Wrapping herself in her robe, her long hair in a towel, she checked her phone. Stella had messaged her back. No relationship ever. Vienna breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t have been to blame, but it would have left a bad taste in her mouth had she been with a married man, even through no fault of her own. She hadn’t asked Zale that question and she should have.
Refusing to allow Zale Vizzini to take up any more time in her brain, she checked out the menu to see what really great dinners she could order. Everything was first-class, including the food. She hadn’t been disappointed yet.
The door buzzed and she swung around. No one knew where she was, with the exception of the hotel personnel, Zale and the gentleman he guarded, Wayne Forsyne. Maybe security was really going to lecture her. She hadn’t even told her mother where she was staying. She planned to visit her, but after the tournament. There were millions of dollars at stake. She didn’t want anything distracting her. Well, maybe she’d visit sooner. She really wanted to see her.
Fortunately, her robe was the type that had buttons instead of a belt, so she was fairly decent. Vienna went to the door and peered through the peephole to see who her visitor was. The older man and Zale were outside the door. Zale was looking up and down the hall very alertly. Something in the way he did it sent chills down her spine.
She hit the intercom. “I’m not exactly dressed for company.”
It was Zale who answered. He reached past Wayne to hit a button to respond. “Open the fucking door, Vienna. We need to get out of sight now.”
He was such an ass. He was back to the man he’d been when he’d ordered her out of her place of work and into his car. When she hadn’t cooperated, he’d simply abducted her. No second chances, just picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder as if she weighed no more than a child, and took her out. He had that same low voice with the commanding purr. Not a growl, a purr. It wasn’t a nice purr.
She opened the door because Wayne’s face was pale. If she could have, she would have allowed him entrance and barred Zale from coming into the suite. She must have stepped into the doorway, because Zale put a hand to her belly and pushed her inside, closing the door after him.
“I need you to check out Wayne for me, Vienna. I don’t think he’s hurt bad.” As he spoke, Zale helped Wayne to the nearest couch. She trailed after them, watching the older man carefully. He carried the cane, rather than leaning on it, and even though Zale was helping him, he walked as a much younger man would.
She noted blood on Zale’s shirt, a slash line on his belly and right arm. There was blood on Wayne’s shirt, much more of it than on Zale’s. Wayne’s wound was on his left side, along his ribs. Zale unbuttoned Wayne’s shirt as Vienna hurried to the bedroom to retrieve the small medical kit she always carried with her. She also got warm water from the master bath.
“Tell me what happened and why you didn’t take him to the hospital,” she ordered, nudging Zale aside with her hip so she could take over.
“We were outside the casino, just taking a walk. It can be difficult staying indoors so much when you’re not used to it.”
She understood that. She also caught the “we.” Wayne didn’t have to go with Zale to take a walk. He could have stayed locked in the safety of his suite. She kept her mouth shut. The knife had sliced into the skin, under the ribs, missing all vital organs somehow. The wound was shallow.
“Zale blocked the attack,” Wayne provided. “Otherwise, I would have taken the hit right in my heart. They came out of nowhere. I think they were in the flower beds.”
“They were,” Zale confirmed.
Her heart accelerated for a moment before she could get it under control. More than one attacker. Zale was obviously working under cover. This wasn’t a random attack, and there had been more than one assailant. She washed the wound carefully.
“Knife wounds are tricky. This isn’t deep. You don’t need stitches. I can glue it, but if the blade had bacteria on it, you can get an infection that could eventually kill you. You need antibiotics. I don’t have those, and I really mean you should have the wound flooded with them and you should take them orally. I’ve got a topical I can apply for now, but, Zale, if the two of you have access to help, get antibiotics for both of you. I can see the knife cut you as well.”
She finished up with Wayne and turned her attention to Zale, indicating for him to take off his shirt, although that was the last thing she wanted him to do. She remembered his body all too well. She’d mapped every single inch of him with her tongue. He was there in her mind, never to be forgotten.