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She barked a laugh. “I don’t know him. I knowofhim. Everyone does.”
I didn’t. Or at least I hadn’t before kicking a door into his face.
The security guard waved a hand at us to get moving. Morgan took the hint and drove us through beautiful streets of perfectly manicured lawns and mega mansions. Garden lanterns and streetlights were freaking everywhere, so it hardly felt like the sun had gone down.
I wasn’t quite sure what to think of this place. It was private, which made sense for what little I knew of Gabriel.
“Are we all right?” I asked Morgan. “Our vibe’s been off lately. And I don’t know if it’s us, or me, or?—”
“It’s me,” she said. “Work is amazing, but it’s so crazy that when I get out, my brain is so frazzled. And then I feel this pressure, guilt, for not working on the wedding planning.”
“I’m sure Oscar is happy for you to take the time you need. He’s so…I don’t know.”
“Wonderful?”
“Yes, he’s perfect for you. I’m ridiculously happy for you that you’ve found him. And if there’s anything I can do to help lighten your load, I’m here.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s what besties are for.”
“I know. But still, knowing you always have my back, and just offering, it means the world to me.”
I gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.
Now that I knew what was up with her, I felt a little bad about dragging her along tonight.
“If you want to just drop me off here, and then you need to go—” I started.
She didn’t let me finish.“I am in this.I need to see this guy for myself. Gabriel Stryker’s pretty much a genius dedicated to saving the world.”
“A real-life superhero?”
“Saving the worldthrough science.He invented something that makes landfills less bad for the environment. I don’t know the particulars. But I do know he’s abig deal,international-honors-level big deal.”
“If he’s such a saint, I should be perfectly safe with him.”
“I hope so. But I’ve never actually heard anything about his personal life. Maybe being a world-renowned good guy is the perfect cover for a serial killer.”
“That sounds like something I would say.” I grinned at her.
“It really does.”
At the far end of the mansion-filled labyrinth, we turned onto a weaving private drive and snaked through more trees before finally arriving at our destination.
While the rest of the buildings we’d passed on our way here were marvels of brick and stone that a person was more likely to call an estate or castle than a house, Gabriel’s dwelling looked like a prison.
A single porch light illuminated what was basically a big gray, concrete box.
“This is…” Morgan shook her head. “There are no words.”
“Depressing,” I said.
We parked and climbed out of the car.
Gabriel appeared on his doorstep with his hands in the pockets of his fancy suit and a scowl on his face. Even when I turned my back, I could feel his displeasure all over my skin. I breathed in the cool night air and tried to push away the tingling in my limbs that was either exhilaration or foreboding—I wasn’t sure which.
Morgan popped the trunk, and we carried the equipment up the sidewalk to meet the grump. Each step forward left my body feeling heavier than the last, yet my heart felt light, like I might float away.
