Warmth spread through her even as she tried to keep it stuffed away. Her anger simmered, but she couldn’t bring back the flash of rage she’d had earlier. It was too hard to scream at him for something he couldn’t change.
“I don’t know where we go from here.” Saying it out loud buried her under sadness. What was she going to do?
“I broke something between us, cora??o, and I am sorry.” Gabe grasped her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. In the dark, he was backlit by the light from the guest cabin, but she could still see his face in the fainter light from the main house. “Won’t ask you to forgive me right away.”
“Good.” She bit her lip. Why did she have to sound so petty?
“But I have news.” His hands squeezed as he spoke, like he wanted to be sure she listened. “I got a call from my CO. We’ll have the reinforcements we need. We are going to get your sister back.”
“Just like that?” She whispered her question, blinking away the mist and rain.
“Come inside. Let me get you warmed and dry. And I’ll tell you about the call.”
Her brain stuttered as relief blanked everything. “We still need to find her.”
Gabe nodded. “But you were right. We’re on the brink of something and I don’t think it’s finished yet. Last thing we need is for you to come down with pneumonia.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“Let me take care of you.” He murmured the request. “At least this much. Let me take the lead.”
Trusting him again. Seemed like she was continually taking a leap of faith for him. But he was An-mei’s best chance.
She nodded, afraid to open her mouth and say something she’d regret later. Whether it started another argument or sparked a step back toward intimacy, she wasn’t ready for either one. Instead, she let him pull her in to his side and guide her back to the guest house.
One step at a time, she’d decide how much trust she could give him again. They’d start back at the beginning, with finding An-mei.
Chapter Seventeen
It’d been a morning of cleaning.
Gabe had watched Maylin go through the guest cabin like a whirlwind, sweeping every room methodically. She’d start around the outer perimeter and sweep inward toward the center of each room. The resulting pile of dust was gathered in a dustpan and taken out the back door, even if the front door was closer.
He’d asked about it at first but she was nowhere near chatty. And he couldn’t blame her. Coaxing her to take a hot shower and tucking her into bed the night before had been the limit of what they could repair between them for the time being. She’d taken the news from Harte with her to bed to think on, and from the dark circles under her eyes, she’d slept about as much as Gabe had.
An inner drive pushed at him to take better care of her, but he couldn’t make her sleep. And he wouldn’t ever suggest she set aside her worry.
His phone rang, the caller ID popping up Lizzy’s avatar. “Diaz.”
“Marc and Victoria will land in two hours.” Lizzy probably knew Maylin had been out in the night, but she didn’t ask. “I’ll pick them up from the airport and check on what’s left of your car on the way back. If the police have cleared out, we’ll sweep the area for any leftover fragments they might’ve missed.”
“Be careful.” He was fairly certain Jewel had been messing with him. But the hard part about dealing with other good mercenaries was the way they all took pains to be unpredictable.
“Always.” Lizzy paused. “Our ETA brings us back here about lunchtime. Should we pick anything up on the way?”
Gabe leaned back from the desk to get a line of sight on Maylin cleaning the bedroom. “She set a bunch of rice to soak overnight. I’m thinking she’s planning on cooking something.”
Lizzy chuckled. “No arguments here. Way better than protein shakes and takeout.”
True enough. And as stress behaviors went, Maylin had way more constructive quirks than most people did. Gabe couldn’t count the number of clients they’d had who’d done nothing but pace. He had no patience at all for the ones who went hysterical or screamed at everyone.
“Any chance she’d consider staying after this?” Lizzy sounded as wistful as Lizzy ever got. “The real meals go a long way toward making a body sound. And you two seem to be getting along.”
Not since he’d screwed up royally. “She’s got a catering business to run when all this is done. Pretty high profile.”
“Ah.” She didn’t push. “Well, can’t say I’m surprised. She’s a stand-up woman. I knew I liked her for a reason.”
The more he learned about Maylin, the more he respected her and the more he ached for what he’d crushed with his mistakes.
Once Lizzy terminated the call, he stood. Stretched. Admitted he was procrastinating and took the few steps to catch up with Maylin in the bedroom. Coming to a halt at the door, he rapped his knuckles on the door frame.