“Yeah, I know,” said Markus with a chuckle.
“Sorry again for tying you up,” said Gabby.
“No problem. It was nice to see you break someone else’s nose this time.”
“Hey!” She elbowed him. “I didn’t fully break yours… did I?”
At a stoplight, Markus touched her hand and squeezed lightly, and shivers ran from her fingers all the way up her arm. “Nah. I was fine. You did an amazing job, Gabs. You tied up three senior EOD agents, two Mafia bosses, and Kramer. I mean…” He scratched his head. “How the hell did you do that?”
The light turned green, and he focused on the road again, giving Gabby enough clear headspace to answer a question. “I guess no one was expecting it.”
“I certainly wasn’t.”
It was dark in the car, nothing but oncoming headlights cutting across his face, making it hard to read his expression. Pride, amusement, sadness? She was just guessing based on her own feelings.
Was this going to be it for her and Markus?
“Before I drugged you and tied you up—” She flashed a hopeful smile. “I had a really nice time.” God, she just described a national security mission as “a nice time.” She could smack herself in the forehead. Parts of it had been, though.
Instead of teasing, Markus said, “Me too. I haven’t had so much fun on an op in forever.” His brown eyes soft, he said, “I’ve never looked forward to putting in my earpiece so much.”
“It was really nice talking to you every day. I’ll miss that.” She sighed. “I guess it’s back to doing laundry alone listening to Sloane Ellis’s divorce tips.”
Speaking of laundry, she hadn’t touched a load since starting at the EOD. It was going to be bad.
Worse than that, the ride was over. He pulled into her driveway at Avocado Avenue.
“So I guess this is it,” she said with an actual sigh.
“You’re going to miss me,” he said, teasing.
“Um, yes.” There was no denying it.
“Let me walk you in. Make sure all the bad guys are gone.”
That sounded nice.
“There aren’t many guys you can trust with your life,” Gabby said. It was true.
“Oh, I seem to remember being tied up in a back room earlier today,” he said as Gabby opened the door.
“I wasn’t sure I was thinking one hundred percent straight where you were concerned.”
Inside, all the lights were on. Burt was in the La-Z-Boy watching local news with Mr. Bubbles on his lap. Bubbles looked up and wagged his tail but didn’t move.
“I don’t even get a greeting, Bubbles!” she scolded with a laugh.
Gabby never thought she’d be so glad to see Burt or his stupid TV. A near-death experience will make you grateful for the strangest things. If she didn’t keep her mouth shut, she would invite Burt to stay permanently.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, looking around at an otherwise empty house.
“Vera took them out for pizza and bingo,” Burt said without even glancing her way.
Gabby glanced at her smartwatch. It was ten o’clock, a solid hour past Lucas’s bedtime, and he was probably playing an arcade game while drinking a gallon of soda. Before she let frustration boil over, she reminded herself that it was not a school night, and they were probably having a blast with Granny. Everyone was fine. Granny could be good cop and she’d be bad cop. After tonight, she knew she was up to it.
Markus checked the rooms one by one. There was no evidence of any danger, but an unholy mess had piled up during the last two weeks. “Do you feel safe?” he asked.
“I do.” Smirnov and his men were in jail, along with Fran. Everything was in its rightful place, except for the laundry. Everyone was safe, and that was all that mattered.
