Sex, Lies and Valentines (26 page)

Gabriel didn’t give a good damn what Hunter wanted. He almost said that, too, but Caleb’s glare made him snap his mouth shut. Fine. He’d wait until they dealt with this little problem. Then he’d show his brother and sister just how good he’d gotten at ass-kicking in the last few years.

“Say what you want, but the reports are bullshit,” Gabriel said, finally finding his voice in the face of the barrage of betrayals. “I don’t care who got their hands on the counterfeit cash. It’s not our father.”

Danita finally met his gaze, misery clear in the blue depths of her eyes. There was an understanding on her face, and an apology.

An hour ago, he’d have given anything to see the understanding. Now? He didn’t want it or that damned apology.

“It’s a well-crafted setup,” she agreed, surprising him. And Maya, if his little sister’s gasp was any indication. “But it is, clearly, a setup.”

“You know it’s not my father?” Relief was a tidal wave, almost kicking Gabriel off his feet.

“Everything your father has paid for, to date, is by check. There’s no reason to believe that he’d suddenly change his MO and pay with cash.”

“That’s not proof.”

Gabriel glared at Caleb. Was he trying to ruin their father’s vindication?

“No. That isn’t proof. But I talked to Lisa Duffy, the business owner, to check into the payment.”

“And?”

“Gabriel,” she said, something in her tone compelling, forcing him to look at her. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? You cleared my father? What’s there to apologize for?”

With a grimace, she glanced at Hunter. He gave her an implacable nod. Danita wet her lips, her gaze traveling from brother to sister to brother before her gaze returned to Gabriel.

“I’m sorry. But the person behind the criminal activity, the one trying to set your father up to take the fall for the drugs, the guns and even the crime ring…”

She grimaced, then as if she couldn’t help herself, she reached out to take his hand.

“Gabriel, it’s not your father. He’s clear.” She swallowed hard, then like she would rip a bandage from a wound, said it as quickly as possible. “The person behind the crimes is your aunt.”

13

STARING OUT OVER his father’s backyard, Gabriel let the night air comfort him. Was this what karma felt like? After years of conning people without compunction, he found himself having been conned on so many levels, he couldn’t separate them all.

Here he’d thought if he got out of the game now, he’d be getting out a winner.

But one way or another, fate always demanded payment.

He heard the soft click of heels against the slate of the patio but didn’t turn. Maybe if he ignored them, whoever it was would take a hint and go away.

“Gabriel?”

And there it was. All that anger he’d been wishing for. He’d just needed Danita to ignite it.

“I’d rather be alone right now,” he said quietly, hoping she’d take the hint before the anger got a serious hold.

“Are you okay?”

Gabriel pulled his gaze away from the tree house flanking the tall oak in his father’s backyard and glanced through the dark at her. The chilly February night hadn’t been conducive to an outdoor party, so there were not pretty lights or music out here like there was inside.

“Your father asked me to find you,” she said when he remained silent. “Things are coming to a head and he felt you’d want to be brought up to date.”

“Funny how people suddenly think I should be in the know now. Where was their concern last week? Last month?”

“You have a right to your anger,” she said slowly, in that careful tone she’d probably been trained to use when dealing with deranged criminals. “But you might want to keep in mind that as reticent as your family was, you were equally unforthcoming in your own dealings with others.”

“You mean my dealings with you,” he corrected. “You’re pissed about the counterfeit deal. Even though it broke the case.”

Accepting that she wouldn’t go away, and realizing he had a few things to say now that he had her attention, he turned to face her. Always the tough gal, Danita stared right back. He could see her own anger in her eyes, but it was buried there under all that professionalism she liked to hide behind.

Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to bust that professionalism all to hell and see the real her. To find out if he’d ever known the real her. Or was she always playing a role, even when they’d made love?

“You should have told me,” she pointed out in that cool, condescending tone he remembered from their meeting in Hunter’s office weeks ago. “You could have jeopardized everything, including your father’s safety.”

“Wasn’t your main goal in coming here to arrest my father? You don’t care if I jeopardized his safety. You’re just pissed that I jeopardized your glory.”

“Glory?” she breathed, her tone so hot he was surprised it wasn’t accompanied by fire. “Just because you live for attention doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”

“And yet, here you are, all uptight and angry because you were shown up to your boss.”

Her big blue eyes rounded and a hiss escaped her. He wondered if steam was next. “I am no such thing.”

“You didn’t come back to the manor. You stole Pippi. And worst of all, you quit sleeping with me,” he accused. As soon as the words were out, he wanted them back. He didn’t do this. Didn’t lose control over women. Yet here he was, whining that he’d had to sleep alone last night.

Gabriel shoved his hand through his hair, barely keeping from growling. It was just as well the case was coming to a close and Danita would be leaving. She was clearly bad for his control.

“I didn’t come out here to argue with you,” she snapped. Then, sucking in a deep breath through her nose as if control were floating in the air around her, she pressed her lips together.

“So why’d you come out again? Why’d you sign on to any of this?” he prodded. Then he snapped his fingers, almost right under her nose. “Oh yeah. I remember now. It was your job.”

“Are we going to do this?” she asked, losing her fight with control over that anger and stepping forward so they were chest-to-chest. Close enough that when she stabbed her finger into his shoulder he knew it’d leave a bruise. “You want to compare jobs? Career choices?”

