"We'll see you afterward, then," he said, and followed Illie from the room.
As promised, a second security guard waited for them beyond her office doors. He led them back into the antiseptic white corridors and down a series of ramps.
Gabriel glanced at the ceiling. Camera's tracked their movements, but as far as he could tell, there were no voice recorders attached.
"Opinion?" he said softly. As an empath, Illie was able to read and define emotions to such a degree he could practically tell what a person was thinking.
Illie cast a wary look at the security officer in front of them, then met Gabriel's gaze. "That woman was lying through her back teeth," he muttered. "She has another agenda for having us here."
That much he'd already guessed. "Did any particular statement stand out?"
He frowned. "Yeah. The bit about it not being important whether your partner was male or female."
Because they wanted Sam, not Illie. But why? What had they intended to do once they'd gotten her here? Not even the military could think they could kidnap a SIU agent and get away with it.
"Just who was your partner before me?" Illie asked.
"She's not important right now." But even as he said the words, he knew the mistake. The only thing bigger than Illie's lust for women was his desire to know it all. By not telling him about Sam, he was all but giving the man permission to hunt her down.
And the mere thought of that happening had his temper rising. Sam might be a sensible woman, but she was a woman.
From what he'd seen, there were few women who weren't seduced by Illie's charming ways.
Though what right did he have to object to anything she did in her life? None at all. He'd forced her from his professional life, and he'd ignored every attempt of friendship she'd made.
Which some in his family thought made him a fool. A fool who'd spent so long locking up his emotions he no longer knew how to accept something as simple as the offer of friendship.
Which was not what Sam was offering, and not at all what lay between them.
He could acknowledge all those comments, and in brief, black moments even agree with some of it.
But he'd been through hell once with the death of his childhood sweetheart, and that, more than anything, reset his resolve to remain alone whenever it started slipping.
He blew out a breath, and added, "Did you detect any lies when she spoke about the break-in?"
"No, that much was true." Illie studied him thoughtfully.
"You have unresolved issues with your former partner, haven't you?"
"I told you, it's not important." And certainly it wasn't anything he intended to discuss with a man who'd been in his life for precisely an hour and a half.
Illie raised a skeptical eyebrow, but amusement danced in his eyes. "Maybe I'll have to get a second opinion on that."
Gabriel found himself clenching his fist again. "Let sleeping dogs lie, Illie."
The younger man studied him a minute longer then smiled slightly. Surprisingly, he made no further comment. Though as an empath, he would know when to push—and when to stop.
They continued on. The white corridor seemed to stretch on without end. The itch at the back of Gabriel's neck grew.
He tapped the security officer on the shoulder. "Where the hell is this lab? Siberia?"
The man shrugged. "It's one of the outer labs. We reach it via the underground tunnel system. Safer that way."
Gabriel shared a glance with Illie. The younger man looked as puzzled as he felt. "Why safer?"
"The ground above us is unstable."
As explanations went, it didn't help much. "Why would the ground be unstable?"