As I relayed instructions to get Gabriel to the ladder, I walked to the room with the ladder and crouched at the hatch. A moment later, the top of his head appeared below.
He looked up.
“Found it,” I said.
I grinned down at him. As calm as I’d tried to stay during this whole ordeal, there’d been a feeling that something was missing, something as essential as the gun nestled in my pocket. Seeing Gabriel, that knot untwisted.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Better now that you’re here. Thanks.”
His head tilted to the side, and he frowned, as if unsure he’d heard right.
“I tried to leave you out of this,” I said. “That’s why I hung up the first time. I didn’t want to bother you when it wasn’t a legal issue. I’m sorry that guy got my phone and texted you. But I’m glad you’re here.”
Another frown and searching look, as if he’d moved from suspecting he’d misheard to suspecting I’d been dosed.
I shook my head. “Just come up.”
He gave the bottom rung a tug. “It’s not going to hold me. Is there another route?”
“There must be, but it’s a huge place. If you want to just stay down there, I can resolve this and—”
“No, I’ll try.” He gave the rung another test pull. “Please note, I’m not a gymnast.”
“In other words, you’d appreciate it if I averted my gaze while you awkwardly try to haul yourself up?”
He rolled his eyes, but I did turn away. God forbid Gabriel should be seen doing something that might require actual effort. I suspected that was more of a concern than whether the rungs would hold his weight.
A few not-quite-stifled grunts as he got himself onto the ladder.
“How did you manage it?” he said. “That bottom rung was almost over my head.”
“I, uh, had help. Ricky’s here.”
He stopped, standing on the ladder, his head still a few feet below the opening. “Ricky?”
“Gallagher.”
He gave me a cool look. “I highly doubt we have any other mutual acquaintances who go by that moniker. The implied question was: what is Ricky doing here?”
“He was with me when I got the call.”
“With you? Where?”
“Really?” I wanted to say, It was two in the morning. Do I need to spell it out? But Gabriel kept looking up at me with genuine confusion.
“I was at home. Asleep.”
It still seemed to take a moment for him to make the mental leap. When he did, his eyes emptied, and that ice-cold stare blasted through me, and I felt like I’d just done something terrible. Something unforgivable.
I’d woken him in the middle of the night and dragged him out here, into a dangerous situation, expecting his help, and now he finds out I’m screwing around with another man? That was crazy on all counts—I hadn’t woken him or dragged him or expected anything, and we weren’t sleeping together or even moving in that direction. He was only annoyed that I hadn’t told him about the relationship earlier. If I interpreted more, it was because I felt more.
That’s why I hadn’t told Gabriel I was seeing Ricky. Because of what it felt like, no matter how groundless that was. To feel guilty because a guy I wasn’t dating found out I was involved with someone? That went beyond an overblown sense of fidelity and tripped straight into ludicrous.
After what felt like ten minutes of silence, he said, “I see.” Another five seconds, then, “I wasn’t aware you were seeing one another.”
“It’s recent,” I said. “We hadn’t gotten to the stage of telling anyone. Ricky told Don last night.”
“Which I suppose explains Don’s message asking me to phone him in the morning. You are both my clients, Olivia. I already warned you that any relationship—”
“I’m not your client anymore.”
“You are my employee. Which is worse.”
“Can we discuss this later?” I said. “That girl’s freaked out, and I really need to talk to her before she bolts.”
He looked at me. Then he glanced down, as if considering retreat.
“Do you want to go?” I said. “I know this wasn’t how you intended to spend your night, and I’m sorry you got dragged into it. Ricky and I can handle this.”
His gaze moved up to mine. “Would you like me to leave?”
“No. As I said, I’m glad you’re here. But I understand if you decide you don’t need to be. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
That cool stare. “It’s four thirty in the morning, Olivia. What else would I have to do?”
“Sleep. Which is infinitely better than crawling through an abandoned psych hospital.”
I forced a smile. He didn’t buy it, only watching me, assessing. Then he grunted, “Move,” and waved me back so he could finish his climb. By the time he hauled himself through the hatch, I was staring up at the messages on the ceiling, above the restraint chair.
Before I could look away, Gabriel said, “What do you see?”
I told him and then added, “You don’t see anything, right?”
“I don’t.”
“Neither did Ricky. There were other things, too. Visions, hallucinations . . .”
“You’ll tell me later?”
“I will.”
“And you didn’t tell Ricky about any of it?”
“No. I wouldn’t have brought him into this at all, but he overheard the phone call, so I couldn’t exactly slip out and handle it myself.”
“Which I would hope you’d never consider doing alone. Whether it’s a legal matter or not, you should call me, Olivia. I would think you’d know that by now.”
“I wanted to. I just . . . I didn’t want to overstep. Anyway, I had to tell him about finding Ciara in the car. He knows there’s more, but he’s not pushing for answers.” I looked up at Gabriel. “I’ve never had the feeling I can’t trust him.”
Gabriel hesitated, then said almost reluctantly, “You can.”
“I won’t tell him anything I don’t have to. For his own sake. The rest is between you and me.”
The ice thawed in his eyes. He nodded and waved me to the door. When I turned, he put his fingers lightly to my back, shepherding me along, as if he was the one who knew where we were going.
