Sophomore year started looking better when she’d met Jaime and the two started seeing each other. But then the conversation had come when she had to stay in and study over meeting him for a party. The relationship had gone downhill from there.
“And why do you work so much?” he continued.
“Because I have to,” she said. “Getting those alphabet letters behind my name took a lot of focused effort. Universities don’t just hand them out to anyone. You have to actually work for them. You have to study until you fall asleep on your books. You have to sacrifice any kind of a life outside of school. Especially if you have a part-time job like I did. You don’t go to parties or have relationships because you can’t afford to let anything distract you from your goal because if you slip, if you take the easy way out and go to the movies instead of stay in and study it gets easier to do it the next day. And the next. Suddenly, before you realize, you’re behind and there’s no catching up. That’s how you wash out of a program.”
Kinsley could feel the tension rising in her body. Gabriel seemed to pick up on it, too.
“People don’t understand that, and they walk out when they realize they aren’t going to be the center of your life,” she continued. That was the most she’d said about her past in any one conversation in longer than she could remember.
Gabriel had put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her and his thumb drew circles. She didn’t want his touch to be so electric or make her body ache for him to touch her all over.
It did.
“There’s nothing wrong with being focused,” Gabriel said.
“You have to be if you want to accomplish something that’s not going to be handed to you.” Kinsley was defensive. She could hear it in her own voice. And she needed to redirect the conversation. “As much as I hate this idea why can’t we just scrap the book?”
“These guys won’t take you on your word. Besides, others have seen it and they’ll worry that news will spread,” he confirmed.
“But, why? I mean, why come after me? Blake sent the advanced copies out to dozens of people. Would these people even be able to get the list of names?” She shuddered thinking about anyone being associated with her book dying.
“My gut reaction is that these guys could’ve killed you quietly at any time,” he stated.
A shiver raced down her spine thinking about it.
“They wanted to make a statement and that’s why they’d planned on killing you in front of the Presidential Library at your book launch talk.” He made good points.
Kinsley drew in a shaky breath. “What are the chances they’ll leave me alone now?”
“Anything’s possible.” He shrugged.
“As in it could snow in July here?”
“Afraid so.” He seemed reluctant to admit it and she appreciated that he wanted to soften the news.
“You have friends working on my case right now, don’t you?” she asked.
“These guys are some of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure to work alongside.” She heard the respect in his voice.
“I’d actually like to meet them someday to thank them personally.” She knew that Gabriel didn’t take trusting others lightly. If these men had won his trust and respect then she really did want to meet them.
Gabriel didn’t respond right away. He just sat there looking like he was solving world hunger. When he finally spoke, he changed the subject. “The men who are after me won’t stop until they find me.”
“Can I ask what you did to make them this pissed off?”
“The leader thinks I killed his brother,” he said, and she could sense that he didn’t like talking so casually about taking a human life.
“Why does he think that?”
“Because I did.” Gabriel looked down at his injury. The bleeding had stopped. “I can finish this. There’s a couple of power bars in my rucksack. That and a bottle of water should give you enough sustenance for the night. It won’t taste like much.”
Had she just been dismissed?
If he thought that he could get away with that he had another thing coming. “You said before that we have to talk to each other.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing?” He picked up a pad and tape. He ripped open the pad with his teeth while keeping one hand on the small pad that was stemming the blood flow with continued pressure.
“What are my chances of getting out of this alive?” she asked.
He stopped what he was doing but didn’t make eye contact. In fact, he seemed stunned by the question.
“Do you really want to know what I think?”
Chapter 11
Gabriel leaned forward and clasped his hands. Kinsley sat on her heels in front of him. There was no way he was going to let some jerk take her life away from her. “The person after you will have to kill me before he gets to you. And that’s not going to be easy for him to do.”
“This puts you in more danger, doesn’t it?” she asked.
“I’ve been trying to negotiate a truce with The Russian. I still have a few cards left to play but some favors cost more than others,” he admitted. He hadn’t even talked to Jaden and Daniel about what was really going on with The Russian.
“Whatever you have to offer him to make this go away you should,” she quickly said.
“If I do that innocent people will die.”
“Oh.” She paused, looking like she was letting that sink in. “There has to be something else he wants.”
Gabriel blew out a sharp breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Me. Dead. But I’m not willing to give him that, either. And especially not since I found you again.”
He hoped for a response, a smile. Instead, Kinsley stilled. “I missed you, too, Gabriel. But we don’t know each other anymore. This cloak and dagger lifestyle is crazy. I mean, I can
