“I might have given him some helpful ideas, but the final touches were all his.” Jewel had to be aware of Gabe’s intentions. Still, she’d thrown the other man under the bus, and she might not even warn the guy unless she liked him. It was one of her habits Gabe didn’t miss.
“The detonators are your guilty pleasure.” Gabe wondered what she wanted, following up with the call. Maybe her colleague hadn’t managed to tail them close enough to confirm whether they’d been caught in the explosion or not. She did like to confirm just how much damage she’d done with her handiwork. “Never saw a vehicle you didn’t want to explode.”
“This is true. I do like to make things go boom.” He could picture the slow smile spreading across her lips. A long time ago he might’ve grinned at the thought, but now only a slow burn of anger built. He and she had been in solid sync once upon a time. Not anymore. “But I don’t want your little galley cook dead yet. I just want to put a touch of proper fear into her. She was much too confident when I had the pleasure of meeting her.”
He wrapped his arm around Maylin tighter. If Jewel was set on killing her, he’d go under and take Maylin with him. Once they were away, no one would find them.
“Really, Gabe. You are so very serious. It’s why I sent you those presents. Without me around, who would keep you guessing?”
Maylin muttered against his shoulder and lifted her fist to give him a solid thump on the chest.
There were going to be dire consequences for keeping her out of this conversation, and he must be going insane, because he was pretty sure he was looking forward to them. He grinned. “Is that what you’re doing?”
“Hmm.”
“What do you want, Jewel?” Not likely to tell him, but the cat and mouse game had gone on long enough. He was done.
“This was a reminder for you too, in case your short time out made you forget.” Jewel’s voice had become hard, the words concise. “I can take out the older sister at any time. Keep her under control. Have her quit looking for her sister and there won’t be any more problems.”
The last finished on a sweet note. He did not miss these dramatic outbursts from her. A person could deliver a message without the melodrama.
“I think we’re getting too close to knowing more than we should.” He let his own arrogance shine through. She did bring out the asshole in him. “This isn’t about one woman looking for her runaway sister anymore. That’s not news. We’re about to expose something sensitive to your employers. What will you do?”
Silence.
*
“While I’m glad I’m not blown to pieces, most of my readily available wardrobe is. The duffel had most of my clothes in it. I’m going to need to go back to my apartment again to get more.”
Maylin ignored Gabe’s scowl in response to her statement and crossed her arms, leaning back against the kitchen counter. The guest cabin at Centurion Corporation was familiar compared to the hotel the previous night, and felt a little like coming home.
She was being perfectly reasonable, but having gotten her safely back to Centurion Corporation grounds, Gabe seemed less than thrilled with the idea of taking her someplace unsecured again anytime soon. Especially a place the enemy already knew about, like her apartment.
He might have a point. Another one of Jewel’s little presents was likely waiting for her. A shudder ran through her. Gabe lived with these kinds of possibilities every day. Would she ever go back to her own way of walking through life, not worrying about intruders and bombs?
Not for a long time.
Still, she wouldn’t live in fear of the possibilities. Practicality had to have a place in there too. “I need clothes and I can’t afford to buy new ones. Plus, there’s really no time to go through all that.”
“You need rest. Real sleep.” He might’ve tried to keep the growl out of his voice. Maybe.
Probably not.
She kept her mouth shut. Obviously he was set to be as stubborn as she was. His dark glower was incredibly sexy, if she wanted to admit it.
“Clothes are a necessity, whatever steps we’re taking next.” Keep the words measured. Go for patience. Bumping heads was one thing, but she didn’t want to pick an actual fight.
Instead of getting more obstinate, he grinned. “Well, I can think of a few activities for the immediate future in which clothes are superfluous.”
“Using a big word or two there. Maybe you’ve gotten practice in your recent conversations.” She clamped her hands over her mouth as soon as she said it. Gah, it sounded obnoxious. She was angry he hadn’t let her have choice words with Jewel. But the level-headed part of her brain acknowledged there would have been little constructive to come out of it.
In a way, Jewel had been baiting her again.
Gabe shrugged, not bothered. “You are a good influence on me. To be honest, it’s fun talking with you. It stretches my vocabulary some.”