Chapter 16
Gabriel pounded the heel of his hand against his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
His frantic pace ate up the length of his workshop. He’d had a plan. Detective Dipshit was supposed to interview Kevin tonight. The hulking cop wasn’t supposed to be anywhere around when he went after Evelyn.
Pressure built in his chest, reminding him of the suffocating walls closing in around him.
The cop had proven smarter than he’d anticipated.
He’d spoken with too many people, had gotten too close to uncovering secrets Gabriel had spent years keeping buried.
No way he would sit back and let the bastard take everything away from him.
He’d had to strike fast and strike hard.
He had to get Evelyn.
Watching the detective unravel after taking his sister was more amusing than he’d expected.
Amusement had turned to excitement at the thought of taking another woman close to him.
The cop would go from unraveling to hitting rock bottom in no time, and Gabriel needed to put the asshole in his place.
He needed to sit back and watch with the knowledge that he’d taken everything from the man who tried to throw him in a cage, then he could do whatever he wanted with his little pets—his little beauties.
A soft whimper rose from the corner, breaking into his erratic thoughts.
Gabriel stopped pacing and released a ragged breath, turning toward his little kitty curled into the corner of the room.
He hesitated, a fresh idea forming in his mind, before crossing to her.
The floorboards creaked under his weight.
He could still turn this around, just not in the way he’d planned.
Crouching beside his little kitty, he ran a hand through her wild tangle of hair, balling the ends into his fist and yanking her head back.
She yelped, and excitement jumped in his veins.
It was time to trade his kitty in for a mouse, bring the cop so far down he’d never find his way back up, then get the hell out of the city.
He brought his lips to the subtle curve of his kitty’s neck and filled his nostrils with the intoxicating scent of sweat and fear.
Releasing her hair, he stood and hurried to his desk.
He had a lot of planning to do and not a lot of time.
A new workshop, a new town, a whole new life to figure out...
a life made just for him and his little mouse.
Evelyn stood in Abbie’s darkened doorway, trailing her hands up and down her arms to try to get rid of the chill clinging to her bones.
The little girl’s soft snores broke through the quiet house and reminded Evelyn that Abbie was safe.
The warmth of a body pressed against her back, and she glanced behind her. Connor dipped his head to her shoulder, and she flattened her palm to his cheek. The sense of peace he brought to her rattled her core, even if she was still terrified about what had happened.
“Did you talk to Ben?” Even as she asked the question, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Abbie.
“Yeah. He and Lacey are on their way back.”
Evelyn lifted her hand from his face and rubbed the tension from her brow.
“I can’t believe I brought this into their lives.
He could have taken Abbie tonight. I couldn’t have stopped him.
I opened the door for him. I let—” Tears filled her eyes, and bile sloshed in her stomach.
Images of what could have happened filled her head, but her brain couldn’t form the words to finish the sentence.
Connor spun her around and gripped her shoulders. “You can’t do this—can’t blame yourself for the actions of a crazy piece of shit. You did nothing wrong.”
She shook her head, her hair falling into her face and sticking to the moisture on her cheeks. “If he’d have taken her...”
Connor pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Shh, that’s enough. Abbie is safe. You risked your life to keep her that way. Come on, we don’t want to wake her.” He grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to the living room.
Evelyn settled beside Connor on the couch and leaned into his waiting embrace. He skimmed his fingers against her arm as she let her head fall against his shoulder. “We can’t stay here. Not until Gabriel’s caught. If he got into the building once, he’ll find a way to do it again.”
“I agree. Do you have a place to stay? I’d offer my apartment, but that’s not safe, either. Ben’s place is too small for all of us, and I don’t feel comfortable having you out of my sight.” He pulled her closer, and her hand covered his thigh.
Heat shot through her. If he didn’t want her out of his sight, what was he proposing? “I can get Lacey, Abbie, and me a hotel room. It’d be expensive if we had to stay there more than a few nights, though.”
Connor shook his head. “No, too risky. There’d be no way to make sure Gabriel couldn’t get in. Too many people around at all hours.”
She twisted and glanced at him. The whiskers that had darkened his face the day before were gone, along with the stubble on his head. “What other option do I have?”
Bam, bam, bam!
The heavy banging on the door set her nerves on edge, and Evelyn coiled into a tight ball against Connor.
He stood and rounded the couch then glanced through the peephole and let out a loud breath, his shoulders sagging. “It’s Ben and Lacey.”
She sank into the cushions, unable to trust her wobbly legs.
Lacey rushed through the open door, threw her purse to the floor, and ran down the hall.
Ben stepped in and closed the door behind him, clicking the deadbolt into place.
Connor cut his gaze to Ben. “Do we have any more leads? Having the police combing the city helps, but we need more.”
Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing new. What did you learn from your detective friend?”
“He gave me two names that linked Gabriel with Hayley. Kevin Myers and Simon Thompson.”
Ben whistled and rounded the chair, sinking into it slowly. “That’s a hell of a coincidence.”
“Could be,” Connor agreed. “Or it could be more. We need to look into Simon’s background, as well as Kevin Myers and Gabriel’s father. All three raise red flags for me.”
