Page 92 of Filthy Little Lies

“If you don’t want people to stare, you probably shouldn’t be wearing a leather jacket in Atlanta when it’s eighty-five and humid as hell.” I tap my pen against the pad. “I’m serious, Gabriel. I’m not going back with you.”

He takes a sip of his coffee, then slowly lowers it back to the table.

“I figured that.” He pulls out a set of keys from his jacket pocket and drops them on the table.

“What are those?” I eye them.

“The keys to your apartment. The locks were shit; I had them replaced.”

“You’ve been to my apartment? You can’t just do things like that.” I breathe out the question. How long has he been in town?

“I bought the building, so yeah, I can.”

“You bought the building?”

“I figured you’d want to stay there. This way you don’t have to waste money on rent.”

“Gabriel.” I slide into the booth across from him. “Why can’t you just leave me alone? You got what you wanted. I’m gone. I left.”

His expression darkens. “I’m aware of what you did.”

“I didn’t help Tony,” I protest.

“I’m not talking about Tony. I know you had nothing to do with that.”

“What?” I lean back from him. “Then why did you send me away?”

“I didn’t send you away, Savvy. I was sending you somewhere you’d be safe until I sorted out all the details. There was a possibility Ricci was involved, and there was a chance he’d go after you to get to me. I didn’t want to chance it, so I was having Roman take you to one of our safe houses.”

“That’s not what he told me.”

“He told you he was taking you somewhere safe.”

“Yeah. After he told me to pack my stuff and after you had all of my equipment boxed up and hauled off.”

His jaw tenses. “I gave the order to make sure you had everything you needed. The men took it to mean your equipment, too. They also packed up all of your vampire books. The only thing they left for you to pack was your clothes. Because if any one of them so much as put eyes on your panties, I would have plucked them from their fucking head.”

My mouth dries. “You didn’t have any doubts about me being involved with Tony’s scam?”

“No. None. I needed you safe while I got to the bottom of the situation. I’d thought by now you would have given me the benefit of the doubt, but I guess I was wrong.” He leans toward me. “Which is why you jumped out of the car and ran away, right?”

“I didn’t know what was going on, and you looked so angry at the dinner. Then Roman with all the cloak and dagger stuff…”

He covers my hand with his own. “I get it, Savvy.”

My throat constricts.

“You’re not going to drag me back, then?”

“No.” He pulls back, reaching back into his pocket and pulling out a cell phone. The one I left for him at my apartment in Chicago. “Jennifer at the shelter contacted you for a few identification jobs; I handled them for her. She’ll deal with my guy while you’re gone.”

“You helped her?” I narrow my eyes, remembering what he said about me undercharging my clients. “How much did you charge her?”

He lifts a shoulder. “Nothing.”

I’m not sure what to say. This isn’t him. There’s no force here. He’s not dragging me out of the diner or throwing me over his shoulder to take me home. He’s just here. Talking.

“What about Tony?” I ask quietly.