"I don't know what she is. But she saved your life."
"She jumped into freezing water without hesitation, and she knew exactly what to do, how to keep me calm. How to keep us both alive." He paused. "That's training, Gabe. Real training."
"I know."
"And you're not digging into who she really is?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because sometimes you trust people before you understand them."
David's expression softened. "That's called falling in love, brother."
"It's called choosing to believe someone's earned the benefit of the doubt."
"Not words I’ve ever heard you string together, Big Bro. Either way, you're falling for her." David's grin was infuriating.
Gabe couldn't argue.
"I'm heading back to Seattle," David said. "Now I can finish the article about Dad." He yawned and pulled the thin blanket higher. “Go see your baker.”
"She's not my?—"
David's grin was infuriating. "She could be."
Gabe left before his brother could say more.
Wade was still in the corridor. Standing guard. "He okay?"
"He’s already giving me relationship advice."
Wade's mouth quirked. "That's how you know he's really recovering."
A nurse passed. "Miss Sweet's awake. Room seven. Down the hall."
Gabe's heart kicked against his ribs.
"You going to ask about the training? The skills?"Wade asked.
Gabe looked at Wade.Thought about what he'd just told David. About trust before understanding. About choosing to believe someone had earned the benefit of the doubt. "No."
Wade nodded slowly. Respect flickered across his face. "Good call."
Gabe headed down the corridor toward room seven. Not to interrogate. Not to demand answers. Not to use his badge and access to databases to solve the mystery of Cara Sweet.
Just to see if she was okay one last time, before his old life buried him again.
44
Cara lay under heated blankets,her body slowly remembering what normal temperature felt like. The ocean had been shockingly cold, the kind that made your lungs seize and your thoughts scatter.
Her hands shook under the blankets. Not from cold anymore. From exhaustion. From three weeks of tension finally releasing.
From the realization that Gabe had seen too much.
The lockpicking. Her ability to con, to play roles. This had all started out so simply––help the man find his brother…and leave town. Now, her entire future was at stake. Dom had built her an impressive profile, but anyone with the access Gabe had could dismantle it in a heartbeat.
