Unfortunately, with her back to him, Zale was able to lean forward and shackle her wrist, drawing her close to him, toppling her into the seat beside him.
“What are you doing? I was going to call in the order.” She did her best to sound a little surprised at his outrageous behavior.
“I need time to look this over and you can sit here while I do it. You didn’t seem to have a problem giving Rainier time. Or standing right over the top of him while you were deciding.”
“You do need to eat. I think you have low blood sugar. I might have trail mix in the other room so you can snack on something while we’re waiting for dinner,” she suggested helpfully, starting to push up from the cuddle chair.
He didn’t even look at her, but his arm swept across her like a bar, restraining her. “Just stay put. If my blood sugar starts to drop, you’ll be the first person I’ll tell.”
She looked across the room at Rainier. “Is he always this grumpy before he eats?” She poured concern into her voice.
“I never noticed it before.” Amusement colored Rainier’s voice until Zale looked up, pinning his friend with a dark stare. Rainier sobered instantly.
“I’ll have the steak, rare. Baked potato with everything. Salad. The roasted brussels sprouts.”
“That sounds eerily like Rainier’s order.” Vienna took the menu out of his hands and once again made a move to go to the phone. Again, Zale blocked her.
“Are you going to look at me?”
“I have looked at you.”
“You haven’t.”
She sighed. “I’m hungry and tired. I have low blood sugar. I just came back from a long run and I have a big day tomorrow. I can’t afford any distractions, Zale. I appreciate that the two of you are in trouble. Maybe the fate of the world is in your hands, I don’t know. But I have to keep myself under control. Whatever the two of you are into, I can’t be a part of. I’m not in your world and you’re not in mine.”
There was a small silence. Rainier broke it. “I’m sorry, Vienna. We needed medical attention, and Zale mentioned you were a nurse. We couldn’t go to the hospital, and you were on the same floor. You were going to meet me at the wedding anyway, so it wasn’t like you weren’t going to find out I was working under cover with Zale. We didn’t mean to drag you into our problems.”
She felt a little ashamed. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to help them, especially when they were both hurt. She shrugged. “I don’t really mind helping out. It’s just that I know I’m not supposed to know what you do, and I respect that. Like I said, I’m just tired and hungry. I’ll call in the order so we can get our food.”
Zale had removed his arm, so she took that as permission to make a break for the phone. While she gave their orders for dinner, Zale made another drink for Rainier and himself. She took the sparkling water from him and sank into the single cuddle chair across from him, putting her head back to stare up at the ceiling.
“I guess whatever you’re into is dangerous. If your cover is blown, shouldn’t you pack up and go home?”
“Not necessarily,” Rainier said. “No one saw the attack in the parking lot. We’re betting the three die before they report to their boss. They aren’t going to be too quick to tell whoever they report to they missed an old man and the lone personal protector wiped up the floor with them. At least, that’s the hope.”
Vienna studied the ceiling. “You’re betting your lives.”
“This is Vegas,” Rainier said, humor once again tingeing his voice.
Vienna let the air move in and out of her lungs. Waiting. It was a bet. A wager. It didn’t matter that lives were at stake. It came down to a bet. Three men were somewhere slowly bleeding internally. They were unaware they were dying. Would they call their boss and report to him or her that they had failed to kill their intended target? What were the odds? There were three of them. They wouldn’t die at the same time. They each had a cell phone. The boss could call them. They’d grow cold. Weak. Would they try to call for help?
Vienna nodded her head slowly. “I do believe you have a good chance those men won’t admit their screwup to their boss. By the time they realize what’s happening, it’s going to be too late.” She knew things. How? She had no idea, only that she could bet on cards because she knew what each opponent had in his hand and what was going to be the card the dealer put down next. Bets were tricky things. “But there are a lot of variables. Their boss might just show up last minute.”