Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
GRANT
M y sneaky girl thought I didn’t know about her nearly cutting Jasmine’s throat, which is adorable. Just like her defending Rafe’s ass is adorable. I know she doesn’t like it when we fight but he wasn’t there, so it wasn’t a fight.
I was just telling the truth about his stupid ass.
I turn and look over at where he’s sitting on the couch obsessively cleaning his gun and frown. “Are you going to sleep with that tonight or what?” I ask. Rafe doesn’t bother to lift his head when he replies.
“Why, you getting jealous already?” He turns the gun and holds it up to get a better look in the light. It’s a revolver. A Colt Python .357 that makes Rafe look every bit like the action star he’s pretended to be. I don’t miss how he swings the barrel on me and stares me down through the rear sight before he snaps the chamber back into place and starts polishing the barrel.
“You wish.” I pop the top of my water bottle and take a drink. Flights make me feel like shit. Even one as short as the flight from Seattle to Portland is enough to make me feel out of sorts. Driving helped some, though, which made it more than worth it. Besides, if I didn’t drive it’s not like Rafe was going to be that sure behind the wheel. He hates trucks. I have to toss his ass in mine when we go anywhere in it with Kit.
“Kit’s spooked.” I announce as I drop my water bottle onto the counter and head for our room.
Rafe goes still. I track the movement, even though I’m not looking at him. “Anything other than the photos?” he asks.
“Yup.” I push open the bedroom door and take in the space. It’s a nice room, a little small but it’s cozy and fits the vibe of the boho chic cabin we’re currently in. Cabin number 4 is ours, not the furthest from the main lodge and not the closest, which suits me. If anyone is going to come looking for us they’ll have to go past other cabins first and risk being seen. We’re close enough to the lodge that if Kit has to run she’ll make it in five minutes. Just because Holly says we’re safe doesn’t mean I believe it. As far as I’m concerned, there’s still a threat to be taken down and this time I’m not letting them get close enough to Kit to spook her.
I go through the routine I plan on keeping while we’re here and drop to the floor to look under the bed for anyone or anything that might be hiding since we first walked in. I raise my hand and sweep it along the bottom of the bed slowly and then move to the other side to repeat the movements. I’m not taking any chances that someone didn’t sneak a microphone or camera down here. The bed is a king so it’ll do, even though a California would be best. Everything is minimal here, all warm tones and honeyed wood with fluffy white blankets and pillows. There’s a woven jute rug on the floor and floor to ceiling windows across from the bed that give us a nice view of Mount Hood. I’d prefer there to be less windows but Kit likes it, so I like it. When I’m done checking the bed, I roll onto my back and sigh as I look up at the ceiling. The main reason Kit likes this bedroom stares me right in the face and I flip it off.
I hear Rafe’s footfall before I see him. “What the fuck are you doing?” he asks.
“Being pissed at the ceiling.”
He sighs and looks up and nods. “Yeah, fuck that ceiling.”
It’s a glass ceiling. The blue sky that’s slowly turning a deep navy while twilight rolls in taunts me. How am I supposed to do a sweep of the cabin and make sure no more photos get taken of us if the roof of this place is even against me?
I hop up from the ground and make for the closet. “Do you think someone can stand on that?” I ask while I pull the closet door open and check inside of it.
“What the hell are you doing? And let’s rewind it back to you saying Kit is spooked.”
“I’m making sure we aren’t being spied on,” I tell him, kicking the closet door shut and heading towards the bathroom. It’s the biggest room in the cabin and even has a sauna, so it’s going to take some time to make sure there’s nothing in here. “They could have bugged this place before we ever got here.”
Rafe swears and looks around the room with a glare before he stomps after me and makes for the freestanding soaking tub in the middle of the room. “I’ll check the tub. You get the sauna. Now, start talking.”
“I’m checking the sauna because I was going to check it already, just to be clear.”
“For fuck’s sake, Grant.”
“Fine.” I pause and listen to make sure Kit didn’t walk back in from the evening yoga class she ran off to with a few of the other crew members. I don’t want her to hear what I’m going to tell Rafe. There’s nothing but silence, so I start talking while I open the sauna door and head in to start my once over.
“First off, she tried to kill Jasmine. Second, she thought I didn’t know about it.”
“Really, she did?” Rafe sounds proud. I get it. I’m proud of her, too.
“Yeah, I followed her and saw her in action. She’s pretty good and definitely paid attention to the self defense we taught her. She dropped Jasmine like a pro.”
“That’s my shy girl.” Rafe’s voice echoes. I don’t need to check to know that he’s probably ass up, face down in the tub right now. I step onto the small bench and check the corners of the sauna.
“She told me she did it but doesn’t know I saw. Thinks she had a secret from us.”
“That’s cute.”
“I know. Didn’t have the heart to tell her I knew already.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” Rafe sounds normal again. I drag my fingers along the top of the sauna and even give the side a few slaps of my palm but nothing shakes loose.
I hop down from the bench and exit the sauna. “It’s clear,” I tell Rafe as I enter the bathroom. The asshole is standing there with his hands on his hips looking ticked.
“Why didn’t you tell me she tried to off Jasmine?”
“Didn’t have time.” Rafe raises an eyebrow and I know why. We’ve had plenty of alone time together since I caught Kit trying to filet Jasmine. I sigh and my hands go to my hips in a mirror of his pose. “I didn’t think it was important. Jasmine needed to be put in her place and Kit did it. No big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal, why are you bringing it up now?”
“Because I know that’s not why she’s freaking out right now. She was having a goddamn panic attack out on the deck today and she pretended it was about Jasmine, but it wasn’t.” I move towards the towel closet and Rafe heads to the vanity in the corner of the room.
He pulls open a drawer and starts inspecting it. “What do you think it was about?”
“I don’t know,” I admit as I shove the towels to the side with more force than necessary. I don’t like that Kit is hiding something from me. I like it even less that I don’t know what it is. There’s nothing she does that I don’t know about. That’s the way it is. The way it should be.
“I think it’s got something to do with that photo.”
Rafe knows the one I’m talking about. He has to. If he doesn’t, then he really is the dumb shit I told Kit he was earlier.
“The one where she’s young?” he asks and I sweep more towels aside.
“That's the one. I thought it had something to do with that fucker I took care of before we left but she knows he’s gone and she’s still not at ease. Can’t be him.”
When I looked at the photos of Kit, that one photo stood out to me. It was so different from the rest, hardly in focus for anyone random to see much but I knew it was Kit. Whoever took that photo is scary enough to have Kit worried they’ll show back up. Not even our move to the middle of nowhere has her relaxed.
“So you think she’s worried whoever took that photo is coming after her now?”
I close the door and lean against it to watch Rafe get under the vanity to check the underside of it. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking she’s in her head about. I also think she used her little stunt with Jasmine as a way to throw me off the scent, so she doesn’t have to talk about that photo.”
My girl thinks she’s smart but she hasn’t been lying as long as I have. She’s not seasoned enough to pull it off when it counts.
Rafe straightens and sighs, because he hears the same thing I do. The door to the cabin opening and closing. Kit’s back.
“How do you want to play it?” he asks. I don’t have to ask, I already know what he means. Kit. This fucked situation. The secret from her past that’s getting harder for her to hide from.
“Let it lie tonight,” I reply and we both make for the bathroom door. “Let her tell us if she wants.”
Rafe grumbles at me but my boyfriend gives me a begrudging nod. “Fine, but I’m shooting you if this goes wrong.”
“Deal.”