Chapter 118

Tick Tock

Kate POV

We left the door open so we could hear the elevator and have a little time to prepare for the wrath of Rhi to arrive. We've been sitting here waiting patiently, OK maybe impatiently waiting, for her to come. After that message she left that she'd be back in an hour we've been sitting watching the clock.

Let me tell you I think that's the best form of torture. Telling someone what time they'll show up when they're pissed at you because they found out you hid things from them. It's definitely torture because Ana and I fucked up. Big time.

"Kate, get in here and sit down. You're not helping." Ana says to me. I've been pacing for almost an hour. I've tried everything to calm down and so far nothing is helping. I can't sit still to save my life. "If anything, you're making things worse. If you don't sit down I'm going to hit you with something to knock you out and tie you to a chair." She laughs wickedly but something tells me she means it.

"Sorry Ana but I'm just so nervous about her coming back. I feel like a horrible friend even though we were just trying to protect her." I reply, sitting down on the couch. I'm not there for long before I get back up and move to one of the bar chairs. Ana rolls her eyes.

We hear the elevator ping, indicating it's arrival and I jump up to go to the door. I'm hoping it's Rhi but I sincerely doubt it. She will drag something out as long as possible to make a point. She's notorious for arriving at the last minute too. She's on time but barely. I don't know if it's because she hates waiting or if she lives on her own time. I'm pretty sure it's the latter but the former is just as logical.

Stepping into the hallway, I see Taylor, Ryan, Reynolds and Luke. Not exactly my favorite people in the world right now. I promised Ana I would maintain control and not lose my mind but seeing them makes that promise VERY difficult to keep. I'd really like to throw some punches at them myself but I definitely know I can't throw a punch as good as Rhi. I'm much better with words.

They continue to walk down the hall towards me and I wonder what they're going to do. If they ignore me and go into their room I'm going to lose it. It feels like we're having a duel in the street. They are walking toward me and I'm surprised when they continue past their door.

Ryan speaks first. "Miss Kavanaugh. Miss Steele." I'm shocked. I didn't even realize Ana came into the hall.

Looking back at him I nod. "Ryan. Guys." I tilt my head, half-assed inviting them inside. "Won't you come in? I'm thinking we all need to have a chat and I'd rather not do it in the hallway. Considering you're at our door, you might as well come in." I step to the side to allow them to go in but Ryan indicates with his hand for me to go first. Always a gentleman. I roll my eyes. It makes it difficult to be irate at him.

"Have a seat wherever you'd like." Ana waves her hand around the main room. "Would you like anything to drink?"

I don't know why she's being such a polite hostess. This isn't a party, but I keep my mouth shut, as promised. Maybe this is why everyone loves Ana. She has style and grace.

The guys look at her and Ryan speaks for them. "Not right now, thanks."

There's an uncomfortable silence for a minute and Ana finally speaks up. "Explain to me what you were doing with Rhi today?"

Thank you! At least she gets right to the point.

Ryan takes a deep breath and starts to explain. "OK, I'll explain it as it happened." He swallows before continuing. "We were in our room and heard you and Kate leave for wherever you were going. We assumed Rhi and Alex were still in your room. A while later, we heard the door shut again and saw Alex leave alone. While we were getting ready to leave, Rhi comes out, leaving on her own. We've been here long enough to know that her and Alex have been together since you guys got here. When they left separately, we were curious as to why. We, being CPO's, got concerned that she was leaving alone and followed her downstairs. Just to make sure she was OK. We briefly talked to her and, ever since the fiasco at the pool between her and Luke, he's been wanting to apologize to her so he took this opportunity to do so. I'll let him continue because he was the one talking to her." Looking over at Luke, he nods.

"He's right. All I thought about was apologizing to her for being an idiot. This was the perfect time because she initiated the contact and I ran with it. I apologized for everything, causing her injury, and everything else. I didn't touch her, told her to be safe and alert if she was going to be alone." A small smile breaks out across his face when he continues, "She shocked the hell out of me when she told me she forgave me."

Ana and I look at each other. I wish I could say we were surprised but that would be a lie. She forgives everyone as long as they take responsibility for their actions and admit they fucked up. Of course, they have to prove they mean it too.

"Anyway, I guess you guys were texting her and it got pretty intense because she started venting about things and then shut down and wanted to leave." He looks at us. "She said some things that were really concerning but we didn't ask and just let it go."

I don't know what he's thinking but I can only imagine what she went off about. Us.

"We gave her our phone numbers in case she needed anything and offered to take her to lunch. She originally declined but then changed her mind. Then she says she needs to give her 'public' something to watch and came up with her and Ryan dancing." He stops and looks at Ryan.

Ryan picks up where Luke left off. "After dancing, we went to the Cosmo for lunch but before we could do that, she got a mysterious phone call and she started acting weird. She asked me to find her a private place to take the call so we found an empty bathroom for her to use."

