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“Whew,” Logan said. “You’re a real problem solver.”
Leo grinned. He was beginning to know Logan, beginning to see when Logan was teasing him. It warmed Gabriella’s heart to see them getting along like two peas in a pod, but it worried her too.
What would happen when Logan went back to California? It would be another loss for Leo, who’d already lost too much for such a little boy.
“Time to brush your teeth and get your backpack,” Bea said to Leo. “Go on now. You don’t want to be late for the field trip bus.”
Leo scrambled from the kitchen.
Gabriella stared after him.
“You okay?” Logan asked softly.
She sighed. “Just hoping this isn’t a mistake.”
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Logan said.
Logan had made clear his reservations about the field trip, but that had been before the attack on her in the parking garage. After, it had felt too late to tell Leo he couldn’t go. All the kids in class were talking about it, planning for it. The class’s lesson plans even revolved around it, with the kindergarteners coloring fish and other sea life for art and reading books about the ocean for reading time.
It would be cruel to tell Leo he couldn’t go.
She shook her head. They couldn’t make every decision out of fear. She couldn’t live that way and she didn’t want Leo to either. “No, he’d be too disappointed. Jag will be there, and you said Mauz will be right outside. I’ve spoken with Leo’s teacher to explain the situation. I’m sure they’ll be extra watchful over him.”
Logan nodded, but she could see he wasn’t happy about it. “I’m going to check on the kid, make sure he’s actually brushing.”
“Ha!” Bea said. “Less than a week and Logan’s onto him.”
He smiled and touched Gabriella’s hand as he left the room.
When she looked at Bea, the older woman grinned. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on, missy.”
Gabriella smiled and shook her head. As a feminist who believed powerful women shouldn’t be forced to downplay their authority, Bea was usually careful to maintain a professional distance, with Gabriella at least.
Gabriella was happy Bea had lowered the friendly wall between them. She’d been missing her sisters, and even her mother, who would no doubt have a million opinions and judgements on Gabriella’s decisions about Leo’s safety.
Bea picked up Leo’s lunch box and headed for the hall, stopping to give Gabriella a quick hug. “Don’t think I don’t approve.” She pulled back to look into Gabriella’s eyes. “You deserve to be happy.”
Tears sprung to Gabriella’s eyes. She blinked them back, wondering why the comment made her so emotional.
Didn’t she believe she deserved to be happy?
* * *
As usual, work was her cure for overthinking. She’d wanted to see Leo off for the field trip, so she arrived at the office later than usual and was immediately immersed in the details of the case. With only five weeks to trial, there were a thousand details to confirm and a good deal of strategy to determine.
She spent the morning with Chloe and several other Deputy D.A.s on the case, plus two junior paralegals and Marcus, who ferried files back and forth to the war room, the faces of the bratva looming large on the bulletin board.
They had a working lunch, with takeout salads, sandwiches, and endless cups of coffee. They were getting ready to go over their strategy for opening and closing arguments when Marcus returned to the war room to tell her she had a call from Agent Garcia.
“I should take it,” she said, rising to her feet.
She left the rest of her team debating the merits of an opening argument that focused on the victim versus one that focused on the lawlessness of the bratva and its effects on the city.
When she got to her office she put her feet on her desk and sighed with relief, then picked up her phone. “Agent Garcia. Are we getting a break?”
“Too soon to tell,” he said, “but we are getting information I thought you might find interesting from someone inside.”
She scowled. “I thought you said you didn’t have a source?”
