Page 18 of Lost Lake
“She said she didn’t date. Claimed as a working single mom, and with her volunteer work, that was the last thing she had time for.”
“Did you believe her?” El asked. “Or did you think she just didn’t want to talk about it?”
He thought back over their conversations. “I believed her. She was pretty candid. Even more than I am. So, I think she would’ve said something.”
“What about you? The two of you ever date?”
“What?” His denial came too fast. Too sharp. She probably wouldn’t believe him. “Date? Us? Never.”
“Why not?”
He hesitated this time. They were drifting dangerously close to territory he never shared. Even his teammates only knew the surface-level version of his past. And yet, something about El made it hard to hold the line.
“Gabe?” she asked. “Why not date?”
“Because we’d known each other since I was six and she was eight,” he said, finally able to share a little of his past. “We grew up together. Became friends. Dating wasn’t even on the radar, and it never occurred to me.”
“What about her? Did it occur to her?”
“If it did, she never said anything, which like I said, isn’t—wasn’t—in her character.”
“How did you meet?”
Despite the ache in his chest, a smile tugged at his mouth. “I wanted to walk to school alone. My mom wouldn’t let me. I’d seen Kenna heading out every morning by herself. She was older and cool when I was kind of a nerdy little boy, but one day I worked up the nerve to ask if I could walk with her every day. Oh, man, she teased me for being a big baby.” The memory made him chuckle, and he paused to enjoy it. “But surprise, surprise, she actually agreed. And then my mom did too. Honestly, I think my mom was relieved. I was the youngest child, and Kenna was her ticket to a little freedom.”
“Kenna must’ve moved on to middle school before you, but you stayed friends?”
He nodded, offering nothing more than he was ready to tell her.
“Was the rest of your family close to Kenna?”
Of course she had to mention his family. Stopped him from being able to look at her. He slid his gaze over her shoulder. “My mom genuinely liked Kenna, but our family wasn’t well thought of in the neighborhood. Didn’t mingle much with anyone. I’m still surprised Kenna’s mom let her walk with me.”
“Why wasn’t your family well thought of?”
He should’ve known she wouldn’t miss his comment and should’ve kept his mouth shut. He’d once given her that basic detail about his family, but she hadn’t pressed him to find outwhy. Now she had a right to know, but he still didn’t want to see her reaction when he told her.
“I doubt that’s relevant to the investigation,” he said, sounding more irritated than she deserved.
“The more I understand Kenna,” El said without even a hint of emotion, “the better chance I have of finding who killed her. Faster too.”
He didn’t want to reveal anything else, but she might be right. After all, his family’s history was a shadow that seemed to touch everything in his life. Who knows, maybe he even mentioned them because he really did want to talk about them.
He planted his feet on the ground, bracing himself. He’d only ever told this once before. To Kenna. “Crime was a way of life for my family. Tradition. My father and uncles were career con men. My oldest brother fit right in.” He shook his head, still unable to meet her gaze. “By fifteen, I’d seen more deals go down than most detectives see in their whole careers. I wanted out. On my eighteenth birthday, I ran.”
He glanced at her, expecting to see disgust.
There was none. Only surprise.
“I cut contact,” he continued. “Learned how to survive on the edges of the system. Eventually earned my degree.”
She nodded, thoughtful. “That explains why you tend to go rogue. Follow your gut instead of orders.”
“Sharp eye. Nose for lies. Mistrust,” he said. “Skills you don’t lose once you learn them.”
He was certain he should have changed by now, but how could he? No matter how far he got, the past always had a way of following him.
“Believe it or not,” she said softly, “I understand more than you think.”
