Jaimie: Fire And Ice Part 37

If things went well, Jaimie would be happy for the rest of her life.

It things went badly...

"If they go badly," Lissa said, "at least we'll know that we tried."

Shadow Inc., Caleb had said. Lissa Googled it, and called the number she found.

"Shadow Inc.," a pleasant female voice said.

"Zacharias Castelianos, please."

"May I ask what this is about?"

Lissa picked up a pencil and doodled a circle.

"It's personal."

"I'm afraid Mr. Castelianos is in a meeting, Miss...Miss..."

"I think he'll want to take my call."

"Ma'am. As I said-"

"My name is not 'ma'am,' it is Wilde. Lissa Wilde. Tell him that I want to speak to him about my sister, Jaimie. I'll hold."

A gusty sigh came over the phone.

"I'll see what I can do."

Lissa looked at her watch. Ten seconds. Twenty...

"What's happened to Jaimie?"

The voice was male, low, rough with alarm. Lissa almost smiled-but not quite.

"Nothing's happened to her, Mr. Castelianos."

"But you told my PA..." Zach looked at his PA, who was looking at him as if she'd never seen him before. He scowled and motioned her out of his office. "Who is this?"

"My name is Lissa. Lissa Wilde. I'm Jaimie's-"

"Sister. Her older sister."

"Only by a year," Lissa said, just a little defensively.

"If something's happened to Jaimie..."

"Nothing has." Lissa paused. What the h.e.l.l. "Except you."

Zach yanked the phone from his ear and glared at it. When he put it to his ear again, he had gone from scowling to glowering.

"Why are you calling me, Ms. Wilde?"

"It's Lissa. And I'm calling because I love my sister and she's hurting."

"Dammit, stop talking in circles. You said nothing's happened to her. Now you said she's hurting."

"There are different kinds of hurt, Zach," Lissa said quietly.

Zach sank into the leather chair behind his desk.

"Please. Tell me what's going on. If Jaimie needs me-"

"You broke my sister's heart."

"Bull!"

"She thinks she was just another a.s.signment to you...but I'm betting that she wasn't."

"Frankly, Ms. Wilde-"

"Lissa."

"Frankly, Ms. Wilde, whatever happened between your sister and me is none of your business."

"But something did happen."

"I did a favor for a friend. End of story."

"Mr. Castelianos. I'm going to be very direct here. Did you have an affair with my sister?"

Zach rubbed his hand over his forehead. "You're out of bounds, Ms. Wilde."

"Did you fall in love with her, Mr. Castelianos?"

"Jesus H. Christ, woman-"

"Because I'm pretty sure she fell in love with you."

There was a long, long silence. Then, Zach sighed. When he spoke next, the irritation had left his voice. He sounded exhausted. Just like Jaimie.

"I thought so, too. Turns out, I was wrong."

Lissa smiled, picked up the pencil and turned the circle she'd doodled into a heart.

"Are you familiar with El Sueno, Zach?"

"The Wilde ranch? Sure. I was there a couple of years ago. I do business with two of your brothers. Caleb and Travis."

"Ah."

"Ah, what, Ms. Wilde?"

"Ah, that's why I'm calling you. My sister Emily is getting married at El Sueno the day after tomorrow."

"How nice for Emily."

She winced. Could a voice be any colder?

"It's going to be a big wedding."

"Call the Announcements page at the New York Times."

"Jaimie will be there."

"What a surprise-that James should be at her own sister's wedding."

Lissa smiled. That James gave her hope.

"You're on the guest list."

"I am?"

"But you haven't RSVP'd."

Surely, her nose was going to start growing any second now.

"Ms. Wilde."

"Lissa."

"Ms. Wilde, I've had no invitation to a wedding. Even if I had, I'm leaving the country tomorrow."

"Your work for The Agency?"

"Is there anything about me you don't know?"

"I don't know if you're worth all the pain Jaimie's going through, but I do know that my brother Caleb thinks you walk on water. I also know that my sister can't seem to get over you."

More silence. Then a long, unhappy sigh.

"What do you want from me, Lissa?"

"I want you to come to El Sueno the day after tomorrow, Mr. Castelianos. I want you to see Jaimie, see for yourself how unhappy she is. How much she needs you."

"If I'd wanted to set myself up for another fall," Zach said, again in that icy voice, "I could have called her a dozen times, right here in New York."

"But you didn't," Lissa said. "And this is the solstice. Did you know the Druids believed the solstice is a time of magic?"

"No," Zach said wearily, "no, I didn't."

Neither did she, but so what?

"Mr. Castelianos. Zacharias-"

"It's Zach," he said brusquely. "Zach. The only one who calls me Zachariah is-is-"

"Fly down," Lissa said softly. "For your sake. And for Jaimie's."

She hit disconnect. There was no point in waiting for his answer.

She had done all she possibly could.

Back at Shadow Inc., Zach's PA knocked warily at the door her boss had closed after that last strange phone call.

'"Come in," he said.

His PA stepped over the threshold.

"Um, Mr. Castelianos...I know you said you didn't want to be disturbed, but-"

"But?" Zach said impatiently. He was not in the mood for this. For anything. That d.a.m.n phone call. Was it true? Was Jaimie hurting? Because, G.o.ddammit, he was hurting. He was aching, big-time.

"But you have a call..."

"I told you, I'm not taking-"

"It's from a man, sir. With the same name as the last caller. Well, not the same..." Zach's PA moistened her lips. "His name is Wilde, too. Caleb Wilde. He says it's urgent."

Zach grabbed the phone, motioned his PA to leave.

"Caleb? What is it? Is it Jaimie?"

Caleb, standing at his brother, Jacob's, desk in the office at El Sueno, looked at Jacob and Travis, and pumped his fist in the air.

"No. h.e.l.l, no. Why would I call you about Jaimie?"