CAISEY TRAPSED FROM the garage to the kitchen in the mood to collapse on the couch with a jumbo bag of chips. Grams had been eating dinner when she stopped by the hospital on her way home. Well, not eating so much as picking at the edges of limp pasta. The chocolate pudding had been completely gone, though. Clearly when Grams had drilled into them the importance of finishing dinner before you had dessert, she didn’t mean it to apply to herself.
Caisey stopped by the kitchen table. The murmur of voices was low, like more than one man. Someone was in her house. Was it the Chloroform killer? She dropped her backpack and drew her weapon. Agent Stern and Agent Wing both jumped to their feet, halfway to their own weapons before she stood down.
“Guys.” Caisey holstered her gun and moved her jacket to cover it. Two agents sat in her living room across from Gabe, who had his elbows on his knees and looked shell- shocked.
“Lyons.” The agents both nodded.
Gabe shook off whatever he was feeling and looked at her. “Jenna said it was okay for us to meet here.”
“And we’re actually done, so we’ll be going.” Agent Wing turned to Gabe. “You’ll let us know?”
Gabe took a breath. “There’s no need. The answer is yes.”
The female agent nodded. “We’ll make the arrangements and be in touch.” “Actually, I’m not sure where I’ll be. Can you let Caisey know the details?”
The agent turned to her, and she nodded.
“Very well.”
They said the perfunctory goodbyes and then it was just Gabe and Caisey alone in her house. Gabe leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes.
“You okay?”
He shrugged.
“You wanna talk about it?”
Gabe opened his eyes. “Are you being polite, or do you actually care?”
Caisey sat opposite him. “If I didn’t want to know, I’d have to fake it and pretend I do or I’d look like a jerk. So for argument’s sake, let’s say I care.”
Gabe’s lips twitched. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Is that even a good thing?”
“Definitely.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He leaned forward again and she was held in place by his gaze. At least, that was what it felt like. “Because you’re you. Not the FBI thing, or your family, or saving my life when the sheriff or the other guy tried to kill me. It was before then, when you walked in to the cells at the sheriff’s office and your eyes were smiling. Like you knew we had a secret no one else was ever going to know. I knew then that you’d felt the same all these years. That you held on to the dream of what could have come after that date just like I did.”
Caisey didn’t move. She didn’t even blink. “Are we crazy?”
Gabe laughed. “Probably, but who cares? It’ll be a cool story to tell our grandchildren.”
“What makes…I don’t…” White spots pricked the edges of her vision.
His lips twitched. “Take a breath, Case.”
She sucked in air and the dizziness dissipated. “You really need to stop doing that.”
“Why? You react so well. I liked the hyperventilating especially, it was a good touch.”
“I’m not sure I like you.”
Gabe shrugged, apparently not too bothered by that. “We’ll get there. Whatever happens, I want you know where I stand. This isn’t something you have to worry about, or try to figure out. However it happens and however it grows, to the point where I actually get down on one knee and ask you, let’s just enjoy the journey.”
“What if I’m not as sure as you? I mean…marriage?”
“Don’t you wish you could be sure, that just for once you could relax into it and trust it to be what it’s going to be without overanalyzing? We discuss things as they come up and take each day as it is, building a foundation for something that, from where I’m sitting, could be pretty awesome.”
Caisey liked looking at his face. It was a good face, with strong lines and just enough roughness that it wasn’t boyish. It was really tempting to just let go and fall back on the familiarity of being with him. To accept this for what it was, without worrying about how it was going to go wrong.
“Maybe, I could do that. I think.” She blew out a breath. It was better than worrying about what the Chloroform Killer was doing. And she’d been talking about him all afternoon, between telling Burkot about the almost hit-and-run and talking to Amanda. Again. “So what do we do now?”
If things went the way he thought they would, where would they live? How would they merge two completely different lives? Provided they could even walk away from this unscathed, and possessing something solid that would last the rest of their lives.
