Guarding His Desires (Passionate Security Book 2)(20)
"I don't know yet how the wand and the pursuit of you and Aleksey are exactly connected," Gustavo says, "beyond some relationship with Cobra De Capello."
"They may not be tied together at all," Zachary replies. "Let's challenge all of our previous assumptions."
"You have chosen an ideal place for us to rest and collect our thoughts. Please don't hold back the truth. Do you think we are in danger here?"
"I don't have an answer for you. Are you asking about short-term or long-term well-being?"
"Either," Gustavo answers. "Both."
"Short-term, we are on a peninsula with only one road, surrounded on three sides by lake water too cold to swim in. Long-term, there will be no peace until we resolve what forces are at work and then conquer them."
"The answer sounds so bleak, but yet you seem hopeful. Confident even."
"I believe we have some hours of relative serenity so we can think and gain new perspectives," Zachary says, "otherwise, I would have never rented this cabin for us. Some things may be coming into focus. Nevertheless, it is a picture I don't want to see."
"What do you mean?"
"Talk it through with me. Let your imagination run wild, Gustavo. Help me make sure there is nothing I am overlooking."
"Okay, where do you want to begin?"
"How were we discovered in the Laughlin hotel suite with the view of the river?" Zachary asks. "What are the possibilities?"
Gustavo takes a few minutes to arrange his thoughts, counting on his fingers the options to remember. He sits upright in the hammock and begins.
"One, there is a tracking device hidden inside the wand," Gustavo says. "Two, there is a tracking device concealed on one of our phones or in one of our bags. Three, Aleksey's app for the shared ride vehicles was compromised."
"Good. Let's go through them one by one."
"I have more," Gustavo protests.
"We will analyze those too," Zachary responds. "We can start with your first three possibilities. I meticulously inspected the cobra and its box. They are clean. The instrument itself was not created with a secret chamber because that was not its purpose. Next up is whether our bags or phones have been compromised. They have not been out of our control, so I rule this out too. If your bag had been compromised at your friend's home in Madeira Canyon, we would have had an incident when retrieving it. Third, you mentioned Aleksey's app. You cannot imagine how careful he is with names, identifications, passwords, and credit cards. Be assured that when Aleksey organized our travel that we were moving undetected in terms of not leaving a trace."
"Number four," Gustavo continues, "we were unknowingly tailed after escaping from Heather Wanda's office or leaving Makena's house in Madeira Canyon."
"No, the condominium would be the easier place to catch us than following us all the way to Laughlin. I am certain of that. The same goes for Madeira Canyon."
"Number five, a hotel visitor or tourist recognized you and posted something on social media indicating that you were in Laughlin," Gustavo says.
"Even if I was recognized, which I think is unlikely considering the precautions we took, how would they know which room to knock on?" Zachary asks. "Aleksey books us under false names, of course."
"Number six, my last one, is that based on chance a hotel employee, connected somehow to the fighting league, spilled the beans on which room we were staying in. I know it's improbable."
"Forget coincidences. I don't believe in crystal balls, voodoo, poking dolls with needles, or any other so-called magic like that."
"I admit I am stumped," Gustavo says. "It does not make sense."
"Keep going," Zachary says. "There are more possibilities. Say the unpleasant ones. Don't leave anything out."
"Number seven, Aleksey betrayed us."
"He didn't."
"Number eight, you betrayed us."
"I didn't."
"Number nine, I betrayed you and Aleksey."
"Nope."
"That is the end of the chain," Gustavo says. "There is no number ten. Unless-"
"Unless what?" Zachary coaxes him further. "Say it."
"Unless the phone of someone else you completely trust has been tapped somehow. Did you entrust your friend who is helping us-Nathaniel, the former world champion-with our sensitive location details?"
"There it is, Gustavo. I agree it is the end of the chain. The only possibility left standing. I wanted to hear every possibility come out of your mouth so I could try to deny it. But it's impossible to deny."
