“Not a good idea,” Jordan said. “There aren’t many people who would actually understand your history. All of it. Probably better to keep your business private, like I do.”
Kira needed to think about that. “I should go. I’m outside the front door.”
“I know. I can see you on my screen,” Jordan said. “Be careful. Do what you need to do to keep yourself safe.”
Jordan hung up. Kira stowed the phone in her purse and stepped inside, trying to wrestle with the idea of not being honest with Luca. That probably wasn’t what Jordan meant. She was just looking out for Kira and not wanting any guy to toss her aside after she told him the truth about her family or the things that’d happened before she quit.
But what bearing did her father’s criminal activity have on her?
Kira didn’t want to deceive Luca. Which was the one thing that actually told her how serious her feelings were. Otherwise, she would have no problem withholding the truth from a guy.
Luca was the one who deserved her honesty. He was a good man who did the right thing and worked tirelessly to make Renegade a better place to live for the people he loved. If she told him the truth and he ended things between them, then he wasn’t the man she thought she knew. And the fact that she’d been burned by her expectations before when it came to that man was another thing that told her how serious her feelings were. She wasn’t putting him on a pedestal, this warrior hero. She was choosing instead to have a more take-it-or-leave-it approach.
Did she want to open up and spill all of her secrets? No, she would rather hide from the fear of being rejected and say nothing. But that didn’t seem like the thing the Lord wanted her to do.
Perfect love casts out fear.
Barbara quoted that verse all the time, and she was right to keep it at the front of her mind. Kira needed more of God’s love in her heart to banish the fear. She needed to give and receive that kind of love every day to keep it at bay. All so she didn’t get swallowed up by the things trying to press in on her all the time.
As the door eased shut behind her, Destiny appeared in the entryway. Kira had been here before a few times and was always in awe of the massive chandelier that hung down over the two-story entryway.
The stairs swept up in an arc, starting from the left side and rising over to the right at the top of the stairs, where a wall of bookshelves stared down. Inviting her to go up and peruse the titles on the shelves.
“Destiny.” Kira opened her arms. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
The other woman swallowed back a sob. “It’s all been so very difficult.”
They embraced and Destiny stepped back. Despite the circumstances, her makeup remained perfect. Whatever products she bought had to be waterproof—and she reapplied frequently. There was no way Kira would be this put-together if her husband had just died. But she would likely have the same red eyes of a grieving widow.
Kira needed to stop trying to look for reasons to distrust this woman when God had put them in each other’s lives as acquaintances they could rely on. There was no reason to believe anything underhanded had happened, especially not originating from Destiny.
Kira had taken a look at the medical chart and spoken with the doctor in charge of Ralph Rousseau’s care. She had no reason to believe that this was a hit or murder. All the information in the chart indicated that Ralph had simply taken a turn for the worse after he was administered medication, and the weak state of his body meant that he hadn’t been able to recover from it. He’d simply had no fight left.
If there had been poison or the dosage had been too high, the coroner should be able to discern as much from an autopsy. But the results of that could take days or even weeks, and there would need to be an investigation within the hospital.
“Whatever you need,” Kira said. “I’m here for you.”
“Thank you so much,” Destiny said. “There is something. Could you check for Roger in his room? He’s supposed to be down here helping me with the guests and everything, but he seems to have disappeared.”
“Of course.” She squeezed Destiny’s arm.
“His room is the second door on the left. I’ll be on the patio with the rest of the guests.”
Kira nodded and headed for the stairs, where her shoes made no sound on the carpet. At the top, she could see all the way down the upstairs hall, doors on either side and a set of double doors at the end that likely led to the main bedroom.
She approached the second door and heard muffled voices.
Kira knocked. “Roger, are you in there? Your mother sent me to check that you’re all right.” She eased the door open, her senses on alert. Not just from everything that had happened recently but also because of her own experiences.
Someone grabbed the door from her grip and pulled it all the way open, but didn’t grab her. She wobbled on her heels.
Luca stood there holding the door. Roger sat beyond him in a chair, his face red and the beginning of a bruise on his cheekbone. Luca had clearly been questioning him, and Roger didn’t want to answer.
On the day of his father’s memorial? Talk about insensitive. This wasn’t the time or the place to question a man’s involvement in the incident that killed his father.
She looked at Luca. “What are you doing?”
Fourteen