Then she wouldn’t have to think about Gabriel or worry about melting for him. She could hide away and try to get back to the woman she’d been before she met him.

  Except he would have his superscary, probably worked-for-the-CIA spook friend break in. Then she would really be in for a lecture.

  No. She wasn’t going to run from him. Maybe she should. But she refused to dash away like a timid rabbit. Instead, she’d talk to him until he understood that she needed time to process everything that had happened.

  The problem was, she didn’t actually want time away from Gabriel. No, she wanted to be with him—in every sense of the word—especially after yet another brush with death.

  “Oh, hell. Your dress! It’s ruined. Are you all right?” Scott dashed out of the elevator and over to her side, his expression concerned.

  She wondered what he’d heard about the incident with Valerie. “A few bumps and scrapes, but otherwise, I’m fine.”

  “Thank goodness. The rumor is that Val tried to kill you.” His voice shook slightly.

  Oh, the gossip mill at Crawford really annoyed her. She wished it hadn’t chosen now to be so accurate. “Valerie had the wrong idea about my relationship with Maddox.” Everly shrugged. “But I survived.”

  “It’s my fault.” Scott’s shoulders slumped. “I knew she didn’t like you. I should have said something.”

  “Everyone knew she didn’t like me, Scott.”

  His stare bounced up to hers, and she couldn’t miss the guilt there. “I knew why she hated you.”

  That confused Everly a bit. “You knew she’d had a fling with my brother?”

  “It’s still so weird to think of you as Crawford’s sister, but yes. At one point, Val was what a lot of straight dudes would call his convenient pussy.”

  She winced. “Okay, you don’t have to be so graphic.”

  “Sorry. Early this year, Crawford hooked up with Val every now and then. She often waited around the office to see if he wanted her. He wasn’t serious about her. Once, I was out with Tavia and Val at happy hour, and Crawford called her.”

  “Like . . . a booty call?”

  Scott nodded. “Just like that. He said that he was drunk and to meet him at some hotel if she wanted to fuck. Apparently, she didn’t care how desperate accepting made her look. She jumped up and left the bar. Tavia said that whenever Crawford beckoned, Val ran.”

  “So when he started spending a lot of his evenings at my place more recently, she assumed I was her competition.”

  “Oh, you weren’t even in the same league. He cared about you. He barely spoke to her during the day. But she’d deluded herself. Tavia said she’d go to lunch and tell her friends that Crawford was going to marry her. She talked about what a whore you were for trying to steal him.”

  Well, the day wasn’t complete if someone didn’t accuse her of prostitution. “I hope she gets some help in jail.” And a nice long sentence. “It’s not your fault. I probably wouldn’t have told you if someone was being horrible behind your back and there was nothing you could do about it. Val and I weren’t friends. I knew she didn’t like me.”

  “I never imagined she would go so completely crazy on you.”

  “Well, she did. I’m trying to look on the bright side. At least now it will be much easier to go through her records and figure out where she hid the money she embezzled. You did a turn in accounting, right?”

  He stood up a little straighter. “Sure.”

  “You any good at it?”

  Scott grinned. “I find accounting easy.”

  Relief wound through her. Finally, she might get some concrete answers about why Maddox had been killed. “Could you look into the accounting on the foundation gala for the last few years? I would really love to get a big picture of exactly what Val did. If you could find out how and where she funneled the money, that would be insanely helpful.”

  “Sure. I can certainly take a look. Most likely she worked with caterers to overcharge and then split the extra money with them, but I’ll tell you if I see anything else.”

  “Thanks. I would love your thoughts. I have to know what happened. This might be the reason my brother was killed.” But the idea that emotionally unstable Valerie could manage to kill Maddox by tampering with his aircraft kept bugging her. It didn’t compute. If Valerie had wanted to kill Maddox, it seemed far more likely she would have chased him with a knife or tried to run him over, not put a bomb on his plane. And why would anyone cover up the crime for her?

  Unfortunately, Everly didn’t have another suspect. Her mysterious contact hadn’t given her much to work with. Oh, she’d find the information he’d mentioned and look up Lara Armstrong, see if she dug up any more clues or proof, but she couldn’t fathom that it would lead to anything more than a dead end.

  Scott stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Sure. I’m on it.”

  “That’s a relief. Gabriel has a forensic accountant coming in, but I need answers now. Even a quick-and-dirty look would help.”

  “A forensic accountant?” Scott’s eyes went a little wide. “Okay. Yeah, I’m not that good, but I’ll have a report ready for you as soon as I can. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

  That was one problem taken care of. “Thank you. Call me as soon as you’re done, okay?”

  “You got it.” Scott looked to his side and Gabriel was striding toward her. “Looks like your escort is here.”

  She gave Scott a quick hug, feeling eyes on her. When she turned back, Gabriel stood, watching. Pure possessiveness blazed across his face before he seemed to force himself to relax. He gave Scott a smile before his hand found hers.

  Moments later, he led her through the lobby doors and ushered her toward the limo. Only a few reporters loitered outside. Gabriel had been correct. Between the announcement that she wasn’t Maddox’s mistress and the FAA ruling the crash pilot error, she and Gabriel weren’t much of a story anymore. She breathed a little easier as Dax pulled away from the curb.

