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"We're alone," he said. "No one is following us."
"Not this time," she said. "But I have to be careful."
They walked into the building and Ria pushed the button for the elevator. "Your grandmother told me that she loves to sail. I guess she doesn't know that Patrick is selling her boat to her grandchildren."
"He doesn't want her to know. He doesn't think it's safe for her to be out on it anymore. I really wish I could do something to make things easier."
"You're lucky to have had your grandparents for so long," Ria said as they got on the elevator. "But I know it's never long enough."
"You said your grandfather died and your parents and your sister," Drew said, his gaze narrowing on each word. "That's a lot of death for anyone to handle."
"It is," she said tightly.
"Is there anyone else left in the family?"
"No, it's just me and Megan."
They stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall. Ria opened the door and set down her bag. "I'm going to check on Megan next door. Then I'll see if I can find some food for dinner."
"We can always order take-out. My treat," he said.
"I think I can find something to make if you're not too picky."
As she left the apartment, Drew walked around the living room, noting the contrast to his grandmother's place. There were no personal photographs anywhere. A few fashion magazines were on the coffee table, but he didn't see any books anywhere. No personal or sentimental type items. He doubted there was anything in the apartment that Ria couldn't leave behind at a second's notice, and that thought bothered him.
A cell phone began to ring, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn't his phone. He walked over to Ria's bag and grabbed her cell phone. As he thought about taking it to her, the phone stopped ringing. It was a cheap throwaway phone. He was almost surprised that she had a phone; she was so secretive. Then again, she had a kid to stay in contact with.
The voice mail lit up with a message, and he battled a very strong urge to see who was calling Ria.
It was a total invasion of her privacy. But damn…
His curiosity overrode his conscience, and he played back the message.
A female voice said, "It's your mother. Call me."
His gut tightened. Her mother? She'd told him her mother was dead. Megan had said the same. He was staring at the phone when Ria re-entered the apartment.
She turned white when she saw him holding her phone. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I thought you said you didn't have any family. So do you want to tell me why your mother just left you a message?"
Chapter Twelve
"You had no business answering my phone," Ria said, fury and fear running through her at the same time.
"I didn't answer it. I just listened to the voicemail."
She grabbed the phone out of his hand. "And that's supposed to be better? Get out, Drew."
"No. Not until you tell me why you lied about your mother."
"I don't have to tell you anything. What is wrong with you? Do you really think it's all right to listen to someone's phone messages?"
"You're what's wrong with me, Ria—you and your secrets. I can't stop thinking about you. And now when I think about you, I worry about you. I wonder why you had to change your name, why you let people think you were dead, why you look over your shoulder every three minutes."
"I never asked you to worry about me."
"You didn't have to ask. You and I have been connected since our night together on the island. Maybe if you hadn't died so suddenly, what was between us would have run its natural course. But the shock and tragedy of your death hit me hard. You were so alive, so passionate, so vibrant, and then you were gone. What was I supposed to do with that? Did you really think I could just forget you?"
"I told you I didn't know you thought I was dead."
"Well, you know now."
"Yes, I do."
They stared at each other for a long minute.
There was a depth of caring in Drew's words and in his gaze. She felt herself weakening, wanting to let him in to her secrets, but how could she do that?
"You still had no business listening to my messages," she said.