“Which one of us is a better liar?” he added.

“When did I lie to you?” she demanded. He gave her an arch look, his gaze traveling from the top of the smooth waves of her hair to the tip of her sedate black pumps. “Oh, fine. I lied in the first fifteen minutes of our relationship when I, in doing my job, pretended to be a hooker. But you lied to me outside the job by not telling me about the counterfeit money.”

Falling back on arrogance, he arched one brow and gave her a sneer. “That was
my
job.”

“Fine. Whatever. We’re one for one, each of us lying to the other.”

“One, hell,” he dismissed. He realized it wasn’t anger pushing him now. It was hurt. “You conspired with Hunter and my father, my entire damned family, to con me. This deal wasn’t cooked up in an FBI office. This entire plan is too big for that.”

She lifted her chin, looking like she was going to spew a scathing protest. Then she sighed.

“You’re right. At least about the bigger scope. I never understood how Hunter knew the depth of information he had to be so sure your father was innocent. I didn’t agree with the parameters he put on the case, but I followed orders. I didn’t realize until we were in the sheriff’s office yesterday that he was tied into this with your family.”

“You didn’t realize it until yesterday? You say that as if you weren’t a part of the bigger game. Like you’re innocent somehow.”

He hated how much he wanted to believe all of that.

“You don’t believe me?” she asked, her voice so quiet, so drenched with hurt that Gabriel felt like a slug. Could she be that good an actress? Or was she really hurt?

A part of him wanted to hold on to the anger, to the blame. As long as he could point a finger at her, he could accept that they had no future. He could deal with the idea that she’d never welcome him into her life for the long term. For real.

Before he could grapple with the ramifications of his fears, she shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter,” she dismissed.

“Doesn’t matter?” he sneered.

“No. Because the job is over. We’re through. I’ll drop Pippi off with Caleb before I leave town. I can’t take on the responsibility of a pet anyway,” she said, her words choked and her eyes miserable. She waved a hand between the two of them. “This is done. So who did what, it doesn’t matter. What matters is tonight.”

“What’s tonight?” he asked, the words bitter on his tongue.

“Hunter and Caleb conferred. They decided to make the move tonight.” She hesitated. As if she really did care, her eyes turned soft as she inspected his face and gave a sympathetic grimace. “Now, actually. The majority of the guests have gone home. Maya’s been keeping your aunt occupied to ensure she doesn’t leave.”

Gabriel’s gaze cut to the house. His anger shifted, twisted. And then dissipated in a puff of realization. He was pissed at Danita, yes. Hurt, definitely. But the churning fury in his gut? That was all for his aunt.

How could she?

Images from childhood, family holiday dinners and school events, all rushed through his mind. Sure, his dad and Cynthia tended to snip and snap at each other, but he’d always figured it was normal family tension.

But a setup like this? To frame his father for extensive crimes while pulling criminal strings to the degree Cynthia had? That required hate.

And that made Gabriel unbearably sad.

As if sensing his turmoil, Danita grimaced. Her eyes softened as her entire demeanor turned sympathetic.

“Do you want to be in on the arrest?” she asked quietly, stepping close enough that the warm wildflower scent of her perfume wrapped around him.

What he wanted was one last night, twelve hours to bury himself in her body. To say goodbye to the delights they’d explored together. But it didn’t look like his wants were on the agenda any longer.

So he’d settle for closure.

“Fine,” he said, gesturing toward the house. “Let’s get this over with.”

DANITA HAD ALWAYS loved her job. It was a means of satisfaction, a place to hide and a validation of self for her. In the six years she’d been with the bureau there had, of course, been tasks she’d been less than thrilled with.

But at this moment, her job felt like a combination of cleaning a frat house, evicting the elderly and modeling leather underwear at a class reunion. In other words, disgusting, miserable and humiliating.

She stepped into the Blacks’ comfortable living room just ahead of Gabriel, her eyes drawn again to the family portrait over the fireplace. It was a picnic scene. Maya looked about a year old in it as she cuddled on her mother’s lap and Gabriel was a preschooler, mischief glowing from his angelic face as he stood next to his older brother, one hand on his mother’s shoulder and the other gripped in his father’s. Tobias, ever the patriarch, knelt behind his family with a big smile, his pleasure and joy clear.

Danita knew the death of Celia, Tobias’s wife, had painfully fractured the family. Now she got to be the one to put another crack in that fragile unit.

Maybe being judged as a second-generation promiscuous loser modeling leather underwear wasn’t such a bad job after all.

“Danita.” Hunter’s word was a greeting, a question and a command, all rolled together.

A quick glance around assured her that the room had been cleared. Cassiopeia and Pandora had gone with Simon, Maya’s fiancé, the women unaware that he was providing protection just in case. Tobias sat in his easy chair, apparently at ease except for the tapping of his fingers on the worn leather.

It was time.

She took a fortifying breath, then without thought, met Gabriel’s eyes. She saw the pain and anger there. But beneath that, the acceptance.

Feeling a little less ill than she had a few seconds ago, she moved to the center of the room. Hunter shifted to block the exit, while Caleb took up position by the back door. Not that any of them really thought an almost-sixty-year-old woman was going to make a break for it. But training was training.