Page 57 of Deadly Storms (Sunrise Lake #3)

“I think when you go out on a rescue and discover a body, especially one from your hometown, and they worked together on Search and Rescue, it can change your perspective,” Martha said.

Shabina had to admit that was probably true.

Had she known about the get-together, she still wouldn’t have gone.

She knew Larado would insist she take a protection team as well as her dogs.

That was something she would have to discuss with Rainier.

She didn’t want to make decisions about where she could go based on worry that she would cause a scene with too large of a protection detail.

And what about the times the women all went hiking together?

She couldn’t very well bring along her protection detail.

More than once she’d gotten in trouble for leaving her dogs behind when they rented an Airbnb that didn’t allow pets.

She knew she could get around that or ask the women to find a different house, but she always did her best to be as normal as possible.

Hopefully, once the danger to her from Scorpion passed, Rainier wouldn’t worry so much about her safety. That was another conversation they would have to have.

“Raymond Decker called. He presented the evidence against Bale to the judge and a restraining order has been granted. It is temporary, giving Bale the opportunity to fight it. I doubt that he would be that ridiculous, but you just never know with him.”

“Isn’t Mr. Decker a lawyer with the CIA? Why would he continue to work for me? I haven’t even seen a bill.”

“You won’t see a bill,” Raine guessed. “I asked him to come to the meeting with the FBI agents as a special favor to me and he did. He refused to take payment. I believe he knows Rainier. I know for a fact that he knows Sam and Zale. Apparently, one or more of them have done him favors in the past. The men in the Special Activities Division of the CIA often work for one another by trading favors.”

“And he presented the evidence to a judge on my behalf? I didn’t have to be there?”

“Not in this case, but if Bale were to fight it, you would have to go to court with Decker and present your evidence. Decker would do that for you as your representative.”

She hoped she wouldn’t have to go to court. No doubt Rainier would insist on going. There was no getting around the fact that Rainier could dominate a room.

Her phone vibrated, and she glanced down at the screen.

The text was from her father demanding to know if the rumor of her marriage was true.

She had no desire to speak with him. None.

Where before just getting a demanding text from him left her shaky, now she didn’t feel anything at all.

Had her mother called her, she would have answered and spoken to her, but she truly had no desire to interact with her father.

The thought of never having to deal with him again brought her peace, but it hurt to think she would never have interactions with her mother.

Jack didn’t allow Yasemin to go anywhere without him, at least Shabina had never seen her mother venture anywhere away from him.

If he forbade her to see Shabina, no matter how much Yasemin wanted to, she would never defy Jack.

“Why are you looking so sad, Shabina?” Raine asked.

“I was just thinking about my mother. I miss her and wish we were closer.” She shrugged. “I’d better hurry up and get out on the floor. I had hoped the two FBI agents would eat fast and leave, but it looks as though I might have to interact with them.”

“I shouldn’t even ask you, but you do remember their names, right?” Raine said.

“Yes.”

“Don’t answer any questions. I believe you’ve been ruled out as a suspect, but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep prying. And now that they know Rainier’s in the picture, they might think he’s involved.”

“We do have knowledge of evidence and how it came to be on those altars,” Shabina pointed out. “Technically, we should relay that information to them.”

“I think it’s a good idea, especially since I doubt Rainier’s going to reverse his decision to send those two students back to their country. He isn’t like you, Shabina. I can see you’re already worried about them.”

“It’s just that it’s possible they were telling the truth about bringing disgrace to their families. I could see, from their point of view, why they thought they should help Jack.”

She couldn’t quite bring herself to call Jack Foster her father any longer.

Shouldn’t fathers protect their daughters?

He couldn’t claim a religious belief. He wasn’t a believer in any kind of worship.

Yasemin was, but not Jack. He was raised by his parents and grandparents with a different value system—one Shabina didn’t understand.

Shabina had embraced Salman Ahmad’s love of his family.

The way he treated his wife and children.

The way he valued every member of his tribe from oldest to youngest, male or female.

That was the type of person she wanted to be.

The type of man she wanted for a partner.

The kind of family she’d dreamt of having someday.

“You have a great deal of compassion and kindness in you, Shabina,” Raine said. “It’s easy to see why Rainier fell so deeply in love with you. You must have been like the sun rising, such a bright light that he could see for the first time when he rescued you. He was in such a dark place.”

Shabina shook her head. “You’ve got it wrong.

I was the one in the dark place, Raine. He not only saved my life but my sanity.

He’s my bright light. Without him, I don’t feel safe or truly happy.

I feel alone until he’s back with me. I know not everyone sees him the way I do, but I know him, the heart of him.

What’s inside him. He shares that with me.

He doesn’t get upset when I cling to him. He never gets impatient with me.”

Raine rubbed her forehead, frowning. “Rainier isn’t a saint, Shabina. I don’t want you to look at him through rose-colored glasses. You’ll end up disappointed. Things between you will fall apart fast.”

