Ava Gray - Skin Game

The place was every bit as beautiful as the pictures claimed. Nestled amid trees and gardens, the yellow building gleamed in the last rays of the sun, gilding it. She hoped that meant they’d find some respite there. While Mia got her stuff, Kyra pulled the money case out of the floor of the car and tucked it into her duffel bag.

She didn’t think Reyes would come looking for her, but she didn’t mean to leave the money unattended until then. Her father had died, and she’d suffered for it, so she didn’t mean to let anyone take it.

Inside, it was positively lavish. Mia took care of check-in because a place like this didn’t work on a cash-only basis. She’d dip into her stash to cover her part of the stay. A bell-man took their luggage—paltry as it was—up to their rooms, and Kyra tipped him.

The room was every bit as nice as the lobby led her to believe: two full-sized beds with adjustable mattresses, rich mahogany furnishings, echoed in the window treatment. The walls were painted rich ochre, lending a warm air that was echoed in the colorful swirls of the bedspreads. Sateen-covered cushions sat at artful angles on the bed, and there were mints on the pillows.

Kyra tossed her bag beside the bed closest to the door. If someone came in on them, she was best suited to dealing with the problem. Mia wasn’t used to this shit; for all their friendship, they’d lived very different lives, and she was sorry she’d whispered even a hint of her intentions. It had been a rare phone conversation where, in a moment of weakness, she felt so totally alone that she just wanted someone to know where she was and what she was up against. She hadn’t reckoned on Mia’s sweet, fierce loyalty.

“Here’s the deal,” she said, dropping onto the bed. “Tonight we take hot baths. Order room service, including ice cream, and we get something girlie on pay-per-view. I’m not going to ask you any questions. But tomorrow we talk.”

Mia raised her brows. “I will if you will.”

Did she think I didn’t want to? Kyra considered. Possible. She didn’t know what kind of cues she’d been giving. It had been everything she could do to go through the motions without a full collapse.

“I’m just . . . raw,” she answered at last. “But I want to talk to you about it. You’re all I have left.”

Mia’s dark eyes glinted. “You, too. I don’t see my mom anymore, you know.”

“I’m sorry.” She hugged Mia, knowing it wouldn’t be bad or unpleasant.

Her friend was good with numbers, which was a particularly low-key talent. Mia wouldn’t need to tally any figures tonight anyway. Thereafter, they followed through with her plan—with one amendment. They used the spa before wading into personal matters, and it turned into a whole day of steaming, massage, yoga, hair, manicures, and pedicures, though Kyra requested the same person handle all of her treatments. They considered it a harmless eccentricity and granted the request. By the time they got back to the room, she almost didn’t hurt anymore. Maybe she could talk with equanimity now.

TV off, they sat on the beds cross-legged, facing each other. Mia smiled, but it was tinged with melancholy. “It’s been a long time since we did this.”

“Yeah.” Her throat clogged, as if physical comfort cleared the way for emotional baggage to break open, like luggage tossed too hard on a conveyer at the airport.

“So this Serrano had something to do with your dad dying . . . and then he sent someone after you . . .. What happened between you two? Though I wasn’t in the room very long, I saw how he looked at you.”

Shock went through her. “You didn’t see anything. You were scared to death.”

“That doesn’t make me blind or stupid,” Mia snapped. “I thought we were opening up? Stop stalling. I don’t show you mine, if you don’t show me yours.”

She clenched her teeth and spoke through them. “We had . . . chemistry. I thought I might be falling for him until I found out he was hired to kill me.”

“No shit,” Mia said. “You know, some of us take our thrills in smaller doses. I just date married guys for instance.”

“It wasn’t on purpose, ass.” But she smiled nonetheless.

The pressure in her chest eased a little, enough that she no longer felt like each breath sent a knife through her chest. God, she hated being stupid, and she’d been a class-A fool where he was concerned. Maybe she’d live through this after all.

“Tell me the sex was worth it, at least.”

Kyra thought about that, and a little shiver rolled through her. “Yeah. It was.”

“That’s something at least.”

“What about you and Foster?”

“No sex.”

With a scowl, Kyra folded her arms. “You know what I’m asking.”

“You want to know what happened. How I ended up tied to a chair.” Mia drooped a little, studying her lap. “I came looking for you . . . and ran into him. He said he’d help me. At first he seemed to. He kept me in the loop whenever he talked to your hit man.”

“Reyes. And he’s not mine.”

“Whatever. He kept me away from the casino. Didn’t want his boss seeing me, he said. But he must’ve been followed to one of our meetings because the next time I went out, I noticed I had somebody following me. I couldn’t think what else to do, so I went to him for help.”

“And he turned you over to Serrano.” Kyra’s hands curled into fists. “No wonder you were terrified. I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Mia said automatically. “Well, actually it is, but not . . . directly. It’s not like you told me to trust him. It’s just . . . worse because I . . . liked him.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “At one point I tried to kiss him and he jerked away like I had screaming fourth grade cooties.”

“He’s a weird one,” Kyra said. “But don’t take it personally. He had some vendetta against Serrano. He was using both of us.”

“He whispered to me not to be scared—that Serrano wouldn’t do anything to me before you got there—but how the hell was I supposed to believe that, after he lied about taking me someplace safe?” Mia’s wounded eyes demanded an answer.

Kyra didn’t have one. “We sure can pick ’em. But we’ll be okay, right? It’ll just take time.”

The other woman shrugged. “I guess.”

She felt oddly diffident about asking this. “Speaking of time . . . I wondered if you could take some off. I’d really like to just . . . I dunno. Hang out with you. Take a long break and start figuring out what to do next.”

Mia nodded slowly. “I’d like that. I wouldn’t mind going somewhere warm. We can lay in the sun for a while and bask away our sorrows.”

“Sounds fantastic.” If it couldn’t take away the pain, at least they’d have sunshine. She hesitated, and then added: “I got away with a huge amount of money, and I need to get it out of the country. I was hoping you could help me with that.”

A frown knit her friend’s dark brows together. “You know I specialize in catching people who try to do that, right?”

“Does that mean you can’t help me?”

A fulminating silence. Kyra opened her eyes wide, trying to appear cute and imploring. It wasn’t her best look.

“You know I can,” Mia muttered. “Let’s take that vacation and then we’ll talk more. I’ll think about it as we go.”

“Okay.” She knew the other woman well enough to realize that pushing at this point would just make Mia dig her heels in. A maybe was almost as good as a yes.

They stayed almost a week in Missouri. From there they meandered south, heading toward Florida. Mia wanted to go to Disney for some reason, and because it tickled Kyra’s sense of the absurd, she went along with it.