type: money and everything handed to her on a silver platter. She couldn’t decide if she admired the girl, was just jealous of her or flat out hated her. So for now Tina chose not to think about her. There were more important things to consider.
Mostly, she needed to know what they were heading into. Even as she gave that thought consideration, Gene cleared his throat. He was quiet and he watched everyone, and while he was sort of cute, he had something about him that gave her a bad vibe. Not dangerous exactly, but more like sleazy. If she shook his hand, she’d want to wash hers. Which was weird because he acted all harmless. Maybe that was it. He acted. There was nothing sincere about him.
Gene said, “The door’s over there and I guess we should use it.”
Tina looked around and shook her head. It was a fake. Everything around them looked like it was covered in gang tags, but it was too fresh, too new. The building wasn’t as rough as someone wanted to make it look, and that was sending all sorts of warning signals to her.
“I don’t think this place is abandoned.” Cody looked hard at her, and she could see him stopping himself from saying something. “What?” She threw the single word as a challenge.
Cody blinked. “Nothing. I was just thinking you’d know better than me.”
She bristled. “You think I’m trashy?”
He looked like a mouse facing a very large cat. “What? No! I just, I figured you might be-”
“Just decide if you’re going in or not. Leave the fights for later.” That was Hunter, who headed for the door. He was taking control of the situation without even trying. She wondered if he even knew that.
Gene looked at the other boy’s back for a moment, sighed, and followed him. After that it seemed like everyone had decided. They moved, walking toward the building as a unit, following Hunter.
Just like that, she thought. He leads and we follow. How did that happen? There was something about him that made it seem perfectly natural. She looked at his sleek, muscular body and thought maybe that was part of it. He was damned cute.
Up close she could see even more clearly that she’d been right. There was a little damage to the building, but it was all superficial. None of the windows were broken out, and no one had come along and cannibalized the place yet. Most of Camden, you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a building that had been stripped of doors, windows or most especially metal. With the cost of copper, aluminum and other metals, somebody would have torn the hell out of the place just to get to the pipes if the place had been empty for long. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she suppressed a shiver.
Cody seemed to feel it too. He looked around with a frown on his face and a worried expression. She caught his eye and he nodded to let her know she was right. He didn’t trust any of it. No more than she did.
And then Hunter, Gene and Kyrie were inside. Cody shook his head and followed. Tina gave one last look around the place and then followed, hating the feeling that she was walking into something even worse than her life had already become.
Chapter Twenty-six
Evelyn Hope
Evelyn Hope looked up from her excellent broiled leg of lamb with mint jelly dinner as George knocked briskly and entered her office. She set down her fork and looked longingly at the herbed potato she’d skewered. Business first, unfortunately. “There’s been further activity at the warehouse.”
Gabriel let out a small belch and covered his mouth with his napkin, casting an apology with his eyes. The smallest offense and he apologized. She smiled with her eyes before turning to look at George.
She wiped her lips carefully and set the napkin to the right of her plate. “Really? Actual activity this time? Not another indigent looking for scraps?”
George looked at her with an exasperated sigh that said he didn’t much like being doubted. She didn’t like having her dinner with her son interrupted. So they were even.
“Surveillance showed one man entering the building several hours ago. As I said then, the individual put a cheap table and even cheaper chairs in there, along with a TV.”
She smiled. It was killing George that she hadn’t let him take the TV from the place. Instead she’d gone over there herself with Gabriel in tow and pulled the package from the player and made a copy. Then placed the original back where it belonged. It didn’t bother him that she would risk her own life but that she hadn’t shared the contents of the video.
She hadn’t watched it herself as yet, hadn’t had the time, really, but now that there was activity at the warehouse a second time, she would make the time. Having someone try to set up a video seminar was strange, but hardly a crisis. Having that someone come back with others made it a bit more of a priority.
Gabriel set down his cutlery and waited patiently for the meal to resume. He was careful not to speak because, as she had made clear a long time ago, children were never to interrupt adults. He could speak up around her and be himself, but the academy frowned on any child disrespecting adults.
“Send in the first unit, George.”
He nodded. “Backup teams?”
“You know how I feel about people nosing into my business. Two backup teams and a bird.”
“A bird?” He lifted one eyebrow.
Gabriel made a show of not listening. He was a curious child. She loved that about him.
“The building has served its purpose, and you should know by now that I’m hardly sentimental.”
He tried looking shocked for a second and then shrugged.
“And George?”
“Yes, Evelyn?” He looked over his shoulder as he headed for the door.
“Henri? Is that the chef’s name?” He nodded. “Tell Henri the lamb is perfect tonight.” She looked at Gabriel. “Would you agree, Gabby?”
“Yes, Mother.” Good boy. Very polite in front of George, as he should be.
George nodded and left and Evelyn looked down at her dinner. She contemplated ignoring the food, but a sound body helped promote a sound mind, and she had already skipped lunch. Besides which, it was really quite tasty.
After George was out of the room, Gabriel looked at the door he’d used to leave and made a raspberry noise with his tongue, blowing a long, wet note.
Evelyn tried to keep a straight face and a frown of disapproval, but her exterior cracked and she let out a small laugh, covering her mouth with her fingers to muffle it.
“You’re impossible, Gabby.”
Gabriel smiled, that warm, lovely expression lighting his face. “He’s just so… stuffy.”
She waved her fingers at him. “Eat your dinner. Shameless. You are shameless.”
“I am my mother’s son.” He spoke softly with his usual dry wit. And she realized he was right. He was her boy and hers alone. She thought of Bobby and how much she missed him and then pushed that aside. Bobby was the past. Gabriel was today.
After a few seconds she started eating again, curious as to what would happen at the old offices. Gabriel sat with her, both of them content to share a comfortable silence.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Hunter Harrison
Was this a trap? No. Anyone who wanted them trapped wouldn’t have gone through this much effort. It would be easier and less costly to just get each of them separately. And even if it was a trap, what else did he have
