Page 56 of The Pretender

“Tabitha is dead. She didn’t set the fire or search through the library.” Gabby backed up toward the door to the office. “You two should stay focused.”

Harris watched her run right into the open door then maneuver around it into the hallway. “You never struck me as a runner.”

“Really? That’s weird because I’ve been running my whole life.” That was all she said then she slipped out.

Harris didn’t go after her because he wasn’t sure what to say. Pushing her might force her to shut down.

“You’re not really going to stand here, are you?” Damon glanced up at him. “You can’t be that much of a dumbass.”

“She’s—”

“On the verge of opening up to you despite the way you bulldozed into that conversation.”

Damon was right... not that Harris intended to admit that. “Try not to burn the rest of the house down while I’m gone.”

Harris just stepped into the hall when Damon piped up again. “You know, if you did care about her, which I know you don’t because you’re so honest and everything, but if you did now would be a good time to show it.”

“Love-life advice from you?” Harris couldn’t think of a less likely place to get it.

“Only one of us standing here has alovelife to worry about.”

Chapter 15

Gabby could barely hold it together. She paced in front of the guesthouse couch. She’d come so close to spilling it all. Harris asked a simple question in that reassuring voice and her world broke apart. It was as if the ice inside her cracked and shifted and a small bit of light shined through.

That was why she bolted. She needed to walk away and regroup. She’d kept this secret for years. Turned her life upside down to maintain it. Changed who she was and how she viewed her family as a result. To then just blurt it out... and for what? A man she barely knew?

She walked faster, tripping over the area rug then kicking it aside with her sneaker. The energy bouncing around inside her demanded release. She wanted to scream and shout and run. Flee.

God, why had she come back here? She should have let the court rule against her and walk away. Not try to solve the murder or protect her sister one last time.

Her gaze went to the bedroom and her duffle bag on the floor. She didn’t own a lot of things. Stuff, collectibles, no longer mattered to her. Once “things” were taken away she realized how little they meant. What she missed was her family. What she called up in those dark moments were memories of the good times.

That was how it had worked for her. Her parents stopped the flow of money all those years ago and she morphed from how-dare-you furious to panicked to afraid. When she hit acceptance and no longer demanded her parents listen, they let her back in. All those tales of her being cast out weren’t quite true. They cut off the money and made her reprioritize. It turned out to be a gift in that way, but every other aspect of what happened was a nightmare.

Without a knock, the door opened and Harris stood there. He didn’t breach the entry. He hovered in the doorway, watching her. Those intense, intelligent, all-seeing eyes looked dull. His body, usually so alive with confidence and energy, seemed listless.

She knew why.

“When did you figure it out?” She expected a flood of pain to engulf her, but the sensations bombarding her didn’t knock her down. For some reason, even more light poured in.

“Standing in the house, right as we were talking.” He still didn’t step inside; it was as if he were waiting for permission. “But, honestly, I’m not sure what I know.”

“I’m trying to figure out if what you just said makes sense.” That was her out. She could shrug him off and change the topic.

They’d forged this arrangement where they told each other things few if any other people knew, but also held back. It was this unspoken agreement. A tentative trust that made sense to them but probably wouldn’t to anyone else.

They matched on that level, both buried in a past that defined them. For him, his mom... and whatever secrets he had so far refused to share. For her, the biggest decision she’d ever made. The one that changed everything.

He stared at her, not speaking, for a few more seconds. He finally walked inside and closed the door behind him, shutting them out to the rest of the world.

“You haven’t been hidingyoursecret. You’ve been hiding hers.” He took a step toward her then stopped. Half a room separated them when he spoke again. “Gabby?”

There it was. The ultimate truth. The same one she never dared to tell.

Before she could deny it, the dam inside her broke. All the memories tumbled out. The shock and the disbelief. Tabitha’s begging. For once, Gabby didn’t try to stuff the emotions back in. They rolled through her, knocking her off balance.

Reaching down, she felt for the couch but touched the table. That was good enough. She sat, waiting for the interrogation to begin. For Harris—art appraiser, junior detective or whatever he really was—to rip apart the pieces of the story she’d told him. It had all been true, or at least a version of the truth, but she’d left the most staggering parts out.

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