.”
“Your mom must be one hell of a cook.”
“She is. I had no choice but to watch and learn, since I was always taking care of the baby while she was in the kitchen.”
“And your dad was on the road?”
Kyle pulled open the door to the double oven set into the wall and said, “Selling computer equipment. Good at his job but never home.”
“Not even now?”
Kyle shrugged. “I think he likes the idea of home, marriage, family, but he’s not exactly accustomed to actually being at home to deal with his marriage and family.”
“That’s too bad. And something I can no longer comprehend. Ironic, given my messed up childhood.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” he said as he mixed dipping sauces for the bread. “He’s a great dad. I mean, football was really his first calling and he helped so much when I wanted to play. Because of his mentoring, I was recruited onto the varsity team when I should have been playing JV. He would have made a great high school coach, but he went where the big bucks were and, again … I think he’s always liked being on the move with his job.”
I stirred the pasta. “I guess I can understand that. I mean, we’ve been restless here. I wasn’t meant to be a full-time housewife.”
“Does your husband know that?”
I laughed. “Come on, Kyle. You can be annoyed with him all you want. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse to work at the Lux and manage galas and weddings and fund-raisers that were meant to impress. I worked nonstop and loved it.”
“So who’s going to look after Bax Junior?”
With a shrug, I admitted, “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I mean, I want to do it, of course.”
“But you still want to plan your weddi
ngs.”
“Sure. The good thing about that, however, is that the majority of work can be done from a home office. And we have Rosa.” She’d been coming to the Fort Knox house twice a week, in addition to keeping up with the dust at the creek house. “Anyway, what about you?” I countered. “There’s only so much maintenance to do at Macy’s, and the landscaping is really just in the trimming stage at this point. We pruned and planted in late winter. What do you plan to do? Get another marketing job?”
“Kind of makes me sick to say this, but once you’ve had a marketing job at a place like 10,000 Lux, everything else is anti-climatic.”
I laughed. “I can see how you would feel that way. But your credentials are awesome and you really built up your portfolio. Maybe you ought to consider another resort here in town. Or in Phoenix. Although…” I stirred some more, then said, “Here’s an even better idea. What about marketing and design for one of the pro teams? The Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Suns … oh, my God. The Coyotes!”
He looked taken aback. “You’re a hockey fan?”
“Big-time.”
“I never would have guessed.”
“My dad turned me on to it.” I thought of him and frowned. “I need to see him.”
“And tell him Dane’s alive?”
I wasn’t all that sure Dane would approve. Not that he wouldn’t trust my father with the truth, but the fact was, the fewer people who knew Dane had survived the bombing, the better. The safer the secret would be. The more good he could do.
That meant I couldn’t even let Mikaela in on the miracle that Dane was alive, which left me with a dismal feeling. Not that we’d become true gal pals, but I could certainly understand—relate to—the pain of losing someone she was so close to, someone she’d known her entire life.
But too much still hung in the balance for me to upset the applecart. Plus, I had no desire to travel to Scottsdale again. It wouldn’t surprise me to run into my mother while she was shopping in Old Town, and that would incited all-new levels of drama. She currently had no way of contacting me, no way of finding me.
I intended to maintain the disappearing act as long as possible. Especially while I was pregnant.
Breaking into my thoughts, Kyle said, “My aunt mentioned that your dad called the retreat after he came back from the vacation he’d ‘won.’”
This made my heart jump. “What did she say?”
“She told him you decided to go on vacation, too.”
“What? Why on earth…?”
“Because that’s what I told her.” Kyle shrugged. “What other excuse was I going to give? You went off the grid. I had to let her know why.”
“I’ll have to come up with a good vacay story, because I’m due for an ultrasound and a visit with my doctor.”
“I don’t know what you’re going to tell your dad,” Kyle said as he turned off the oven, slipped his hand into a mitt, and grabbed the chicken dish. “But you can tell everyone at the retreat that you spent a few weeks visiting family in Flagstaff and Prescott. Close drives from here. Nothing hazardous. No flying. Whatever.”
“I don’t have family in Flagstaff or Prescott.”
“You do now. At least, for this purpose.”
I drained and rinsed the linguine and poured it into a bowl. We set everything out on the patio and waited a few minutes.
“No Amano?” Kyle asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’m starving.” He dug in.
I was hungry, too, so only waited a bit more out of respect for Amano and then enjoyed Kyle’s awesome cooking.
When I was a bit less ravenous, I said, “I’ve noticed you’ve been studying Amano of late. What are you trying to glean? Bodyguard 101 through osmosis?”
“He’s been tracking Wayne Horton.”
That caught me off-guard. “What?”
“Yeah. I’ve been eavesdropping.” He gave me a smug look.
“Oh, please. As if he wouldn’t know you’re listening in on his conversations. Come on, Kyle. The man’s a professional. By a lot.”
“And I’m learning from him. Do you know that he’s a black belt in karate and that he once took a bullet for Dane’s dad?”
