Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
An uneasy tension lands between us on the way back to the hotel. The pouring rain isn’t the only issue.
There’s trouble on Isla Rosa and I’m not sure Kate’s coming clean about it because she doesn’t trust me yet.
I get that.
I shouldn’t give a fuck. It’s not my business. Keep your nose to yourself. You wanted a simple life.
Getting involved with the Princess’s mess is the wrong fucking way to get that.
Kate’s quiet and pretty much moody and caught in her thoughts when we get back to the room. I leave her alone. Two grumps don’t make for good company.
She climbs in bed after a long, hot shower, but she doesn’t even touch me. And that makes me even more edgy. Not that I expected her to just fucking fall on me, but I hoped for something different than this.
I mean, a guy can hope for a warm bed companion to curl up with for the night.
“You’re too quiet.”
She sighs and turns on her side to look at me in the darkness. “I’m just tired. Too many ups and downs for one day.”
Totally plausible. But her silence feels all wrong.
“So, your father has, or had, full reign over your life, huh?”
“Pretty much. I mean, I could live on my own. But he was always aware of what was going on. And he controlled my money. And believe it or not, when I lived here, he controlled who I could and could not see. But I guess it’s not that weird for fathers to be controlling.”
I’d like to have a word with the son of a bitch. No young woman should live like that.
“Why did you want to go to work for Agile?”
“Because I don’t really know how to do much other than what I’ve learned from my bodyguards. It just made sense. I got interested in what people in security do. I kind of nerded out on it. Read everything I could. Studied every video I could find. Plus, I’ve got a good nose for trouble.”
I groan. “You could have fooled me, unless you mean a nose for getting in trouble.”
“Plus, you probably won’t believe this, but I’m really good at martial arts. I’ve trained all my life.”
Sadness starts to edge into my chest. “So, this job is important to you, then?”
“It is. A lot is riding on me now. Taking care of Nan if things really do fall apart on the island. But my real goal is to see if I can head off the worst problem before it happens. That’s why I went back for the photos. I’ve been researching something and those will help when the time comes.”
The quiet grows heavier. Finally, she dozes off. But I don’t. And the longer I lie next to Kate, the more I think about my marriage. The one that ended over a decade ago and left me scarred and mistrusting.
Once upon a time, my young wife confided her dreams and desires to me too. To go to school. To start her own business. And I did everything I could to make those wishes come true. Then she gutted me. Slept with her professor. Got pregnant with his baby in my bed.
That won’t happen again. That, I know for sure. Because no one will ever mean the world to me again. Ever.