Covert Game (GhostWalkers #14)

Bellisia paced close to the bed, looking her face over and moving the sheet to look at her legs. Zara wanted to pull the sheet over her, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m much better.”

“You still have lacerations,” Bellisia pointed out. “You do know, Zara, that Gino isn’t the only doctor here. Ezekiel is a doctor. There are a few others. If you want more than one opinion, you could get it without stepping out of this room.” She looked around the room with a small frown. “Why aren’t the window shades open? It’s always so dark in here.” She marched over and immediately raised two of the three shades, glaring at Gino. “You’re not a prisoner, honey. You need light and fresh air.”

Zara blinked at the sudden change in lighting. She’d been the one to insist that Gino keep the shades pulled. The longer she was there at the Fontenot home, the more she worried that Zhu would come, or a sniper would find a way to kill Gino because he was with her.

“We were going on a picnic,” she said. “Gino asked Nonny to fix us a lunch. I’m really excited about seeing the swamp.”

“I came to ask if you want to go with Zeke and me to see the house we’re building,” Bellisia said.

Zara caught Ezekiel’s frown out of the corner of her eye, and she knew Bellisia well enough to know she wasn’t telling the truth. There was concern on her face, in her eyes, and her gaze kept shifting to Gino. Clearly, she was still worried about Zara’s relationship with him.

“I’m sorry, hon, but we’ve made these plans,” she said, very carefully, not wanting Bellisia’s feelings to be hurt. “Nonny made the lunch …”

“At Gino’s orders,” Bellisia burst out, openly glaring at him.

“Babe,” Ezekiel said, his voice gentle.

“No. She has to know what’s going on. Seriously, Zara, he tells Nonny what you can eat that day. He goes in every single morning and comes up with a menu. It doesn’t matter what the rest of us are eating, he decides what you can and can’t eat. He decides when you sleep and who can come in and visit you. That’s not right.”

The accusation tumbled out of her and Zara could feel her very real concern. She knew Bellisia, and right then she was close to tears. Crying was something her “sister” rarely did. She looked to Gino to clear things up, confident that he would.

“I consult with Nonny on the menus,” Gino told Bellisia. “She knows local herbs and dishes that would be more conducive to healing the body. Nutrition is more her forte than mine so I follow her advice. I certainly am not the one making up the menu.”

“The point is, Gino, you don’t consult Zara.”

“I think more to the point, I don’t consult you,” Gino said quietly.

Small blue rings appeared faintly under Bellisia’s skin, and Zara sat up straighter, suddenly afraid for Gino. “I don’t mind the menu. The food is good and if it makes Nonny and Gino feel better to have me eat a certain way right now, I’m okay with it. Nonny’s an exceptional cook and everything tastes wonderful.”

Bellisia threw her arms into the air. “You’re missing the point. Think about it. Gino is keeping everyone from getting near you and he has to stop. I’ve talked to Zeke about removing him from helping with your care.” She glared at Gino.

He shrugged. “You can try it, Bellisia, but it isn’t going to stop me. No one is going to stop me but Zara. She has only to say she would prefer someone else and I’m gone.”

Zara’s heart jumped. Instantly her breathing turned ragged, so that it felt as if with every breath she took, her lungs burned. She shook her head, her gaze going to Gino’s.

“Relax, princess,” he drawled. “Didn’t I just say I wasn’t going anywhere?”

Bellisia’s frown deepened. “Don’t you see that you’re becoming too dependent on him, Zara? This isn’t you. You’re the kick-ass, independent woman who’s going to rock the world. You’re not the one having panic attacks because your boyfriend doesn’t want you making your own decisions.”

“Zeke.” Gino’s voice was quiet, so quiet it made Zara’s heart pound in alarm. “Take your woman out of here before I put her out.”

“You try it,” Bellisia snapped. “One bite from me and you’re a dead man.”

“Bellisia.” Ezekiel just said her name, a warning note in his voice, and color swept up her neck into her face.

That wasn’t good enough for Zara. She forced her body out from under the sheet and turned so her long legs were over the side of the bed. “Don’t you dare threaten him. I mean it, Bellisia. You’re my best friend. I love you, but you don’t get to talk to him like that, and you better never threaten him again. Never. Do you understand me? I’m not without my own ability to kill and if it came to that, I believe in revenge. You know I do. You touch him, you dare inject him with venom, your man is just as dead.”

“Someone has to protect you, Zara. You’re not thinking straight.”

“No one has to protect me. The virus is out of me, and I’m doing quite well. I can think for myself.”

Ezekiel put his hand gently on Bellisia’s arm. “Come on, baby. We all need a breather. You’ve been worrying yourself sick over Zara. Obviously, she doesn’t feel like a prisoner, and I told you all along, Gino is a good man and will take excellent care of her. Let’s go for a swim and then you can sleep for a while.”

That made Zara feel like crap. Bellisia would be worried. She loved Zara and Zara wasn’t acting the way Bellisia thought she should—or would. That was on her. She’d misled Bellisia and Shylah deliberately. Bellisia didn’t have all the facts and Zara didn’t want Gino to judge her harshly. Still, it didn’t make sense that Bellisia was so against Gino. She watched the two leave the room and then she raised her gaze until she met Gino’s. “Why doesn’t she like you?”

He shrugged. “She doesn’t like Trap much either. We’re not the type of man women like, Zara. Trap has Asperger’s and can’t read social cues. He doesn’t give a damn most of the time, but it does upset him when he screws up with one of us or especially Cayenne. Draden has always interpreted for him because he’s very good at reading people whether they want to be read or not, and I have that same trait.” He shrugged. “Bellisia has an idea for your future. She’s fierce about it. She also has very real concerns. She thinks you’re my prisoner and I’m going to make you into some kind of sexual submissive.”

Zara shivered, wondering what that would be like with Gino. “She regards herself as a feminist and wants me to be one as well.”

“Just because you don’t want to conquer the world doesn’t mean you aren’t a feminist. A true feminist wouldn’t tell other women what they should or shouldn’t do. They would support their decisions. This isn’t about Bellisia being a feminist, princess, it’s about her worrying herself sick about you. You’ll have to find the time to talk to her without me in the room. You can be open and honest, and she’ll settle down.”

He stood up and stretched. She watched because she always enjoyed seeing the way his muscles moved every time he did. There was something to what he said. She hadn’t thought about that.

He moved close, reached down, pulled her legs apart and stepped even closer, wedging his hips between her thighs. It was an intimate thing to do and her body responded with damp heat and blood pounding through her clit.

“I think you may have left a couple of very important things out when you were talking to me about your ability to fight.”

She swallowed and avoided his eyes. “I told you I could fight. I trained just like everyone else.” She couldn’t control the blush and she knew he saw it. He never missed anything.

“I’m not talking about combat or weapons training, baby. I’m talking about that little bomb you just dropped when you were threatening Zeke, and I’m fairly certain you know that’s what I’m referring to.”