“Hey, kid?” When the boy she’d terrorized met her gaze, Gaby pitched his phone to him.
He caught it handily. Emboldened by the return of his prized phone, he edged a foot closer to her. “S’that really a bomb?”
So they’d overheard? Damn. She didn’t really want them panicked—but then again, she didn’t want them too curious either.
“Yeah, looks like.” Gaby locked her knees, put her shoulders back. “What’s your name?”
“Halen. Why?”
“How old are you, Halen?”
Suspicion had him curling his lip. He glanced around, saw all the others watching, and struck a brave stance. “I’m twelve.”
“No kidding?” He was so scrawny, she would have guessed eight or nine. “You look older.”
His chin rose a little more.
“You look like a smart guy to me, Halen. A leader. How about you try to get everyone farther away, out of danger? The cops will be here any minute, and I know they’d appreciate the help.”
“Why would I wanna help the cops?”
Pugnacious little runt. “Well, let’s see.” Gaby nodded at his hand. “If you don’t, they might ask you where you got the phone.”
Halen’s eyes widened.
“That is,” Gaby said, “if you’re still alive. This bomb could go off any second, you know.”
“Really?”
Gaby shrugged. “Truth is, I don’t know shit about bombs. It could be a dud, or it could be remotely controlled.” Her stomach curdled with the thought. “If it is, that means some mean bastard could be waiting to detonate it.”
Halen considered that. “What about you? If it blows up, won’t it kill you?”
Glancing down at the eight-inch metal pipe with wires, a battery pack, and an LED light attached with an excess of Scotch tape, Gaby feigned insouciance. “I doubt I’d be doing much dancing, not without legs.” She looked back at Halen. “Who knows? One of my limbs could end up splattered all over you. Wouldn’t that suck, to get knocked out by a bloody, burned, detached leg or arm?”
That grisly image served to commove the kid into action. He rallied two buddies to help him give orders. With a lot of mean-mugging, shoving, and insistence, Halen took charge.
“He with the cell phone rules,” Gaby whispered to herself. Amazed, she observed from her custodial perch over the bomb as children were corralled out of the playground, led a safer distance away.
The next few minutes brought a maelstrom of activity. Uniformed officers arrived, and in record time, cleared the streets. Right behind them, Luther pulled up.
Unwilling to risk a single child, Gaby still stood over the bomb. Sweat trickled down her spine, her skin itched, and her nerve endings twitched. But she refused to take chances. What if someone was watching with a remote? Would the damn thing blow just as she stepped away?
A cop yelled, “Lady, get away from it now.”
She wanted to. But . . . she shook her head. “Not a good idea.”
Luther put his hands behind his head, paced once, and then started toward her.
Gaby threw up her hands to halt him. “No!”
He paused. “Then come to me.”
Oh God, she wanted to. “But what if . . .”
“I know what you’re thinking, Gaby. But you’re fast. I’ve seen it.”
She fought with herself. If others saw her quickness, would they wonder? Would she be giving herself away?
“You either come to me, Gaby, right now, or I’m coming to you.”
Shit.
At her hesitation, he took a step, saying, “Move away, and move away now.”
Knowing he meant it, she screamed, “All right.”
One deep breath, and she bolted. She didn’t head for Luther; she didn’t want him implicated in her life with so many other officials watching. Feet flying, she soared up and over the fence with an Olympic hurdler’s grace.
And almost collided with Ann.
Jolted to a halt, Gaby tripped, and stared at her.
Ann crossed her arms under her breasts. “Must you always be amazing, Gaby?”
Her mood seemed very uncertain. “I dunno. What do you mean?”
Ann laughed. “Here comes Luther, and he doesn’t look happy. Please understand that his anger stems from concern for you, okay?”
“You’re warning me . . . why?”
Ann gave her an unexpected hug. “I like the man, and I don’t want you to demolish him. Now that I’ve seen you in action a few times, I know demolition is entirely possible.”
Gaby wasn’t given a chance to reply to that bit of idiocy before Luther swung her around and into his chest. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then he crushed her close in a fierce hug. Gaby grunted at the force of his embrace.
She felt . . . safe.
Secure.
God, what an illusion.
His fingers tunneled through her hair, curved around her skull, pressed her closer. “You’re turning me old before my time, woman.”
Knowing exactly what he meant, Gaby tried to shrug. “You would have done the same thing.”
“No, I wouldn’t, because I have resources. I don’t have to rely only on myself, as you always seem intent to do.”
In that, she had no choice. “I called.”
“After you straddled the damn thing.”
That was a difficult point, because despite what he said, Gaby knew without a doubt that Luther would have acted the same to keep a child from harm.
She pushed free of his tight hold and looked toward the playground. Sunlight glinted off the metal pipe. “Is it real, do you think?”
His hands rubbed up and down her back. “Looks real enough to me. But I’m not an expert. The bomb squad is bringing in a robot to disrupt the device, so I guess we’ll soon find out.”
“No shit?” Going on tiptoe, Gaby searched behind him. “A robot?”
Luther smashed her head back to his shoulder. “The police chief is closing off the streets so no more traffic can get through until we know it’s safe.” His arms tightened in bruising force, then released her. “And you, Gabrielle Cody, are coming with me.”
“I don’t know. I might be needed here.”
“Why?” He cupped her chin. “Do you sense our guy is still around?”
Her eyes widened at his sincerity. Did he really believe in her?
In the long run, did it even matter? No. It couldn’t—for one simple reason. “There’s this big old sucky problem I need to tell you about, Luther.”
His hands went to her shoulders. “I’m listening.”
In one way or another, he always touched her. Right now, to anyone observing them, his casual caresses could be misconstrued for a kind of avuncular comfort.
Gaby knew they were far more intimate than that. The memory of what he’d done to her, how he’d made her feel in the parking lot, would supersede any effort at emotional distance. “You have a weird effect on me.”
His eyes warmed, his mouth tipped up at the corners. “What kind of effect?”
“Not what you’re thinking, so cool your jets.” Gaby rubbed her head. “You know my super-keen insight? Well, you royally fuck it up.”
Startled, he dropped his hands. “How so?”
“I wish I knew. It’s just that when I’m around you, I don’t feel things the same way.”
“I’m not following you.”
“You cloud my judgment, my instincts, everything. So even though I don’t think our guy is around right now, with you so close, I can’t be sure. Could just be that you’re dicking with my perception again.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Want me to move to the other curb?”
“That won’t help. I’ll know you’re there.”
His arms crossed. “So how far away from you do I need to be?”
“Far enough to be like . . .” She winced, but had to say it. “. . . nowhere near me at all.”
With Luther’s stare boring into her, the commotion surrounding them faded to nothingness. He drew her with that look, which was both recusant and wounded. He devoured her, and her aggrandizing motives.
“Luther . . .”
His look of scorn burned her. “Anything, any way, to keep me at a distance, Gaby, is that it?”