Shabina gave a short laugh, feeling lighter just thinking about Rainier. “I doubt I could ever make the mistake of viewing that man as a saint. He doesn’t even try to pretend he’s not a bit of a dictator.”

“Are you able to stand up to him?” Raine sought reassurance.

Shabina thought about the question before she answered. Did she stand up to Rainier? She nodded slowly. “Unless what he’s saying is very logical or it matters to him more than it matters to me. When I want something or feel I need it, I have no problem letting him know.”

Raine sighed with relief. “I think Rainier is a good man, Shabina, but he’s also as tough as nails, if you’ll excuse the analogy. He’s going to walk all over someone who can’t stand up to him. You need to stay strong when you’re fighting for what you want.”

“I survived what most others couldn’t,” Shabina pointed out, realizing it was the truth.

Her time with Scorpion had been horrific.

Most others, men or women, would have broken.

She had been sixteen. The longer she was held prisoner, and the worse the tortures and rapes, only made her more determined not to break.

For the first time, she realized how strong she really was.

She had managed to stand up to a man others feared for good reason.

Rainier kept reiterating that to her, telling her no one else had ever done what she had, but all that time she considered herself weak.

Mostly because she had PTSD from the trauma of what she’d seen, heard and experienced.

When she felt weak and vulnerable, it colored how she viewed herself.

Scorpion had taken every opportunity to make her feel weak and useless.

His men followed his example. Eventually, no matter how often she told herself the things he said weren’t true, a part of her believed them.

That had also colored her belief that she was weak.

Rainier often asked her who she wanted to believe—Scorpion, a man who lied and murdered, or Rainier, the man who loved her.

Of course, in the beginning, he’d never used the word love .

He just had said “the man who’s always honest with you. ”

“Yes, you did, Shabina,” Raine said. “You think he’s your light, but I know you’re his. The jobs he’s taken on were some of the worst. The most dangerous. He goes places no one else dares to go. And most of the time he volunteers. What does that say to you?”

“I used to believe the same thing, Raine, that he didn’t care whether he lived or died, but I don’t think that’s the truth.

I think Rainier takes those jobs on because he believes he has a better chance of surviving than anyone else.

He’s off-the-chart protective, and it’s not just me he looks out for. ”

“You’ll always be his number one,” Raine said. “After the fiasco of that horrible casino owner trying to kill Vienna, I became very interested in Rainier. For one thing, he made you cry. You were obviously in love with him.”

“You couldn’t tell that.”

“I could. It was the way you looked at him. More important, to me, was the way he looked at you. Once I began looking into him, I realized very quickly that he’s built his entire life around you.

It was obvious to me that he was determined to keep you safe.

Not only that, but that he wanted you happy. ”

Shabina frowned, trying to comprehend the things Raine was telling her. “I didn’t see him very often. I wanted him to have a life. I worried that as long as I kept him coming back to me, he wouldn’t find anyone to share his life with. I wanted him happy.”

“He didn’t realize you had feelings for him.

He thought he lost you by showing you who he is.

That didn’t stop him from setting up a home base close to you, one where he could take a small plane and get to you very quickly.

He made it known to those he employed in his security company that you are always the first priority.

He acquired planes, helicopters, boats and more weapons than you can imagine.

His employees are men and women who were always the best in their field.

Even his dogs were trained with the idea that they would look after you.

Rainier was obsessed with watching over you. ”

Rainier had declared she was his world and she believed him.

Raine had used the word obsessed . That was a red flag to her.

Her father was obsessed with her mother.

She didn’t want to have a relationship like her father had with her mother.

She nearly voiced her concerns, but then she forced her brain away from panic to think logically.

Rainier wasn’t anything like her father. He might appear to be on the surface, but she knew him. She could see into the heart of him. He would protect their children and expect her to do the same. Rainier would never do the things to his daughter—or son—that Jack had done to her.

“I love Rainier,” Shabina said, fingers stroking her aching thigh. Rainier had healed the open lacerations there. He’d healed so many wounds, both body and soul.

Raine smiled at her. “Fortunately, Rainier is very much in love with you. There’s one more thing before you talk with the FBI agents, and I’ll warn you again not to give them information until we have a chance to talk with Decker.

Those two men from Paris claiming to be Interpol agents?

They took a flight to Jordan. When they landed in Jordan, they were met by a car sent from the palace.

They never made it to the palace. The two men were found dead in the back seat, and evidence of their participation with Scorpion was prominently displayed. ”

Shabina closed her eyes briefly, inhaling to take air into her lungs.

She would have to get used to Rainier taking chances.

He might forever deny that he had anything to do with the deaths of the double agents, but she knew he had.

He probably was working for the prince and receiving his information directly from the palace.

She told herself that at least he had powerful allies.