  Then she noticed someone had raised the partition between them and the driver. It made the big, beautiful stretch limo feel very intimate. She was alone with Gabriel—and so aware of him watching her intently.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice not quite steady.

  He stared at her from across the seat, his brilliant blue eyes threatening to pierce her. A sexy five-o’clock shadow clung to his jawline. “You and I should talk.”

  Gabriel was right, but she didn’t want to discuss the subject most likely on his mind. “I don’t know. The man I talked to this afternoon said I shouldn’t trust you because you’ll side with your friends when all of this shakes out.”

  He sat up straight, his expression turning serious. “We’re on the same side. So what is that supposed to mean?”

  At least he wasn’t looking at her like she was a little bunny he was about to eat in the sweetest of ways. “You tell me.”

  “Baby, I don’t even know what this asshole told you. Apparently nothing good about me. How does he know anything at all? How do we know he’s not some reporter?”

  She’d asked the same questions herself. “He asked if we’d found the pictures of the girls inside the lockbox in the hidden room.”

  That shook him. “How did he even know we found a hidden room or the lockbox, much less what was inside?”

  “I have no idea.”

  He blew out a breath. “Mad had cameras installed throughout the house. For . . . security.” Something about the way he said security gave her pause. “I assumed they were destroyed in the fire, but maybe not.”

  “Security, huh? More likely Maddox had cameras around the house so he could make sex tapes.” She knew her brother. He’d been a great friend to her and a complete pervert to all other females.

  Gabriel’s lips curled up slightly. “Fine. He might not have always used them for security. But I can’t think of any other way this guy knows about that room or the lockbox. But how could he have been in the house with us?”

  This was her area of expertise. Back in college, she’d managed to catch the school streaker by hacking the security cams of her dorm. She hadn’t turned him in or anything. She’d just wanted to prove she could do it. The dude had been surprisingly well hung, and after a while, everyone looked forward to his monthly runs.

  “He didn’t have to be in the house with us. If he remotely stole the feed, he could have watched us. He could have been watching us the whole time.”

  His furious expression told her he didn’t like that thought. Truth told, Everly didn’t like it, either.

  “But that doesn’t explain how he knew about the pictures inside the lockbox,” she pointed out. “We didn’t open the box at Maddox’s place.”

  He leaned over and checked the small control panel on his side of the limo, ensuring Dax couldn’t hear him. “The only other way your guy could know is if he’s talking to Dax, Connor, or Roman. But I don’t believe any of them would betray us.”

  She didn’t, either, but was surprised he’d considered his friends as suspects for even a moment.

  “Unless my informant has been watching Maddox’s ‘security’ feed for days or weeks and saw him load the box.”

  “And why would he do that unless this guy’s interest in Mad preceded his death?” Gabriel cocked his head, leveling her with a stare rife with suspicion. “Unless your informant was involved.”

  Everly saw his point, that maybe her mystery informant hadn’t just been a spectator in Maddox’s murder, but she saw another possible angle. “Maddox was a subject of interest in life, too. Maybe this guy had been monitoring him for potential tabloid/sex tape fodder and simply kept watching the feed to see what happened in his murder investigation.”

  Gabe froze, then blew out a breath. “Any idea who this guy is?”

  “No, but he knows plenty. He claims he sent me some information that might help me understand Mad’s murder. So far, all I’ve received from him is one e-mail and a couple of cryptic texts. He claims he sent me some information. He called it data, but I haven’t gotten anything like that. I did have someone send me a camera, but it’s got pictures on it, not data. I downloaded some of the pictures off it before my laptop crapped out on me. If you had let me go get the damn thing, I could load the pics on Connor’s computer.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I’m sorry. I was trying to protect you. I promise we’ll get them first thing in the morning. Valerie won’t break into your office from jail. Now explain this to me.”

  Valerie being in custody was the only reason she hadn’t stormed back up and gathered her evidence. “It looks like someone was watching me and Maddox before his death and sent me a camera with a memory card inside. That memory card contained photos.” She held a hand up because Gabe looked ready to blow. “I’ll remote access my system tonight and let you view the pictures I was able to download. I promise. Tomorrow we can look at the rest. Take a deep breath.”

  Gabriel squared his shoulders, and they seemed to grow broader. She was starting to pick up on all the signs that he was angry or concerned. “He took pictures of you before Mad died?”

  Yep, he was going to flip out. “I think he knows a lot about me. Really, about everything. He said there’s more to Maddox’s death than we’re seeing. Far more. I got the idea that he meant that whatever’s happening went beyond a murder. He mentioned the name Sergei. We’re supposed to find someone with that name.”

  He ground his teeth together. “The day he died, Mad asked me about a Sergei, but I don’t know one. Did your mystery informant say how we’re supposed to find him?”

  “Not we. Me. I’m supposed to find Sergei alone. The informant said I couldn’t trust you.” But she felt as if she could. Or was that simply because she really wanted to believe her heart wouldn’t lead her so astray?

  “I swear to god when we figure everything out, I’m going to beat the shit out of this Sergei guy—and your cloak-and-dagger informant.”

