Authors: Wendy Byrne
"
They don't know or aren't sharing?"
"
I'm not sure. But let's face it, if this guy operated as long as he did, he had to keep his identity well under wraps."
"
I want Trinity." Those three little words pounded through her system like a shot of conviction. Knowing no other young woman would fall prey to his scheme was the single thought tunneling through her brain.
"
You need to be patient, Sabrina."
A
fter all they'd been through, she didn't need his patronizing tone. She wanted the man who did this to Caitlyn held accountable.
"
I'm not letting this rest until he's found."
"
I promise you that will happen."
If not for
Caitlyn walking in at that second, a smile lighting up her face, Sabrina was fairly certain she and Kane would have had words. For some reason, she was spoiling for a fight, and with him towing the FBI line of bull, he was a good target.
"
Hey, you two. I'm hungry," Caitlyn announced, the innocence of her words slicing through the air and releasing the tension. At least for the moment.
"
You could definitely use a little meat on your bones."
Sabrina wasn
't naïve enough to believe all Caitlyn's problems had disappeared over the short time she'd slept. She knew, without a doubt, it would take time and patience to regain what she'd had. But compared to how Caitlyn looked when they'd found her, this recovery was nothing short of a miracle.
"
To think all those times I dieted. Now I'm looking to put on weight. The irony of it all." Caitlyn laughed, the sound as close to normal as Sabrina could expect given the circumstances.
"
The stuff from earlier has gotten cold. What would you like?"
"
Breakfast." She giggled. "Although I think it's closer to dinner. I have a taste for"—she shrugged, a smile lining her face—"anything and everything."
"
I can do that," Kane responded, picking up the phone.
It didn
't take long for room service to arrive and the food and coffee to be brought in. Croissants, jellies, eggs, breads, fruit, and pasta piled high on the plates.
They sat down at the table, and ate in silence for a few minutes before
Caitlyn spoke. "What's with you two? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend or something?"
Kane glanced over at Sabrina, one eyebrow raised, his dimpled smile firmly in place. He was definitely enjoying
the sense of discomfort the question provoked in her.
A shot of nerves skittered through
. It was weird after all she'd been through that such a simple question brought about that type of response.
"
Kane helped me find you. Of course, I did most of the work," she teased, trying to lessen the knot of tension in her stomach. "But he did come in handy a time or two."
"
Come in handy? Is that all the thanks I get? You need somebody to rein in that impulsive streak of yours."
Caitlyn
giggled. "You two look good together. You should definitely be a couple."
Sabrina felt heat flame her face. How could she kill a man without a hint of nerves, but one relationship question and she was
about ready to crawl out of her skin?
"
I'm never in one spot long enough to be a couple." Finally, the words spurted out of her mouth.
Caitlyn didn
't seem to be listening as she paled and stopped eating, putting down the fork she was holding. Tears sprang up on the corners of her eyes. "It's the little things I missed. My dad always burns the bacon and my mom…well…she burns everything. But Dad eats it anyway."
Sabrina nodded
. Although she didn't have the same experience as Caitlyn growing up, she could remember tidbits of her life before her parents' death. She could remember having some great times with her brothers. Times that weren't consumed with fear. Even Petrovich had his kinder side at times.
"
Families might get on your nerves, but that doesn't mean you don't love them," Kane said.
Sabrina felt a little queasy as the need to flee overtook her in a rush. Something about what
Caitlyn said, the words she spoke, unnerved her. Long-held beliefs tumbled inside her head as she fought to make sense of it all.
"
I'll be back in a few. I need to borrow your phone."
Kane gave her a stare-down before handing her the phone.
She knew he was curious. But also knew he wouldn't ask. She turned and headed out the door without another word.
Her heart pounded in her chest as if she
'd run a couple of miles uphill. Need and desire and pain and hurt tousled inside like a giant tornado.
Sabrina fought with the urge to
succumb to memories. She'd done some horrible things in her life. But had she done them for the right reasons? Would she ever know? Rescuing Caitlyn she could feel good about. But lingering doubt seemed to dog her every step of the way. Remnants of striving for perfection to gain Goren's approval tumbled through her head. He wasn't abusive to her or her brothers, but none of them ever wanted to disappoint him. Was that about fear that he'd cast them out, leaving them once again vulnerable to the whims of others? Or more about that sinister side to him he showed once in a while that kept them in check? And why, in the end, did he set the three of them up to be killed?
She
rushed through the lobby and into the cool evening air, and the soft breeze sifted through her hair. She walked the streets of Zurich for about twenty minutes. Discharging all the feelings swirling around her brain was a welcome relief.
At thirty
, she was much too old for make-believe. She was way too old to think the past could be erased. And she was way too smart to think Caitlyn and Kane Travis could change her cold heart.
Her brothers would help her find Ponci. Then they
'd help her track down Trinity. She didn't waste a minute before she made the call and filled them in on everything she'd been up to, including Caitlyn, Trinity, Ponci, and Kane.
"
What do you need?" Max asked.
"
Money and a phone, and most of all I need both of you to help get this done."
"
Give me the info on your hotel, and I'll have a phone in your lobby within an hour. And we'll take the next plane out," Jake said.
