Pirro began to cough hard.
“Dad, I’ll go get you a glass of water.” Angel ran to the kitchen and returned with a drink for her father.
Rafe nodded. “Sara’s right,” he said when Angel returned. He glanced around the room. “Pirro, are you okay?”
The older man nodded. “I’m fine.” He coughed some more, but the sound was less harsh than before.
Still, he’d been unusually quiet tonight, probably because he was worried about Angel’s safety.
“Any problems in shipping I should know about? People with a grudge?” he asked Pirro.
He rubbed his bald head. “No, no, not at all. Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be fine?” he asked, upset and rambling.
“Couldn’t it just be a random act? Teenagers causing trouble?” Angel asked.
“Anything is possible,” Sara said.
But Rafe just didn’t believe in coincidences, and his gut screamed this wasn’t random.
“I’m sick with worry about someone wanting to hurt my Angel. It’s just not right,” Pirro said.
Aunt Vivian nodded her head in agreement. “Angel, darling, I don’t want you alone in that house with all those strangers. You’ll sleep at our place tonight.” She issued the statement as if it were a done deal.
Angel glanced at Nick and subtly shook her head.
“It’s okay. I’ll stay at the B and B tonight,” Nick said. “Angel won’t be alone.”
Pirro exhaled hard, obviously relieved. “You’re like a son to me, Nick. You’re a good boy. Thank you.”
“It’s been a long day. I’m exhausted and upset, and I’d really like to go home,” Aunt Vi said.
Rafe nodded. “Pirro, take her home. There’s nothing more you can do here, and Nick will look out for Angel.”
“That’s a good idea, Dad. You look tired, too. Go home and rest,” Angel said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” The older couple began to say their goodbyes.
As usual, it took another half hour for them to finally get themselves together. Rafe had hoped the seriousness of the fire would take Aunt Vi’s mind off the possibility of her husband cheating or whatever else she thought he was doing. But as Rafe walked them to the door, Aunt Vi gave him one last hug and a whispered reminder that the next time Pirro went out alone, she’d be calling Rafe to follow him.
He returned to the family room, where Sara had poured everyone a cold glass of iced tea. The three of them talked, looking comfortable together. Apparently she had a way with his family that won them over. She’d made herself at home in his house, serving his brother and Angel as if she were the hostess. And Rafe liked what he saw.
But he didn’t have time to enjoy the moment. “Now that Pirro and Vi are gone, I need to talk to the two of you,” Rafe said to his brother and Angel.
“What’s up?” Nick asked.
Rafe met Sara’s knowing gaze. “Before I say anything, is there any chance you know of any complaints lodged with the company? Or someone with a grudge against you who’d use Angel to make a point?”
His brother shook his head. “I checked in with Dad on the way over here and he’s blank, too. Nobody can imagine anyone who’d want to target us.”
That’s what Rafe figured. “There’s a very real possibility that Angel wasn’t the target, but Sara was.” And she’d worked the booth along with Angel.
“What? Why?” Angel asked.
Sara cleared her throat. “To put it simply, I’m supposed to testify against someone in New York, and he wants me too scared to come home and take the witness stand.”
“Or he wants to shut her up permanently.” Rafe walked over to her chair and put a hand on her shoulder. “She came here to hide out.”
“Oh.” Angel’s eyes opened wide.
“I still don’t get it,” Nick said. “If she’s here to hide, I’m assuming she didn’t tell anyone she was coming, so why would you think the fire was aimed at her?”
“Because the Bachelor Blog in New York posted that I’d escaped the city to rendezvous with Rafe in his hometown,” Sara said as she absently rubbed her bad knee.
“Unbelievable,” Nick muttered. “Rafe told me about that damned blog when he was in the hospital. But if no one in New York knew where you’d gone, then it had to be someone here who reported in.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Beyond that, Rafe was blank. He couldn’t fathom who would have reported on her whereabouts.
“Who would snitch about where Sara had gone?” Nick asked the same question aloud.
“Me.” Angel raised her hand in the air.
All eyes turned her way.
“I’m sorry! I had no idea you weren’t here just to be with Rafe. I’d never have done it if I’d known you were in danger!”
Shocked, Sara met Angel’s gaze. “Why? I thought we were friends.”
“We are! And it wasn’t personal. When you first showed up and asked for a room, I recognized you from the articles in the newspaper about the hostage crisis. But I also recognized you from the Bachelor Blog. I take out ads in the New York City newspapers to generate business, so I have them delivered, too.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’d turn her in,” Nick said angrily.
Obviously any good feelings they’d been working toward had gone south, Rafe thought. “Why did you do it?” Rafe asked Angel with more diplomacy than his brother had shown.
“For the same reason. To get the bed-and-breakfast’s name in the paper and generate business.” She glanced at Sara, then Nick, her gaze full of regret. “But I would never have put the business before Sara’s safety. I didn’t know!”
Sara exhaled a long breath. “It’s not your fault,” Sara said, letting Angel off the hook. “Actually, it was a pretty business-savvy move, if you ask me.”
“You’re too generous.” Angel rose and ran for the bathroom in the hall, slamming the door shut behind her.
Nick ran a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t savvy. It was selfish and stupid, just like this business,” Nick muttered.
“And you’re a hothead and an idiot,” Rafe said, not about to let Nick ruin the progress he’d made by picking a fight with his wife. “If Sara isn’t upset with Angel, then you shouldn’t be, either. Don’t make an ass of yourself just because she mentioned the bed-and-breakfast. You need to accept it, remember?”