Chapter 244: Broad Daylight
- RAYA -
"Wow, Saul didn’t seem quite like himself," I mutter to Dex and Rory as we walk back to our cabina.
"No, he didn’t," Dex says, weaving his fingers through mine as we approach the final suspension bridge and start walking over.
Luciano had to speak with his father, and Dex and I had enough of the pool, so the three of us decided to hang out away from the main building for awhile.
"Did anyone know he was coming?" I ask, biting my lip when I think of the dark expression that Dex’s uncle didn’t even seem concerned with masking.
This was a much different version of Saul than I remember when I met him at their house. I guess he’s all about business right now, though. And their business is obviously dark.
It shouldn’t be that big of a surprise, I suppose. Still, I didn’t expect to see him standing next to the pool, watching Dex and I like he just appeared out of thin air.
"I didn’t know he was coming," Dex says, glancing at Rory as if to confirm.
"Luci didn’t know either," she says. "He just found out. That’s why we came back to the pool when we did."
"Well, the extra security is obviously here," Dex mutters, shifting his attention to the ground below. A large man in black is standing there watching us. He doesn’t look as casual or friendly as Dom and Sonny who we met earlier.
Dex unlocks the door and lets us into the cabina, and I release a tense breath. It feels like a refuge here right now. He walks into the bedroom, checking the place out thoroughly like has become his routine.
"Where were you guys?" I ask Rory, looking her over.
She’s no longer in her swimsuit, having changed back into the dress from this morning. I suppose it was unlikely that she was going to be swimming with the injury to her hand.
"Just back in the cabina," she shrugs, but her eyes drop and a tint of color stains her cheeks that wasn’t there a moment ago. When she looks back up at me, she’s fighting a smile.
"Oh, okay," I say with a smirk.
"What?" She asks, catching my expression.
"Nothing." But I can’t help but giggle, and it makes her smile grow.
There’s no hiding what they were obviously doing back in the cabina. It’s probably childish to be giggling about it, but this is Rory—we’re sisters. Not only that, she just seems... happier. That makes me incredibly happy, too.
It’s such a huge relief that she has opened up and let someone in. And it’s happened with Luciano so much faster than I thought it would.
"Well, I wanted to get Luciano away from that Josh guy," Rory says, smile dropping.
"Yeah, that whole thing was weird. That guy seemed really pushy about wanting to check out your hand. I don’t understand why. He just saw you last night?"
"I guess. He must have left while we were gone, huh?" She asks. "I didn’t see him there when we came back."
"I didn’t notice," I mutter, realizing that he must have slipped out while Dex and I were messing around in the pool.
"Yeah, he left," Dex answers, returning to the room. "I was keeping an eye on him. I’m going to change out of these quick," he says, tugging on the waistband of his trunks. "Are you two okay for a second?"
Rory and I glance at each other, sharing an amused smile.
"I think we’ll be okay," I tell him with a quick nod.
He flashes me a grin that makes the invisible wings in my chest flutter wildly, and I have to fight the impulse to follow him.
"I’ll be right back," he calls as he’s walking away. "Don’t go wandering off, alright? Who knows what trouble will find the two of you."
"We’ll try our best," Rory says with an eye roll.
Dex chuckles and disappears through the bedroom door.
"Aren’t you going to change?" Rory asks, crossing her arms in front of herself.
I’m wrapped in a beach towel, tracking wet prints across the floor. "Well yeah, but I want to talk to you, too."
"Do you really think I can’t be left alone for a few minutes, Raya?" She asks dryly.
"That’s not why I want to talk to you," I frown, crossing to the fridge and taking out two waters. "Want one?"
"Sure."
"So..." I say, smiling behind the water bottle after I take a long drink. "Want to share any details?"
Rory laughs and takes a long drink too before sliding onto the stool by the island. "Definitely not."
"Really?"
"Really," she says, cheeks bright pink now.
"I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this way, you know?"
Something crashes into the far glass wall, startling us both. We both stare in the direction of where it came from, but I don’t see anything other than the deck on the other side and the pool beyond that.
Rory looks back at me, brows pinched in fear.
"What was that?" I ask what we’re both wondering, and she shakes her head.
"I don’t know, Raya. There’s nothing there."
"I’ll go get Dex."
"But there’s nothing there," she says, pleading with me to stay if only with the tone of her voice. "He’s just going to be worried for nothing."
"You mean like we’re worried?"
"It was probably a lizard or a monkey or something," she says, wetting her lips.
"If that’s the case, then where is it?"
Rory slides off the stool and walks that way, and my eyes grow wide. "Roar, don’t."
"What?" She hisses back. "Do you see anything? It’s broad daylight. And this place is crawling with mafia guys. Do you really think it’s a ghost or something that’s come to haunt us? Because that’s the only way anyone would slip by them unnoticed."
"How do we know we can trust them, Rory?" I ask harshly, following her like an invisible thread connects us and is tugging me along. I can’t let her get too far away, especially when it looks like she intends to actually go out there and investigate.
"We’re just freaked out because of what happened last night," she says, explaining it away. She’s probably right, but still... I’d prefer just taking the safest route and staying put until Dex returns.
Rory pulls the glass door open and walks out, looking around the deck for something... who knows what. It’s obvious there is nothing there. Meanwhile, I strike a compromise with myself and straddle the threshold of the doorway where I can keep an eye on her and remain waiting for Dex at the same time.
I watch my sister turn around, looking at the trees and then the deck. She bends down and pokes at something, but just when I’m about to ask her what it is, there’s a scuffle of some kind down below that draws our attention instead. It sounds like men fighting.
Rory and I rush over to the railing, and I’m not sure what I imagine we’ll find—maybe a villain being wrestled to the ground by one of the men in black. Instead, there are just two regular looking guys. The raised voices turn to laughter, and we watch them make their way to the beach.
I blow out a breath and turn to Rory, expecting to laugh about the stupid fear that made us freak out over nothing. But she doesn’t look amused at all. For some reason, she looks like she has truly seen a ghost.
