Viva returned to the chair she’d vacated and leaned on the back. “What have you got in mind?”
Sophia propped her hands to her hips, as if preparing for confrontation. “I thought some time out of the country might be a good idea.”
“Well, that’s great.” Viva gave a solitary clap of agreement. “The cast usually does these rehearsal retreats outside the country. We found this really great place when we were on location in the Philippines.”
“Viva!” Sophia gave an exasperated sigh. “Completely out of sight means away from your coworkers too.”
“Sophia, please tell me you aren’t planning to stash me in some old cabin with only cops for company?”
“Oh, I can do way better than that.” Sophia gave a flip shrug and went to settle into her comfortable desk chair. “I’m pretty sure you won’t be cooped up in an old cabin, but a snowy chalet, and instead of cops, what do you say to a sexy security specialist?”
Sophia’s smile sharpened, as did Viva’s glare.
* * *
“Still can’t believe that fool’s getting married.”
Rook chuckled when Linus Brooks began to laugh. Enjoying the dig at their friend, Linus indulged in a few additional seconds of laughter before helping himself to a swig of the beer Rook had served up from the wall bar in the living area of his office.
“Sophia’s a good match for Tig. Always has been.” Linus nodded in apparent appreciation of the savory flavor of the chilled imported brew. “Only thing that makes up for the shame of him letting her walk around free all that time is not wasting any more of it before getting her down the aisle.”
“Yeah.” Rook observed the mug that held his own serving of the beer. “Some fools do wise up given enough time.”
As Rook prowled the length of the tall windows behind his desk he felt Linus’s eyes on him. “Lotta mess went down between them, but...if they could work it out...” Linus trailed off as Rook fixed him with a look. “I’d take that to mean it’s never too late, is all I’m saying.”
“I’m on my way to Italy in a week,” Rook said in a manner to rival the softness of the rain tapping his office window that afternoon.
“A lot could happen in a week,” Linus said.
“Not that.”
“Rook—”
“Sophia and Tig made a mess of things, but at least they had the time and space to fix it.” Briefly, Rook closed his eyes to the dreary view. “How are we ever to fix anything when she’s halfway around the world or across the country?”
“Last I heard, you were your own boss.” Undeterred, Linus swigged down another gulp of the beer. “Educate me on exactly what’s stopping you.”
“Do you really need me to go into that?” Despite the amount of beer he’d downed, Rook’s throat still felt as scratchy as a square of sandpaper.
Understanding pooled in Linus’s ebony eyes. “Do you want her back?”
“I never wanted her to go.”
“She’s here now.”
“She is...” Rook seemed to consider the simple truth, but only momentarily. “Trying to work this out with Viva will be messy, Linus. People change and six years is a long time.”
The cool understanding on Linus’s sculpted dark face meshed with empathy. “You’re not a victim to that anymore.”
“But it’s still in me.” Rook tapped the bottom of his mug to a denim-clad knee once he’d taken a seat in front of his desk. “Isn’t that what we’re always supposed to remember? That it would always be inside us, lurking?” He looked to Linus. “That what we have to focus on now is managing it because we’ll never be rid of it?”
With a nod he appeared reluctant to give, Linus set aside his beer. Rook tilted back more of his, knowing he didn’t need to say more. Linus understood. After all, Rook reminisced, it had been his old friend who had recognized the signs of Rook’s anger morphing into an uncontrollable monster inside him.
It had been Linus who’d bravely forged ahead. He’d refused to let Rook’s increasingly hostile mood spook him into doing nothing to help him find the means to battle the darkness carving a spot inside him.
“I don’t want her to see that in me.”
“You’d never hurt her.”
“I know that.” Rook’s tone was black, yet with a matter-of-fact tinge. “Doesn’t mean I want her to see me launch a TV through a plate-glass window because I was aggravated over some ancient drama.”
“Might do you both some good. Not tossing a TV through plate glass,” Linus clarified with a laugh when Rook glared. “I mean getting this poison out of your system. Finally telling her how what she did made you feel.”
Rook shook his head stubbornly. “She wasn’t to blame.”
“I didn’t say she was, but what happened put you in a real bad place—a place you haven’t all the way come back from.” Linus came to take a chair closest to the one Rook occupied. “You’ll never truly manage this crap if you don’t share some of that weight with her. Do that at least—even if nothing more comes of it. She’ll head back to California and you’ll make your moves, but you’ll make ’em without a lot of weight from the past dragging at you and dangling like a carrot in front of that monster you need to control.”
“Does Eli know you moonlight as a shrink?” Rook teased, referring to Elias Joss, another of their friends and Linus’s business partner.
“Aw, he’s used to it.” Linus gave a playful eye roll. “’Specially if it means the happiness of a friend.
“Look, man,” Linus said once laughter was shared. “The last thing I want is for everything you’ve got pent up to barrel out unexpectedly. Trust me, I know what the consequences of that feels like.”
Rook spread his big hands. “What? Am I giving off some kind of dark vibe?”
“No, but I know Viva being back has to be adding some kind of pressure. That added to the fact that you’ve missed two meetings...and now you’re about to take a long trip... Well, I’m a little concerned.”
“Don’t be.” Rook leaned over to slap at Linus’s forearm beneath the fleece sleeve of his sweatshirt. “I’m good. I’ve been good. No reason to think that won’t continue.”
The phone rang and both men grinned as though the sound were a good omen.
“Yeah, Lind?” Rook greeted his assistant Lindy Peters, by speaker.
“Sorry, Rook, I thought you’d want to take this call. It’s Chief Hail.”
Linus left his chair, taking his empty beer mug which he used to motion to Rook for another refill.
Rook nodded, appreciating the bit of privacy. “Send her through.” In a few seconds he heard the click on the line. “Soap? Linus is here.”
“Hey, Linus!” Sophia called through the speaker.
Rook silenced the speaker once Linus sent his greetings. As Linus busied himself browsing the extensive stock of domestic and imported beers behind the bar, Rook listened to what Sophia had to say. His responses into the phone turned shorter and he couldn’t keep frustration from creeping into his voice. Linus must have heard it too, because he returned to his chair and offered an encouraging shrug when the call ended.
“Scratch everything I just said,”