Page 13 of Gabe's Obsession

"Because I care about you. And I need to trust in you as much as you need to trust in me. We can't have trust if you aren't willing to be honest with me."

She inwardly winced. "I didn't lie to be mean or evasive. I just wanted to do something on my own with the least amount of friction. I figured telling you that I wanted to talk to Savannah Lewis would end up in a big drama with you taking over and insisting I couldn't go alone."

His facial expression didn't change. Not a lick of surprise crossed his face. Nor did her sarcasm seem to surprise him.

"How'd you know anyway?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Call it a hunch. Or maybe just logic. Take your pick. I knew you weren't going to the cafe and it seemed the only other real option all things considered. If you were going to see someone else you would have said so."

She mulled over his thought process and conclusions. They made sense. For a minute she thought he'd had her followed or something. Except she hadn't gotten far enough for anyone to know where she might be headed.

"I still want to talk to her."

"I'm sure you do. Although, it might not help. She seems to have answers she doesn't want to give."

"Why do you think that is? I mean why, after all this time, does she suddenly confess? It's weird, don't you think?"

He nodded. "It is. But you have to admit, this family is a bit on the weird side."

She almost smiled. "You're part of this family too, you know. That makes you just as weird as the rest of us."

He took another step closer and entered her personal space. "Maybe the weirdest of the bunch. Why else would I still be here?"

His voice lowered an octave on his last comment and she looked up at him through her lashes. Why did he have to be so beautiful? On top of that incredible voice and a tight body made for sin, which he kept covered by suits or leather almost all the time, he was also a dark-haired gorgeous devil.

Vibrant sapphire blue eyes stared down at her, making her squirm.

What else could explain such a perfect package but a pact with Satan? Her mind and gaze wandered to his thick, broad shoulders. He'd been a football player back in the day, just like her brothers and she could see why. With heavy muscles, an intelligent mind and determined attitude, he was nothing less than a walking, talking pitbull. She pitied anyone who came up against him for any reason.

They'd met not long after he graduated from college. Her brothers had talked about him nonstop and tried to introduce them sooner when he came around on the holidays and other school breaks. But she'd refused.

The early years after her father's death had not been easy. Just because she couldn't remember what happened that night didn't magically make the situation any easier for her. The man had been a hateful, negative influence on her life for so long.

"You have a lot going on in here." Gabe tapped the side of her head. "Care to share any of it?"

She tried to shake the encroaching melancholy that always came with remembering that time and failed. She considered his request and finally let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Just thinking about when you became part of this family and how much of that I missed. Tucker and Mason talked about you all the time when you weren't around. Did you know that?"

He shook his head. "No. I was a little preoccupied trying to get through school. It wasn't the happiest time for me."

"Because of your parents," she whispered.

He nodded, reaching up to touch her cheek. Automatically she turned and pressed her lips to his hand. The need to comfort him overwhelmed her. How stupid of her to bring up that painful time.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you?”

"Don't be. Believe it or not, I do like remembering them. There were a lot of good memories."

She tentatively smiled. "I like that about you. You tend to go for the positives in life. You don't get mired down by the past."

He barked a rough laugh. "Don't put me up on a pedestal I can't live up to, Angel. Not everything about me is quite so easy going."

She knew that, too. Although she wasn't sure she understood it. A myriad of questions swirled in her mind because of it.

"Go ahead," he said.

"What?"

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