“I didn’t do anything.” She tried to deflect and pull away, but his grip tightened.
He shook his head. “Don’t deny what you did, Faith. Don’t deny it to me and don’t deny it to yourself. You were brave. You were fierce. When the chips were down, you went all in and pulled me out. You saved my life. Saved Luke’s too. He never would have left me, and we would have been sitting ducks.”
Faith shuddered at the mental image Gil’s words painted as his hands squeezed hers, gentle pressure emphasizing his words.
“You didn’t have to.” He glanced at Luke. “He had to. We’re friends. Dying would be better than having to go back to work and pretending he hadn’t let the guy use me for target practice. But you were out of it, and you ran into it.”
“I didn—”
Gil wouldn’t let her finish. “You’re amazing. Don’t ever stop believing that. God has you doing his work with that powerful and ferocious approach you have to everything you do. It’s a gift, and I’m honored to know you.”
Every fiber of Faith’s being begged for release. To escape this intense man who wasn’t afraid to say what he felt and by sheer force of his will was making her feel things that terrified her. Not for him. Not about him.
But about herself.
22
LUKE LEANEDagainst the door. He could hear every word. He could see Faith’s profile. Until this moment, he wouldn’t have believed her to be afraid of anything, but her fear of Gil’s words was palpable.
“I’m not sure I see it the same way, Gil, but thank you.” Her husky voice tugged at Luke’s heart.
“You’ll come around.” Gil grinned at Faith and released his hold on her. She stepped back. Almost jumped back. Like she needed some distance, and maybe she did. Faith didn’t strike him as someone who enjoyed talking about feelings.
“Did y’all bring me food?”
“Nope. But I think you’ll like what I have.” Luke filled Gil in on the events of the day. “Think you could check in with your CIs and see if we can corroborate any of this?”
Gil didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. You aren’t working this case, remember?” Faith held up her hands between the two of them. Anyone watching would think he and Gil were fighting and she was trying to break it up.
“We aren’t working the case.” Not technically. “We aren’t arrestinganyone. We’re following up on leads that could potentially have an impact on any number of Secret Service cases.” Luke appealed to Gil to back him up.
“What he said. Absolutely.” Gil grinned at Faith, totally ruining everything Luke had been trying to set up.
But Faith didn’t get mad. “I can’t stop you from contacting CIs. Just be careful.”
Gil extended his arms, palms up, and shook his head, confusion all over his face. “I don’t understand why you think we need to be careful. I’ll acknowledge that I personally have been injured. I have a hole. In. My. Head.” He paused for effect, then pointed at Luke. “Pretty boy over there, he doesn’t have holes. Just scrapes. But they were caused by real bullets, so...”
Luke turned to Faith. “What did I tell you? Holes. I knew he would bring up the holes.”
Faith laughed, and her laughter was infectious. They were all laughing until Faith’s phone rang. She glanced at it. “It’s Dale. I’ll be right back.” Faith slipped out into the hall.
The door closed behind her, and Gil leaned against the pillows, arms folded behind his head. His missing hair was ... disconcerting. “Talk fast.”
“About what?”
“Faith.”
“What about her?” As soon as the words were out, he knew they’d been a mistake.
Gil sat forward on the bed, eyes flashing in amusement and satisfaction. “I knew it.”
“There’s nothing to know.” Another mistake. What was he, a sophomore in high school denying he had a crush on Lizzie Sullivan?
“When did you two become a team? And when did you quit despising the FBI?”
“We aren’t a team. We’re working together on this case.”
