Page 51 of Riptide
The bakery was dark, closed for the evening. But light glowed from Cara's apartment window above. He was debating whether to go up when the door opened.
Cara emerged from the stairwell.
Even from thirty feet away, even in the dim light, he could see she'd been crying. Her face was pale, shoulders hunched like she was trying to hold herself together.
She headed down the stairs, heading for the basement entrance at the back of the building.
"Cara?"
She raised her head, raw pain flashing across her face before she could hide it.
"Gabe." She quickly wiped her eyes. "Hi. What are you doing here?"
He approached carefully. "I was coming to check on you. But—" He took in her appearance. "What happened?"
She glanced at the basement door in front of her. "The guys are meeting. We're working on something."
"The Blaire Mitchell problem?"
When she didn't deny it: "Let me help."
"You can't. It's complicated. And you're—" She stopped.
"I'm what? A cop?" He kept his voice gentle. "Cara, I'm also someone who cares about you."
They stood in the mist, looking at each other. Everything they weren't saying hung heavy in the damp air.
Finally, Cara nodded. "Okay. But Gabe—there are things we're doing that you might not approve of."
"Then don't tell me the parts I can't know." He gestured toward the door, letting her move ahead first.
The basement fell silent when they walked in.
The team was gathered around Tom's workstation—Reagan behind him, Wade leaning against the wall, Piper on the floor with her laptop. Everyone froze.
Wade's hand moved subtly toward his hip. Tom's fingers hovered over his keyboard. Reagan's expression went carefully neutral.
"I know," Cara said quietly. "But he wants to help."
Reagan studied Gabe. "This is unexpected."
Gabe could feel the shift in the room. Tom's screens had definitely changed—less information visible now.
"I know you're investigating Blaire Mitchell," he said. "And I know some of your methods might be creative." He looked around at them. "I'm not here as Haven Cove's Police Chief.I'm here as someone who wants to stop a predator, the way you helped me stop Hale and Brewer and the others from killing David."
Wade's challenge came flat: "And if our methods cross legal lines?"
“I’m not with the Bureau anymore. Whatever you might or might not be doing? If it's not happening in Haven Cove, it's not my jurisdiction."
Reagan and Wade exchanged glances. Tom looked at Cara, who nodded.
"Okay," Reagan said finally. "But ground rules. You don't ask where we got our information. We don't tell you anything that would force you to take action. Deal?"
"Deal."
Cara sank into a chair heavily. "I talked to Jessica Forsythe. She’s the sister of one of Blaire's victims,” she added, clearly for his benefit. Her voice caught. "Blaire ‘found’ her brother and extorted money from him. He killed himself. She won't help us. She's too scared. Too broken by what happened."
Gabe's jaw tightened. "Did Blaire have a client?"
