Page 120 of The Spy
"Pretty much," he said with a shrug.
I kneeled down to meet his gaze, my eyes darting to Gabe out on the balcony, trying to get us a safe way out. “So you’re telling me you’re not the bogeyman?”
“Well, I am to somebody. Just not to you.” He glanced over at Gabe too. “To some people Gabe is the bogeyman. Except he gets to live in the sunlight, while I still roam around the shadows.”
"Isn't that lonely?"
"Like you wouldn't believe. But that's where people like to do their dark and dirty deeds. In the shadows. And that's where I hunt them, find them, and cut them down.”
I suddenly realized I would not want to come across Drake Webster in the shadows, bogeyman or not.
37
Tabatha
The flight home was tense. At least for me. Gabe was acting as if everything was normal.
This morning, he’d cut Webster loose and the villain of our story poofed into the damn shadows. When he left, they shook hands.
There was no point trying to wake up from the nightmare, no amount of pinching was going to do it.
By the time we arrived back at Rogues Campus, I was a giant knot of tension. Everything from my sister to Gennifer to the stark realization of just how many secrets Gabe was keeping had coalesced on my shoulders.
I groaned as I reached for my jumper in the back of the transport vehicle. I was desperately looking forward to a few hours of shut eye before our next briefing when Gabe tugged me close. "I wanted to take you home tonight."
Home to Hampshire? In the middle of a crisis? Like nothing happened? "Isn’t this more important?"
"I'm pretty sure taking you home is much more important, but I can be patient."
I forced a smile. "No, you can't."
He hesitated as he opened the door for me, likely cuing into my tension. "Did you want to see Saff tonight?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I can pop in and see her and Lachlan before getting some shut eye. I think I’m just going to crash in my bungalow."
Gabe shoved his hands in his cargos and rocked on his feet, his gaze narrowing on mine. "Actually, I was thinking, maybe we could go to your place."
I lifted my brows. "What?"
"Yeah. Like that time I cooked for you and Saff. I can grab some groceries and cook."
"You want to cook for me?”
Let it go. Enjoy this.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t just pretend that we hadn’t failed to rescue Kira. I couldn’t just pretend that he hadn’t been withholding vital information or that he didn’t have me withholding vital information now, too. I couldn’t just have him make me dinner and give me several orgasms.
Yes, you can. Because you need it. And this is Gabe. This has always been Gabe.
It was the clarity with which I saw him now that colored everything. I’d known he was Ops Command of course. I’d known this couldn’t last. But knowing and knowing were two different states. This thing we were doing had a time limit. We had an expiration date.
"Yes. Just because Abott Manor has a housekeeper and I have caretakers at my place, that doesn't mean I don’t like to cook. Besides, I want to enjoy your place and snoop. Last time, I had to pretend not to be too curious about your inner workings."
I forced a smile. "You can do that. I just have to try and remember if I cleaned it or not."
He shook his head. "I don't care."
"Yes, you do. And you will the moment you see dresses thrown all over the place."
