“Why was he so angry with you?”
“I tried to escape. I was very weak. He’d gone through his starving-me phase, and that hadn’t made me comply. For me, it was just another way to maybe leave the world. A couple of his men had stopped him before he killed me after he dragged me back to camp, but the punishment was the worst I’d ever gone through. Again, his men stopped him, or I know I would have died. He had turned calm after the camp medic told him I wasn’t going to live. He told him if I died, the medic and his entire family would die.”
“That’s Scorpion calm?”
Her body gave a shudder as she took a deep breath, doing herbest to regain control. “He isn’t a calm man.” She looked up at him. “He killed the guards that were so good to me, didn’t he?” There was despair in her voice.
“They were dead the moment they signed up to work as mercenaries. All those men were. He’d planned to kill them all along. Deadly Storms just helped him out. In any case, baby, those guards participated in raiding other small tribes and killing innocent people. They may have objected to how far Scorpion was going to torture a young teenage girl, but don’t forget they were paid to kill innocents.”
He was right. She hadn’t thought about that. She should have. It was just that they were the only ones to show her any kindness.
Rainier stroked a hand down the back of her hair. “Let’s get you cleaned up and comfortable, Shabina.”
Instinctively, her hands tightened on his shirt. That usually meant he was going to leave. He needed to leave, but it was the last thing she wanted.
Chapter Eleven
Shabina shook her head. “Don’t go yet, Rainier. I know you have to, but not yet. I’ll be able to deal with all of this in another few minutes. I’ve almost stopped crying. I don’t even know where that came from.”
“I didn’t say anything about leaving, baby.” His arms tightened around her. “You always demand too much of yourself. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to carry you into the bathroom and run a bath for you. Hot water will help your body relax.”
Every muscle and joint in her body felt as if she’d been hit by a truck. The idea of hot water sounded good but being away from Rainier, even for a few minutes, was terrifying. After the ordeal of the past few weeks, she didn’t want to let go of him. She felt safe for the first time in months.
Compulsively, her fingers clutched in his shirt. When she was with him, she felt she could find her strength to fight on, even if it was just for a short period of time.
He stood smoothly. A Rainier move. He was a big man, all muscle, but when he moved, he flowed across the ground, almost as if he glided above it. Shabina never understood how he could so easily lift her when she wasn’t small. She might be on theshorter side, but she had curves. He acted like she didn’t weigh anything at all. He carried her right through to the master bath and sat on the edge of the tub, turning on the taps with one hand, keeping her secure on his lap with the other.
She wasn’t surprised in the least that he knew his way around her home as if he lived there. He probably knew the layout better than she did. When she first moved to Knightly, Rainier refused to turn her security over to the men her father provided. He went over the property she’d purchased, had two safe rooms and cameras installed inside and outside. He had been meticulous about ensuring the windows were bulletproof. He made certain she could see outside but no one could see in at night.
“I detest this, Rainier, interrupting your life the way I always do. You were with a woman, and, as usual, I managed to mess that up for you with my panic attack.”
“You saved her life, Shabina. I was just waiting for her to make her move. It never occurred to me you would call. You’ve never once called. I used a burner, but I made certain it had the ability to patch you in if you called. I knew she was an agent the minute she approached me. I gave her every opportunity to steal my phone or try to kill me. She was dead either way.”
Shabina looked up at the hard lines in his face. “She was there to kill you?” She whispered the words, one hand cupping the side of his jaw. So hard, no give, just like him.
“Don’t look like the world is coming to an end. My identity as Deadly Storms isn’t known. This had to do with my work with Blom. It happens every now and then. Most of the time, no one knows who I am or where I am. I have a few personal enemies. I’ve been in this business a very long time. She’s affiliated with a small cell that began to make noise in Colombia about eight years ago. I was sent in. She’s a cousin in the family seeking revenge.”
Her thumb slid along his jaw, tracing the strong line. “Why didn’t you just protect yourself immediately?”
“I thought at the time I would get information from her. Who was behind the hit, how many, where they were and how they were able to get my name and location. It would make it easier down the line when I could turn my attention to tracking them down. Also, Blom has suspected for the last few months that someone on the inside was selling information on his men.”
She pulled herself up straight, horrified. “Those two men who came here, the ones lying about being Interpol agents, what if they know who you are and were trying to confirm it by questioning me?”
“They’re looking for someone else, an assassin, not a government agent.”
Shabina frowned at him. “Wouldn’t whoever is leaking information know who the assassin is?”
“Why would they? That information is not known. Blom might suspect, but I started gaining my reputation back home before I ever signed on with Blom.”
“Your life, Rainier, is so awful. And then you have me clinging to you. You seem to be my lifeline.” She rubbed her face on his chest again. She had to give him the truth. She owed him that much. “Youaremy lifeline.”
“Funny thing, that, Shabina. I think of you that way. Lifeline. Destiny. Reason to stay alive. All those things. Stop looking as if it’s the end of the world. I’m here now.”
She leaned into him again. “Sometimes I don’t think I can stand one more second feeling alone, and I need you desperately. I know that’s terrible and puts so much pressure on you. I don’t mean to do that to you. I don’t want to do it to you. I swear, I’ve tried to build a life and be strong, so you feel like you’re free ofme.” She couldn’t stop her confession, the words just kept tumbling out, no matter how hard she tried to remain silent.
He brushed another kiss on top of her head, one hand testing the temperature of the water. “Who said I wanted to be free of you? I never once told you I wanted to be free of you, Shabina. I’ve never acted that way. Where the hell do you get these ideas?”
His tone was gruff. Matter-of-fact. Low and steady. So Rainier. She couldn’t always tell what he was thinking or feeling, but there was a slight hint of exasperation in his voice. Was he becoming impatient with her? She wouldn’t blame him.
