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Dalia grimaced with pain, her brows furrowing. Sienna got up to get help, but Dalia held onto her hand and gestured at the morphine drip with a slight tilt of her head. Understanding, Sienna gave her a higher dose, then watched as the muscles on the old widow’s face slowly relaxed and she fell back asleep.
After half an hour, Sienna got bored watching Dalia sleep, but didn’t dare leave her side. To keep herself busy, she went through the confidential files, one piece of information more scandalous than the next.
Hours went by with Dalia sleeping peacefully and Sienna already more than halfway through her reading material. It wasn’t of any use now, but she could see its potential. She’d have to ask Samson where they kept the rest of them. With computers being so easily hacked, it made sense they didn’t modernize the information.
Just when she convinced herself that it was nothing but an entertaining read, Sienna recognized the name on the next file, identifying it as the leader of the family that she and Xavier would meet at their next tour stop. Xavier tried to tell her about it, but she was too worried about Dalia to listen to him and didn’t remember the name until she saw it on the document.
Her thoughts kept churning as she read about Emyr Ochoa and the secret that could bring an end to him and his career. The governor of Maryland could be a powerful ally, and now Sienna found a foolproof way to get him on their side.
She memorized the information before putting the files back in the boxes. It was in her future interest to keep it all safe.
“Help!” Sienna called when Dalia’s heart monitor started beeping.
Xavier, Brian, Samson, and a guy who looked like an older version of Samson came running in. Xavier pulled her into his arms as they watched Harris check Dalia’s pulse. After a moment, he shook his head and turned off the monitors.
“She’s gone,” he announced.
A lone tear slipped down Sienna’s cheek, the only sign of grief she allowed herself. Samson led them out, and Harris respectfully closed the door.
“I’ll take care of everything,” Harris told her, then handed her a card. “Here’s my information in case you need anything. I’ve been told you’re in a rush, but once you have some time, give me a call so we can sort things out. We’re at your service, Miss Ryder.”
“Thank you,” Sienna said to them both. “Your responsibilities won’t change, but I would like to be brought up to date about everything. It’s too soon to talk about that now. I trust that you’ll keep everything under control until we meet again.”
“You have nothing to worry about, Miss,” Harris said and bowed his head in respect.
Sienna pocketed his card, then exited the mansion. Her mansion. The Ryder compound wasn’t her home anymore, so maybe moving here wouldn’t be such a bad idea. There were a lot of pros and cons that she would have to think about. The biggest con was that she’d be away from her Carrington heirs. There was also a fact that she wouldn’t feel safe alone with the Remingtons out there. Maybe in the future, she would live here, but not now.
It was time to go to the last tour stop, which would bring their preparations to an end. After that, the shit would get real, and the Remingtons would be taken down. Tick tock. They were so close that she could smell the freedom in the air.
CHAPTER 19
Notevenanhourafter Dalia died, Sienna and her entourage were in the car and on their way to the Watkins Glen State Park where they’d go camping. Sleeping in a tent was the worst possible idea and if Sienna could have her way, they’d be out of there before nightfall. She had a secret ace to play that she didn’t tell anyone about. Not even Xavier. She would follow Dalia’s advice, keeping things close to heart until she’d find a moment when using them would have the most powerful effect.
Xavier tried talking to her during the drive there but after she gave him a few one-word responses, he gave up, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Sienna didn’t know Dalia well, but her death still left her feeling sad and numb. If only she had more time to process everything before moving on. Her only consolation was that this was her last journey.
The camping ground was big but crowded. There were many families with kids running around, including their target. Emyr Ochoa with his wife Macie and their three little kids Eshan, Sanjay, and Maleeha. The governor of Maryland had the biggest tent in the campsite, but it didn’t appear he had any servants there. He was an avid camper and a fisherman.
Watkins Glen State Park provided them with a variety of things from wine tasting to hiking to a beautiful waterfall to fishing on the lake from the shore or the boat. Plenty of things to keep kids busy until bedtime which was accompanied with a campfire. If Sienna wasn’t such a city girl, she would’ve liked it, but because she was, all she could think now was that she would have to sleep in a tent instead of a room. She didn’t even want to ask about the toilet.
Her plan was to talk to Emyr before Brian and Xavier would finish setting up their tents. She wanted to get back to her city life and the luxury of her home. A part of her wouldn’t mind doing the wine tasting, but she wasn’t opposed to grabbing a bottle of wine to bring it back home.
“Where are they?” Sienna asked Xavier, interrupting his intense studying of the instruction manual on how to set up a tent.
He pointed on the lake in front of them. “On the boat and judging by the picnic basket, they’ll be there a while.”
Sienna groaned and stomped her feet in frustration. Xavier’s brows furrowed in confusion, his light hair falling over his forehead in desperate need of a cut. From the corner of her eye, she could see Brian fighting back a smile, which made her even angrier. The guys didn’t mind staying in a tent like the Neanderthals that they were, but she was a lady and wouldn’t sleep on the ground under any circumstances.
It was thanks to Adrianna that she had proper clothes and shoes. It was also true that if they had told her before about their destination, Sienna wouldn’t want to go. Because of Dalia’s passing, she was too shocked to react before they’d arrived.
“Nature is boring. I’m going for a walk,” she announced to the guys, who exchanged glances.
“Xavier will go with you while I finish the tents,” Brian told her, nudging Xavier to set down the manual. “He has no idea how to do it anyway.”
“I’m fine going alone.”
“Now more than ever we have to be extra careful,” Xavier said and offered her his hand.
Knowing that he was right, Sienna took it and followed him down the marked path that would lead them to the waterfall. Xavier’s company was comforting and unintrusive. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed him until now.
