Page 4 of Tempting Gabe
She hugged her bag as she sucked in her breath. "Yes."
Unless she was packing in that bag, he wasn't afraid of her. Though he stood, walked to his desk, and called the detective that was working his parent's case. A few seconds later, he returned to the chair across from her. "Done. Why are you here?"
She nodded and rifled through her pocketbook. He stilled until he saw the red folder in her hands. Despite how her legs trembled, she leaned forward and placed her bag beside her. "I wanted to meet with you to ask for mercy."
His body filled with ice that seemed to rush through his veins. "Your brother is involved then?"
She winced. "How did you guess?"
"Your name." He scooted away and wished he had called security. "You're here."
Her fingers trembled while she held out the folder, like she wanted him to have it. "I went to his house this morning to retrieve something of my mother's and I found this."
No. Despite how he wanted to flip open the pages and find how and why Maddox attempted to kill his parents, he made his hands into fists. He shook his head and tucked his hands to his sides. "Your fingerprints are all over that. I'm not touching anything."
"Fair enough." She swallowed, gripped the folder until her hands loosened and she opened the main page with Maddox’s signature on the bottom. "This is his confession letter and this is a schematic which showed how my brother planned everything. I found it when I searched his house for my ring." A tear slid down her face. "I know you must have loved your parents..."
"Don't. They aren't dead yet." He dropped his hands to his sides as his every focus was on her tears. If Maddox had tried to kill his parents, this was all related to him and what happened overseas. The newspapers had no idea the exact state of his parents was and he'd keep that information to himself until they arrested whoever had shot at them.
She folded the papers back. "Don't what?"
"Don't ask me to forgive this." He leaned forward and pressed his palms together like he was in prayer. "I'm not that nice."
Her face went white as she lowered her gaze and pressed her knees together. "I'm not. I'm asking for your help."
No. If Maddox was involved whatever resulted next would be what he deserved. He sat backward in his chair while the memory of his parents and the police calling him to identify them replayed in his mind. The image of the gun also floated in his mind again, but he ignored it. He shook his head. "I can't be involved."
She reached out and pressed her hand to his knee. "My brother is sick. He needs to go to a hospital, not death row."
And his parents deserved to be on vacation and enjoying that cruise they had planned, not fighting for their lives in ICU. Her fingers on his body, even through the black wool suit pants, set off a spark that shattered the ice in him. "I'm not making a deal with you."
She let go and kept her head down. "You called the police as I asked?"
"Yes."
Of course he did. He was sane. She hugged her waist and knew her face was white because she felt cold. "I've said what I needed to say. I'm really sorry for what my brother did to your parents."
"Don't pretend you care about my feelings."
She gazed at him while her cheeks had a tinge of red that matched the folder she held. Without waiting another second, she pushed her hair behind her ear. "I don't know you or anything about you, Gable Hawke. What I do know is that I had nothing to do with this and only found out before work today."
If that was true, she had more to worry about than she realized. His eyebrows narrowed. "It's ten o'clock, well past work time beginning."
She let out a soft sigh and relaxed in the chair. "It's been a long morning."
This time he leaned forward and touched her arm. Her skin was silky soft and smooth. Instinct took over that made him want to hold her and keep her close, though for all he knew, everything she did or said might be a lie. His heart drummed in his chest. "Why did you go to your brother's house today then if you never knew?"
She put her hand on his and held his fingers while she met his gaze and said, "I called him every day since our mother died for the one thing I was left in the will. I warned him in my last call and email that I was coming over. There were papers everywhere with your name on it. I think he blamed you for something that happened at war."
If Maddox was alive, questions swam inside his mind because his own memory of that day in the desert was faulty. He had been distracted with Belle screaming as she dragged Colt out. The memory and the smells of that moment burned through his skin like he was near the firestorm again. He pressed his shoes together and stared into the brown eyes of an angel. "You do realize you can go to jail yourself for visiting me today."
Her free hand went up her chest and neck and covered her lips while her eyes widened. "Why? I'm not threatening you."
His fingers curled into hers and he wanted to take a chance. What if she told the truth? What if all of this was real? If anything happened to her, it would haunt him that he hadn't done more. He waited for her to drop her hand from her face and find her composure. As she took her hand back and broke their connection, he straightened his tie. She stood, so he chased her and asked, "Megan?"
She blinked and stilled. "Yes?"
"When was the last time you saw your brother then?"