  That probably wasn’t such a great idea. “I suspect we’re looking for a man with ties to the Russian mafia. I wonder if he has anything to do with that other woman Maddox was trying to find. Natalia, wasn’t it?” The connection had been playing around in her head all morning. “I want to hire an investigator to find her.”

  “The last one died under questionable circumstances, Everly.” Gabriel turned stern. “You’re out of this. Now that Valerie’s been caught, your part in all of this is over.”

  “No.” She shook her head emphatically. “I’m the one this mystery man is willing to talk to. He suggested I make contact with Lara Armstrong, whoever that is. I’m going to do that and start feeling out what she knows.”

  He’d gone a nice shade of pale. “Absolutely not. She’s the one running Capitol Scandals. Connor will handle her.”

  Yeah, with the finesse of a sledgehammer—kind of like Gabriel now. “Be reasonable about this. I want to find out who killed my brother. I get it. You didn’t like the whole me-nearly-getting-flattened thing, but you need me.”

  “I know how competent you are, but you’re still out. I can’t risk you again. God, I know you’re going to hate me, but I won’t let you put your life on the line.”

  Did he really mean what he was saying? He looked terrified and resolute at the same time. Was he really so afraid he might lose her? How did she deal with that? Stomping her foot and screaming hadn’t gotten them anywhere. “Gabriel, you can’t put me in a box. I know that seems like the safe thing to do, but it won’t work. You say you want me.”

  “I do. God, I do.”

  “But you don’t want me the way I am because I’m not the woman who can walk away from this investigation.”

  Frustration melded with worry in his tight expression as he surged into her personal space. “Damn it, Everly. I didn’t want our conversation to go this way.”

  Being so close to him made her heart trip. Sorrow threatened to shred her because they were still so far apart. “You want some sweet little thing who will do whatever you tell her. Who will let you put her in a nice cage, and I’m sure there are plenty of women in this city who would be more than happy to do your bidding and never question you once. I hope you find her because I’m not that girl.”

  “I don’t want them.” He grabbed her shoulders, his stare pinning her to the seat, his intent plain. “I want you.”

  “I don’t think you really do or you wouldn’t ask me to give up.” Tears threatened. “Maybe it’s time to admit we threw ourselves into this without thinking.”

  His eyes heated as he leaned forward. “I’m only trying to protect you.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to make you understand. I don’t want to be protected. I want to be your partner. If you knew me at all you would know that if you cut me off, I’ll conduct my own investigation. I’ll do it even if you fire me.”

  “You have no idea what I can do when I put my mind to it, baby. If I want you under house arrest, you’ll find yourself locked down twenty-four seven.”

  A little zip of fear went through her because he sounded serious. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “I wouldn’t take that bet if I were you.” He moved into her space, forcing her to shift toward the door. “If I give him the word, Dax will take us out of the city, and you’ll find yourself in a safe house with four bodyguards paid not to listen to reason. They won’t let you slip away. They’ll keep you there until I say you can go.”

  She pushed at him, the very act of touching him setting the inevitable clash in motion because she wasn’t leaving here until she’d proven to him that she wasn’t a soft, acquiescent little thing. Up until this point, she’d let him take the lead in their relationship. There hadn’t been any reason not to and it felt right, but now she needed to show Gabriel that she could handle him.

  “Have you listened to anything I’ve said?” She countered him, moving into his territory and shifting her dress so it bared her thigh. His stare immediately dropped there, and she couldn’t miss the way his slacks tented. She had power in this relationship, and she wasn’t above using it. “You have to take me as I am or let me go. I’ll be honest, I’m not ready to decide what I want, but I know I won’t be in a relationship where you think you can lock me up and only take me out when you want me.”

  “I always want you.” His hand drifted to her knee before sliding up the skin she’d exposed. “Always.”

  The minute he touched her, her clothes felt too tight, encumbering. Only Gabriel did this to her—and she feared only he ever would. If they couldn’t work out their differences, she would likely be alone for the rest of her life.

  “No, you want some woman you made up in your head, one who purrs for you on command and hangs on your every word.” She was pleased with how even her voice sounded, despite the fact that her heart pounded like a drum.

  “No. I want the woman who’s smart enough to find a way out of a burning house. I want one who’s brave enough to stay behind and rescue her lover when she should be fleeing. I want one who challenges me at every turn.” He caressed his way up her waist, and she suddenly found herself sitting in his lap, the length of his erection pressed against her backside. “I want you every minute of the damn day. I can’t think straight for wanting you.”

  “You’re able to think enough to boss me around.”

  “You may not believe this, but I’ve never been this possessive. I’m not the asshole who demands his woman does everything he says.” He wrapped his arm around her waist. “I let her go her way and I go mine. Usually.”

  Yeah, nothing between them had been like that. “Maybe we should go our separate ways, too. With Valerie in custody, I doubt I’ll have a problem going home.”

  “Fuck that. I can’t let you go.” His jaw tightened. “Show me your breasts.”

  The minute he used that deep, dominant tone, Everly ached to comply, but doing that had gotten her into trouble in the first place. “I don’t have to do a damn thing you say.”