let her down, going back on promises he’d made to her.
His agent followed him outside the press booth and they left the racing venue together. “Tony, what’s eating you? I’ve never seen you react that way to an interviewer.”
“You heard him, Ben. He wouldn’t let up on me. How many times does he have to hear no?”
“You made your point.” Ben, always the diplomat, tried to appease him, but Tony wasn’t ready to let it drop.
“He misconstrued my words and circled around the truth. Make a note, I never want to do another interview with him.” Hell, he didn’t want to do another interview with anyone. It was becoming more and more clear where Tony’s place was.
“Well, it’s over and done with now. Forget about it.” Ben slapped him on the back. “Come on, let me take you to dinner.”
Tony shook his head. “No thanks. I’m beat. I’m going to head back to the hotel.”
“Okay, get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning for the commercial shoot.”
Tony bid his agent farewell and took a limo back to his hotel. When he arrived at the Hyatt, instead of going to his room, he headed straight for the cocktail bar and ordered a double whiskey.
He sat there, thinking about his life and all he’d accomplished. He wasn’t one to ever give up when he wanted something. He’d had obstacles in his way, but he’d never had much trouble overcoming them. At least, not until now, with Rena.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find a beautiful young blond woman taking a seat beside him. “You’re Tony Carlino, the racecar driver, aren’t you?”
“That would be me.” He sipped his drink.
“Would you like to buy me a drink?”
Tony stared at her and saw the bold, provocative look in her eyes. She made no bones about what she wanted; she had “groupie” written all over her meticulously salon-tanned body. At one time, he might have indulged her and welcomed the fringe benefits that would’ve come afterward. Now, his thoughts were of his pregnant wife and the miles between them.
He finished off his drink and set a fifty on the bar. “Sure, have whatever you want on me. I’m going home to my wife.”
And hours later, Tony put the key in the lock and turned the doorknob to Rena’s house. The three-hour time difference from the East Coast put him back in Napa in the late afternoon, and he was grateful for regaining those hours. He’d spent more time in the air today than he’d spent on the ground in North Carolina. Wondering about Rena’s reaction when she saw him, Tony opened the door slowly.
“I’m the last one to give advice on romance, Tony. But it seems to me from a logical standpoint, you need a gesture of some sort. Some way to show her how much she means to you.”
Joe’s words had stayed with him, and grand gesture or not, Tony knew in his gut that he had to return home to Rena tonight—it had to be tonight.
There were things he had to say. He needed to clear the air between them. Especially after what had happened in North Carolina earlier today.
“Rena?” he called out, noting how quiet the house seemed. Again, he called her name and was met with silence. He hadn’t seen her in the fields when he’d driven up, but then he wasn’t really on the lookout at that time. He strode down the hallway and heard static coming from a radio. “Rena, are you here?”
He followed the sound to the room across from their bedroom. One look inside made his skin crawl. “Oh my God.” A pool of green paint oozed from an overturned paint tray, the drop cloth doing its best to contain the puddle. Near the radio on the floor, Tony spotted something red. Initially, he froze and prayed that it wasn’t what he’d thought. He moved quickly and bent to touch the crimson liquid and bring it to his nose. It wasn’t wine or paint.
It was blood.
“Rena’s blood,” he breathed out. Plaguing thoughts of her being injured and bloody raced through his mind. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Please, God.”
His cell phone rang.
Tony answered it immediately. “Tony? It’s Solena. I’ve got some news—”
“Where’s Rena?” he bellowed into the phone.
“We just arrived at Napa Hospital. I’m in the ambulance. She took a fall—”
“I’m coming. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes? Where are you and how—”
“I’ll explain later.” Tony shut off the phone and