He looked up.
“Found it,” I said.
I grinned down at him. As calm as I’d tried to stay during this whole ordeal, there’d been a feeling that something was missing, something as essential as the gun nestled in my pocket. Seeing Gabriel, that knot untwisted.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Better now that you’re here. Thanks.”
His head tilted to the side, and he frowned, as if unsure he’d heard right.
“I tried to leave you out of this,” I said. “That’s why I hung up the first time. I didn’t want to bother you when it wasn’t a legal issue. I’m sorry that guy got my phone and texted you. But I’m glad you’re here.”
Another frown and searching look, as if he’d moved from suspecting he’d misheard to suspecting I’d been dosed.
I shook my head. “Just come up.”
He gave the bottom rung a tug. “It’s not going to hold me. Is there another route?”
“There must be, but it’s a huge place. If you want to just stay down there, I can resolve this and—”
“No, I’ll try.” He gave the rung another test pull. “Please note, I’m not a gymnast.”
“In other words, you’d appreciate it if I averted my gaze while you awkwardly try to haul yourself up?”
He rolled his eyes, but I did turn away. God forbid Gabriel should be seen doing something that might require actual effort. I suspected that was more of a concern than whether the rungs would hold his weight.
A few not-quite-stifled grunts as he got himself onto the ladder.
“How did you manage it?” he said. “That bottom rung was almost over my head.”
“I, uh, had help. Ricky’s here.”
He stopped, standing on the ladder, his head still a few feet below the opening. “Ricky?”
“Gallagher.”
He gave me a cool look. “I highly doubt we have any other mutual acquaintances who go by that moniker. The implied question was: what is Ricky doing here?”
“He was with me when I got the call.”
“With you? Where?”
“Really?” I wanted to say, It was two in the morning. Do I need to spell it out? But Gabriel kept looking up at me with genuine confusion.
“I was at home. Asleep.”
It still seemed to take a moment for him to make the mental leap. When he did, his eyes emptied, and that ice-cold stare blasted through me, and I felt like I’d just done something terrible. Something unforgivable.
I’d woken him in the middle of the night and dragged him out here, into a dangerous situation, expecting his help, and now he finds out I’m screwing around with another man? That was crazy on all counts—I hadn’t woken him or dragged him or expected anything, and we weren’t sleeping together or even moving in that direction. He was only annoyed that I hadn’t told him about the relationship earlier. If I interpreted more, it was because I felt more.
That’s why I hadn’t told Gabriel I was seeing Ricky. Because of what it felt like, no matter how groundless that was. To feel guilty because a guy I wasn’t dating found out I was involved with someone? That went beyond an overblown sense of fidelity and tripped straight into ludicrous.
After what felt like ten minutes of silence, he said, “I see.” Another five seconds, then, “I wasn’t aware you were seeing one another.”
“It’s recent,” I said. “We hadn’t gotten to the stage of telling anyone. Ricky told Don last night.”
“Which I suppose explains Don’s message asking me to phone him in the morning. You are both my clients, Olivia. I already warned you that any relationship—”
“I’m not your client anymore.”
“You are my employee. Which is worse.”
“Can we discuss this later?” I said. “That girl’s freaked out, and I really need to talk to her before she bolts.”
He looked at me. Then he glanced down, as if considering retreat.
“Do you want to go?” I said. “I know this wasn’t how you intended to spend your night, and I’m sorry you got dragged into it. Ricky and I can handle this.”
His gaze moved up to mine. “Would you like me to leave?”
“No. As I said, I’m glad you’re here. But I understand if you decide you don’t need to be. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
That cool stare. “It’s four thirty in the morning, Olivia. What else would I have to do?”
“Sleep. Which is infinitely better than crawling through an abandoned psych hospital.”
I forced a smile. He didn’t buy it, only watching me, assessing. Then he grunted, “Move,” and waved me back so he could finish his climb. By the time he hauled himself through the hatch, I was staring up at the messages on the ceiling, above the restraint chair.
Before I could look away, Gabriel said, “What do you see?”
I told him and then added, “You don’t see anything, right?”
“I don’t.”
“Neither did Ricky. There were other things, too. Visions, hallucinations . . .”
“You’ll tell me later?”
“I will.”
“And you didn’t tell Ricky about any of it?”
“No. I wouldn’t have brought him into this at all, but he overheard the phone call, so I couldn’t exactly slip out and handle it myself.”
“Which I would hope you’d never consider doing alone. Whether it’s a legal matter or not, you should call me, Olivia. I would think you’d know that by now.”
“I wanted to. I just . . . I didn’t want to overstep. Anyway, I had to tell him about finding Ciara in the car. He knows there’s more, but he’s not pushing for answers.” I looked up at Gabriel. “I’ve never had the feeling I can’t trust him.”
Gabriel hesitated, then said almost reluctantly, “You can.”
“I won’t tell him anything I don’t have to. For his own sake. The rest is between you and me.”
The ice thawed in his eyes. He nodded and waved me to the door. When I turned, he put his fingers lightly to my back, shepherding me along, as if he was the one who knew where we were going.
