Page 95 of Keep Her from Them

“They kicked you out? Wait, your passport. Did they mug you?”

“Two held my arms while the brother found my wallet. They kept that and my passport, luckily I’d left my phone in the car, and told me that Elsie had forgotten all about me and I needed to learn a lesson about staying out of other people’s business.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Interesting choice of words.”

His gaze distanced like he was right back in the scene at that lakeside hotel, close yet so far from the woman he loved.

I squeezed his hand. “Did they hurt you?”

Dori snapped back to the present and centred on me. “Not any more than I already was, and it’s obvious I was way out with how much I thought she cared about me. Fuck the whole situation. The important thing is I’m with you here now. So, let me say I’m sorry for dropping your calls. I was humiliated. I still am. You’ve been through shit, too. Tell me everything.”

We weren’t done with handling his situation, but I could tell he needed a moment of distraction, so methodically, I worked through all that had happened to me.

As I did, I led him into the kitchen and made us a sandwich each, earning a comment that this was the first meal I’d ever prepared in my life. Sadly, he wasn’t far off the truth.

Though we’d talked for a while, there was still no sign of Raphael.

Dori got more outraged the more I went on. “One part of that, I can explain. Sir Reginald called me.”

“What? How does he have your number?” I’d wondered that since we’d got back in touch.

“I figured you’d given it to him? It wasn’t the first time. He said he needed to know what designer you were wearing to the botanical gardens bird extravaganza. You’d told me, so I passed it on. Thought it was the right thing to do.”

My mistrust grew. Not for Dori, but for the private secretary. “That detail was almost immediately revealed on a gossip site. If it wasn’t him who leaked it, it was a member of his staff. And I never gave him your number.”

“Shit, sorry.”

“Don’t be. If someone from your family rang me and asked for something as innocuous as that, I’d have told them.”

He scoffed. “Like anyone in my family has ever given a damn what I’m doing.”

“I need to share this with Raphael. Would that be okay?”

Rain hit the windows behind the closed curtains, the light around them muted. I hated the thought of him being cold and wet.

Dori stretched out his limbs, rocking his kitchen counter stool. “Knock yourself out. If anyone has a hope of solving our problems, it’s him.”

“Back off,” I teased. “He’s mine.”

Dori heaved a sigh. “I hope he is. You need someone like him. Listen, I have to find a hotel for the night. Feels kind of remote out here so I don’t want to wait until dark and get stranded.”

“You can stay here.”

He shot me an incredulous look. “And listen to you and hot pilot go at it all night? Our friendship is in recovery, darling girl. Let’s not make things awkward. I’ll stay close by. We can talk tomorrow, but my head is pounding and I just want to curl up somewhere and sleep. Feels like I’m running on empty.”

I managed a nod. I had my friend back. He was more than a little broken, but he was here, and I’d help him work out what to do next with his musician.

Earlier, when Valentine had dropped me off, he’d asked me to message him with anything I needed. I shot him a quick text now to ask if there was anywhere local Dori could stay that would be out of sight of Barrington, should the man still be around.

A minute later, and there was a knock at the door, followed by the bodyguard’s cheerful voice. I let him in, disappointed again that Raphael wasn’t with him.

Valentine tugged down his hood covering his topknot of hair and regarded Dori. “How fussed are ye about luxury?”

Dori raised a single shoulder. Exhaustion hung heavy on him. “So long as it’s clean and the door locks, I don’t care.”

“The aircraft hangar has a bunkhouse, used for pilots staying overnight and sometimes the mountain rescue crew. I stayed there for a while after relocating here. It’s basic, but it’s free.”

At Dori’s agreement, the two of them readied to leave.

---