The Chemist

“Ollie, you’ve still got that cot, right? There’s a huge walk-in closet off the bathroom. Check it out and see if it will work for you. You could set up on one of those couches out there, but it might be best to keep you out of Val’s line of sight as much as possible.”

“Of course Alex will sleep in the bed,” Daniel said.

Kevin’s eyebrows pulled together skeptically. “Really? You’re going to get all chivalrous about Ollie?”

“It’s like you never even met our mother.”

“Relax,” Alex said as Kevin bridled. “We’ll work it out.”

“Fine,” Kevin said.

“Should I have been more careful with my words out there?” Alex asked Kevin. “You said she’s not trustworthy.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, you’re fine. Val might kick us all onto the street when she’s tired of us, but she won’t sell us out. I’ve bought her time and her discretion. What happens with Val stays with Val. She has a reputation to protect.”

“Okay,” Alex agreed, though she wasn’t sure she entirely understood Val’s policies.

He moved to the door, then paused with his hand on the knob. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge if you’re hungry, or we can order something in.”

“Thanks,” Alex said. “I’ll sort my stuff out first.”

“Yes,” Daniel said. “Let us get situated.”

Kevin hesitated one more second, then stepped back into the room. “Uh, Danny, I just wanted to say… it’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re safe.”

Like before, as he was leaving the ranch, Kevin looked like he wouldn’t be opposed to a hug. Daniel stood awkwardly, his body language full of ambivalence.

“Yes, well, thanks to Alex,” Daniel said. “And I’m glad you’re not dead like she thought you were.”

Kevin barked a laugh. “Yeah, me, too. And thanks again, poison woman. I owe you one.”

He exited on another laugh, leaving the door cracked behind him.

Daniel gave Alex a long stare, then went to the door and quietly shut it all the way. He turned back to her, and there was clearly an argument about to begin. She shook her head and motioned him to follow her farther into the guest suite.

For a second, the bathroom made her forget why she’d come this way. A swimming pool–size tub was set into the floor, surrounded by marble and a faintly blue tile wall that shimmered like a pale sea. A showerhead the diameter of a truck tire was suspended from the ceiling over it.

“What is this place?” Alex gasped.

Daniel shut the door behind them. “Kate – or rather Val – is apparently quite successful.”

“Do you think she’s really a prostitute, or was that just Kevin trying to make the story better?”

“I didn’t come in here to talk about Val.”

She turned to face him, her lips twisting sideways into a pucker.

“Alex, I don’t like lying to him.”

“Who’s lied?”

“Acting, then. Pretending that we’re nothing to each other.”

She huffed a sigh. “I’m just not ready to deal with the inevitable fallout. I have enough stress.”

“We’re going to have to tell him eventually. Why not get it over with?”

He saw her expression change as she weighed the options.

“You still don’t believe we have an eventually, do you?” he accused.

“Well… there is a good possibility either he or I will be dead within the next week, so why rock the boat?”

Daniel abruptly pulled her into a rough hug that was somehow more reproachful than comforting.

“Don’t say that. I can’t stand to hear you talk that way.”

“Sorry,” she said into his shirt.

“We can run away. Tonight. We’ll hide. You know how.”

“Can we at least wait till we’ve slept and eaten?” she asked plaintively.

He laughed unwillingly at her tone. “I suppose I could allow that much.”

She relaxed into him for a moment, wishing again that running were the right option. It sounded so much easier, restful almost.

“Let’s just walk out there hand in hand,” Daniel suggested, “and then make out on the sofa for a bit.”

“First, eating and sleeping. I am not dealing with the aftermath of some grand reveal until I’m sure I’ve considered all the possible forms the backlash might take and whether I need to be armed – or, rather, how armed I need to be. I can’t even think straight right now.”

“All right,” he said. “I’ll give you tonight, because I know how exhausted you are. But we’re revisiting this discussion in the morning, and I intend to be quite inflexible.”

“Will Kevin be in here too?” she wondered. “The woman said there was only one extra room. That won’t make discussing anything very easy.”

“I doubt it.” She could hear the eye roll in his voice and she pulled away to look at his face. He didn’t let her go, but he dropped his arms to rest more casually around her waist.

“Oh, do you think she meant this was the only empty extra room?”

“No, I think he’s staying with her.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Really? She didn’t seem to like him very much.”

“The women in his life never do.”