that he knew himself inside and out. He knew how far he could go in pretty much every situation. It had been him that had wanted to wait for sex. He’d said that he’d never be able to handle losing her if they went down that round. He’d been more experienced than her then. He’d known what it was like while she’d only fantasized about it.

Would he always pull away from her?

Because after the heat in that kiss a very large part of her wanted—needed?—to experience what sex with Gabriel would be like. She’d told herself that was the reason she felt so much heat between them anytime he was within reaching distance.

She leaned her cheek against his broad back as he climbed over brush and wound through the woods. A strange piece of her felt like she’d come home and maybe it was just that she’d been locked inside a windowless office for years on end, working, studying. The last twenty-four hours had been the scariest of her life but they were also the first time she’d really felt alive in longer than she could remember. Too long.

When this was over, and she could only pray that it would be soon and she’d be alive to tell about it, she resolved to change a few things in her life. She could feel the changes building inside her but she wasn’t quite sure what they meant just yet. A sabbatical from work seemed too temporary and, besides, she’d have to build a case for one. A vacation wouldn’t begin to cover the time she needed to reset.

A thought struck but she immediately dismissed it. There was no way she could quit her job, not after she’d worked so hard to get where she was. The thing about it was that there was supposed to be a moment at least when she’d felt like she made it. Don’t get her wrong, she was thrilled at graduation but the feeling didn’t last.

For the past decade she’d had this niggling feeling that there had to be more in life. Okay, to be fair, not this. She couldn’t imagine a life on the run from people who wanted to kill her. She’d never really been the husband and two-point-five kids type. Kinsley couldn’t imagine losing herself in the same way her mother had. Ellen McGregor had once been a promising law student. Her mother had married first year and then became pregnant with Kinsley and made the decision to drop out.

All of which would’ve been fine if Ellen McGregor had wanted to do those things. The best Kinsley could figure was that her mother had given into pressure from her family to dedicate herself to raising her child.

Ellen’s misery hidden underneath a forced smile became evident to Kinsley by the time she was a teenager. Their relationship had never taken seed and Kinsley had had a first-row seat to her mother’s drinking binges. No matter how much Ellen had been provoked during fights with Kinsley’s father the woman never had an emotional outburst.

Would it have changed anything if she had?

Gabriel had noticed how quiet Kinsley had been since he’d stopped off at the log cabin. “This place is pretty rustic.”

“Does it have a working bathroom?” she asked, eyes bright.

“That it does.” Joking around with her earlier had been a break in the tension threatening to choke them both. “And it’s even indoors.”

“That’s a relief.” She sounded tired. Even so, hearing her voice again caused his chest to squeeze. Muscle memory had him wanting to pull her against his chest again. Kissing her had been a mistake earlier.

They’d grown up and grown into two different people. They were no longer those lovesick kids who would lay awake most of the night waiting to see each other again.

Looking back, loving Kinsley had been his salvation throughout the last years of high school. That was most likely the pull she still had, unresolved feelings or some psycho mumbo-jumbo like that.

Seeing her now, knowing that she’d never intentionally cut off communication all those years ago made him want things he couldn’t. And not just because The Russian wouldn’t stop until Gabriel was dead. The man would take away anything and anyone important to Gabriel.

Unlocking the door, he stepped aside to allow her into the cabin. It was a safe place to hide but he wished he could put her up in a better spot. She deserved better than a twin bed in the corner of the room and a couple of lawn chairs for seats.

Gabriel flipped on the light.

“It’s small but it’s so much better than sleeping outside,” she said.

Gabriel dropped his rucksack. “Sleeping bag is inside. It should get you through the night.”

Kinsley walked into the middle of the room, put her hands on her hips and then spun around to face him. “Where are you going to sleep?”

He motioned toward one of the chairs.

“No. I can’t let you do that. You were shot—”

“Not your call. And I already told you it’s a scra—”

“I shouldn’t have believed you before.” She moved to his rucksack and dropped down to her knees. She blinked up at him. “You have an emergency kit in this thing?”

“Yeah, but—”

“No arguments. You’re still bleeding a little bit, Gabriel,” she said. “Take your shirt off and let me see how bad it really is.”

One of Gabriel’s strengths in life was knowing when to walk away and knowing when to fight. This was not the time to break out the guns.

Gabriel crossed his arms and grabbed the hem of his shirt. He smirked. “I’d rather be taking this off for a different reason.”

“Watch it, wise guy.” She dug around in his rucksack until she located his emergency kit. It was hard to miss considering it was bright orange with white lettering.

Kinsley pulled out the case and looked up at him with a big smile.

“Sit.”

“I can bark, too, if you’re looking to know all my tricks,” he quipped as he took the nearest seat.

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