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She marched across the sand and stared up at him. “You want to know why I didn’t tell you?” She didn’t wait for his answer to continue. “Because I knew you’d want me to stay. Because I knew you wouldn’t listen to what I wanted.” She barked out a bitter laugh. “I guess some things never change.”
She started for the winding path leading up to the parking lot where they’d left Logan’s car, a maw of sorrow opening up inside her.
And then, behind it, something else. Something unexpected.
A flicker of relief.
Because she’d always known it was going to end this way, had been waiting for the other shoe to drop since that first night when she’d invited Logan into her home.
At least now she could stop waiting for it.
36
They drove home in silence, Logan alternating between fury and despair. He’d known Gabriella would be mad. That part wasn’t a surprise.
But the other stuff? The stuff about the past?
That was bullshit.
She was out of the car before he had time to turn it off, and he watched from the driveway as she stalked into the house.
Fuck.
He sat there, replaying their argument in his head. He didn’t know how much of what she’d said was true and how much of it was her perspective, but he knew one thing: he was tired of talking about the past, tired of trying to live it down, of peering through the lens of a time machine that wasn’t going to change a thing in the here and now.
And that’s where they had a problem — in the here and now.
Gabriella had less than twenty-four hours to decide whether to strike a deal with Lyonya Antonov. Logan had to do everything in his power to see that she struck that bargain. He could bear losing her to the stories of the past, to baggage they couldn’t quite divest, but it would kill him if something happened to her or Leo, now or five years from now, especially if he'd been able to prevent it.
He got out of the car and headed for the house.
The living room was empty, the house quiet. Leo was asleep and Bea was probably in her room watching TV or reading.
He found Gabriella in the bedroom she’d made her own, throwing clothes into her suitcase. This was something he’d forgotten about Gabriella — how fast and hot her temper could burn when the match was finally lit.
“Where are you going?” he asked from the doorway.
“I don’t know. A hotel, probably, for tonight at least. Then back to Chicago.”
“Don’t do that,” he said.
“Which?”
“Either.” He sighed. “Stay here tonight. I’ll crash with Mauz if you want.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said, pulling an orange blouse off a hanger and putting it in her suitcase.
“I know, but I’ll feel better with you here. Beck and Ryker are on duty. It would take time to set everybody up someplace new, and it’s late. Let Leo and Bea sleep. Take the night to think.”
“About ditching my job? No thanks.”
“About striking a bargain that still takes a criminal off the streets but that also allows you and Leo to be safe from the bratva forever. After a year, you can prosecute whoever you want and know that you and Leo will still be safe. It’s a free pass, Gabriella, and all you have to do is let this one go.”
She dropped onto the bed, her shoulders sagging. “Do you know how long I’ve worked on this case? How rare it is to have this kind of evidence against an organization like the bratva?”
He wanted to go to her, pull her into his arms, but he forced himself to stay put by the door. “I know it’s not easy. I know it’s a sacrifice. But Ella… I also know there’s no rewind button. The day they took Leo from the aquarium, I would have done anything for a do-over. All I wanted was a chance to go back in time, to tell you Leo couldn’t go on the field trip, that it would be a hole in our security protocol. But I couldn’t. All I could do was hope they’d bring him home alive.”
She didn’t say anything, and he weighed his next words carefully, knowing they had the potential to send her into another defensive crouch.
