Page 91 of The Spy
“I'll lock it away as one of the best weekends I've ever spent in my life. But if you do want to come back, we can come back any time. Here we can be alone and free."
"Oh." I nodded, kind of saddened by how he said the free portion. "Yeah, the whole shagging-my-boss thing is probably not something I want to announce to the whole campus."
He winced. "I know this is awkward for you."
I shook my head. "No, I'm not being flippant. It's just complicated."
"Yeah, complicated. So you tell me if you want to come back."
I nodded. "Yes, Gabe. I want to come back."
He kissed me again. "Good. Now eat your eggs, they're getting cold."
"All right, I know this is your sanctuary, but can we talk about the mission for a minute? We'll talk about us later, but I have to know. Did we get everything we needed? We have a team for the summer house?"
He laughed. "Oh my God, you're as bad as Saff. No, not yet. Obviously, I know you'll want in, but I was thinking to keep it small. You, me, Saff, Lock, Saint, Kaya on coms, Rook. That's even bigger than I want. I want it quiet and done well."
I shook my head. "Except, I can't come. If you're going to hit the summer house when he will be less suspicious, I need to be with him."
He frowned at that. "I don't like it."
"I know you don't like it. I really don't like it, but what am I supposed to do? I'm still undercover. And we don't have anything on him. We need something before I can quit, right? So, what do we do?"
"Okay, in that case, it'll be Saff, Lock, Saint, Kaya, and Rook."
"You need to be Ops Command."
"I'm your handler. Where you go, I go. Besides, Saff is more than capable."
I sighed. "I know you don't like it. And I know it makes you uncomfortable putting her in charge."
“Saff is beyond capable. I've given her as much knowledge as I can give. She can do this. One day soon, she'll be in the seat."
"And you're okay with that? Letting go of the control?"
"I only hold on tightly when I think people can't do their jobs. It was hard to see her as an adult before because she's my little sister, but in the last year, she showed that she's beyond capable. She's good in the field, and she makes good decisions. Ones that put empathy first. People first. I respect that."
"Well, Gabriel Webb, you are impressing me."
He smirked. "Not what I did yesterday, but rather this impresses you?"
"I didn't think you were capable of such magnanimity. I'm surprised."
"Well, I aim to surprise. You’re okay missing out on the fun and spending more time with Tate?”
"Not really. But I know you'll be close by."
"Yeah, now all I have to do is try not to kill him."
"We don't kill civilians, remember?" I reminded him. Though the reminder was as much for me as it was for him.
"No, of course not. But I do kill people who touch what's mine."
A shiver ran down my spine, because I could see in his gaze that he was deadly serious. If Jennings Tate stepped out of line, Gabe would kill him.
29
Tabatha
