AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He left it at that before striding through the garage, into the office, to the door of the apartment. Locking it behind him, he took the stairs two at a time until he was at the second door. There, he pulled the narrow sliver of the toothpick he had pushed into the lock free and stepped slowly inside.
He could see the glimmer of Scotch tape on the door across the room that led to the deck. It was still in place. The door hadn’t been opened.
He was still cautious as he moved through the apartment though and locked the heavy door to the bathroom behind him. Sabella had been to the spa, and he couldn’t wait, he was damned near shaking in anticipation of what could be awaiting him.
A bottle of wine sat empty on the bar and Sabella stared morosely at her half-empty glass. Unfortunately, she had drunk most of it.
“I’m turning into a lush,” she said as she lifted her gaze and glanced at the other woman.
Kira was relaxed into the high-backed bar stool, one slim leg crossed over the opposite knee and staring at her own glass.
“It’s damned good wine. Good thing your husband isn’t here. He might have spanked you otherwise. It’s very old wine, I do believe.”
Sabella grinned at the thought of it, and at Kira’s particular phrasing. Her deliberate phrasing. This wasn’t a woman who messed up. She was too much like her husband. Too deliberate, too comfortable in her own skin, in who and what she was.
“Lucky, ain’t I?”
Kira’s brow arched. “You must be getting along very well with your mechanic then.”
“I haven’t thrown a glass at him yet.” Sabella sat back in her bar stool and regarded the other woman curiously. “My husband and I were barely married a year before I threw a glass at him. He was a damned good man, but I believe he might have thought I needed ‘guidance.’ ”
“Guidance in what?”
Amusement glittered in her gray eyes. Sabella sipped her wine and watched the other woman. There was an air of confidence, of sheer daring, in Kira Richards that Sabella envied but wouldn’t wish for herself.
“In being a SEAL wife.” Sabella’s lips quirked in a grin. “He could come home busted up, wounded, bruised to hell and back, and just say ‘bad mission,’ and I wasn’t to worry. I wasn’t to check the bruises or kiss his boo-boos. That was the reason I threw the first glass. I thought it would help. He can let the bad guys beat up on him, but I can’t worry about him?” She arched her brows. “Fine, he could carry bruises from me as well.”
“You just said ‘can,’ not ‘could,’ ” Kira stated.
It reminded her of the way Nathan used to watch the world, and still did in some cases. With knowing suspicion.
“Slip of the tongue.” Sabella shrugged, and they both knew better.
“So, your mechanic doesn’t attempt to guide you?” Kira asked her.
“I’ve matured.” Sabella sipped at her wine. “I don’t throw glasses anymore.”
Kira’s brow arched. “What do you do now?”
Sabella stared down at her wine before lifting the glass and finishing it. “I do as I please,” she finally answered. “I won’t build my life around a man again.” She met Kira’s gaze once more. “And I don’t accept lies any longer, Kira. From anyone.”
“I haven’t lied to you,” Kira pointed out with a smile
.
Sabella nodded. “And for that, you got to share my husband’s prize wine with me.” She grinned. “I’ll imagine it’s him spanking me if my mechanic ever decides to get around to getting that brave.”
Not a flicker betrayed the howl of laughter Kira was holding inside. Damn, Sabella had grown on her over the years, but in the past weeks, she had seen the true measure of strength this woman had.
“Ian retired from the SEALs just before Jordan did, didn’t he?” Sabella asked.
“He did,” Kira affirmed. “He’d had enough.”
“So what’s he doing now?”
“Not a lot.” Kira smiled. “He consults every now and then with a few places. Security matters.” She waved her hand as if she didn’t have a clue.
Bullshit. Sabella inhaled slowly. Half-truths, but enough to understand Ian and Noah were working together. This woman was working with her husband and with Noah. It was why she had befriended Sienna and it was the reason she had made certain she met Sabella.
