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“I know your work is important to you,” he said. “I know it’s one of the ways you define yourself, one of the ways you remind yourself that you’re no longer that little girl who felt invisible. But you don’t have anything to prove here, Elle. Not to me. Not to anyone.”
He waited in the ensuing silence, hoping he’d gotten through to her.
“I want to be alone now,” she finally said.
He nodded. “We can talk more in the morning.”
He left the room, walked down the hall, and out the door. When he got to his car, he reversed and parked down the street, avoiding Beck’s eyes as he maneuvered the car into place.
He and Ella were obviously on the outs, but he hoped Beck and Ryker had the discretion to keep it to themselves. Mauz would let Logan sleep on his couch if he asked, but until Ella made a decision, until Logan knew she and Leo were safe, he wasn’t going anywhere.
After that… well, after that, it was up to her.
37
The front door closed behind Logan, and Gabriella threw the blouse in her hand into the suitcase.
She got to her feet and paced the room, their argument echoing in her mind, thinking of all the things she hadn’t said, all the arguments she hadn’t made.
Finally, she went to the living room and poured herself a whiskey from the small bar Logan kept there. The lamp Bea had left on next to the couch cast soothing light across the silent room.
“You going to drink alone or is there enough in that bottle for a friend?”
She turned to find Bea entering the room, a printed caftan flowing around her ankles.
“Plenty for a friend,” Gabriella said, pouring whiskey into a second glass while Bea settled on the sofa. “I’m sorry if we woke you.”
“You didn’t,” Bea said. “I was reading, and I’ll never turn down an excuse for a nightcap.”
Gabriella handed Bea the glass. She felt like she’d known Bea well in Chicago, but living with her full-time since they’d been in California had given Gabriella fresh insight into the woman who’d taken care of her and Leo for the past five years, and she’d turned out to be even more interesting than Gabriella had thought.
“Want to talk about it?” Bea asked, taking a sip of the drink.
Gabriella looked down at her glass. “I’m not sure I can.”
“Talking’s not so hard, once you get used to it,” Bea said.
“No, I mean I’m literally not sure if I can. It’s about work. About the case.” She didn’t want to violate the confidentiality of her job.
“Who am I going to tell?” Bea asked. “My book club isn’t really interested in legal thrillers.”
Gabriella smiled. “You’re funnier than I thought.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
Gabriella laughed in spite of the situation, then drew in a deep breath. “Logan talked to the bratva, made a deal I can take if I want.”
“What kind of deal?” Bea asked.
“Mine and Leo’s safety in exchange for dropping the case,” Gabriella said.
Bea raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That’s intense.”
Gabriella nodded. “Thing is, I think they’re going to take out Yakov Vitsin anyway. He’s become too big a liability.”
“Which means you wouldn’t have a case,” Bea said.
“Exactly. Logan’s argument is that I might as well get something out of the deal, and the bratva is offering us lifetime security as long as I let this one go and give them twelve months to regroup.”
