Holding Rory as tightly as the cat would allow, Mercy followed them in. Maybe it would be okay after all. And then the police cruiser pulled up behind them, blocking the driveway, reminding Mercy of the bitter truth.
Ephraim Burton was still out there and he would be back. Picking up her pace, she all but fled into the Sokolovs’ house. Where it was safe. For now.
Granite Bay, California
Saturday, 15 April, 7.50 P.M.
‘Welcome, welcome!’ Irina Sokolov ushered them all into their family home, a smile on her face. ‘My goodness, you two girls must be exhausted after your trip.’
And your ordeal went unsaid. Diplomacy and hospitality were Rafe’s mother’s gifts and he loved her for them, especially at the moment when Mercy rushed into the house, looking over her shoulder at the cruiser parked across the driveway.
Her smile was gone and Rafe wanted it back. He’d managed to eke one out, there at the end, but he’d been watching her over his shoulder as she’d given the cruiser a long, hard stare, the pale haunted look returning to her face.
‘Mercy. It is so good to see you again.’ Irina started to give Mercy a hug, then hung back. ‘You’re bleeding.’ She shot Rafe an outraged glare. ‘Why did you not tell me that she was injured?’
Rafe frowned at the red stain spreading on Mercy’s blouse. She’d changed in the restroom at the airport, giving the bloody blouse that Ephraim had sliced to the police for evidence. But this new blouse was now bloody as well. ‘She said she’d stopped bleeding.’
‘And I didn’t want him to tell you, Mrs Sokolov,’ Mercy said. ‘I’m really okay. I must have bumped it when I was getting out of the SUV. I’ll just change again. Please start dinner without me. I don’t want to make everyone wait.’
‘Nonsense,’ Irina tutted. ‘I will have a quick look and bandage you myself.’ She turned to Farrah, her smile wide. ‘You are Mercy’s friend from New Orleans, yes?’
‘Yes. I’m Farrah Romero. Thank you for inviting us to dinner. I hope we haven’t intruded.’
‘Dr Farrah Romero,’ Sasha inserted. ‘Mom, I’m going to set Mercy’s cats up in my room. Don’t let Rafe eat all the kavardak!’ she called as she charged up the stairs, cat supplies in hand.
Irina shook her head. ‘There will be plenty. I made extra. Come with me, Mercy. We’ll go to my powder room on this floor. I have a first-aid kit there. Farrah, we have other bathrooms if you’d like to freshen up before dinner. Karl!’
Rafe’s father appeared in the kitchen doorway, a Kiss the Chef apron covering his suit. Rafe realized he must have a meeting downtown later that night.
Or . . . Crap. Rafe blew out a breath. He’d forgotten that his parents had tickets to a play tonight. His mother did look awfully nice. They should have been in their seats at the theater by now.
Oh. Dammit. They skipped the play, he thought, feeling relief mixed with guilt. He’d needed his parents tonight and they’d dropped everything to help, just as they always did.
‘Yes, my love?’ Karl said sweetly, perking up when he saw Mercy and Farrah. ‘Welcome, ladies. I hope you’re hungry.’
‘They will eat,’ Irina said firmly, and Rafe watched his father bite back a grin. ‘I need you to go to the SUV and get their luggage.’ She made a shooing motion to Mercy. ‘The powder room is at the end of the hall. Let’s get you bandaged up. Farrah, my husband can show you around when he comes back with your bags.’
‘What about me?’ Rafe asked, feeling extremely useless, which seemed to be his norm these days. Hold on, there. You kept Mercy safe tonight. That’s not useless. ‘What can I do?’
‘Go stir the stew,’ his father said as he passed Rafe in the foyer. ‘That’s what I was doing. Don’t let it burn.’ But he stopped, hand on the doorknob. ‘What’s that?’
Rafe looked to where Karl was pointing. ‘My new cane.’ Unlike the wooden cane that his father had hand-made for him when Rafe had left the hospital, this new cane was a cheap aluminum model that Sasha had picked up at a drugstore near the airport. ‘I had to surrender the one you gave me to the Feds as evidence, because I used it to hit that bastard Burton. They say I’ll get it back.’
Karl frowned. ‘But that one’s not tall enough for you and you’re hurting. I’ll make you another one. Go, give the stew a stir, then sit down.’ And then he was gone to do Irina’s bidding. That was Rafe’s dad. He saw opportunities to help, so he helped. No questions, no looking for credit. Karl Sokolov was the best man Rafe had ever known.
And Karl was right about the cane. It wasn’t a good fit at all. Rafe made his way into the kitchen, wincing at the pain shooting up his thigh.
‘Did you reinjure your leg?’ Farrah asked quietly as she followed him. ‘You must have hit it hard when you took Burton down in the airport.’
‘I may have,’ Rafe admitted dolefully, because it hurt like hell. ‘It didn’t bother me until we got out of the SUV, but that was mostly adrenaline, I think. I’ll make an appointment with the doctor to check it out.’
‘Thank you,’ Farrah murmured, meeting his eyes. She was a tall woman, taller even than Mercy, who was about five feet eight.
‘For what?’ he asked, genuinely puzzled.
Her brows lifted. ‘For saving Mercy’s life, both tonight and six weeks ago. She’s like a sister to me and we all love her. The thought that she might have been killed . . .’ She swallowed hard. ‘I can’t even consider it.’
Rafe shuddered at both memories, but Mercy’s lack of affect was what disturbed him most. He dropped his voice to a barely audible whisper. ‘She walked away with him, Farrah. It was like she wasn’t even there.’
She nodded, moving to the stove, her gaze troubled. ‘I know.’ Picking up the spoon Rafe’s father had been using, she took over the stirring. ‘Sit, Rafe. Elevate that leg. I’ll get you an ice pack and I have some ibuprofen in my purse.’
‘There’s an ice pack in the freezer,’ he said, grunting his discomfort as he obeyed her orders. ‘I’ll take a couple ibuprofen, thanks. Can you get me a glass of water? Glasses are in the cupboard next to the fridge. Have you seen her like that before?’
‘You mean all zombielike?’ She gave him the ice pack, painkillers, and a glass of water, then took the chair beside him, her attention split between him and the simmering pot. ‘Once. But it wasn’t as bad as it was today.’ She hesitated, then firmed her lips, as if not wanting to share more.
Rafe understood. ‘I want you to keep her secrets,’ he said quietly. ‘She’s lost control of so many of them. We know what happened to her in that cult, whether she wanted us to or not. Same with her abduction back in February. She wasn’t allowed any privacy during either of those situations. If she’s shared things with you in confidence, I don’t want to intrude. I won’t intrude.’