Gabe stood. “Dinner?”
“That’s it, just dinner?”
He shrugged and tugged her up by her hand. “I’m hungry.” But he didn’t let her go, he put enough pressure on her hand that she understood what he wanted and moved to him. Approval shone in his eyes. “Seal the deal.”
“What?”
“I know what I want, Caisey. And I don’t want to doubt that it’s what you want, too. That maybe I just talked you into it. So convince me.”
Caisey couldn’t say she didn’t have doubts but she was more than willing to try. And to face the fact that she’d had all her relationship eggs squarely in the “Gabe” basket for so long it would be criminal not to give it a shot. She would end up regretting it for the rest of her life.
She lifted up on her toes and put her hands on either side of his face. The touch of her lips to his was like lightning that whisked her away from everything and everyone. It was like falling, and being lifted and soaring, all at the same time, existing in a world populated by two heartbeats. It lasted for all of three seconds before Gabe’s arms came around her and he lifted her all the way up. Caisey circled his shoulders with her arms and let him take over.
She wasn’t sure who pulled back first, but she was suddenly aware of just breathing and looking into his eyes. Her lips tingled and when he set her back on her feet, Caisey touched her lips. “Huh.”
Gabe stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. “We should probably be careful with that.”
“Because it felt like catching fire?”
A gleam of satisfaction sparked in the curve of his mouth. “Good to know it wasn’t just me.” He paused. “We should probably go out to eat.”
Caisey smiled. “Good plan.”
She drove him to a steakhouse that was a hole in the wall, but the steaks melted on your tongue. Neither of them said much until the waitress came and Gabe ordered a salad and minestrone soup.
Caisey gave him a look.
“Vegetarian, remember?”
“Shoot. I’m sorry.” It was official, she sucked at this. Maybe, despite the sparks, there wasn’t anything else that connected them. What if it was just shallow attraction?
“Are you okay? You look freaked.”
Caisey entwined her fingers and rested her head on her hands. “I’m messing this up. I don’t even really know how to do this…whatever this is.”
Gabe took her hand. “Pray with me.”
Caisey nodded and closed her eyes. She soaked in the cadence of his voice and the soft tone of intimacy that said he did this often. Prayer seemed to come naturally to him, where she wasn’t sure she could say the same thing. She wanted them to be on an even playing field. Or were they supposed to balance out each other’s shortcomings? She didn’t even know the answer to that either.
Gabe asked for wisdom and guidance, as well as protection for their hearts and bodies. Caisey couldn’t believe this gift that seemed like it had been dropped in her lap. Why would God do this now? She wasn’t a particularly good Christian; she knew she was far too willful to be happy with obedience. But that didn’t seem to matter, not if you looked at all the good in her life. Grams, her dad’s love, Jenna and Jake, Liam’s unrelenting friendship—without them her life would be a barren wasteland. And now Gabe?
It just didn’t make any sense.
“Amen.”
Caisey smiled at him. “Amen.” But what she really meant was ‘thank you’.
Life wasn’t without its hiccups, but seriously, how did she get here?
Then her phone rang.
**
“Pull over.” Caisey motioned to the street in front of a drycleaners and Gabe parked the car. If Natalia’s grandfather had information that might help bring down Holden Arturo, she had to jump on it.
Gabe shut the car off and frowned. “Isn’t the restaurant way up there?”
Caisey turned to the backseat where Jake sat with Natalia. She looked between Jake and Gabe. “You guys stay here. Nat’s with me.”
“But—”
She stopped Jake’s objection with a look. “This is non-negotiable.”
He didn’t like it, but he would suck it up and he did. Jake gave Natalia a small smile and squeezed her hand before she got out. Caisey opened her door, but Gabe waylaid her with a hand on her arm. “I don’t really know what this is, but be careful.”
Caisey nodded. “You guys too.”
