Free Heart of Stone by Debra Mullins Page B

of the stone. “I’d hate it if he was permanently injured because of me.”
    â€œThank you for your concern,” Maria said, “but we’ll take care of him.”
    Cara smiled at her. “You look beat. Did you want a few minutes to freshen up before dinner?”
    â€œOh, my, yes. ” Faith winced. “But I didn’t bring anything with me. These guys pretty much packed me on the plane with the clothes on my back.”
    â€œThat doesn’t surprise me.” Cara glared at Adrian.
    He held up his hands. “Hey, the bad guys were out for blood. We had to get out of town, fast.”
    â€œI have something you can borrow for tonight,” Cara said. “Tomorrow we can go shopping for some clothes.”
    â€œHold on a minute,” Rafe said. “If the Mendukati are after her, you can’t just jet off to the mall like nothing’s wrong.”
    Cara whirled on her fiancé. “And what do you suggest we do? The woman can’t go around naked.” She pointed a finger. “And don’t even think about making any kind of smart crack, pal.”
    Rafe came closer to catch her hand in his, opened her fingers, and dropped a kiss on her palm. “Yes, dear.” Cara’s face softened for a moment. Rafe pressed her fingers closed. “You hold on to that,” he murmured.
    His proximity to Faith left no doubt; Rafe had the discordant stone somewhere on his person.
    Maria stepped forward. “Why don’t I show you to your room, Faith?”
    â€œI’ll do it.” Cara stepped away from Rafe with only a hint of reluctance and smiled at Faith. “I know what it’s like to be the new kid around here.”
    Something that might have been relief swept across Maria’s face. “Thank you, Cara.”
    â€œCome on, Faith.” Cara swept her hand in a “follow me” gesture. “You’re upstairs.”
    Faith turned to Adrian. “I want to thank you for your help today. And to ask you … well, please keep Ben safe. I’m scared for him.”
    He nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him.”
    She exhaled with relief. “Thank you.”
    â€œWho’s Ben?” Tessa demanded. “Boyfriend?”
    Faith narrowed her eyes at Darius’s sister. “Family.” Turning her back on the rude young woman, she followed Cara upstairs.
    â€œWhat’d I say?” she heard Tessa grumble from below.
    â€œToo much,” Rafe replied. “As usual.”
    Cara said nothing until she and Faith reached the top of the curving staircase, and she led Faith down a hallway. “Don’t mind Tessa,” she said over her shoulder. “She’s very protective of Darius.”
    â€œI got that.”
    â€œI’m fairly new here myself, but from what I’ve seen and what Rafe has told me, Tessa took it hard when Darius got injured. Apparently she idolized him.” She stopped in front of a door halfway down the hall. “This is your room. It has its own bathroom. All the bedrooms in this palace have their own bathrooms.” She opened the door and waved Faith in.
    The bedroom, expertly decorated in desert tones of sage green, sandy beige, and dusky rose, boasted a queen-size bed and what promised to be a spectacular daytime view of the red rock formations of Sedona through the panoramic windows. Sturdy wooden doors to the left indicated closets, and Cara turned the knob to open a smaller door on the right, flipping on a light.
    â€œBathroom just has a shower, no tub, but it’s big enough for a family of five.” She shook her head. “The Montanas sure like to be comfortable.”
    â€œIt’s a lovely room.” Faith set her purse on top of a low dresser. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
    â€œIf I can answer.”
    â€œI’m sorry,” Faith hurried to say. “I understand if they told you not to tell me