“How do you know?”
“He told me. Showed me the scar on his shoulder. There was some scuffle—a protest—at a global economic summit being held in Mexico and revolutionaries popped off a few shots.”
“Doesn’t he wear a vest?”
“Sure. That doesn’t protect the shoulders, though.”
“True.”
Kyle said, “He carries a Glock. I’m going to get one and learn how to shoot.”
I stared at him, incredulous. “Why are you going all Rambo?”
“I don’t know. Because buildings we’re in get blown up and badass guys in Camaros and helicopters chase us?”
I took a few sips of my hot tea, hoping to calm my suddenly rioting stomach. Then I said, “You shouldn’t be getting so into this, Kyle. I mean, it’s almost like you’re thriving on the danger.”
“I kind of am,” he admitted. “And face it, Ari. Wouldn’t you prefer to have a little extra protection for you and the baby, since your husband’s not around?”
“Dane does everything he can to keep us all safe.” I didn’t really have to defend him. All I had to say was, “Look around this place.”
Clearly, Kyle couldn’t dispute the obvious. We were tucked away quite securely.
“I will admit, if we’re going to be sequestered, it’s nice to have the whole Club Med experience.”
I smiled. “The pools are definitely a bonus.”
“So’s the workout room. And the kitchen…” He whistled under his breath. “If I had your billions, that’s what my kitchen would look like.”
My smile faded.
Kyle was instantly alarmed. “What?”
I sipped some more, dread seeping through me. “I haven’t really thought about all the money. I’ve only been preoccupied with the baby and Dane’s safety.”
Kyle took a drink of his beer, then asked, “So what about the money?”
“Well, it’s just that, I now know what people are willing—and capable—of doing to get their hands on Dane’s fortune. Even when they have their own.”
“Yeah, I can see where that might be of concern to you.”
“Dane once told me it’s like a drug for some. They’re addicted to amassing wealth. They can’t get enough—what they accumulate is never enough.”
“And he associates with these guys.” Kyle made a sarcastic chastising noise.
“He didn’t know, going in, that they were corrupt. In fact, in the beginning, they really were effecting positive change. That was their oath, their mission. They used their influence and knowledge for political and economic improvements. It was an invaluable undertaking.” I sighed. “That went horrifically wrong.”
“And then some,” Kyle mumbled. He shoved back his chair and stood. Gathering up the dishes, he carried them into the kitchen. I finished my tea and cleaned everything, since Kyle had cooked.
Then I wandered down the wing that housed the enormous office Amano had claimed as his private space, with a bedroom off one side. The door was closed. I wanted to knock, see if Dane was in there with him. I hoped he was still in the house, that he’d stay the night. But I couldn’t even hear the slightest hint of muffled voices inside, and that made me curious as to whether they’d both left.
Feeling restless and a little lost, I went into the living room to occupy my mind with a book. It didn’t work, of course. I curled up on a sofa and absently rubbed my stomach. I thought of Dane’s reaction earlier to learning I was pregnant. I knew he was deeply concerned about the timing, and he had every right to be. But I could also see that it ate at him to not be here with me, especially during one of the most important periods in our marriage.
Worse, Kyle was here during this most important period. That had to kill Dane.
I let out another long bre
ath. Dane really had ended up taking on so much, so quickly. The problems at the Lux, falling in love with me, the threats, our marriage, the explosion, the indictments, and now … a baby.
If we ever got around to the honeymoon we’d once talked about, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dane slept through it.
“Hey, Ari,” Kyle said in a tentative voice, interrupting my thoughts. I had no idea how long I’d been ruminating, but it was dark outside, stormy.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I think you’re going to want to come see this.”
I didn’t like his ominous tone any more than his grim expression.
I slipped from the sofa and followed him into the den with a large flat screen mounted over the fireplace. The news was on. A Phoenix station. But I immediately recognized the backdrop as downtown Flagstaff, where they reported from tonight.
Kyle reached for the remote and turned the sound up. The reporter stood in front of the train depot, on the south side of the tracks, as a light mist fell. The streets were wet. Flashing red and blue lit the surrounding area and there were crowds gathered about.
The newswoman said, “The FBI has confirmed their involvement in a high-speed chase through downtown Flagstaff this evening that lasted only minutes and ended in tragedy.”
My stomach wrenched. “Oh, God.” I gripped Kyle’s forearm to steady myself. “Dane,” I whispered as terror ripped through me.
I could not do this again. I could not live through this once more.
“Wait,” Kyle said. “Just listen.”
The reporter continued. “We’ve learned that a person of interest, wanted for questioning related to the explosion at the luxury hotel, 10,000 Lux, in Sedona, attempted to outrun federal agents when they cornered him in a vacant lot along Steves Boulevard. The suspect fled the scene in a black BMW, weaving his way through light traffic along Route 66 toward downtown.”
The camera panned to the left, where a train sat on the tracks. The lit sign for the famous Hotel Monte Vista rose in the background.