Page 119 of Carbon

“I thought he seemed a little jealous at times.”

“Yeah, but I can’t complain. He cares. Besides, the pair of them are getting on better now Gideon’s paying more attention to Roxy than me.”

“I noticed they’ve been spending time together. Do you think there’s something going on?”

“He likes her, that’s obvious, but she’s so far from his usual type he’s confused as fuck. It’s amusing to watch him dance around her.”

“What’s his usual type?”

“Straightforward. Independent. Convenient. Everything Roxy isn’t, basically.”

“Do you think anything will happen?”

She shrugged. “He’s never been the relationship type in the past, not after… No, that’s his story to tell. But with Roxy? Who knows.”

“I thought you and him...?”

“Friends with benefits, that’s all it was. Now just friends. We didn’t spend our days gazing into each other’s eyes and having deep and meaningful conversations.”

“But he does with Roxy.”

“He does.” She sighed. “And sooner or later he has to tell her that her father’s dead.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“She tried to call him, but apparently it’s normal for him not to answer for days at a time. Poor girl. All this time she thought she was working to keep him safe, and he was already gone.”

My eyes widened. “That’s...that’s...” I had no words.

“Sick? Abhorrent? Criminal? All of the above.”

“The people who hurt her killed him?”

“We believe so. And Gideon looks calm on the outside just like he always does, but there’s fury bubbling away in his veins. I can feel it building.”

“What will he do?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t like to be the man who trafficked Roxy right now.”

“What about Leroux?”

“He’s a sneaky son of a bitch. We get a snippet of information and then he goes to ground again. Gideon’s been feeding misinformation through various channels, and we got so damn close a couple of days ago. The fucking bed was still warm.”

“He’s got to be running out of places to hide, surely?”

“He is.”

“I hope you catch him soon. It’s like being in limbo at the moment, and I’m going stir crazy.”

“This is a posh prison, huh?”

“I’m sorry. I must sound so ungrateful, and there are so many worse places I could be.”

“Just give us a few more days, okay? You’re safe in here.”

“I know.” Flipping heck, I was acting like a spoiled brat. I made a conscious effort to change the subject. “Ben and Sofia are getting on okay, aren’t they?”

She smiled, wide and genuine. “They are. She’s always been kind of solitary, but recently...first she met Leo, now Ben. I’ve never seen her this happy.”

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