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Cash glared at her. He was biting his tongue because Archer was there, but she knew just how livid he was. Well, screw you.
“And what did you find out about your family?” Archer asked.
“That they were from Ireland. When my mom turned up back home pregnant and unwed my grandfather was angry. Did you know Alicia and I are…were twins? Our grandfather gave us away to some Irish lawyer in London who supposedly had contacts to find good families for us. My adoptive parents never said anything about it so I’m not sure how I ended up in America. They’re all dead. My dad died from a work accident and my mother and grandparents died in a fire.” She shrugged. It didn’t matter now. Maybe there was something about it in the family bible. She was itching to take a shower and then spend the night reading it.
“I see.” Archer gave her a long look. “I can attempt to find the lawyer for you if you’d like.”
She cocked her head. It was a thought. “Don’t bother,” she said. “I mean I appreciate the offer, but it doesn’t get me anywhere. There’s nothing to be gained by it.”
“Did you find the Fitzgerald bible?” Cash asked.
She stared at him. “You knew?” Her stomach twisted in knots. He’d known her last name and never said a word. Bastard.
Cash glanced at Archer but neither one of them said anything.
“No, I didn’t.” She wasn’t about to tell them the truth. They’d lied to her. Kept the truth from her. There was no way she was going to trust them with something so important.
Archer pursed his lips. “Do you have any idea who was tailing you?”
Riss sighed. They were back to that. “For fuck’s sake. I don’t know anyone in Venice. Of course I don’t know who was following me.” She paused. “He looked familiar though. Like I know him from somewhere.” She was tired and hungry and had no interest in drinking any more tea. She met Archer’s gaze. “Why do you want the Fitzgerald bible?”
“I imagine you are tired and would like a shower. I’ll have Dominick bring dinner to your room.” He turned to Cash. “Do something about that dog door. It’s a security breach. I want it removed.”
“That would be stupid.” The words were out of her mouth before she knew it.
Archer turned slowly toward her. “Come again?”
She was done being anything but pissed off at Archer Gray. He wasn’t that special. Okay, he was damn scary with those green eyes and intense unnatural stare, but she was too damn tired to hold back now. “It’s a great escape route. No one would ever think of it. All you need is a camera in the space so you can see in case anyone tries to come in. The guy following me tried to reach it but he was too big and I think he was a bit claustrophobic so he backed off. It would be stupid to close your best undetectable escape route.”
Archer continued to stare at her but then turned to Cash with a long sigh. “Fine. Install a camera.” He strode out of the room.
Riss grabbed her bag and went after him. She made for the stairs and went into her room. She took the bible out of her bag and tucked it under the mattress by the head of the bed just in case anyone came looking for it. And then she got into a gloriously hot shower and washed her hair.
Twenty minutes later she hopped out of the shower, dried herself off, and towel-dried her hair. She pinned it up and then pulled on a nice white fluffy robe, cinching the belt around her waist as she left the bathroom.
She damn near screamed when she looked up to find Cash leaning against her room’s door with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Why are you in here?” she demanded.
The pulse in his jaw was jumping and his eyes were shooting daggers at her. He was pissed, but she’d bet she was angrier.
“You scared the hell out of me. You risked your life for information you could have gotten over the phone. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“With me? Fuck right off, Cash Walker. I have never had the kind of bad luck I’ve had in the past seventy-two hours. Since I met you.” She walked over and punctuated her ire with a hard poke on his chest. “I can tell you right now, Bill O’Toole wouldn’t have told me a damn thing if I’d called him. And it wouldn’t have been the same over the phone. I got to hear about my family. Maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you, but it means the world to me, so it was worth the risk. Now just get out.”
Just then there was a knock at the door. Cash casually moved out of the way and opened it. Dominick came in and set a tray down on the little table by the window. “I brought you up some beef stew and homemade bread. Biscotti sent you some of his favorite cookies. He’s hoping you’ll share.”
Riss glanced at the plate and laughed. The cookies were in the shape of a dog’s paws with what looked like lemon icing. Some of her fury abated and she smiled. “Tell him I will save him some.”
“Very good,” Dominick said with a wink and left the room.
She turned and found Cash still leaning against the door. With a wave, she dismissed him. “You can go.” She sat down on the chair by the window and started eating the stew. It was very good but she could only manage to swallow a few bites before Cash’s presence pushed her over the edge. “What?” she bellowed.
He stared at her. “You risked your life over something stupid.”
“Stupid to you, maybe. But, it’s my fucking life and I can do whatever the hell I want with it.”
He was across the room in two strides and pulled her to her feet by the lapels of her robe. “You don’t get to do that. Not ever. It’s not just your life.” He swooped down and kissed her hard. She tried to push him away, but it had been a long day, and being in his arms felt so damn good, like she could finally relax. Like she was finally safe. Like the line between hate and…love was thinner than she’d thought.
