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“Does Granda know you have that?” I demanded sharply. If he was stealing from Granda, I’d have to do something about it, even if it meant exposing my masquerade.
“You know as well as I do that Granda gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday. He said the disapproving face reminded him of me.” His voice was casual.
What Would Bella Do? I surveyed him slowly. “Maybe at eighteen,” I said judiciously. “Not anymore.”
“Are you suggesting I may have improved in my old age? I’m flattered, Bella.”
“Don’t be. The bar was set low.”
He laughed, unperturbed by my snappishness. “So to what do I owe the honor of your visit? I told you I had plans.”
I glanced around me. “I don’t see anyone. Or are you going out?” Indeed, by Spanish standards, the evening had barely begun. The restaurants and bars in town would be open late, filled with throngs of people.
“I’m expecting a visitor. Not you.” He crossed his arms, waiting.
It took me a moment to remember why I came there. “I needed to tell you something about...Podge.” It took an effort to come up with the hated name.
For a moment he looked surprised, then he nodded. “Go ahead.”
He was wearing a white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and I could see the scar. It strengthened my determination. “I saw her recently, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know. Where?”
“In the States. She lives in New Hampshire. That’s up north...”
“I know where New Hampshire is. Continue.”
He didn’t ask how his long-lost cousin was, I noticed. He’d dismissed me as thoroughly as Granda had, and for some stupid reason it hurt.
I stiffened my spine. “She asked me to give you a message.”
“Did she indeed?” He started moving then, through the apartment, around me, slowly, lazily. It was unnerving, and I wanted to tell him to stand still, but Ian had always been restless and prowling.
“She said she never thanked you for saving her life. Back in the caves. You remember...”
I expected him to glance at his arm, but he didn’t. He simply nodded, saying nothing, forcing me to continue babbling.
“Anyway, she said she never told you how much she appreciated what you did, and she needed to make amends.”
“Is she an alcoholic?” he asked mildly.
“No!” I said, startled. “Why would you think that? She barely drinks.”
“Because it’s usually recovering alcoholics or dying people who feel the need to make amends. I assume she’s not dying.” It wasn’t even a question, damn him.
“No, she’s healthy and happy and doesn’t miss this place or any of you in the slightest,” I snapped, goaded.
“Glad to hear it. When you see her again, you can tell her that her conscience is now clear. At least as far as I’m concerned.” He let his dark eyes run over me, an enigmatic expression on his face. “Is that all? Or did you have other old times you wanted to discuss? Perhaps your own amends that you need to make?”
She probably did, I thought darkly. Then again, apologies came easily to Bella, so easily it was hard to stay mad at her. I’d forgiven her for abandoning me in the caves within a week, and we’d been best friends again, with Bella waiting on me and plying me with little treats and presents to cheer me up and entertain me as I convalesced.
“Hardly,” I said. “I’ll leave you to your plans.”
In his prowling, he’d managed to box me in, so that I had to move around him or bump into furniture to leave. And he had stopped moving, deliberately blocking the way. “Will you really?” His voice was low, unnerving, and I felt a sudden uneasiness. Bella had said she was in danger. Was Ian part of that danger?
I would be a fool to underestimate him, and apart from agreeing to this stupid game, I was no fool. I took an involuntary step back. “I wouldn’t want to interfere with your evening.”
“Bella, you don’t have the ability to interfere with anything in my life. Show me your hands.”