Taylor, Luke and Reynolds are all looking at Ryan, listening intently. It's almost as if they weren't aware of this.

Ryan looks at them and continues. "When she came out after her phone call, she was angry and left. The last time I saw her she was running in the street back toward the hotel." He stops and looks from Ana to me.

I look at Ana. "What do you make of it?"

We exchange a confused look before she answers. "I have no idea with that means. It could be anything. Whatever it is, it must have been upsetting enough for her to get angry and run. Lord only knows what pissed her off this time." She rolls her eyes at that. These days it doesn't take much to upset her.

I look down at my phone and note that it's been almost an hour. Rhi should be coming back soon. A few moments later, all of our phones started going off and I have a sinking feeling that it's Rhi.

Simultaneously, we look at our phones. My eyes get wide as I read her message. 'I'm not coming back yet. You all lied to me. I'll be back when I get back. DON'T come looking for me. Fuck Off.' I'm speechless as I look at Ana, her eyes just as wide as mine, when realization sets in. "She knows about what Christian did."

Taylor finally speaks. "What do you mean she knows? There shouldn't have been any trail indicating we were doing anything." He sounds just as confused as he looks.

I snort out a laugh. "Taylor, trust me. She knows." I shake my head. "There's nothing that you guys could have done without her finding out. You and Welch could have been ghosts and she'd still know." I can't tell them anything about her. It's not my place and, to be honest, none of their business.

"Let me ask you something." They nod silently, so I continue. "Grey told you to run the usual protocol, vetting anyone that has any potential contact with anyone connected to him 'for security purposes.'" I actually use air quotes and roll my eyes. "You and Welch were confused, and still are, when you couldn't find anything on her except basic personal identifiers, like a driver's license. Am I correct so far?" I watch him for his reaction, knowing it's the truth.

Taylor sighs, "Yes. We couldn't find anything on her background and it's a little disturbing." He pauses, looking at me. "Why can't we find anything?"

I laugh, "Taylor, you're never going to find anything. Plain and simple. Grey, you and Welch will just gave to give it up and wait to see if Rhi tells you." Shaking my head, I say, matter of factly, "I can guarantee, when she does show up, we're all in deep shit and will feel her wrath. She'll either say something immediately or she'll pretend nothing happened but we will still feel her anger and betrayal. She's livid. She doesn't like when people keep things from her." Looking at each of them to make my point, I continue, "Ana and I are in just as much trouble as you guys are. I've known about everything this whole time. Elliot and I have been talking daily." I pause again, "Speaking of Elliot…"

At the mention of his name I see the look on Taylor's face morph from curiosity to regret.

"Yeah, Taylor, Elliot. He tried telling you from the beginning to leave her alone. That you wouldn't find anything. That you knew nothing about her past and could make things worse. You refused to listen. Grey refused to listen. You and Welch found it to be a challenge and were determined to find anything you could about her, for your own personal reasons." I'm so angry right now that I could slap him. "You just couldn't let it go. You had this need to find information. Let me ask you a question…" I let the statement hang in the air.

When I look at Ana she's smiling, amusement glowing in her eyes. This is going to be great, making them squirm. I wink at her and smile back. When I look back at the guys, they all look uncomfortable, except for maybe Ryan and Reynolds. They don't look as uncomfortable as Luke and Taylor. Especially Luke.

"Yeah, guys, you know what I'm going to ask don't you?" I don't give them a chance to respond before I resume, "So tell me, Taylor, why is it that you refused to listen to Elliot? Was it because of the challenge of finding information about her or was it really because you were interested in Rhi for yourself?"

Taylor says nothing but I can see a glimmer of guilt cross his face. I hope he feels like complete shit because of his actions. Or lack thereof. He should because whatever the real reason is, it's fucked up and wrong.

"I don't know what's worse, you persistently digging or you failing to stop what Luke started." I glare at Luke and he looks down. "You failed to protect Rhi. Even when Elliot told you that you need to stop because you could fuck up, and boy did you ever fuck things up."

I end my rant and walk into the kitchen, looking at Ana as I go, and I see her nod. Pulling two tumblers out, I pour each of us a glass of Patron. We're going to need it when Rhi gets back and we're going to start early. This is too much to deal with sober.

Walking back out, I hand one of the glasses to Ana and see Taylor raise his eyebrows. Chuckling I tell him, "Loosen up Taylor. You have no idea who you're dealing with when it comes to Rhi. You'll see. You'll need a drink by the time the night is over. IF you're still around."

Taylor sighs, "We'll, I guess since we're officially off duty and on a short vacation, might as well have a couple of drinks. Especially if you think it's going to be that bad."

The other guys agree and we all have a couple of drinks and start to relax while we sit and wait for Rhi to storm the room. We all talk to make things a little more comfortable between all of us. None of us have eaten so we order up room service with various sandwiches, snacks, fruits and veggies. I wonder if Rhi will eat anything. She's always telling us she knows when, what and how much to eat before going out.