The cold determination in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
“You will find the tuner,” she said.
His expression softened a little. “You sound very sure of that.”
“I am certain of it.” She smiled. “You and I may have our differences, but I don’t doubt for a moment that you will fulfill your mission. You were born to be a Guild boss—the old-fashioned serve-and-protect kind of Guild boss, not the mobster kind.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“I was teasing you. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.” She pushed herself to her feet and started toward the kitchen. “Let’s get something to eat. And a glass of wine. Maybe two glasses of wine.”
Gabriel got up from the bench. “Lucy?”
She stopped and turned around to face him. “What?”
“I thought about you a lot during the past couple of months. I’m so damn sorry I didn’t know how bad things had gone for you after I left Illusion Town.”
The bleak pain in his eyes was too much for her. She took a couple of steps forward and touched the side of his hard jaw.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “None of it was your fault. And to be clear, you were on my mind a lot, too.”
His mouth kicked up in a humorless smile. “Because you were so pissed?”
“Probably. But you also showed up in my dreams.”
“Your nightmares?”
“Sometimes.”
“Figures.”
“But sometimes I dreamed you were searching for me. I told myself that eventually you would find me. All I had to do was hold on until you showed up.”
Gabriel’s eyes heated. “I had a few dreams, too.”
She held her breath. “About me?”
“I was looking for you, but every time I got close, you slipped away.”
“Why were you searching for me?” she asked.
“In my dreams I didn’t have a reason. Didn’t need one. I just knew I had to find you.”
“What were you going to do once you found me?”
“In my dreams I didn’t think beyond the need to find you.”
She smiled. “Wow. Even in your dreams you are mission focused.”
Anger and frustration flashed briefly in his eyes. “That’s a real problem for you, isn’t it?”
“It would be if we were planning for the future. But right here and right now, no, it’s not an issue.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” she said. “Why do you ask?”
“Because when I’m awake, I know exactly what I would have done if I had found you in my dreams.”