Page 60 of Relentless
A few people knew where she was, of course. But the chances of any of those people passing that information to one of her teammates? It just didn’t make sense. Her world and Cody’s world were two very different places.
A knock sounded at the door, and she called out for whoever it was to enter. A beat later, her sister walked in.
“You could have taken the larger room,” Sabina said, joining her at the window.
“As I said before, neither Ethan nor I care for the extra space. This room is more than adequate.” And it was. The house they currently occupied belonged to a friend of William Warwick’s. The literary power couple vacated the sprawling Russian Hill mansion every summer for their home in Vermont. They’d been quick to say yes when William had asked if his family could stay there a few nights.
“I’m surprised he’s not here with you,” Sabina said.
Kara wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she remained silent. The sun had started its descent into the western horizon, turning the sky a mix of pale blue and pink. And a heavy fog bank hovered on the edges of the bay, as if waiting for a race gun to go off before rolling in.
“You’ve gone from zero to sixty with him, it seems,” Sabina pressed.
Kara stilled then turned to face her sister. “We’ve known each other for months. Almost a year. It’s hardly surprising that when we crossed the line from friends to more that we both went all in.” In some ways, she and Ethan knew each other better than Chad and Sabina had when they’d first gotten together. Sure, Chad and Sabina had worked together for over two years when they’d moved from colleagues to lovers. But they hadn’t been close. Not like her and Ethan. But this wasn’t a competition, and she didn’t need to defend her relationship. And shewouldn’tdefend it. Especially not to her sister.
“And you’re happy?” she asked. Kara nodded. “You don’t seem happy right now,” she added.
“Sabina? What’s going on with you?” Kara countered, too emotionally exhausted to try to figure out her sister’s weird hesitations. “You practically pushed me into his arms and now you seem, I don’t know, annoyed that I’m there.”
Sabina stilled, and silence fell between them before she spoke with a shake of her head. “You’re right. Never mind.”
Kara thought about letting it go, but it would fester if she did. “I didn’t bring it up to shut you down. I brought it up because I’m curious. I’m not going to justify myself or my decisions. But I’d like to understand what’s going on in your prodigious brain.”
She watched a ferry motor across the bay toward Tiburon as Sabina considered her answer. Finally, her sister let out a small huff. “I suck at this emotional stuff,” she said.
Kara shifted her gaze away from the water to her sister. “And this is emotional?”
Sabina bit her lip then nodded. “I guess I wanted to be there when it happened. Nottherethere, of course. I’m not a voyeur. But I wanted to be there with you as you fell in love. I had all these fantasies of late-night gossip sessions and drinks at the Boom as you sorted through your feelings. I thought it might be a little like when we were teenagers, and we stayed up late talking about boys. But the adult version of that. We missed so much of each other’s lives that I thought we’d at least have this.” She paused then reached out her hand. Kara regarded it, then took it in her own.
“I’m sorry if I was being weird. I’m happy for you. Really happy. I guess I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly, is all. But if I’d thought about it from any perspective other than my own, I would have seen that it couldn’t happen any other way. Well, absent the killer being after you, of course. Still, I should have known that a slow courtship, for lack of a better word, wasn’t in the cards for you two. Which also meant that experiencing it with you also wasn’t in the cards.”
“But youdidgo through it with me,” Kara said. “Ethan and I have been friends for ten months. Close friends. You’ve been with me from the first time I met him until now. And you’ll be with me, with us, for years to come. It may not have looked like you thought it would, but you were there, Sabina.”
Sabina blinked, then pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry I was weird,” she mumbled again.
“You’re always just a little bit weird when it comes to these sorts of things,” Kara shot back, though she added a soft laugh to take the sting out of her words. Sabina had always been more the practical and straightforward twin. It sometimes made it hard for her to empathize with others, but no one had a heart as big as Sabina’s. Sometimes she just needed to be reminded of that.
“Kara…oh, sorry, I didn’t know Sabina was with you,” Ethan said, pausing in the door. “Do you need a few minutes?” His gaze bounced between the two before settling on Kara.
“No, we’re good,” Sabina answered. Then she squeezed Kara one more time and started to leave, but Ethan stopped her.
“You’ll want to hear this, too. Gina has some information. Chad is setting up a video call in the library right now.”
Sabina nodded then left the room, patting Ethan on the chest as she passed.
“Everything okay?” he asked, walking toward her. Sabina’s confession had surprised Kara. She’d sensed something was up with her sister but hadn’t thought it would be that. In truth, she thought she might be jealous—not of Ethan per se, but of the time they’d now be spending together. She’d thought that Sabina might be worried about losing Kara to someone else just as Kara settled down nearby. She was happy that wasn’t the case. But despite Sabina’s words, Kara knew it would take her sister some time to come to grips with her and Ethan as a couple.
“Everything’s fine,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Liar,” he said with a smile before kissing her.
“Not a liar,” she replied when he pulled back. “Just an interesting conversation with my sister, that’s all. But everything between us is fine. Or will be.”
His eyes filled with concern. He was well aware of how close she and Sabina were. “It has to do with me, doesn’t it?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Mostly it has to do with our past coming back to haunt her. But she’s happy for us.”
“Of course she is. She’s been throwing us together for months. She might have been surprised when it finally took, but I don’t doubt she’s happy for us.”
