Marco Rossi was not a man people said no to very often. That was plain on his face, but he managed to cover up his annoyance with a small false smile. “I hope you’re not one of those women who believes your man tells you everything.”
“I’m not certain what that means. I don’t ask Sam to tell me everything. That’s not our relationship.” She indicated the door with a little shiver. “It’s very cold out here. Perhaps we should get back inside.” She didn’t wait for him to go in front of her. Instead, she led the way, opening the door and sending Bailey in first and then stepping back so Marco could enter.
Raine looked the same as she always did, sweet and innocent, as if she were that little pixie, sitting with her feet curled under her and the fall of red-gold hair haphazardly pulled back, making her look younger than ever. Stella was never certain if Raine purposely cultivated that look or if she was just naturally born that way, but it worked. The majority of people bought in to it. They never viewed Raine as a threat. Stella’s gaze jumped to Lucio. She wasn’t so certain he was buying in to it, but maybe it was simply the tension in the room.
“Are you okay?” Raine asked.
“Yes, have you heard any more news?”
“No, I didn’t expect to, honey. They’re going to try to recover the bodies. It will take some time.”
Stella sighed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Rossi. Sam will most likely be on Whitney for the rest of the day. I don’t know when you’re planning to return to New York, but he’ll be exhausted when he comes back. They’ll have to climb down the side of the mountain to recover the bodies.”
Even saying it made her feel sick. She still didn’t understand how it could have happened. How could the couple have been missed at Trail Crest?
“We can stay another couple of nights. I’ll leave the information for where we’re staying with you,” Marco said.
Raine’s cell went off and she answered, jumping off the couch and pacing away toward the kitchen. She could be heard even with her soft almost-whisper.
“I’m in the middle of something. I just left there. I worked all night, General. I haven’t had any sleep and what I’m doing is extremely important.” A small silence. “Give the job to Jack. He’s good. He can do it.”
Raine listened for a moment, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. Stella could see her through the open door. She looked exasperated. “This is not a secure line. You called me on my cell phone. Yeah, because I’m not home. No, I told you …” She sighed heavily. “It’s always a matter of national security. Fine. It would take me an hour to drive home. Send the helicopter for me in an hour so that gives me time here to finish up. Tell Dante he’ll have to take me home. I’ll throw some things together and he can take me from there to you. That’s the best you’re going to get. I’ve got a life, in case you were wondering, and it doesn’t always revolve around you.” She made a face. “Very funny.” She shoved the cell in her back pocket and joined them again.
“Sorry, Stella. I’ve got about an hour and then work calls again.”
“You haven’t slept for days,” Stella objected. “They need to give you a break.”
Raine shrugged. “Lots of hot spots right now.”
Marco frowned at her. “Someone sends a helicopter for you? You’re speaking that way to a general? As in the military? Secure lines? National security? What in the world do you do?”
Raine laughed softly and waved her hand in the air, looking innocent and young as only she could. “It does sound very dramatic, now that you put all that together. I’m a contract worker for the government, so yes, sometimes when they need me to work on something they need done fast, they send a helicopter because I live so far away from everything. The rest of it though, that’s just hogwash.”
She made a face. “I’m not certain how best to describe Peter. He likes to be called General. I wouldn’t be able to talk to a real general that way, right? Not without getting in trouble. Peter is very, very dramatic. He plays a lot of video games so he gives orders in terms of his ridiculous video games. The pay is great, and in the end we’re both happy.”
Stella didn’t think either man looked entirely convinced, but Raine gave a little eye roll as if Peter were the silliest man on the planet.
“What do contract workers do?” Marco persisted.
Raine shrugged. “I don’t know what others do, but in my case, I am very good at a certain computer code. When programs go down and they want them up and running fast, it’s always an emergency, although it really isn’t. I go in and troubleshoot. Most of the time I can do it remotely, but lately I’ve had to go to the main office and fix the program there.”