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The new man, presumably Lucas, seemed to notice Gabriel for the first time. “Why would she remember this guy? Does she even know him?”
“She and Gabe here go way back,” Cedes said, with a little more emphasis than she needed to. Lucas definitely got the gist of how well Gabriel and I knew each other. If he and I were really a couple, we apparently hadn’t gotten around to chatting about our past relationships.
Judging by the stink eye Lucas was giving Gabriel, it might have been a good thing we hadn’t discussed our former lovers. Lucas looked to be the jealous type.
“He knows something,” I said again, sounding more than a smidgeon on the crazy side. Gabriel had raised his head finally, but now he and Lucas were locked in a staring contest. There were a lot of unspoken threats being bandied back and forth. The air was thick with testosterone. “He knows what’s wrong with me.”
That got through to Lucas. He broke eye contact with Gabriel long enough to look at Cedes and I again. “Detective Castilla, would you mind if Gabriel and I had a word? Under supervision, of course.” He pointed to the closed-circuit cameras mounted in each corner of the room. Cedes hesitated like she might refuse him but finally nodded and pulled me to my feet.
“I’m going to be out in the hall,” she told him.
“Understood.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
If I’d been in my right mind, I would have known what a bad idea it was to leave Lucas alone with Gabriel.
From the chair Cedes had propped me in, I couldn’t see Lucas or Gabriel, but I had no problem hearing them. Lucas’s voice was soft but commanding, the voice of a born politician. Gabriel’s tone had an edge of worry to it, overpowering his usual cocky certainty. They hadn’t gotten beyond the awkward greetings and already Lucas had my ex all wound up. Impressive.
“What do you want?” Gabriel asked.
“I want to know what you did to her.”
“Me?” The word was a nervous squeak. “How could I do anything? I’m in here.”
Metal groaned and footsteps skittered across concrete.
“She may not remember anything, but she says you know something. I’ll take her word over yours any day.”
“She’s crazy.”
Gee, Gabe, thanks for the vote of confidence.
“Tell me what you know.”
My gaze flicked to the on-duty officer. He was watching the closed-circuit feed with great interest but made no moves to go into the room. Mercedes was on her cell phone, but I couldn’t listen in on her conversation without losing focus on Lucas and Gabriel’s.
“Look, you’re a powerful guy, right? Rich, good-looking.” Gabriel’s voice had changed again. It was smoother now, the crooning song of a con man. He’d used that voice when we first met. He wasn’t scared anymore, because he’d spotted a weakness in Lucas and now he wanted to exploit it. I knew Gabriel too well to mistake his intentions for anything else.
Lucas didn’t reply, but Gabri
el continued undeterred. “What are you doing with a girl like Secret?”
“I love her.”
My stomach tightened, and aching pain stabbed me in the abdomen. Why did hearing Lucas’s words make me feel so guilty?
“I love her too,” Gabriel said, but the snort at the end made me believe otherwise.
“You don’t know her.”
“I know her better than you.”
Lucas snarled, a purely animal sound that made the hair on my arms and neck stand on end. Both Cedes and the desk officer looked a little on edge.
“You don’t think so?” Gabriel asked.
“I know you don’t.”
