Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Gideon sat on the leather couch, waiting, and his gaze locked on her immediately. His eyes were piercing, like that of an eagle. Rory had the feeling he could see right through her and knew she’d been struggling to decide if she should stay or make a run for it. His smile was warm enough to turn her heart over.
“Are you going to come sit by me?”
“Maybe it would be better if I sat across from you, where it’s safer.”
She didn’t sit down. She felt too scared. Too restless. She’d made a big decision, and she had a lot of things she needed to tell him. About Tinsdale and the envelope he’d given to her for Harvey. She was a little afraid of what he might think when she told him about the two men using her as a go-between. He would be upset with her for not telling Javier the night he’d walked her home that she had the message in her pocket, but as far as she was concerned, that was only between Gideon and her.
Gideon patted the spot next to him on the couch. “You’re wandering around instead of sitting beside me, Red. That tells me instead of being relaxed the way you should be, you’re nervous.”
He was far too good at reading her. “Some things happened over the last couple of days that I want to tell you about.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and felt the envelope Scott Tinsdale had given her for Harvey Matters. For some unexplained reason, it felt like a burning coal. That didn’t bode so well.
“I feel ridiculous talking to you about it when you’ve been so ill. This is probably one of those things Javier would disapprove of me bothering you with.”
Something dark crossed his hard features, and just for one moment, his eyes went that crystalline bluish-silver. “Javier doesn’t dictate what goes on in our relationship, Rory. I want you to tell me when anything bothers you. You give that to me. We talked about this. This is your safe place. I’m that safe person for you.”
Rory pressed her lips together, still hesitating. “Who is your safe person, Gideon? You nearly died for Javier. He said it wasn’t the first time. I don’t understand what happened the other night when you tore those wounds open, but I know it had something to do with me and my nightmare. I think you sent those birds to wake me up.”
That sounded ridiculous, but looking at him with his strange, focused, raptor-like stare, she could imagine him ruling birds of prey. But then, she had a very vivid imagination.
“I heard you call out to me,” she confessed. “In my dream, I heard you call my name. That’s what woke me. I was standing on the very edge of the ledge, and I was surrounded by owls. They were flying at me, and I jumped back to the patio. Had I not awakened, I would have fallen three stories.”
“It isn’t a good idea for you to sleep outside, Rory. Not when you’re having nightmares.”
“No, you’re right. But you sent those birds to me, and that contributed to tearing open those wounds.” She made it a statement and watched to see if she could read his expression. It didn’t change at all.
“Red, come sit down next to me, where you feel safe, and tell me what’s been going on.”
His voice dropped into that soft velvety lure she’d heard him use that was so difficult to resist. She realized she wanted to go to him. She wanted to tell him everything. She’d come to him needing to see him, to know he was alive and well, but once she was there, the feeling had been growing in her all along that she wanted to tell him about Tinsdale and her apartment being broken into. She’d been reluctant to tell Javier, but it felt entirely different with Gideon.
Rory crossed the distance to that long couch and sank down beside him, turning so she was facing him. She drew her legs up and pulled one of the lighter throws over her. She even ignored the fact that Gideon didn’t answer her about whether he was responsible for sending the owls to her. She hadn’t really expected him to answer the question, but she had hoped he would.
There were so many things she wanted to know about him. His childhood. His teenage years. What he did now. They had time to learn about one another if she was just courageous enough.
11
I don’t even know where to start. Nothing makes sense to me. It doesn’t to my friends either. We talked about it. All of us. Well, I didn’t tell them everything.” Rory knew she was rambling again. Talking too fast. Not making sense.
Gideon didn’t interrupt her. He allowed her to find her way. She took a deep breath and let it out. “You know there was a detective killed at my apartment building. His name was Peter Ramsey. There were four men living at the apartments who acted like they didn’t know one another, but they did. My friends and I would see them together in the workout room or the laundry room. We thought it was silly that they would pretend to be strangers.”