across his expression too quickly for her to make it out. “He worked for my family for almost twenty years before Vasily offered him this placement. Nick’s wife had died—she was the sister of one of Vasily’s guys—so he accepted and moved out here. Said keeping an eye on a pretty blonde and mowing a lawn beat making collections any day.”
Had her mom known there was a connection between their neighbor and Eva’s father? “Where did he go? Could the car belong to the guys coming to pack?” she tagged on, hopeful.
Gabriel’s lips twisted. “They’re still fifteen minutes out. They’re coming from Meadowbrook with a truck.”
When he ignored her question about Nick, she wondered if the older man had been fired for some reason but didn’t ask because she was distracted by Gabriel leaning over to open the glove box. He withdrew a small handgun from underneath some papers.
Having seen an assortment of Caleb’s guns throughout the years, the sight of this one shouldn’t have bothered her. But it did. Because it wasn’t going to be used for target practice at the shooting range, but in an effort to protect her.
Gabriel checked the magazine and then the chamber. Then he slapped the small black weapon onto the dash and withdrew a larger one from the small of his back. He gave it the same treatment, check and snap. He tucked it back in, pulling his shirt over it so that it was once again hidden. Eva continued staring wide-eyed as he bent and lifted the left cuff of his pants to reveal a knife holstered on the inside of his ankle. He unsnapped the holder in preparation.
“Is the cannon strapped to your thigh coming out next or are we saving that for when we’re alone?” She lifted her eyebrows and, of course, blushed when Alek and Quan laughed.
“Cannon, huh?”
Her gaze skipped from the gun to Gabriel’s amused face. “Like that’s news to you,” she said absently, thinking this kind of danger must have been exactly what had motivated her father to leave her and her mom. His attempt to allow them a peaceful, safe life, even if without him, hoping all the while they’d never feel what Eva was feeling right now. What her mom must have felt before she died.
Eva’s heart softened that much more for the man who’d given up so much in order to protect them. “I want to meet my father, Gabriel,” she blurted. “Can you arrange that?”
He seemed caught off guard by her request. “Where are you in there?” he mused, brushing his thumb across her forehead. “And, yeah, I’ll arrange it.”
She sat back. “Okay. So what happens now?”
“We find out who’s here.” He glanced toward her house, his demeanor shifting into that cold, controlled man who’d shared the story of her life yesterday. “Listen. The men who work for Stefano won’t hesitate to use whatever means they must do their job.”
“I realized that when you were polishing all that steel,” she said dryly.
“Have you ever used a gun?”
“Yes, I have.” She wiped her damp palms down the front of her thighs and held out her hand.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘yes, I have,’” he mimicked with a sneer.
She rolled her eyes. “Caleb used to take me and Nika to the shooting range with him back in high school.”
“What the fuck for?”
She smiled as she remembered Caleb trying to show them how to properly hold the weapon, shaking his head at their nervous laughter. “To entertain us at first, I think, and then later he said he wanted us to be able to defend ourselves.”
A tic worked in Gabriel’s jaw as he pocketed the keys, but he didn’t say another word as they all got out of the SUV. He was at her side and wrapping a strong arm around her waist before she had time to close the door.
Shit then got way too real when he shoved the smaller of his two weapons into her cold hand.
† † †
For chrissakes. Gabriel couldn’t believe he was giving Eva a fucking gun, much less that she knew how to use it.
Paynne. That asshole. Despite the fact that what he’d done was smart, he was still an asshole.
Closing Eva’s delicate fingers around the cold metal, he ground out, “Don’t be afraid to use it.” He turned to Alek and Quan. “The backyard leads to a large stretch of woodlands. About an acre, I think. We’ll head there.”
Grasping Eva’s hand, he pulled her away from the Escalade