"Does Nathaniel know we are here now?" Gustavo blurts out, widening his eyes and raising his voice.
"No. It is just us now."
30
Paddles
Bundled in life jackets and knit caps, Gustavo and Zachary kayak on the lake as the sun sets behinds the mountains. They travel near the shoreline, past the lodges, homes, and boat docks whose lights glow in the dusk. Zachary, new to this type of boating, comments that the paddling is giving him a solid, unexpected workout. He surprises Gustavo too with unforced self-deprecation, as Zachary erroneously steers his kayak into Gustavo's on numerous occasions.
They return to the dock and carry the kayaks onto stacked ledges secured against the side wall of the rental home. Both men are shivering from the cold. Zachary's teeth chatter as he urges Gustavo to shower first so he can check his phone for any word from Aleksey's captors.
The one bathroom in the small, two-bedroom home is only large enough to cramp together a combination shower and tub beside a toilet and petite vanity with a mirror. The steam from the hot water jets quickly overwhelms the room with fog, so Gustavo opens the bathroom door to let the warmth drift outward into the other rooms. Stocked with vanilla-scented body washes and argan oil, the tiny shower exceeds his expectations with comfort.
Climbing out of the shower to dry off amongst the swirling mists, Gustavo makes no attempt to hide his nudity from Zachary, who is waiting for his turn to thaw his chilled body. Semi-erect, from the temperature and the titillation of being noticed, Gustavo feigns that he is aware of any of Zachary's glances.
Gustavo asks if he can remain in the bathroom and shave while Zachary showers. Zachary nods his head, steps under the shower head jets, and good-naturedly bellows as the water rejuvenates his frozen skin.
Zachary is oblivious to Gustavo, whose hand shakes as he slices the blade through the foam on his neck and face. Gustavo lusts for Zachary's magnificent, tattooed body sparsely hidden in the steam and mist behind a transparent shower curtain. Gustavo presses his hips against the sink counter to hide his erection and to keep it from popping out between the folds of his towel.
Both men dress in their own rooms into sweatpants, sweatshirts, and thick socks. Gustavo is in the living room first, checking a web site on his phone, when Zachary joins him and plops onto the sofa across from him.
"A deceased person has been found in Griffith Park," Gustavo says. "According to the news report, he or she was near the top of a mountain ridge above the Greek Theater and a few hundred feet east of the observatory. Authorities have not been able to identify the body yet and the police have not released any details about the person's age, gender, or cause of death."
"Is that in the proximity of the trail you told me about?" Zachary asks.
"It's not. But the man's body could have been dragged. Even a mortally injured person could possibly limp a few hundred feet. I keep seeing the distress on that man's face. I wonder why he handed the box to me. Perhaps he knew he would die no matter what happened with it. I also have no clarity, because of his accent and difficulty with English, whether he really said "Wanda" or if he just said "wand" and I assumed he was delivering a person's name to me who he wanted to help. At the time, the name of a person would have been more expected from him than the name of an object. I think about this too much and replaying it over and over again in my mind-"wand" or "Wanda"-is not helping me figure it out."
"It may not be his body. That man may have escaped the park too, like you did. A friendly reminder, Gustavo, that you should keep an open mind. We know the cobra has been in criminal hands. It is too dangerous and unproductive to try and trace its route to you, just for curiosity's sake, when what really matters is what you decide to do with it now."
"I know. I need to keep focused on the present and the path ahead."
"I am starving," Zachary says, changing the subject. "Do you trust my cooking?"
"Let me handle dinner," Gustavo says. "Of course I trust you. But I like to cook. Let me give it a shot."
"No meat or dairy for me. If you use anything in the cabinets left over from the previous renters, please remember."
"I take it there is no call or text or anything on your phone yet regarding Aleksey. Is that right?"
"Not yet," Zachary answers. "Those bastards better not be hurting him."
"If they are intending to you use him as leverage, what do you think is the reason for their delay in contacting you?" Gustavo asks.