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“It should.”
“No, it shouldn’t.” I placed a hand on Kyle’s arm. “You heard what I told Mr. Conaway. I knew going in that this would not be a normal relationship, that my life with Dane would not be normal.”
“Or safe.”
“He’s doing his best. So is Amano. If it were any other caliber of people they were dealing with, my safety wouldn’t be an issue at all. But these guys … Christ.” I moved around to the upholstered stools at the island and slid onto one. “It’s like they’re everywhere at the same time. I don’t get it. And it’s downright eerie.”
Nerve-wracking, too.
Kyle said, “You really don’t have to be a part of this, Ari.”
“Yes. I do. I’m Dane’s wife. I’m about to be the mother of his child. And you can’t deny that he, Amano, and Mr. Conaway have done everything in their power to keep us all out of harm’s way when it comes to the corrupt members of the society. But Jesus. They’re like cockroaches or something. They seem to multiply instead of go away.”
“This is such bullshit.”
I pinned Kyle with an earnest look. “You can leave, you know? They won’t come after you if you disassociate yourself from me. Hell, I don’t even think they know about the retreat, because they never fucked with anything there. They needed me at the creek house to get to me.”
He appeared to give this some thought.
“You have a choice, Kyle. I love you as a friend,” I told him in a heartfelt tone. “And I’m eternally grateful for all you’ve done. But you’re not bound by sacred oath here. To tell you the truth, it’d probably be best if you—”
“No,” he said with conviction in his voice, his gaze locking with mine. “It wouldn’t be best if I just walked away. Because I want to protect you, too. If Dane can’t be here, if Amano has secret-society business to deal with … I can be here. For you. And for your baby.”
I saw this for what it was—Kyle’s defining moment. A decision that could be the one to give him a bit more purpose in life or … one that could be detrimental.
I understood the pros and cons, the reward versus the challenge—or, rather, the danger.
“Kyle, you need to be absolutely certain.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? I just spent the night in jail, didn’t I? I nearly sent us over the edge of a canyon that plunges forty-five hundred feet, right?”
“Put like that,” I said with a crooked brow, “you might want to seek your own mental health counseling. I think you’re nuts.”
He laughed, albeit gruffly. “Certifiable, without doubt. Then again … It’s not like I had anything better to do last night but hang out with newlyweds and their brand-new baby. Guess I’m cursed.”
I’d sent several items to Meg and Sean from their gift registry but hadn’t yet made it to see them. I’d stuck close to the retreat of late, in the event Amano called and there was a chance to see Dane.
“I need to visit them,” I confessed. “Unfortunately, Meg will likely figure out I’m pregnant because I’ll be all googly-eyed over the baby and asking a million questions about what to expect when you’re expecting.”
“Yeah, that could be a problem. Anyway, they’re sort of into the whole family unit thing at the moment, so you have time to make it up to them.”
“I suppose.” I stared at him a few seconds longer, a tormenting thought gnawing at me. Finally, I asked, “Do you really believe you’re cursed?”
“No.” He set aside the hand towel and said, “Since we’re stuck here in paradise, I’m going for a swim.”
“You don’t have trunks,” I mentioned over the sting of guilt I couldn’t shake.
“So?”
I frowned. “That guard tower is manned, and there are guys patrolling these ten acres.”
“Not my problem. They don’t have to look, now do they?” He sauntered off.
Above obsessing over Kyle’s angst and unwavering sense of duty, I prayed Eleanor Conaway would buy us swimwear. Given the latest disaster and my new criminal record, Dane had enough to contend with to put his blood pressure in the red zone without knowing Kyle was skinny-dipping in the pool fifty feet from me.
Yeah. That’d make for fun conversation.
chapter 16
