Mine - HelenKay Dimon Page 0,87
something it would be better for you to step out of,” Eli said, drilling right down to the point that pulled at her.
“I can’t.”
Wade shook his head. “Won’t.”
Time to bring out the big guns. Make this a bit more personal. She turned to Eli. “How many times have I asked you for a favor?”
His shoulders fell. “Never.”
“That should tell you how important this is.” She was calling in a favor she never expected to use. The only thing that made it tenable was that she made this choice for Gabe.
Eli blew out a long, slow breath. “Shit.”
“Okay, but be sure,” Wade said, as he stepped directly in front of her. “Because whatever this is, you can’t undo it.”
A breeze blew over her and the trees swayed as she tried to think of the right words to explain. “You ever hide from something so long that it twists up everything else in your life?”
Eli glanced at Wade then back to her. “I spent months doing that and most of my relationship with him trying to un-fuck it.”
Wade moved in closer beside Eli. “You succeeded.”
Then she saw it. What everyone else who knew them described. The closeness. How in sync they were. The former CIA agent and the crime gang enforcer. Two of the toughest and most lethal guys she knew, next to Gabe. They’d fought, gone after each other until they ripped emotional wounds in each other. But they’d found a way through it. That made her happy for them. “You two look good together.”
Wade winked at her. “Thanks.”
In her rush to get down to what she needed, she’d messed up . . . again. She looked at Eli. “I didn’t mean to throw you and Andy together to get you up here.”
She tried to keep the wording neutral in case Eli watched how much he shared with Wade. She had no idea how normal people handled their secrets. She’d spilled her biggest one to Gabe. He’d shared his biggest fear with her. Things that should have made her feel vulnerable while she plotted for a way to use Gabe’s weakness, but neither happened.
“You don’t need to be careful,” Eli said. “Wade knows about our past, mine and Andy’s.”
Wade frowned at her. “Why do you think I’m here?”
That sounded ridiculous in light of what she could see, right there, so obvious in front of her. “Oh, please. Anyone looking at you or who is with you two for ten seconds can see that Eli belongs with you.”
Wade slapped the back of his hand against Eli’s chest. “Grant her the favor. Whatever it is.”
She held out the file to Eli. “I need to know if these two people are parent and child or child and uncle.”
“I think that’s two different tests.”
“If the paternity test fails, I’ll have my answer.” Or Gabe would. Her feelings for him, as complex and confused as they were, would not change, no matter the outcome. She’d witnessed his love for Brandon. Let it color and support everything she’d figured out about the man on her own. The real question is what Gabe would do when he found out. How he would feel about her . . . after. But she had to push that aside. This was what she did. She solved problems and this was a huge problem, whether Gabe wanted to deal with it or not. “I have some contacts—”
“This one is on me.” Eli tucked it under his arm. “I’ll handle it. I probably need two days.”
A mix of relief and dread fell over her. “Thank you.”
Eli looked thoughtful. “I don’t think you’ve ever said that before.”
“There’s a lot of things I’ve never done before.” Including getting tied to a man and not wanting to undo the knots again.
Wade smiled at her. “Like sneaking around to get paternity tests.”
The answer was so much broader than that. “Like caring what the answer is.”
• • •
Andy sat on the stool in front of the kitchen island. Gabe stood on the other side. Every now and then, one or the other would take a peek out the matching sets of double glass doors to the backyard. Watch Wade and Eli and Natalie as they huddled in conversation. Something intense had them drawn close and had them ignoring the cool air.
“It’s not like you to give away the location of your house to anyone.” Andy decided if he couldn’t know about the outside conversation he could at least ask a few of the questions sitting on his mind.