Part 21 (1/2)
”What do you mean?”
”Ron sent over a copy of the bank surveillance tape, and it's obvious that Artie was set up.”
”Are you sure?”
Laura nodded again.
Rheyna swallowed hard as she thought about the implication.
”And if he was set up, then that means-”
”The informant is still out there,” Rheyna finished the sentence for her. ”Why hasn't Castrucci come after me, then?”
”I honestly don't know. Unless, by some small chance, he really doesn't know about you. Regardless, you still need to be careful. Your life could still be at stake.”
Rheyna could see the concern on Laura's face. It was not just concern-it was downright fear. ”Don't you think that some things in life are worth dying for?” Rheyna regretted the question the minute it came out of her mouth.
Laura looked at her as if she was crazy. ”I can't believe you just said that.”
”I know it was a dumb thing to say, but if you really think about it, isn't that what La Cosa Nostra is all about? They are a family that lives by their own values. They swear their allegiance to each other, to La Cosa Nostra, to this athing of ours'. They're willing to risk their lives for their beliefs.” Rheyna held her hand up to stop Laura from saying what she knew would be coming next. ”I know. It was a stupid thing to say and I promise I'll be careful.”
Laura slid off the stool and leaned against the counter. ”I haven't had a shower in two days and feel pretty grungy. If you don't mind, I'm gonna jump in the shower and then get out of here.”
”What's wrong the shower at your hotel?”
”I can't stand taking another cold one and I'm praying yours will at least be warm.”
”Yeah right-your idea of warm is scalding to everyone else.”
Rheyna laughed when Laura stuck her tongue out at her. She nodded toward the hallway. ”Second door on the right, towels are in the bottom drawer.”
Laura gave Rheyna a big hug and trotted off toward the bathroom.
Rheyna heard the water in the shower start and absentmindedly leafed through the pile of mail stacked on the counter. She had no idea of what her next move was, and depending on how fast the indictment came down, she might not have to worry about it. For all she knew, she could be back in Was.h.i.+ngton by this time next week.
The thought absolutely depressed her and she knew why. Her thoughts turned to Ron. She would give him a call later to see how he was doing. If she couldn't be there, she could at least let him know he was in her thoughts and prayers.
The doorbell rang, and Rheyna felt her heart skip several beats and then catch in her throat. Oh no, not now, she thought. Now is definitely not a good time. She reluctantly scooted off the stool and went to the door. ”Please don't let it be her,” she muttered under her breath.
She put her hand on the doork.n.o.b and thought about not answering it. Then she realized that wouldn't work, since her Jeep, along with Laura's rental car, was parked in the driveway.
She knew when she opened the door that Caroline would be standing on the other side. She swore under her breath and opened it. Caroline stood there with a blank look on her face; one that told Rheyna that the last twenty-four hours had been just as hard on her.
”Hi,” she said with a nervous laugh.
”Hi,” Rheyna said back. She was completely lost for words.
Caroline s.h.i.+fted from one foot to the other. ”I know I should have called first, but-” She didn't finish the sentence. Rheyna watched her eyes move and then come to a stop at some point just behind her shoulder. Rheyna heard her take in a deep breath and then felt the air leave her own lungs. She could tell by the look on Caroline's face what she was looking at.
She slowly turned around. Laura was standing in the hallway, dripping wet, with her mouth hanging open in shock. Rheyna heard Caroline gasp and then she heard a guttural sound come from somewhere deep inside her own throat as Laura's towel dropped to the floor.
Laura shrieked, quickly picked up the towel, and wrapped it tightly around her body.
Caroline turned and practically ran back to her car.
”Caroline, wait! It's not what you think,” Rheyna pleaded as she ran after her.
Caroline whirled around, gesturing with her hands toward the house. ”You don't need to explain anything to me, Rheyna,” she spat back at her.
”It's not what you think,” Rheyna said as she tried to get some semblance of control over the situation.
