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“Clearly.” He flexed his jaw, a glimmer of hurt passing over his face before he swiveled around to lock the door. He turned back to her, arms crossing over his chest. “We were slow.”

Iris hung his bag on a rack in the corner. She stepped between Blair and Gabriel as if to shield Blair from Gabriel’s scrutiny.

“I met Blair while out for a walk,” she explained, trying to keep her tone light. “He didn’t have a hat or gloves or anything, so I thought I’d lend him some.”

“How…thoughtful.”

Iris smiled. Her cheeks hurt from the effort of keeping her lips from trembling.

Gabriel stepped around Iris to glare at Blair, who glanced at the locked door and the front windows as if searching for an escape route. As the silence stretched thin like over-pulled taffy, a gust of wind whistled around the house, sending the bamboo wind chimes into a racket on the deck off the living room. Iris sucked in a nervous breath, biting her thumbnail.

Gabriel cocked his head to the side, his attention still on Blair. “Iris. Would you mind stepping out for a moment? I’d like to have a chat with our new friend.”

“I…” Iris stared from Gabriel’s steely expression to Blair, who was fidgeting with the silver ring on the middle finger of his left hand. Gabriel was usually even-tempered. Iris couldn’t recall a single time when he had yelled or even raised his voice. But the sharp gleam in his dark eyes was unfamiliar and unnerving. She couldn’t begin to comprehend how he could harbor such a grudge against a man he hardly knew.

“We can talk outside,” Blair suggested, surprising Iris. “If you want.” He regarded Gabriel almost like a challenge. For once, his attention didn’t waver.

Gabriel inclined his head. “After you.”

They stepped out the front door, leaving Iris staring after them, wondering what on earth she had gotten them all into.

Snow lay like white sand over the top of Gabriel’s car as he led the way behind it, while Blair followed at a distance, his shoulders slightly hunched. When they were out of Iris’ sight, Gabriel rounded on him.

“So. You couldn’t get to me, so you decided to try a different avenue, is that it?”

Blair stuffed his hands in his pockets. He shifted restlessly from foot to foot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Gabriel stalked forward, forcing Blair’s back against the car. “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you want⁠—”

“I don’t want anything.”

“Good. That’s exactly what you’ll get.”

The two regarded each other. Blair was the first to look away.

Gabriel straightened up to his full height, a few inches taller than the stranger before him. “What are you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Blair glowered at him, his hair covered in flecks of snow, cheeks raw. He looked as though he’d been out in the cold for hours.

A spark of sympathy ignited within Gabriel, but it was extinguished as quickly as a faulty lighter. It wasn’t possible that he had misinterpreted the situation; his senses had never failed him before, and he had no reason to believe they would do so now. He was certain there was far more to this stranger than he was letting on.

“You may be able to fool Iris, but you can’t fool me,” Gabriel warned.

“Are you fooling her?” Blair’s expression had hardened. For the first time, Gabriel spotted two faint white scars, one running down each of the stranger’s cheeks—a peculiar disfigurement, though perhaps not immediately relevant.

So, Blair had figured out Gabriel’s secret. At least part of it. Or perhaps he had known all along. Why else was he here?

“What do you want?” Gabriel repeated.

Blair glared at him. “I already answered that.”

“Who sent you?”

“I sent myself.”

Their chess match was ending in a draw. Still, it took a lot for Gabriel to admit defeat. He shifted, placing a shiny boot on one of his tires. “Where are you from?”

A violent shiver racked Blair’s thin frame. He threw a longing glance back at the house.