Vienna’s heart stuttered the way it did whenever she looked at Zale and saw that sweet, vulnerable side of him. It was impossible to think he could laugh at himself when one looked at his stony, expressionless face, and then he gave them his mischievous grin. It didn’t even matter that it failed to light his eyes, or that she knew he was skilled at playing people.
The women laughed. Even Raine. Zahra shook her head. “I suppose we can’t hope that Raine’s people will have equally hot men for us to ogle.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary for all of you to ogle hot men,” Zale said.
“Don’t be a tattletale and text Sam. Stella’s the worst when it comes to ogling,” Zahra confided. “She can’t help herself if she’s drinking. But he knows because he’s always the sober driver.”
“I’m ogling Sam, you monster,” Stella corrected.
“That’s true,” Zahra said, in no way repentant. “Long before you and Sam were a thing, you were terrible the way you made eyes at him and commented on how hot he was when he was driving us home from the Grill.”
“You said I didn’t make the comments where he could hear me.”
“How could you believe anything I said when I was every bit as drunk as you were? He wasn’t suddenly struck deaf. He was just too much of a gentleman to take advantage of the fact that you were always throwing yourself at him.”
Stella buried her face in her hands. “If you weren’t my best friend, I’d strangle you. I still might.”
“Sam doesn’t mind that you think he’s hot,” Zahra pointed out. “Although, he has a big head now. His ego is totally out of control.”
“Sam doesn’t have an ego. He’s zen.”
“Sam’s zen?” Zale repeated.
Stella glared at him. “You know very well Sam is zen. Don’t pretend you aren’t aware he’s zen, unlike the two of you.”
“What’s not zen about us?” Zale demanded.
“Rainier isn’t zen,” Shabina ventured.
Rainier looked up, his eyes capturing Shabina’s. “You once told me I have a stone face. There’s an affiliation between stones and zen,” he said, without any expression whatsoever.
Shabina burst out laughing. “Only you would make that association count.”
“But it does count,” Rainier insisted. He waved dismissively. “Poor Zale. Nothing zen about him.”
“My name starts with the letter ‘Z,’ ” Zale defended himself.
That made Vienna laugh. “You’re really grasping at straws.”
“I can’t let Rainier outdo me in the zen area. Especially when all of you think Sam is so perfect.”
“He is.” There was a chorus of female voices instantaneously rising together. They looked at one another and burst into laughter again.
Rainier groaned and covered his face with his hand. “How did Sam manage to pull the wool over your eyes? Raine? You too?”
“He’s our sober driver and keeper of all our secrets.” Again, they looked at one another and burst out laughing. “He has the patience of a saint.”
“Well,” Zale conceded, “Sam does have patience. There’s no doubt about that. He likes the mountains. Once he’s in them, you never see him. It’s impossible. He blends in and can be so still I swear he becomes part of the terrain. I used to go with him and I could never spot him, even when I knew where he had gone. That was part of the game, trying to find him.”
That little piece of information fascinated Vienna. There was admiration in Zale’s tone. She knew he was good at his job. He didn’t take the kind of work he had been doing in the casino often. Mostly, he worked alone in foreign countries, so he had to be as skilled as Sam, yet he was openly admiring Sam for his expertise. She liked that about Zale. He wasn’t so egotistical that he couldn’t show respect for another man’s abilities.
“And Rainier?” Shabina asked. “Is he like Sam?”
“I’m right here, Shabina,” Rainier pointed out. “It would be difficult to say anything either way.”
“Not if Zale was going to be truthful,” she said, lifting her chin stubbornly.
“I doubt if Zale or Rainier would be able to tell the entire truth without lightning striking them.” Vienna couldn’t help her honest opinion from tumbling out. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late.
Zale raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think I tell the truth?” He put a hand over his heart. “You make my heart hurt.”
“Car just pulled up in front of the house,” Harlow observed. “If you’re about to have a heart attack, now might be the perfect time. This could be the doctor. Zahra, you’re the one with the laceration.”
“Rainier and Zale, you need to get out of sight. Two men walking up to the door,” Raine reported as she moved quickly toward the front foyer. She pulled out her compact rose-handled Sig Sauer, concealing the gun behind her back. “Spread out, everyone. Be somewhere you can get to cover fast.”
Zale didn’t wait for Vienna to find a spot in the spacious living room. He caught her arm and took her with him to the shadowy alcove just to the right of Shabina’s bedroom. There was a massive cabinet in the alcove there. He placed her beside the cabinet as he stepped inside the bedroom, leaving the door ajar so he could cover the front door with his drawn weapon. Rainier had chosen to go to the opposite side of the room, indicating for Shabina and Harlow to accompany him. He concealed himself in the shadow of the doorway to Stella’s bedroom while Harlow leaned against the wall close to the guest bathroom door. Shabina was beside Stella’s bedroom door.
Zahra stood in the kitchen with a tea towel wrapped around her hand as though she were injured. She could easily dive behind the center island if necessary. Raine’s phone pinged once and then there was a firm knock on the door. Raine glanced at her phone just to make certain before she opened the door. Still, even with the information stating the doctor had arrived, she kept her grip on the gun behind her back.
“I need to see your ID.” She was very firm about that.
Both men had their IDs out and ready to show her. She looked them over thoroughly. Raine was good at spotting fakes. “Thanks for coming.” She stepped back and allowed them entry, closing the door and taking up a position behind them.
“You’re the legendary Raine O’Mallory. Dr. Briac Brannan. Please call me Briac. This is my colleague Gage Barrington.”
“Lovely to meet you, Briac. Gage.” Raine indicated Zahra. “My friend Zahra isn’t your patient. I’m afraid I had to be a little inventive. Two operatives are here and were wounded. Our nurses fixed them up, but one of the wounds is worrisome. We hoped you’d take a look at it for us.” Raine gave him her winning smile. “I asked that a formal request be put in just to make it all legit, but I wasn’t certain there was time for it to go through all the channels.”
Briac shrugged. “We don’t need to wait. Where’s my patient?”