They might only be waiting in the car, but she didn’t like anything about this. She’d had enough of messages that were sent to get another person’s attention—either being the message, or receiving it. That stripping of power sent her right back to the intersection where she’d lain bleeding on the concrete with the sun bright in her face.
Natalia Silver walked beside her to the restaurant, a teenage girl stuck in the push and pull between the world of math tests, her high school boyfriend, and her family’s business. It was highly likely she would never be in direct danger a day in her life, since no one would be stupid enough to cross Lazlo Silver. Walking beside the granddaughter of Denver’s Russian mafia boss was probably the safest place in the city to be.
The restaurant was decorated in gold accents and bold red carpet, and smelled like funky sausage. Caisey walked the line of sight from the door to the table where Lazlo held court among his soldiers and two waitresses who were clearly not hired for their brains. The Russian boss was built like a boxer and his biceps bulged from tailored silk shirt sleeves, showcasing his tattoos. His hair was shaved and his eyes were so dark brown they looked black, as though the stains on his soul couldn’t be contained.
“Special agent Lyons!” He tugged the napkin from his shirt collar and stood, enveloping her in a cloud of cigar smoke. She stood frozen while he kissed both of her cheeks.
When he pulled back, Caisey saw the smirk on Natalia’s face.
The teen girl was practically laughing. “Hi, Papa.”
“My darling.” Lazlo Silver’s love for his granddaughter was rich and genuine, and Natalia seemed to bask in it like treasure as they embraced. Caisey had met the girl’s mom, so she knew Natalia saw that rare affection for what it was.
But Caisey wasn’t here to chat. “So, what’s up? I have to admit I’m curious why you had Natalia bring me here.”
Lazlo shrugged and turned his beady eyes to her. “Professional courtesy. Your father was a good man, though we didn’t often see eye to eye.”
No kidding, since her dad upheld the law and this man looked for ways to break it.
“We were still alike in many ways. Family is everything in this world.”
Caisey nodded. Seemed like there was a lot of that going around.
“Drink?”
Caisey folded her arms. “No, thank you.”
“Come.” He waved her to the table. “It’s the least I can do after all you did for my Natalia.”
Caisey shook her head.
“Very well. It has come to my attention that your life is in danger.”
“That’s it?”
Lazlo blinked. “I would think you’d take threats more seriously. Perhaps you are not aware that my son was contracted.”
Lazlo’s son—not Natalia’s dad, since he was dead—was rumored to be a hit man, though no one knew for sure. Whatever this was, it was huge since Lazlo was basically admitting the rumors were true. Caisey wouldn’t be able to sit on this information, she’d have to report it and it would be investigated. Apparently Lazlo’s professional courtesy meant a lot; especially considering it impacted his own son. Maybe they were at odds, because he either didn’t care his son might be convicted, or he didn’t think that was likely, or Lazlo wanted his son the hit man on the inside of a jail cell for some reason.
The possibilities made her brain spin.
“Holden Arturo has you and Gabe Carlen at the top of his hit list.”
Caisey waited for something she didn’t know.
“Agent Lyons, you are in a unique position to solve what has become a problem for me.”
“Having trouble with Arturo?”
“You can bring him down.”
But for what? She didn’t think the statute of limitations on abduction and assault had expired, but could they really pull that move? Could Arturo’s pride really be his destruction? Gabe’s dad needed to come through with something, or the Denver police department would have to find a link between Holden and the moustache guy impersonating state patrol.
Lazlo handed her two photographs. One of her, and the other of Gabe—who was sitting outside in the car with Jake.
Caisey pressed her lips together, ready to leave. “Thank you.”
Lazlo nodded, like some regal king of old bestowing a blessing on a peasant.
She needed to get to them. They were too exposed on the side of the street, even if it was dark. She wasn’t going to let anything happen if she could help it. Whether the FBI brought down Arturo or not, her first priority was her family. The agents on the case would get him eventually, especially if Toben testified.