Page 44 of Captivating Nights

Chapter 31

SHUTTING DOWN HIS LAPTOP, Zane listened to the sound of the storm outside. He hoped wherever Xavier and Calista were, they were safe. He’d gotten the most pressing design issues taken care of for Devin Sheffield and could finally enjoy the last few days he had left with his angel. Grinning as he tapped the top of the desk, he still couldn’t believe that he wasn’t breaking out in hives at the thought of seeing her again after this trip was over.

He was lost in thoughts until he heard the door open. They were back. When he turned toward it, he only saw Xavier. “Where’s Calista? I thought the two of you were going to see the island today?”

Xavier looked at him strangely before taking a deep breath. The man took a few steps toward him and began to talk. “A plumbing emergency came up and I sent Calista on without me. She hasn’t come back yet?”

“You what?” Zane couldn’t believe his fucking ears. Jumping out of his seat, he lunged toward Xavier, pinning the man against the wall. “You sent her where?”

Xavier’s hazel eyes darkened and then Zane saw something flash within them. “Let me go, asshole.”

“Not until you tell me where the fuck she went,” Zane countered back, pressing him even harder into the wall. He knew he could outmuscle Xavier any day of the week, simply because of his size.

Xavier growled, trying to shake him off, but he applied more pressure with his forearm. When he first said that he had let Cali go on without him, Zane felt as if he had been punched in the chest. Knowing that the majority of the excursions on this island involved the water, his blood went cold. Visions of a night so many months ago came rushing back with a vengeance.

He staggered at the memory of Elena floating lifeless on top of the water. It was as if fate had repeated his worst nightmare, and this time using a woman he’d fallen helplessly in love with. His grip on Xavier loosened and he stepped back, shell-shocked but hopeful that his friend would tell him that she’d simply gone shopping and most likely took refuge in one of the small shops until the storm passed.

“Calm the fuck down, Rhodes,” Xavier said, rubbing the redness on his throat. “She wanted to go scuba diving, so I…” It was then that he paused, realizing what this meant.

It was the one place Zane hoped she hadn’t gone. It had taken the better part of the last few days to finally come to terms with his feelings for Cali. He couldn’t and wouldn’t accept not ever seeing her again. Moisture building in his eyes, he turned and grabbed a vase off the small side table, pitching it across the room. The rage that had been simmering reached its boiling point and before he even knew what he was doing, Zane lunged toward Xavier once again. This time he swung at the man. His closed fist collided with his best friend’s jaw and Zane had to force himself not to choke the life out of him. Instead, he swung at him again before pinning him back up against the wall.

“You better hope we find her because if anything has happened to her, I’ll end you. If one fucking hair on her pretty little head is harmed, I will kill you.”

Xavier chose that moment to push him off, growling at Zane, but he didn’t give a damn. The two squared off, standing nose to nose. Neither one was willing to back down. He saw fury in the man’s hazel eyes and turned his attention to his friend’s balled up fist, watching as he clenched and unclenched it.

“I know I fucked up. I don’t need your lectures or sanctimonious shit right now. We have to find Cali. That’s all that matters.”

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Zane had to admit that the bastard was right. He wanted to believe this was just a cruel twist of fate. Suddenly, he remembered Xavier’s reluctance to even take her out today. He knew his friend was running scared where his feelings for Cali were concerned and now because of him she could be hurt or worse. “So you got what you wanted after all, Rivera.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Zane?” he spat out.

“You didn’t want to be bothered with her earlier, so you fucking sent her off by herself. Don’t even pretend you didn’t.”

“I did plan to take her out, but there was a damn emergency at Taste,” Xavier tried to explain, but Zane wanted to hear no part of his explanation. “What was I supposed to do? Let the entire resort flood so I could go sit on the beach with her?”

Zane knew he had a point, but right now logic had no place in his tormented thoughts. He’d been so leery to be around a woman in a solo capacity since that boating accident last summer that he might’ve lost the best thing to happen to him because of his own fucking demons. “We need to find out which shuttle she took and where to. I have a picture of her on my phone, so we’ll ask them all. Let’s go.”

Xavier nodded, and the two men grabbed their cellular phones and headed to the front lobby. Thank fuck his friend had dedicated shuttle drivers that worked exclusively for the Paradise Resort. If they could get a lead as to which dive shop she was dropped off at, then they’d be one step closer to finding her.

Once in the lobby, there were four drivers taking shelter from the storm, and the two men pulled up a picture of Calista and showed it to each of them. The fourth driver, Bob, recognized her right away.

“I dropped her off at Wave Chaser Ltd.” The man was positive that shop was the one, so Zane and Xavier headed for the parking lot where the Alfa Romeo was parked.

Zane didn’t know his way around Virgin Gorda as well as Xavier did, so he allowed his friend to drive, all the while hoping she’d be all right. Surely there were safety precautions in place for storms like this. He hadn’t even told her how he felt about her, and now he might never get the chance.

“I intended to claim her as my own, X,” Zane stated as they headed toward the dive shop. “I never planned to let Calista go when her vacation was over.”

“Neither had I.” Xavier’s words had Zane growing silent. He’d been right all along. And that settled things right then and there. Once they got Calista back, they would never let her out of their sight again.

Still, Zane wanted to know when his friend had come to that conclusion. “That’s why you didn’t want to be alone with her, isn’t it?”

“Fuckin’ hell,” came the cursed response. “For twenty-five fucking years I’ve never allowed anyone inside my heart. You remember what I told you about my father. I’d never let anyone break me down the way Raquel did him.”

“I’ve met your father, X,” Zane offered, “and you’re nothing like him.”

“And the most ironic thing is that in the beginning I only seduced her for you.” Silence fell in the car and Zane had suspected as much, so it wasn’t a newsflash of any kind. “And in the process, she did the same for me. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what?” Zane replied.

---