“I didn’t, Gabe, but I have all of you to protect me. Delilah is running scared and I hate to say it but we need her to fill in the blanks and we won’t be able to use her if I’m a sobbing mess. So I’ll process that part later and in the meantime, I know you have my back. So does your team. I now know that Piper, Kalee, and Anaya aren’t in danger so that makes it easier. I’ll talk to Delilah, and after we’ll talk about what our next step is.”
“Our next step?”
I took in a breath and remembered him telling me: that’s how I know. Gabe had never wanted a wife or family until he’d met me. He wanted me to give him a chance. This was no longer all about me, it was about us. The relationship we were forging and the future I wanted. A future that included Gabe, a home, and children. None of that would happen if something happened to Gabe or me.
The revenge I started out wanting no longer sounded sweet. I wanted justice, sure, but I also knew Kalee would never want me to put my life on the line to get it. That was not who she was. Not before she was taken and not now. She was all about Phantom, her friends, healing, and moving on. Before Gabe, I was all about the past and not able to let go of the pain I felt when I thought she was dead. I hadn’t learned a single thing from Kalee's miraculous return. Life wasn’t about dwelling in the past, it was about going forward. And to go forward I had to give in.
“You said you wanted to take me somewhere and cut off all communication until this was over,” I reminded him.
“You’re willing to do that?”
“I’ll need to make some arrangements with work, but yeah. I don’t want my stubborn stupidity to get anyone hurt. I want Abrams taken down for what happened to Kalee and all the people who died that day but not at the expense of your life.”
The look of relief that washed over Gabe’s face made my heart clench. He was worried—like a lot, a lot. Way more worried than I’d thought he was and I knew he was pretty damn worried.
“Gabe,” I whispered.
“Let’s finish up with Tex and prep you for your call with Delilah. We’ll talk about everything else later.” I nodded and he went on. “Good. Anything else we need, Tex?”
“Yeah, one last thing. The scientist, Alejandro Arias from Santa Ana, isn’t missing. He’s dead.”
“How?” Zane clipped.
“Car accident.”
“Are there no assassins left that have any creativity? Serious as fuck, the car accident is overplayed. Whatever happened to bonus points for imagination?”
“Please tell me he’s kidding,” I murmured.
“Only a little,” Gabe sighed. “Any idea who took out Arias?”
“Nope,” Tex answered. “And I looked. Normal car wreck as far as the local law enforcement was concerned.”
“’Preciate your time, Tex,” Zane announced. “I’ll be in touch after Evette talks to Delilah.”
“Copy that.”
Tex disconnected and a moment later Owen broke the silence.
“I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” Linc put in.
“We’re not going down another rabbit hole,” Zane mumbled. “Been there, done that. We get Evette clear of this shit and leave the rest. I’m not cleaning up this mess.”
“What mess?” I asked.
“The mess that is Ramon Gates and Alejandro Arias. We neutralize the threat however we need to and leave the brain experiments to someone else or whatever mad scientist bullshit Abrams is into.”
“And Delilah? You’re gonna help her, too, right?”
Zane’s jaw clenched and he tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. He did this mumbling about invoices not being paid and losing money. What he didn’t do was deny help.
“You have five minutes before your call with Delilah,” Garrett reminded me. “Any questions?”
“No. I’m gonna wing it.”
Zane righted his head and narrowed his eyes on me.
“Wing it?”
“Yep. I need her to trust me and that won’t happen if what I tell her sounds rehearsed.”
Zane’s gaze slid to Gabe and he inquired, “Are you taking off after this?”
“Thinking about it, yeah.”
Zane nodded and said, “Rhode’s cabin in Sandpoint or Fish’s place in Rathdrum if you want to head back to Idaho. Though, Rhode’s cabin might be burned. Abe’s letting Myles and Kevin use his place and I don’t think it’s a good idea for Delilah and Evette to be in the same place. You could use the place in—”