“They deserve way worse than that,” Cantara protested.
“For Pool, nothing could be worse,” Zeke assured her. “His reputation will be in tatters, his old comrades will shun him, and that will be a living death for him. As for Romney, I imagine Pool’s daughter will finally see the light and ditch the bastard. I have a feeling they’ll find a reason to lock him up for a while, too.”
“Anyway, it’s over.” Raoul sent Cantara a sinfully enticing smile that left her in no doubt about the nature of his thoughts. “At last we can get on with our lives.”
Cantara closed her eyes and sighed. “It was so lovely to see Levi after he spoke with his wife. Only to think, she never doubted him, even though she hadn’t seen or spoken to him for three years. Can you imagine the stigma she’s had to live with, but she never gave up on him. That’s true love.”
“There’s nothing you can teach us about true love,” Raoul said in a tone that brooked no argument. “We never stopped loving you, even though we thought you were dead.”
“We tried to move on with our lives, but you’re an impossible act to follow,” Zeke added, swooping in to steal a kiss.
“You guys are so sweet.” Cantara swiped away tears with the back of her hand. “For my part, I don’t care what Sanford says, but no one can convince me I lost my memory because of a stupid fractured skull. I lost it when I saw that picture of you guys dead. It was too much for me to take on board, I couldn’t stand the agony of losing something so precious to me, to say nothing of the guilt, so my mind shut down.”
“Tonight we start living again,” Raoul said, tightening his hold on her and kissing the top of her head. “Come on, darlin’, you look beat. I’m gonna run you a nice hot bath. Take a long soak and when you come out, Zeke and I will have a celebration dinner ready.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
“I’ll leave the clothes you’re to wear for us laid out on the bed,” Zeke added. “We don’t expect to see you again for an hour and a half.”
She moistened her lips and smiled at each of them in turn. “Whatever you say, gentlemen. I know better than to argue with you.”
Zeke choked on a laugh. “Is that so?”
“Of course,” she replied innocently. “But before we get down to playing, I need to know what I can do to help you guys around here.”
“What do you mean?” Zeke asked suspiciously. “I hope you’re not thinking of going back to Palestine because I gotta tell you—”
“No, at least not yet.” She chewed her lower lip. “But you know me well enough to know I’m not the type to sit around twiddling my thumbs. I need something worthwhile to do.”
“When you’re fully recovered,” Raoul said, scowling.
“Of, of course.”
“Well, when you are, we’ll talk about you helping with the agency work. Zeke and I take on cases ourselves sometimes.”
“Yeah, it might be good, the three of us working together again.”
“Just so long as you don’t give me all the safe, easy jobs,” she warned.
“We don’t take any of those,” Zeke assured her.
“Just as well, because I think I’ve proved I can still kick ass.”
“That you have, darlin’. That you have.”
Laughing, Raoul led her by the hand into the huge en-suite attached to the yellow room. He turned on the taps and poured half a bottle of fragrant oil into the steaming bath water. He lit aromatherapy candles and set them in holders around the tub. Zeke appeared and placed a large glass of white wine on the bath surround. Soothing music played through the built-in speakers.
“There you go, darlin’,” Raoul said, helping her out of her clothes and into the tub.
She sighed with pleasure as she sank into the sudsy water, leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She heard the guys walk quietly from the room and close the door softly behind them, but didn’t even have the energy to say good-bye.
Cantara half dozed in the bath and allowed her mind to wander. They had gotten to the truth behind her abduction, were all together again, and had another chance to live. One that Cantara had no intention of squandering with misguided good intentions this time. She understood what had driven her lovers to strive for the truth. They felt they had let her down and, as men of action and resolve, allowing the perpetrators to get away unscathed would have eaten away at them like a virulent disease. They would not have found real peace. But now, it was done and nothing stood in the way of their being together, in every sense of the word.
The atmosphere had sizzled with anticipation ever since Levi and Hassan left and Cantara realized they had suggested she indulge herself for reasons other than her being tired. They were planning something. Tonight they would finally get their relationship back on course and nothing would be taboo. She sure as hell hoped not, she thought, as she vigorously soaped her *. She recalled with absolute clarity the things they had done to her before they had left for the ill-fated trip to Israel and her recovery would not be complete, until they did them again.
All of them. Repeatedly.
Her wine glass was empty, the water starting to cool. Reluctantly, Cantara stood up and switched on the overhead shower to wash the shampoo from her hair. She climbed from the tub, dried herself off and brushed out her wet hair.
“Wonder what they expect me to wear,” she speculated aloud, and she wandered into the bedroom. “Oh my!”
She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh when she saw the garment, such as it was, that they had lain out on the bed. Just one garment—underwear would obviously be surplus to requirements this evening—and a pair of shoes with five-inch heels.