“I was going more for Oscar Wilde,” Nora said. Zach looked up at her and she winked. “He was…Irish.”
Wesley didn’t seem to pick up her double meaning. He merely slid the omelet onto Nora’s plate and sat down to his own.
“Whatever we were doing was clearly a bad idea and will not happen again,” Zach said.
The smile fell out of Nora’s eyes. She started toying with her omelet.
Wesley took a healthy bite of his breakfast.
“I can make toast or—”
A blaring ring that seemed to originate from the top of the refrigerator interrupted Wesley’s question.
“Good God, what is that?” The sound bored a hole into Zach’s head.
Nora and Wesley exchanged a look. Nora stood and grabbed a red cell phone off the top of her refrigerator and silenced the ringer. Before she answered she checked the number.
“Shit. It’s not King.” She looked at Wesley with something like fear in her face, more fear than she’d shown yesterday at the book-signing. Zach saw the same fear mirrored in Wesley’s eyes.
“Is it—” Wesley asked, and Nora nodded.
She took a quick, deep breath.
“Yes, sir?” she said, finally answering the phone.
Wesley stood up slowly and started to walk to the door.
“Wes?” Nora said and Zach heard a quaver in her voice.
“What?” Wesley turned around to face her.
“It’s Søren.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Nora looked ghost-pale.
“I mean, it’s Søren for you. He wants to talk to you.”
Wesley’s eyes widened in shock. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Just talk to him, please.”
Wesley took the phone from her with obvious reluctance.
“Hello,” Wesley said and Zach winced with sympathy at the pain in the boy’s voice.
Nora stood with her arms crossed and leaned back against the counter. Wesley listened a moment and walked out of the kitchen, out of earshot.
“What on earth is that about?” Zach asked.
“I don’t know.” Nora seemed genuinely concerned.
“Søren and Wesley chat often?”
“No, they’ve never met, never spoken. Wes hates Søren.” Nora sat down at the table again. After what seemed like an eternity but what was probably only a minute or two, Wesley returned to the kitchen. He handed the red phone back to Nora.
“What did he want, Wes?” Nora asked.
Zach studied Wesley’s face. The boy looked flushed and fearful.
“He thanked me.”
“Thanked you for what?” she asked.
“For pulling that guy off you yesterday. He said that as he was no longer in a position to protect you, he was grateful you had someone who was seeing to your safety.”
He pulled out of her and she dragged her knees to her chest and rolled onto her side, her arms still pinned over her head.
“I don’t know,” she answered the question he hadn’t been able to ask. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Talk to me, Caroline. What is it?”
“I don’t know,” she said again. She took a deep breath and then another. She slowly rolled onto her back again. “We don’t have to stop.”
He leaned forward and untied her wrists and gathered her into his arms. The gesture seemed to release whatever was tied up inside her. Sobbing, she collapsed against his chest.