“Oh, that,” Anita said, with a dismissive wave and then began eating her salad.
“I need to understand what that full argument was about . . . what is going on with your brothers, who used to be your security, the ins and outs of your contracts regarding that with Jonathan Evans—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, soldier— fall back.”
Zachary leaned forward and his intense gaze paralyzed her.
“My partner didn’t have the flu. You were right. May is a little late in the season for the flu. He was poisoned.”
Anita started choking on the salad she’d been chewing and Zach pounded her back, handing her a bottle of water that he’d taken from her tray.
“I need a food taster now?” She wheezed. “Oh, shit.”
“I don’t think you’ll be harmed directly from whomever you have beef with, but this was clearly designed to make the firm I’m working for void the contract. I’m also suspicious now of an inside job, as far as this stalker is concerned . . . how the hell did the guy always know where you were? Think about it.”
“You actually think they’d try to get out of their contract with me by putting a hit on me?” Anita’s voice came out as a strangled whisper.
Zachary kept his voice low and spoke calmly, needing to convey the severity of his point without causing panic.
“No. You’re a revenue source for them, Anita. But I don’t put it past them to scare you to try to make you think that no other security can keep you safe but theirs. From what I gathered from the parts of the argument I heard, we’re simply competition, thus expendable.”
“There are a few people I can think of who are thug enough to do something like that . . . for one, my ex. He’s as foul as they come.” Anita closed her eyes. “And as much as I hate to say it, my brothers and father are certainly capable, too.”
Zachary let out a long, weary breath. “I’m sorry to hear that . . . but it means that we’re going to have to really tighten our ring around you. If these guys want to discredit SWAT International, what better way than to have an incident happen on the road, where you would naturally fire us? The label paying for this has our entire itinerary.”
Anita stared at him, hugging herself. “Jesus . . . I never thought about that. Never thought Jonathan would be so stupid.”
“We don’t know who’s behind the poisoning . . . Lowell Johnson is in the hospital as we speak, and we’ll be trying to find out who he met with as soon as possible. We’ll need hard facts before we go accusing somebody— you better than anybody know that’s a recipe for a lawsuit. Meanwhile, when we get to the hotel in Kuwait, I want to move your rooms around, make some changes on the fly, all right? I know it might not be as comfortable as you’re used to, but I don’t want anybody knowing where you are. Go with me on this. My gut is rarely wrong.”
SHE WAS NEVER so glad to get to the Hilton Kuwait Resort in all her life. After a harrowing flight pocked by extreme turbulence and the horrifying news she’d received, all she wanted was a hot shower and to hide from the world for a little while.
As instructed, she didn’t even let Megan know what room she was in. Her bags were stashed in the huge suite, along with Zachary Mitchell— who was taking up residence on her sofa.
Anita slowly lathered on the creamy suds as the hot water pelted her body. Some hot tea for her throat with lemon and, despite it all, she would sleep good tonight. Her bones were weary, just like her heart. She turned around in the spray, wondering how her life had gone so terribly wrong. Jonathan was a real bastard, but she’d never really thought he would hurt someone— break them or her financially, yes . . . try to murder someone with poison? Never in her wildest dreams. But that just went to prove what her mother always told her; you never really knew what a person was capable of.
Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped her hair in a towel, dried and lotioned her body, and then pulled on a thick terry robe. Exhaustion claimed her as she padded across the bathroom floor and out through the bedroom in search of tea.
Zachary was standing in front of the tray, scrutinizing the hot water, and just seeing him do that made her smile.
“I can toss that pot out and brew some in the room,” she said, motioning toward the coffeemaker.
“I’d feel more comfortable if you did.”
He set down the porcelain teapot and then looked up. He was glad that he’d set down the china first, for he surely would have dropped it. He remembered so vividly how she looked without makeup, her face fresh scrubbed and damp. She was breathtaking. It brought back the flood of emotion and desire that had been bottled-up since their first kiss. Momentarily at a loss, he went to the glass coffeemaker and then headed to the sink behind the dining area.
“I’ll just fill this up with water.”
“You don’t think they would have poisoned my honey, do you?”
He held the pot midair. “Do you need honey?”
Her shoulders sagged. “Maybe not. Just some lemon is fine.”
Zachary paused, staring at her forlorn expression and then glanced at the glass coffeepot in his hand. He had to get a grip. They were not going to poison their money-maker, and his nerves had been so bad since he’d spoken to Anne Marie that he was losing perspective. The only meeting that his play sister-in-law had been able to uncover was the initial meeting Lowell had had with Anita over a month ago, and he’d have to wait until he got state-side to see Lowell to learn more. In the meantime, he needed to be cautious, but unnecessary paranoia served no purpose.
Anita walked over to the massive glass windows and stared out at the white sand and turquoise sea. Zachary set down the coffeepot and went over to the tea ser vice and poured her a cup, adding in some honey and lemon.
> “I’m sorry,” he said, quietly, causing her to turn. “I guess I’m not doing a very good job as your bodyguard . . . I let it get personal, and I have definitely lost perspective.” He came up to her and offered her the tea, which she slowly accepted.