Private Melody. AlTonya Washington

her lip and tried to cast covert glances around the lobby. She and the guys would be leaving for the airport as soon as the car was packed. Therin had promised to say goodbye.

      She bowed her head, snuggling into the high collar of the black cashmere coat she wore. Idiot, she chastised herself. That brief acquaintance was over and done with. What else could it have been?

      Distance wasn’t the only deciding factor there, either. She was sick of involvements that dissolved because of a weak heart. She smiled unamused and wondered what had done more damage to her heart—her illness or the amount of times her heart had been broken. She felt hands squeeze her arms and masked her disappointment when she saw Winton at her side.

      “We’re all set. You got everything?”

      Kianti risked another glance around the spacious lobby and then nodded. “Let’s go home,” she said.

      “Ruby? Ruby, calm down. For the third time, I didn’t call to fire you.”

      “Sorry, Therin. Sorry,” Ruby Loro blubbered, sniffled and gasped over the phone. “I shouldn’t have done it—keeping my past a secret like that. I just—just felt like I didn’t have a choice. Stupid!” she called herself and hiccupped on a few more sobs. “I thought…the movies were the easiest choice—quickest path to success, or so I thought. God…” she moaned and broke into another stretch of tears. “I’m sorry…”

      “Ruby. Calm yourself.” Therin’s voice was patience personified.

      “I’ll resign.” Ruby hiccupped the words. “I’ll resign my post. The last thing I want is to cast a shadow over all the good you’re doing.”

      “And you know me well enough to know I don’t want a resignation any more than I want to fire you.” Leaning forward on the sofa, Therin braced elbows to his knees. “What I want is for you to think. Did anyone approach you about this? Who knew Ruby Loro was once Spanish Heat?”

      “Jesus,” Ruby hissed at the sound of the name she’d filmed under. “No one knew my real name. Not even the movie people.” She laughed shortly. “They really didn’t care about background checks, or whether I knew English for that matter. Knowing lines wasn’t a big issue, you see?”

      “Right…” His hand flexed around the slim cordless. “I’m sorry, Ruby, for making you remember this crap.”

      “I don’t have any family or friends except for the ones I’ve made while living and working in Canada.”

      “Does that mean you could handle this coming out?” Silence met Therin’s question. “I don’t intend on bending over for these fools.”

      “And I’m tired of hiding. You can rip them a new one for all I care.”

      “Don’t you have vacation time you’ve been hoarding?”

      “Almost a month,” Ruby boasted.

      “Take it and longer if you need it.” Therin left the sofa and went to look out over the Spokane view. “I’m about to call the bluff on these jackasses. I don’t need you caught up in it yet if it’s not necessary.”

      “Thank you, Therin. Thanks for believing in me. Most…” She sniffled lightly. “Most would have judged and not given another thought to firing me.”

      “Well, I happen to know, like and respect Ruby Loro too much to lose her.” He turned his back on the view then. “You get lost and I’ll be in touch when the coast is halfway clear.”

      “Right. Oh! Therin? You had a call come in from a Shepard Yale. Is he—?”

      “Yeah…one and the same.” Therin confirmed Ruby’s suspicions on the caller’s identity while wondering what the retired general wanted with him. He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud.

      “The general was a military liaison toward the end of his career. He smoothed more ruffled feathers and thwarted more potential uprisings than anyone who held the post before or since.” Ruby sighed after giving the rundown. “Maybe something’s about to go down and he wants to consult with you.”

      “Maybe…” Therin tapped his cleft chin and considered the words briefly before turning his focus back to Ruby. “You go pack. We’ll talk soon, all right?”

      “All right, and Therin? Thanks.”

      Vaughn came to the living area just as the call ended. “How’d she take it?”

      “Not well.”

      Vaughn nodded. “Did she have any idea who could’ve leaked this about her past?”

      Therin tossed the phone to the sofa. “Not one. Folks she knew back then weren’t really interested in her past, but what she could do for ’em in front of the camera, you know?”

      “Right…” Vaughn’s mouth tightened.

      “Ruby said a call came in from Shep Yale.”

      “The general?” Vaughn dropped to the sofa and listened as Therin shared Ruby’s idea about the man wanting a consult on something about to pop off. “Could be,” he agreed, realizing the only way to know anything for sure would be to meet with the revered general.

      “Hell, V, the man’s been retired for how long?”

      “And someone with that kind of power never fully retires. Those connections, all that knowledge—it’s always relevant.”

      Silence fell while the two contemplated. Suddenly, Therin’s curse was filling the room.

      Kianti flashed through his mind. “What’s the time?” he asked even as he checked the Swiss timepiece around his wrist. “Hell…”

      “What?” Vaughn stood.

      Therin was already halfway out the door.

      “I’m so sorry, Mr. Ambassador.” Nenda Watts apologized for the third time since Therin arrived at the front desk. She’d just told him he’d missed Kianti, who had left for the airport ten minutes earlier with her entourage.

      “Shit.” Therin brought a fist down to the glossy maple front desk while grinding the muscle in his jaw. Turning slowly, he stared absently past the windows lining the bright, elegantly designed hotel lobby.

      Was it worth it? he asked himself, wondering if he should chalk up the chance encounter as a brief interlude in the chaos that was his life. After all, what could come from an involvement between a busy pianist and a controversial ex-ambassador?

      He smiled at the combination. It was a mix best left alone. Smirking then, he turned back to the front desk.

      “Where was Ms. Lawrence’s flight headed?”