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“I thought you said he fell behind,” Anders comments, tossing his chin in Gabriel’s direction.
“Slept in,” he says, giving me a very pointed look.
“Doesn’t matter,” I mumble quickly, shivering violently from the cold. I slip the duffle bags off my shoulder, handing one to Anders and the other to Klaus. “Thank you for all your hard work. Here’s hoping we never have to hear from each other again.”
Anders grins, chuckling. “Never say never.”
“Still off to Fiji?” I ask Klaus.
He’s already walking away, getting into their waiting SUV. “None of your damn business,” are his final words to me. I huff, though I’m not actually offended. It’s just Klaus being Klaus.
Anders shrugs. “Don’t mind him.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Well, I guess this is where we part ways. I hope you found what you were looking for.”
Anders is good people—I like him. We come in for a quick hug, but I don’t miss the way Gabriel grumbles under his breath.
Jealous again?
I step back and watch Anders get into the car with Klaus. A few seconds later, the engine rumbles on and their tires crunch over the snow. There’s a very good chance I’ll never see them again, but I’m forever thankful for their help.
I turn and glance at Gabriel.
Neither of us says anything.
What now?
“Get in the car,” I say after a minute.
He blinks, shivering. “You… want me to come with you?”
“We need to warm up. Do you want to die of hypothermia?”
“No,” he bites out, begrudgingly following me to our waiting vehicle.
The first thing I do when I get behind the wheel is blast the heat. I then shuck off all my clothes because they’re soaked through, and icicles are dangling off the strands of my hair. Gabriel does the same, shucking off his pants and his shirt…
His back is painted red with blood.
My stomach flips. I’m still pissed at him, but my heart can’t take seeing him in such a state. I want nothing more than to take care of him, to tend to his wounds—triumph in our job well done.
But now there’s a rift between us. Does he still deserve my sympathy? My compassion?
Gabriel winces when he tries to take off his shirt. The wound looks terrible.
I sigh, moving to help him slip it off the rest of the way. Damn me and my kind heart.
He observes me in silence as I mop up what I can with his ruined shirt. He looks as torn as I feel. Now that the adrenaline’s wearing off, I realize I’m too exhausted to argue. Gabriel doesn’t seem very motivated, either.
“You need stitches,” I tell him. “We’ll stop by somewhere and try to find a first aid kit.”
“It’s Christmas. Everything’s closed.”
I laugh bitterly. “Oh, right… I totally forgot.”
As far as Christmases go, this one is definitely on my bottom ten list. I wish I was at home, opening presents under the tiny fake tree Dad keeps stored in the basement. We don’t go hard with the tinsel and ornaments and gift exchange, but it’s still nice. Our family is small, but it’s all the more reason for me to cherish it.
