Girl, Sought (Ella Dark #24)

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Gabriel Thorne sat alone in the interview room, and Ella thought he looked like a broken action figure someone had posed in all the wrong ways. His suit was crumpled and stained with dirty water. A bruise bloomed across his jaw where Luca’s fist had connected. Ella regarded him through the one-way glass with pity.

‘So he just lights up a cigarette?’ Reeves asked. ‘In a unit full of gas?’

‘Yeah. But Hawkins got there before he could barbecue himself.’ Ella kept her eyes on Thorne while she outlined the storage unit standoff. The desperate gambit with the chemicals. The masks in his office. His history of theft. Luca, who was leaning against the wall with a coffee in hand, nodded along.

‘Well, the good news is that I know this guy. I’ve seen Gabriel in here enough times. Pretty sure I dragged him in myself a few times, but he never struck me as the murderous type. I expected our killer to be more fire and brimstone, less… middle management.’

‘Evil clocks in at 9-to-5 like the rest of us.’

‘You two going to talk a confession out of him?’

‘We’re going to get some answers, put it that way.’

Reeves checked his watch. ‘Good. I'll be watching from the observation room. Try not to let him set himself on fire this time.’

‘Understood.’ Ella waited until Reeves' footsteps receded down the hall, then turned to Luca. He was leaning against the wall, an inscrutable expression on his face as he studied Thorne through the glass.

‘Quite a day,’ Luca said.

‘That’s one way to put it.’ Ella couldn't quite keep the bite from her voice. The memory of those barrels, the chemical reek and Thorne's wild eyes, still rattled around her skull. They'd come too damn close to a body count today. And while part of her admired Luca's fearless takedown, the rest of her wanted to throttle him for taking such a risk. They were lucky to be breathing.

‘What's another way of putting it?’

‘Reckless. Dangerous. A couple clicks shy of suicidal,’ Ella said.

Luca's reflection tensed. She watched him watching her in the glass, mismatched mirrors reflecting tension back and forth into infinity.

‘You talking about me taking down Thorne back there? Because from where I'm standing, looked a lot like saving both our asses.’

Ella breathed out slowly through her nose, counted to five in her head like they taught in Bureau-mandated stress management. ‘Okay, yeah, it worked out. This time. But charging into a confined space filled with explosive gas? That's not tactics, that's a death wish, Hawkins. And let's not forget how you practically gift-wrapped our case for any half-decent defense attorney when you blurted out your little B&E adventure to Thorne.’

‘You know how hard it is to ignite barrels of liquid like that?’

‘And you’re the explosives expert, are you?’

‘No, I’m just saying. He had a Zippo in one hand and a lifetime of jail ahead. What did you think was gonna happen? You’d rather I just let our prime suspect kamikaze right in front of us?’

‘Of course not, but...’ Ella raked a hand through her hair. The words tangled on her tongue. How to explain the icy fear that had gripped her in that moment? The certainty that she was about to watch her partner, the man she loved, go up in flames? ‘We know all about burns, okay? Did that even cross your genius mind?’

Luca flinched like she'd slapped him, and for a second, Ella wished she could snatch the words back.

‘Are you serious?’

‘Luca, sorry, I didn’t mean-,’

‘No, let me get this straight. I just caught us a possible serial killer - from inside a deathtrap rigged to blow us both to hell. And instead of a 'good job' or even a 'thanks for saving our asses', you're giving me shit for doing my job?’

The comments were a well-aimed strike to the tender underbelly of doubt and guilt she'd tried so hard to armor over. Because, like always, he was right. Luca had risked everything today. His safety, his sanity, his life.

And what was her response? To pick apart his choices and second-guess his every move.

‘I just… want you to be more careful. It’s me that’s going to have to sign off the mountain of paperwork this stunt is gonna generate.’

‘Y'know what? Just admit you're jealous I'm closing the gap.’

Ella's jaw nearly came unhinged. ‘Excuse me?’

‘The gap. The gap between you being hot shit at the Bureau and me being the loose cannon you kept around to kick down doors.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

'Every time I get results, you can't just let me have the win. Your jealousy always gets in the way. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it me who snuck into Thorne’s office? Didn’t I find him, figure out his location, and take him down without firing a shot? What did you do, huh?’

Ella's breath stuttered in her throat. She was trapped somewhere between fury and frustration, because Luca had gone above and beyond on this case and pulled threads she hadn’t even seen or considered.

And maybe part of her, some small wounded thing crouched in the shadowed corners of her psyche, hated that he didn't need her hand on the back of his neck anymore.

‘I never said you didn’t do great work. I just want you to keep doing great work and not go up in a ball of flames.’

Luca crossed his arms. 'Like you've never done anything risky to get results? Like, I'll never be as good as Ella Dark? I'll always be the sidekick, is that right? Oh, and it was you who taught me that little lockpicking technique, so what burns more - that I broke the rules, or that I learned how to break them from the best? ’

She wanted to deny it, to plead misunderstanding and blame it on the post-adrenaline crash. But there was a kernel of truth in his accusation. She’d gotten used to being the best, and with Ripley gone, she thought she could fully own the mantle. And now here was Luca, proving himself her equal and more.

And some small, petty part of her resented him for it. Hated that he made it look so easy, when she'd had to claw and scrape for every scrap of respect in this boys' club of a bureau.

But even through the choking miasma of her own shortcomings, a glimmer of hope sparked. Because Luca wasn't like the preening alpha males who'd underestimated her at every turn. He wasn't threatened by a strong woman - he wanted her to be her best self, even if it meant outshining him.

And this was her chance to return the favor. To step back, cede the floor, and let him claim his well-earned place in the sun.

‘Maybe you ought to take this interrogation alone. You did all the work.’

‘What?’

‘You found Thorne, you cuffed him, you did the whole hero bit and saved the day. So go on and finish the job.’

‘No. I want you in there with me. I need you in there with me because I'm not ashamed to admit that you do things better than me. Interrogations is one of them.’

‘So? If this is our last case together, what are you going to do next time you gotta question someone?’

Luca squared his shoulders. ‘Come in with me. I’ll do the talking.’

‘Fine.’

Ella's throat closed. She had to swallow something bitter before going in there because her partner had done great work today. Maybe too good. And that realization terrified her as much as any masked murderer could.

Because if Luca didn't need her anymore, what did that make her? Just another collector, desperately holding onto something that wasn't really hers to keep.