“I know,” Rhys said into the silence.
Banan cleared his throat. “There’s more.”
“More?” This didn’t sound good in the least.
“It involves one of Ulrik’s men. The mortal is using a woman who works here to gain entrance onto Dreagan and search for the weapon.”
Rhys’s ears began to ring as he thought of the bruise on Lily’s cheek. She’d told him her ex-lover had returned after a year, but she’d never said why he came back.
“Rhys? Did you hear me?” Banan asked.
Rhys ignored him and asked instead, “Who is it? Who is the woman?”
“We doona have many working for us,” Banan began slowly.
“Who?” Rhys demanded harshly.
The silence grew as Banan hesitated.
“Just spit it out.” Rhys knew in that instant, knew with a certainty that rocked him, that it was Lily.
“We’ve narrowed down the names to two,” Banan finally said. “Lily’s is one of them.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Lily bathed, hating to wash off Rhys’s scent. She was deliciously sore from their repeated lovemaking. If only they could remain in the hotel and halt time. If only she had some kind of superpower to stop Dennis so she could have her family and Rhys. But she wasn’t a superhero, and no one was going to save the day for her.
Lily finished rinsing her hair and turned off the water. She grabbed a towel and opened the shower door to find Rhys. A small shriek sounded from her as she put her hand to her throat. “You scared me.”
Rhys’s lips lifted in a lopsided smile. “I was just about to join you.”
That’s all it took. A few words from his sexy voice, and her body began to throb.
“Then our breakfast arrived.”
Lily was more than a little disappointed. Her stomach growled as she dried off. “Right on time.”
He walked out of the room, and Lily put the robe back on and ran her fingers through her hair before she joined him at the table that was loaded with food.
“I didna know what you liked,” Rhys said with a shrug.
There was a little of everything. Lily laughed and eyed the Belgian waffles and bacon. She chose her dishes and tucked a foot beneath her on the chair as she poured both of them coffee. Rhys took the seat opposite her and picked the omelet and a piece of toast. They ate silently for a few minutes as she studied him.
“I need a shave,” he said when he caught her staring.
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “It’s not bad.”
“I’d scrape your delicate skin if I tried to kiss you.”
“Want to find out?” she asked with a mischievous smile.
His gaze darkened. “Doona tempt me.”
“I’d do anything to remain right here forever.”
“Would you?”
Was it her imagination, or had there been a hint of something in his voice? As if he knew about Dennis. But that was silly. There was no way he could know. Rhys was intelligent, but Dennis was careful and she hadn’t told Rhys anything. No, it was just her imagination at work. “I would.”
“What about your job?”
Lily swallowed her bite of food. “I don’t have to work. I do it because I enjoy it. Many of my jobs were about having the satisfaction of supporting myself without having to fall back on my family’s money. But Dreagan…” She paused and glanced at her plate. “This may sound silly since I’ve not been there long, but Dreagan has become a home for me. I found true happiness there. And friendships. That doesn’t happen often.”
“Interesting.”
She winced as she caught sight of the bags of clothes from the day before. “I was only going to spend my money yesterday, but then I wanted to erase all parts of the last four years.”
“It’s understandable.”
“I know how all of this makes me look. I needed to make a clean cut, to eradicate the past.”
“You can no’ erase it. It’s part of you. It made you who you are today,” he said as he leaned back in his chair and pushed his empty plate aside.
Lily rubbed her left wrist that was beginning to ache. A reminder of one of the first instances of abuse from Dennis. “My scars will be a constant reminder, yes, but I have to remove the parts that keep me from being who I really am. The clothes, the attitude. The fear.”
“He chose your clothes?”
It took her two tries to answer. “Yes. He didn’t like anyone looking at me, so he had me wear loose, baggy clothes. I forgot what it was like to feel good in something until yesterday.”
“Did he break your wrist?”
Lily stopped rubbing it and stared at him.
Rhys’s gaze dropped to her left wrist for a moment. “You’ve no’ stopped rubbing it for some time. Does it hurt?”
“Only when it’s about to rain, and yes. He broke it a month after I chose him over my family.”