She gave Tom a chastising look. “My tire was slashed when I left the hospital earlier,” she explained, leaving out the rest of the details about the extent of the vandalism and earning a sidelong glance from Tom. “I called Tom to report the incident and asked him to take a look.”
Gabe felt a spike of irrational jealousy at the thought of his elder brother coming to Elle’s aid while he was stuck in a hospital bed. “That right?” he drawled, knowing even as he said it that he was being a jackass. But still…
“Thanks, Tom,” Elle said. “Could you give me a few minutes with Gabe and then I’ll be ready to go?”
Tom gave her a terse nod and slipped out into the hallway.
“What the hell is going on with him?” Gabe mumbled.
“He’s worried about you,” Elle said. “And everyone else. Tom carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
That green-eyed monster reared its head again and he clenched his jaw, suddenly wanting to clock his brother simply because Elle seemed to have a decent read on the guy. “You know Tom pretty well.”
Elle shrugged. “I guess so. We’ve worked together a long time. He’s a good guy.”
Gabe grunted, not able to deny what she was saying. His brother had been his hero since they were kids. He’d worshipped Tom when they were growing up, had always tried to keep up, to measure up. And once again, it seemed like he was playing catch-up with Tom.
“Well, you’d better get going,” he grumbled. “Don’t want you to miss your ride.”
She took a few steps forward, coming to the side of his bed. “I’m going. But first, I wanted to make one thing very clear to you, Gabe Dawson.”
“Yeah?” he said. “What’s that?”
She narrowed her eyes and leaned over him, caging him with her arms on either side of his head. “Don’t you ever again treat me like I’m some delicate flower who can’t handle the truth.”
Damn.
Having her that close was tempting as hell. For the first time, he noticed she had tiny flecks of gold in her eyes and a few more freckles on the bridge of her nose than he’d realized. God, she was beautiful—stunning, really. He had to muster all his willpower not to drag her into his arms and kiss the full lips that were currently pursed in irritation. But he forced himself to meet her gaze and lifted a single brow.
“Oh, I know you’re no delicate flower,” he said, his voice going deeper, betraying the effect of her nearness and giving his words a weight he hadn’t intended.
Her cheeks went a little pink, but she didn’t back away. “We’re in this together, whether we like it or not. And I’m not going to be kept in the dark just because I’m not a cop.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, not bothering to suppress the grin tugging at his mouth. “You might like being in the dark with me, Elle.”
She blinked, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something more but was clearly speechless. Then she pressed her lips together and gave him a frustrated look. “You know what I meant, Gabe.”
At this, the little devil on his shoulder got the better of him, and he chuckled, letting his gaze drop down to those gorgeous lips. “Yeah, I know what you meant, Elle. Doesn’t change what I meant.”
When she didn’t immediately pull away at his advance, he took a chance and reached up, gently taking hold of her chin and guiding her lips down to his. But before he could make contact, she suddenly broke away from his tender grasp and straightened, staring down at him with a look of confusion and panic in her eyes.
Okay, well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for…
“I have to go,” she breathed. But she didn’t take a single step. “I really… I should go.”
He met her gaze, waiting, wondering at her next move. “You sure?”
She licked her lips, looking as if she was truly torn between going and staying. But then she lifted her chin, giving him that defiant look he’d grown so used to seeing from her. “Yes, I’m absolutely positive.”
Without another word, she turned on her heel and strode toward the door without so much as a glance over her shoulder.
But the little exchange was enough to offer Gabe the encouragement he needed. Maybe the brilliant, beautiful, iron-willed woman wasn’t quite as unaffected by him as she wanted him to believe.
*
“You okay?”
Elle waved away Tom’s concern as she strode down the hallway toward the exit. “Yep. Fine. Let’s go.”
It was all she could do not to demand that Tom get his ass moving. Did he seriously always have to walk so damned slowly? Of course, the rational side of her wondered why in the world she was practically sprinting down the hall. It wasn’t like Gabe was going to come running after her, pull her into his arms, and kiss her breathless.
She came to an abrupt halt as the image of such an encounter filled her head, sending a sudden spike of desire through her veins.
Dear God. I nearly kissed him. Again.