Page 16 of Shark’s Rise

“I know, baby.” But after his tender rebuttal, Bas pulled a one-eighty on me and changed the subject completely. “How about we go for a walk. Would you like that? You and me? Around the property?”

“That would be nice. I haven’t really been outside all that much,” I said.

“That’s true,” Elijah said, injecting himself into our conversation again. Sebastian and I both turned to look at him. “You haven’t done anything but hide out in your room.”

Glaring at the man, I said, “You know I haven’t been feeling well. I’ve told you twenty times. And why are you still standing here? Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Actually, I do. But because you’re being so sweet around Sebastian, I’m enjoying your company this morning. In fact”—his eyes glittered with mischief—“maybe I’ll go along with the two of you.”

“No.” Sebastian and I fired it in unison.

Just as quickly, he added, “Go get dressed, baby, while I finish my conversation with Elijah. I’ll meet you out by the pool.”

After he kissed me again, I set off to dress for our walk. I considered lingering in the hallway to eavesdrop on their talk but inwardly talked myself out of it. Spying wasn’t cool. Besides, I trusted Sebastian. Just because I couldn’t say the same thing about Elijah Banks…

Beside the point. At least right now.

And my ace in the hole? I’d just ask Bas about their talk while we took our stroll. The sooner I was dressed, the sooner I’d have my answers. But more importantly, I’d have more alone time with the man I adored.

And maybe, just maybe if I was extra charming, I could convince Sebastian to take me back to Los Angeles with him.

And if pigs had wings, they would fly.

Chapter Four

Sebastian

This walk had been a good call.

I could tell Abbigail needed some more one-on-one time. While last night had been the hello-again-is-it-me-you’re-looking-for I’d been dreaming of for a week, she and I hardly had time to reconnect anything other than our bodies. From the second she stepped into the kitchen this morning, I could tell she needed some physical distance from Elijah, as well as a chance to unload her version of what had been happening out here.

And boy, did she ever.

She talked almost nonstop while we walked, and I let her. It was good to see the color finally returning to her cheeks. Whether her new glow was from the fresh air, the sunshine, or just the joy of getting to vent her frustrations, I didn’t really care. I was just glad to see her looking lively—and even a little saucy. I’d take it all, considering how deeply she’d scared me when I first saw her last night.

Her discernible pallor substantiated all the claims Elijah had made to me. She’d been irritable and moody, spending most of her time cooped up in the master suite of the house. She hadn’t been eating much. Banks also told me he’d heard her crying. A lot. Though I ensured him that she released her anger and frustrations through tears, he’d been concerned. It was more than what should be expected.

I hadn’t fully believed him but gave him the green light to turn up the heat about her at least emerging to eat. My decree had been effective in that regard but unfortunately had torpedoed any hopes of the two of them forging a friendship.

But I needed to try to smooth things over between them. They were two of the most important people in my life, and now they were constantly at each other’s throats. Unacceptable.

“Bas?”

Her prod came with a slight squeeze of my hand, nudging me back to the moment. “Hmmm?”

“I was asking if you’ve managed to find out anything. I mean, anything? At all? About who may be doing all of this.” She clarified the point as we sat down on a wrought-iron bench in the shade of a Palo Verde tree. “I don’t see how anyone, or even a whole group, disguises all their tracks after pulling stunts like these. It’s not like dead sharks can be picked up on Rodeo Drive. Or a few hundred live piranhas…”

“You’re right, of course,” I said. “But…”

“But what?”

I looked up and gazed across the villa’s extensive grounds. The landscaping on the property was a mix of naturally occurring desert trees, bushes, and cacti. There were so many varieties we didn’t usually see near the Pacific in Los Angeles. The Palo Verde over our heads was an old, sturdy tree. It stood close to eighteen feet tall, its sprawling branches providing perfect shadows against the day’s mounting heat.

I pulled in a long breath while I twined my fingers with Abbi’s slender ones. Damn it. How much should I tell her at this point? Definitely not everything. If half of what Elijah was telling me was true, she was too fragile for a complete confession.

“It seems like the deeper we dig, we just come up with more questions instead of answers,” I finally confessed. “It’s very frustrating.”

“And who are ‘we’?” she pressed. “You and Elijah?”