“I’ll dig into Simon,” Evelyn said. “But not here. We need to go somewhere else for a few nights.”
“You guys can stay with me,” Ben said. “My place isn’t big, but it’s clean and safe.”
“No way we can all fit there,” Connor said. “I have another idea. If Lacey and Abbie stay with you, I’ll find a place for Evelyn and me.”
She trusted Connor, but the idea of staying alone with him made her pulse jump. It’d been years since she’d stayed all night with a man, and it’d never been a good experience.
She wasn’t afraid of being with him, but her insecurities all came bubbling to the surface.
She stomped them down. He wasn’t taking her somewhere to seduce her; he wanted to protect her, and the idea of him shielding her from danger had excitement ripping through her.
An excitement she’d never experienced before.
He clasped her hands in his and dipped his head low to stare into her eyes. “Will you come with me? Will you trust me to keep you safe?”
Sucking in a lungful of air, Evelyn kept her eyes fixed on Connor and nodded. She could trust him to keep her safe from Gabriel, but the question constantly nagging her was, could she trust him with her heart?
Using the spare key Mark had given him years ago, Connor pushed open the apartment door and opened it wide for Evelyn to step through. Porkchop pulled at his leash and whined.
Evelyn set her bag at her feet and glanced around. “It was nice of your friend to let us stay here.”
He scooped her bag from the floor and carried it into Mark’s bedroom.
Porkchop followed him and jumped on the bed.
Connor placed his bag beside Evelyn’s then joined her in the open concept living room-kitchen combo.
“Mark doesn’t mind. Plus, with him at your place, he’ll be able to grab Gabriel and slap cuffs on the bastard if he has the balls to head back there. ”
She surveyed the room, her gaze landing on the thick beam on the ceiling and the exposed brick lining the interior wall of the kitchen. “I’d love to live in a place like this.”
“Why don’t you?” Connor leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. He itched to cross the room and take her in his arms but sensed she needed a little space.
In a short span of days, Evelyn had gone from a sexy stranger to a woman he desperately wanted to know more about. Staying in the same apartment together was a huge leap. But the walls Evelyn had erected seemed higher and thicker than his own.
She shrugged and trailed her finger over the back of the leather sofa as she walked behind it. “I bet this place is expensive, and there’s only one bedroom. I like having Lacey and Abbie with me.”
“Your place doesn’t look cheap.” He chose his words carefully, not wanting to reveal he was aware of her financial situation.
Her steps faltered a beat before she continued around the couch and turned to face him. Her furrowed brow could have been a flashing sign showing a spinning wheel. “I have the money to provide a nice home for Abbie, Lacey, and myself. It’s in a good neighborhood and close to work for Lacey.”
“If you have the money, why was it so important for you to get a job working for Gabriel?” The question had plagued him for days, but he didn’t want to invade her privacy by seeking out the answer himself. He wanted Evelyn to trust him enough to tell him.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“My parents died when I was eighteen. They had money, and when they were gone, I got everything.” Tears filled her eyes.
“I don’t like being dependent on them. Even if they’re gone.
Even if the things they made me do was the reason they had the money in the first place.
” She spoke the last sentence in a whisper, but the words packed a punch powerful enough to steal his breath.
He stepped toward her, taking his time, gauging her reaction to his nearness. Her muscles went rigid, but she didn’t back away. The need to touch her, to soothe her, pulsed through him, but he buried his hands in his pockets. “What do you mean?”
Tears spilled freely down her face, and she drew in a shuddering breath. “Don’t make me say.” She wiped the moisture from her face.
The pain in her eyes broke his heart, but her vulnerability made her downright beautiful.
He pulled her to the sofa and sat down beside her.
She glanced away, but he lifted her chin to force her gaze to meet his.
“I’ll never make you do a damn thing you don’t want to.
Even talking about whatever happened to you as a kid.
But you’re strong, you’re capable, and dammit, you’re the most magnificent woman I’ve ever met in my entire life. ”
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped just enough to draw his gaze to her plush, red lips. An internal battle waged. He wanted to show her he cared for her, that he could take his time to get to know who she was before diving into something deeper, but she pulled him to her like a magnet.
Lowering his mouth to hers, he tasted her salty tears. He dropped her hands and framed her face with his palms. Desire tingled his nerve endings, and a rapid beat pounded in his chest. Evelyn moaned and melted against him, threatening to shred his thin self-control.
He pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. Evelyn’s ragged breaths skimmed his skin, heating his face. He dropped his hands and fought every screaming instinct to devour her on his best friend’s couch.
He leaned back, but Evelyn grabbed hold of his hands and kept him close. He glanced at her swollen lips and widened eyes. What had he done? He’d moved too fast. He might have ruined any chance he had of winning her heart.
A slow smile spread across her face, and relief loosened the knot of dread in his gut. She fell against him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Everything might be falling apart around them, but in this one moment, the world was just as it should be. One minute was all he wanted to enjoy sitting next to a beautiful woman—a woman he was falling for hard.