A sense of relief hit her as she hung up. Together they could do this. After Ponci, they
'd hunt down Trinity. Maybe then she'd be able to sleep and put to rest her past transgressions.
After walking around town to waste some more time, she picked up the phone Jake had sent. She sent her brothers a text so they
'd have her new number. Only then did she make her way back to the room. Stepping off the elevator, she heard music. Then a giggle. And a warm, tingly feeling rushed through her before she opened the door and spotted Caitlyn and Kane laughing. And dancing?
The normalcy of the scene made her believe Kane was right about Caitlyn. Maybe she was a lot stronger than Sabrina believed.
Caitlyn shouted as soon as Sabrina walked inside, "Look, Sabrina. I'm teaching Kane how to dance. I thought he'd be much too old to learn." Caitlyn laughed again as Kane mimicked the girl's movements while music blared from the TV.
"
Pretty smooth, don't you think?" He winked, sending a wash of an unidentifiable emotion slithering through her.
How could he do that? She had rectified all this weirdness in her head
about him and then he did something so darn…well…adorable, even if he'd loathe her use of the word.
"
Come on, Sabrina, join us," Caitlyn said, motioning toward Sabrina.
"
Naw, I don't think so. I'll let Kane make a fool of himself while I watch along the sidelines."
He tugged at her arm.
"Oh no, girlie. I don't think so." He pulled her alongside him.
Caitlyn
and Kane continued their dance, her with the concentration and skill, him…hot damn…he looked downright sexy. Although she'd rather die than reveal that bit of information to him. It cost her enough admitting it to herself.
"
Come on, Sabrina," Caitlyn urged.
"
I don't think she knows how. She's led a rather sheltered life, filled with boring stuff that made her a rather dull little lady." A wicked sneer pulled up the left corner of his mouth, and the dimple popped to the surface.
She elbowed him in the stomach.
"All right. That's it. You've left me no option but to show you both up."
The pull was irresistible. The normalcy of it all blended together with hope a
s she jumped in the middle of the step. Never prone to flights of fancy, letting the music guide her body felt more freeing than she'd dared believe. Was this some kind of weird metamorphosis taking place in her? One that she wasn't very receptive to even while simultaneously drawn to it.
For the first time in a very long while, Sabrina felt at peace. The sheer joy of the moment overcame her
, as something she couldn't even fathom, let alone remember, oozed along her spine.
When the song finished, and the next began,
Caitlyn stopped. "You two dance together. I need to sit down for a minute."
Fear sat low in
Sabrina's belly while Kane shimmied up next to her, his arms outstretched. When she shook her head, he motioned over to Caitlyn, who then replaced her smile with a pout.
Push. Pull. Push. Pull.
Reluctantly, Sabrina moved toward Kane as if marching off to her execution. Touching him, or letting him touch her, brought out the worst in her. When he did that, she felt out of control. Definitely not a feel-good.
Something about him made her insides go all mushy, for lack of a better word. And she didn
't appreciate that feeling. She was not a mushy kind of gal. Besides, it made her feel raw and vulnerable. And that was not something she could welcome with open arms.
But there she was, between the proverbial rock and the hard place as she glanced over at
Caitlyn, who seemed to be relishing in her newfound matchmaking skills. Without an option, she slipped into Kane's embrace, fighting against the pull.
N
ot having the energy to resist, every muscle in her body relaxed. With his left arm positioned at her back, his right hand wound within hers and rested on his shoulder. Letting her head relax against his chest resembled coming home.
He whispered provocatively into her ear. Memories of his touch on her body tumbled through her brain. Had it not been for
Caitlyn's presence, Sabrina wouldn't have an ounce of will to resist the chemistry that sparked between them. But she didn't believe in this. In fact, everything about who she was demanded she resist this kind of lunacy.
But she couldn
't. At least not right now. Her brothers would be here soon, and she'd come to her senses and morph back into her old self. For right now, she could enjoy the moment or two of mindless sensation.
With precisely that thought in mind, she gave in. Let his hands touch her, sparking her nerve endings to a jolt. The fresh scent of soap and Kane enveloped her
as a shroud bringing with it memories long since denied.
Part of her wanted to give in. Part of her knew there was never any happily ever after. That was only in the movies.
And the part she didn't want to think about hoped she was wrong.
When the song ended, he didn
't let her go. Rather he stood there, one hand on her back, the other still wound within hers. He chucked under her chin, forcing her head up to look into his eyes. "What nefarious purpose did you want my phone for?" he whispered.
Even though she expected the question, it still caught her by surprise.
She clenched her jaw tight. "Checking in with the family."
He slowly nodded and glanced at the readout on his phone.
"I wonder what that conversation was about?"
"
Have you become my keeper?" She'd predicted he'd go there, but she still couldn't help the swell of resentment for no other reason than he had the upper hand.
"
I know this might shock you, but I worry about your impulsivity."
"
That's my problem, isn't it?" She needed to push him away, and this seemed a good time to do exactly that.
He lifted his fingers to her hair and stared into her eyes.
"I don't want you to spend the rest of your life in prison."
"
Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"
Hey, what are you two talking about so secretively?"
"
Nothing much. She dared me not to dip her." He winked. "But I love a good dare." Swooping in with all the style and grandeur of an old-fashioned movie, he bent Sabrina over his arm, until her head nearly touched the floor.