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“You know we could be chasing our tails,” Dax mused. “These photos could be completely unrelated to the women Mad hired the PI to find. And all of that could have nothing to do with his murder.”
“But we’ve got no other clues,” Connor pointed out.
“Yeah.” Gabriel sounded low, as if the worry they’d never solve his friend’s murder weighed on him for more reasons than his potential prison sentence.
Everly tried not to be swayed by his grief.
“It’s obvious that Mad found the checks to Deborah Elliot, which prompted him to find Everly,” Dax went on. “We can gather that he has pictures of the girls because they’re missing and someone likely asked him to help find them. Maybe Ferling had contacts overseas? Maybe this Natalia is another missing girl.”
Everly shrugged. “I know Crawford’s overseas offices are working hard. Tavia has urged them to all but move heaven and earth to find those girls, I’m sure. They’re like her family. And I haven’t heard anything about a Natalia being missing. We get updates.”
“Maddox stored all this information together in a lockbox. I think every bit of it is connected somehow. We’re simply not seeing it,” Connor surmised. “I’m going to run the name Natalia Kuilikov past some people I know.”
“He’s talking about spies.” Gabriel moved his chair closer to Everly’s and whispered in her ear. “Though I’m sure he would call them fellow analysts or something.”
Everly forced herself to hold her ground, not be swayed by his attention, by the way he’d invaded her personal space. “Why don’t I sneak into the office and talk to Tavia, see if she gave Maddox the photos? If so, maybe we can cross the missing girls off the list in terms of having anything to do with Maddox’s murder.”
“I’ll go with you. We’ll take the chopper,” Gabriel offered.
Dax shook his head. “The chopper was on top of the building that burned down last night.”
“My helicopter? They took out my helicopter?” Gabriel pounded his fist on the table. “Fucking assholes. Now I’m pissed.”
So nearly being killed hadn’t poked the bear like losing his precious helicopter had?
“Maybe you should stay here and deal with the insurance company on that,” Everly suggested. “I’ll head to Crawford on my own. All I need is a car.”
He shook his head. “If we go to Crawford Industries, we go together.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Dax crossed his arms over his chest.
“Everly is right. We can’t hide out here indefinitely. Maybe our best bet is to bring some of the truth to light,” Gabe suggested. “Let’s out Everly as Mad’s half sister, then our relationship looks a bit more pure.”
“We don’t have a relationship,” she reminded him. “So outing me to the press is pointless.”
“That’s not true,” Roman contradicted her. “If they know your biological relationship to Mad, they’re more likely to stop speculating about wild ménages and that Gabe killed him in a jealous fit.”
“Agreed,” Connor said. “Talk it over while you both get cleaned up. You’ll come to the conclusion that this press conference is a good idea. If you’re going to face the media, you’ll need to look polished and professional. Roman can have a new suit for you, along with a dress and shoes for Everly, shortly. By the time you’re showered, the clothes will have been delivered.”
“I think you’re right.” Gabriel stood and held out his hand to her.
She didn’t take it. “I don’t want to give the press anything new to chew on.”
Roman was already on the phone, talking in animated language to someone. He pulled the device from his ear and sent her a questioning stare. “Shoe size?”
“Seven but—”
He didn’t listen to anything else she was poised to say. He merely shoved the phone against his ear again and strode from the room.
“Let’s go.” Gabriel grabbed her arm.
“You go. I’m not,” she protested as he started to lead her away. Though the thought of wearing clothes that didn’t reek of smoke tempted her, the last thing she wanted was to be alone with Gabriel.
He wasn’t listening. Instead, he led her to the stairs. “You can’t think this conversation is over. I know I screwed up, but I won’t stop talking because it makes you uncomfortable.”
“It makes me angry, Gabriel. And I’m not going into that bedroom with you.”
He turned, and those gorgeous eyes of his narrowed. “Why? Are you afraid I’ll take advantage of you? Or are you afraid you’ll let me?”
Everly glared at him. He was wrong . . . mostly. She was way too hurt and angry to desire him now. In thirty minutes? An hour? After one of his toe-curling kisses? She didn’t want to take that bet. “Think what you want.”
Gabriel simply smiled. “If anything happens upstairs, you’ll be the one to initiate it. You have my word I won’t lay a hand on you unless you want me to. Do you want me to, Everly?”
When his voice dropped, turning low and sexy, she couldn’t help but respond. It was a purely physical reaction. She could ignore that. She wasn’t going to fall into his trap again, right? She held on to the image of that report and of that information going into some system where Gabriel Bond kept dirt on the people in his life—just in case. She couldn’t help but remember Maddox had done the same. Gabriel had even admitted Mad likely kept files on him and all their friends, too. She would always be waiting for Gabriel to turn on her. “No. I don’t and you should know I’m not going to change my mind.”
“We’ll see.” He let her hand drop and started up the stairs.
“Are you that convinced no woman can resist you?”
“No. I don’t think we can be in the same room without touching one another. You’re mad at me now but how will you feel in a week when I’ve treated you like a princess and indulged your every wish? How will you feel after I’ve shown you all I can offer you?”
“I’ll feel like you only offered me those things after you got proof that I wasn’t a whore. I’ll feel like you still have a file on me, ready to turn against me the minute you think I’ve betrayed you.”
“First, I never called you that, not once. Am I happy you didn’t have a relationship with Mad? Damn straight. It would have been messy. But I was way past caring. I wanted you, regardless.” He opened the door to the
ir room for her. “As for that report, I’ve explained it and I’ve gotten rid of it. I didn’t even read the damn thing. You have to believe that I ordered it before I knew who I was talking about. I asked the PI to look into your family, Everly. But I knew damn well from our weekend together you didn’t have one. I was protecting my sister and her baby from some faceless woman who might come in and demand a portion of Mad’s inheritance.”
Everly walked into the bedroom, ready for a fight. “Have you even thought about the fact that I actually have a claim on Mad’s inheritance?”
Now he would turn on her. Now she would really see Gabriel Bond.
He sighed and sat on the bed, still rumpled from their lovemaking. “Of course you do. I think Mad would want you to have some. We can talk about it. We’ll sit down, you, me, and Sara, and discuss what we should do. I think having something from your brother might make you feel more welcome in this world.”
She stared at him because that was not what she’d expected him to say. Not at all. “I don’t want anything from Crawford. And this is not my world.”
It didn’t matter. Everly walked into the bathroom and started the shower. Tears streaked down her face as she tried to take it all in. Why hadn’t Mad told her? Had he ever meant to clue her in?
Was she always going to feel like the little girl whose mother hadn’t wanted her? Now she knew her biological dad hadn’t wanted her, either. Gabriel wanted her, but for how long?
