Covert Game (GhostWalkers #14)

Bellisia shook her head. “I don’t think so, beautiful. You’re too smart to want only to be someone’s wife and the mother of his children. You want to make an impact on the world. That’s your true destiny, and everyone knows it but Whitney. He always wanted you to feel like you can’t make it on your own. You don’t want to trade him for Gino.”

“You’re not being very nice. Gino’s a good man.”

“That has nothing to do with it. You’ve got a great gift and you were born to change the world. You owe it to the world, but he won’t understand that. He would selfishly want to keep you to himself and make all your decisions for you as if you didn’t have a brain in your head. He’d insist you be his little submissive in the house and in the bedroom.”

“Bellisia, you can’t talk about him like that. There’s no way you know him that well.” Zara’s heart was dipping, skipping beats. Hurting. She didn’t want to owe the world her gift. She wanted her own little work space with no one around. She knew she was responsible for Bellisia thinking she wanted to set the world on fire. She’d lied since she’d first gone off to school. How could Bellisia and Shylah ever forgive her? She had wanted them to be proud of her, so she’d pretended to love what she did. Worse, she didn’t think having Gino make decisions when she didn’t want to sounded all that bad.

“Do you know that he comes from one of the wealthiest families in the world?” Bellisia leaned close to the tub. “I’m not talking millionaire here. Trap and Wyatt are wealthy, but they make strides in the medical world. They have patents. They contribute. What do you think he does with all that money? Absolutely nothing, Zara. It just grows and grows for him.”

Zara rubbed her temples. Her head was beginning to pound all over again. “You’re saying he has no interest in money. Is that so bad?”

“He has no interest in anything,” Bellisia countered.

Zara wanted to throw something. “When I was upset with you for not even seeing me when we came back, he defended you, Bellisia. You’re tearing him apart, and he defended you.”

Bellisia sighed. “I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you something different, but if I had to assess Gino’s character, I’d say he was more like Bolan Zhu than any of the GhostWalkers. I’m sorry if that hurts, but I need to be honest so you don’t make a very big mistake. I can see you’re already falling for him, but it’s just the fact that he rescued you. It could have been any of them.”

Zara knew that wasn’t the truth. She felt nothing when she was near any of the others. She hadn’t looked at them when they were trying to help Gino with her. She’d felt a connection with him right from the start and that connection had only grown the more time she spent with him, which was twenty-four seven.

“I need to get out of here. My butt is hurting right along with my head. I expect you to keep my confidence until I decide what to do. That means you can’t tell Ezekiel, Bellisia.”

“He’ll know I’m holding something back and this is big, Zara,” Bellisia said, reluctance in her voice and eyes. “I told you, I don’t hold things back from my husband.”

Panic welled up. “I would never have trusted you if I thought you’d betray me.” Zara caught at the edges of the tub as if she could haul herself out of the water. “We made a vow to one another. You. Me. Shylah.”

“I know, but if you trust me, you have to trust him. I can’t go to him and say I don’t trust him enough with this information. It’s too valuable and he knows me too well. He has a responsibility to his entire team and everyone who lives here, and so do I now.”

“What are you saying? You want me to leave because I bring a threat with me?” Her chest hurt and her lungs felt raw. She hadn’t thought anything could come between them. A man had. Would Gino come between Shylah and her if Shylah were to find her way to the Fontenot home? If that was the case, she didn’t want anything to do with men.

“No, of course not. I don’t know what I’m saying, only that I don’t like to keep things from my husband and this is huge.”

Zara caught at the plug in the tub, avoiding Bellisia’s eyes. All of a sudden, she felt very alone and lost. She thought when she got here, she would have Bellisia, but she didn’t. Bellisia’s loyalties had shifted to her husband and her husband’s team of GhostWalkers. She had to bide her time, get the virus capsules out of her and get gone fast.

“Zara,” Bellisia tried again.

Zara flashed her the fake smile she’d perfected over the years. The one she used when the girls gathered around her at night when she came back from one of her “freedom” trips. They always bought the smile because they wanted to believe. It made them happy to think that one of their own was out in the world, free and happy, when they were held prisoner back at the compound. At least one of them was free.

Bellisia took the wet towel and stood up to wring it out. Her gaze jumped to the lacerations all over her body. “Zara.” She breathed her name and went to her knees beside the tub. “Zeke told me, but I didn’t realize what they’d done to you.”

Zara took the clean towel and wrapped it around her body as best she could because she felt very exposed and vulnerable. She didn’t want Bellisia staring at her. Lifting her voice, she called out, hoping Gino was a man of his word and that he was in hearing distance. “Gino. I’m ready.” She had to end this with her friend before she started crying.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Bellisia said. “I swear, Zara, I’m only looking out for you.”

“I know. It’s my great mind everyone is always so concerned with, preserving it for the good of all mankind and all.” She went for humor, but it fell flat. She was very thankful the door to the bathroom opened and Gino stuck his head in.

“You called, princess?”

“I need to get out of here. My bum hurts.” She wished she could be more elegant and not mention her throbbing buttocks, but she really did hurt and it was all she could think of to get him to take her out of the situation.

Gino’s gaze jumped from her face to Bellisia’s, and then he shut down. His features were once again an expressionless mask. He was across the floor to her in two strides, crouching down to slide one arm under her knees and the other locking behind her back.

“Hold on, baby,” he whispered gently.

His voice turned her heart over. So caring. Not about her brain. Not about the storage unit in her brain either. Just her. She wrapped her hands around his neck, buried her face in his shoulder and let him lift her.

“Zara,” Bellisia said, her voice tight.

“She’s done,” Gino said before Zara could summon the will to answer, so she didn’t, grateful that he could see her, see that she couldn’t take one more moment of her best friend telling her what was good and right for her. Or telling her that her first priority was really her husband now. There was nothing wrong with those things, but they just weren’t helping when Zara felt so alone and in need of guidance. Not guidance about whether or not Gino Mazza was the man for her, but about the storage unit filled with data.

Gino carried her out of the bathroom and down the hall, Bellisia trailing after them. “Where are you taking her?” she asked.

“My room,” Gino said.

“That isn’t necessary, Gino. We’re no longer using Zeke’s room. Take her there.” There was a challenge to Bellisia’s voice and an authority Zara hadn’t given her permission to have.

That left Zara in a dilemma. Should she back her friend? If she didn’t, would Bellisia turn on her and tell Ezekiel even though she’d asked her not to? Her fingers dug into Gino’s shoulder and her teeth bit down on his neck. He didn’t slow down or break stride. He took her right into his bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him. There was a finality to the sound as the door slammed hard.

Zara lifted her head as he put her down in the center of his bed. Her eyes searched his. “She’s going to be very, very angry with you. She’ll tell Zeke you all but kidnapped me.”