It looked like Tom would agree, but he checked his phone and sighed. ‘I can’t. I have to get back to the office.’
‘Please, take the cake,’ Irina said firmly. ‘I will wrap for you.’
‘Your mother is a force of nature,’ Mercy whispered. She looked perfectly normal, perfectly calm. Except her voice became worried when she leaned in, her lips brushing his ear. ‘What’s wrong?’
Shit. He was pretty good at his Nothing wrong here face. He’d spent a lifetime perfecting it, in fact. But she saw right through him. ‘I’ll tell you later. Trust me for now?’
She pulled back enough to study his eyes. ‘Yes, I trust you. Not just for now.’
Leaving him speechless. Trust was a rare commodity for Mercy Callahan. He’d known that from the moment he’d first heard her name. He’d been comforting seventeen-year-old Gideon when he couldn’t break through his sister’s shields. Rafe had known it every one of the minutes she’d sat by his side after he’d been shot. She was instinctively wary. But she trusts me.
He wasn’t ever going to make her regret it.
Twelve
Granite Bay, California
Sunday, 16 April, 5.15 P.M.
Rafe kept an eye on the clock, glancing at Mercy and Farrah every few minutes. Neither woman had her phone and he’d already pulled Gideon aside, giving him the heads-up on Farrah’s aunt.
‘I’m glad you told me,’ Gideon had murmured. ‘I was about to call John with Mercy. He’s probably heard already, if it’s on the local news, and he’d tell her. I don’t want Mercy to have to put on a brave face until Farrah’s fiancé arrives. She’s had to fake being okay enough for a lifetime.’ He looked torn. ‘She and Farrah were talking about the Romeros while you were in with Hunter, and Mercy mentioned how much she loved the old lady. They had dinner a few times a week and Mercy would take her to her doctor’s appointments. She was kind of like Mercy’s grandmother. I hate to keep this from her, even though I know we have to.’
‘You can plead ignorance. In case she’s too angry with me to let me help her, she’ll still have you.’
Gideon had given him a slightly chastising look. ‘I think we should stick to the truth, don’t you? I don’t want to give her a reason to distrust either of us. She’s been told enough lies in her life.’
Rafe closed his eyes, ashamed. ‘You’re right. That was stupid of me.’
‘No. That was generous of you. You were willing to be the bad guy to keep the door open for me, even though you clearly want her for yourself.’
‘I . . .’ The denial had trailed away. Because it would have been a lie, too.
Gideon had rolled his eyes. ‘I’ve seen this coming for weeks. And, for the record, I hope it works out. She’s good for you and vice versa. So let’s not underestimate her, okay? Now we should get back or we’ll have to answer questions and I don’t want to break my own no-lying rule.’
Now, back at the family table, Rafe was glad that Gideon had kept his head straight. But it had been forty minutes since Captain Holmes had called and Rafe knew he needed to tell Mercy now, away from the group. If she was going to fall apart, he could at least give her the privacy to do so.
He nudged her shoulder with his. ‘I need to talk to you about something,’ he said softly. ‘Come with me.’
Sasha let out a low whistle. ‘Is that what you’re calling it now? Talk?’
Irina leveled Sasha with a glare. ‘Show your brother some respect.’
Sasha huffed, looking a little hurt at the rebuke. ‘Okay, Mom. I’ll rein it in.’
‘Thank you,’ Irina said, but Karl looked concerned.
‘Is everything all right, maya lubimaya?’ he asked, sliding his arm around her shoulders.
Irina’s smile was brittle. ‘I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.’
Sasha’s face fell. ‘I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t think . . .’ She got up and, standing behind her mother’s chair, wrapped her arms around her. ‘After all that talk of the past, I should have been more considerate.’
‘You’re fine, Sahinka. I’m a little on edge.’
Farrah began to gather the dessert plates and cups. ‘Then you sit and relax. I’ll clean up.’
‘Thank you, Farrah,’ Irina said faintly.
Rafe hoped Captain Holmes would get there soon. He didn’t think his mother could hold her composure much longer. He tugged on Mercy’s hand, leading her down the hall to the first-floor guest bedroom.
‘Um, Rafe?’ she asked, and he looked back when she stopped walking. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Trust me?’ he asked, and she sighed.
‘You’re pushing it, pal,’ she said lightly.
He might have smiled at any other time, but his heart hurt for what he had to tell her. ‘I’m sorry.’
She immediately sobered, stopping outside the guest-room door. ‘What’s wrong?’
He pressed a finger to her lips. ‘Please.’
She gripped his hand so hard he winced. But she said nothing more, hesitantly sitting on the edge of the bed while he closed the door.
He joined her on the bed, threading their fingers together. ‘Hunter gave me some bad news.’ He wanted to kick himself, phrasing it that way. It wasn’t bad news. It was horrific. ‘I . . .’
She squeezed his hand. ‘Just say it, Rafe.’
‘Quill Romero is dead.’
She jerked back like she’d been slapped, the color draining from her face. ‘What?’
‘Her body was discovered sometime during the night.’
Mercy’s eyes were filling with tears, her breaths shallow and too fast. ‘How?’ But he could see she already understood. She covered her mouth to muffle a sob. ‘Because of me.’
‘No, honey. No.’ Rafe gathered her close until she was halfway on his lap. ‘We don’t know that yet. It appears to have been a robbery.’
Mercy’s body shook as she tried to quietly cry. ‘Why? Why would someone rob her?’ She clung to him, both arms around his neck, and he pulled her fully to his lap. One of these days he wanted to hold her like this when her heart wasn’t breaking, but that wouldn’t be today.
‘Did she know that you were leaving for Sacramento yesterday morning?’
Mercy could only nod against his neck. ‘And now she’s dead because of me.’