”You're an adult, you can do whatever you want with whomever you want and from what I can tell, that's exactly what you're doing!” Caroline yelled as she got in her car. She slammed the door shut, started the engine, and backed out of the driveway so fast; she sent gravel flying in all directions.
With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Rheyna watched the car disappear from view. Can this get any f.u.c.king worse, she thought as she went back inside the house.
Laura was still standing in the hall with a horrible look on her face. ”Oh, Rheyna, I am so sorry. Talk about s.h.i.+tty timing.”
Rheyna smiled at her dear friend. ”Maybe it was for the best.” She said the words knowing she didn't mean them. She felt her heart breaking into a thousand pieces.
”Can't you just tell her that I'm an old friend, a stewardess, or something and that I just dropped by for a shower in between stops?” Laura asked, coming over to wrap her arms around Rheyna's shoulders.
Rheyna hugged her back. Her brain was already in overdrive as she quickly tried to figure out a way to fix this. ”It's okay, Laura. I'll think of something.”
Even if the indictment came back today, there was no way she could leave Caroline under these conditions. It was bad enough to think how she would react when she learned that Rheyna was a FBI agent, but it was a completely different matter for her to think that she was sleeping with Laura. She couldn't imagine the thoughts going through Caroline's mind right then, especially after her screw-up at Jesse and Phil's party. She thought about a past sting they had a few years ago on a lengthy fraud case.
”Do we still have the safe house in Palo Alto?” she asked.
Laura frowned, unsure of where Rheyna was going with this. ”As far as I know, but why would you want to go there when you have this wonderful house on the beach?” she asked as she re-tucked the towel over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She looked at Rheyna, smiled, and then wagged her index finger at her. ”I know that look in your eyes, Rheyna. What do you have up your sleeve?”
Rheyna ignored the question. ”Can you do me a favor and watch Annie for a couple of days? Please?”
Laura shrugged her shoulders. ”I guess that's the least I can do for you, seeing how bad I just screwed up your life.”
Rheyna threw her arms around Laura's shoulders. ”You didn't screw up my life. Meeting you was one of the best things that could've ever happened to me and don't you forget it.”
Laura held her at arm's length to look her in the eyes. ”I have one condition though-actually, I have two.”
Rheyna sighed. ”And dare I ask what those conditions would be?”
Laura grinned. ”One, that you be extra careful and two, you invite me and Stacie to the wedding.”
Rheyna laughed. ”Aren't you jumping the gun a bit? h.e.l.l, I'll be lucky if I can get her to talk to me again as it is. It's gonna be real hard trying to explain why I had a naked woman, dripping wet from a nice hot shower, I might add, standing in the middle of my hallway.”
”Nah, I have faith in you. If anyone can come up with a way to explain me away, it'll be you. You'll just have to use all that charm of yours on her.” Laura turned to go back to the bathroom. ”She won't be able to resist,” she said just before ducking through the doorway.
Caroline wiped away the tears spilling down her cheeks. She slammed her hand against the steering wheel. ”I'm such an idiot!” she yelled. Who was that woman, anyway? Why had Rheyna never mentioned her before, and why was she at Rheyna's house? Better yet, why was she naked? What was she thinking? What did she expect? That Rheyna would fall into her arms. She might not have expected to have answers to all those questions, but she sure as h.e.l.l didn't expect to see her with another woman-a naked one, at that.
She was oblivious to the houses and cars pa.s.sing by her window in a blur. The next thing she knew, she was pulling into her driveway. She was like a zombie, moving on autopilot. She had gotten out of the car, opened the front door, and stepped into the foyer before it dawned on her that she was home. She headed toward the stairs and stopped. It was unusually quiet. It was odd that she didn't hear anything, not even the staff. She listened for voices, but there were none. She turned toward the kitchen, and then she remembered it was Sunday. That explains it, she thought, looking at her watch. On Sundays, the staff doesn't work past five.