The Evasion Read Free Page A

something snapped and that something told her his presence wasn’t accidental. Not when she was on her way home to pack a few things for her trip to South Carolina. A trip she fully intended on sharing with him.
    From the airport.
    Seconds before takeoff.
    She waited for rushing pedestrians to hustle by and crossed to him. “Hello, handsome.”
    He gave her that sly grin, the one that hinted of talents she’d recently been made aware of. Shark Gabe.
    “Afternoon, Counselor. Heading to lunch? Thought I’d treat.”
    Lunch. Um, no .
    A gust of wind howled and Jo held the collar of her coat closed. “How long have you been out here?”
    “Not long. Ten minutes maybe.”
    “Huh. Why didn’t you come up?”
    This time when he smiled, it was the real Gabe smile. The silly, boyish one that turned her into a puddle. “I’m illegally parked.”
    Cop humor. She rolled her eyes.
    “So,” he said, “we’d better get moving before I get a ticket.” He lurched off the car and opened the passenger door. “Hop in. I’ll take you to lunch. Your choice.”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
    He stepped around the open door and squared off with her. “No? How come?”
    Okay. This was a problem. She had never—and would never—lie to him. Not purposely. Then again, was it possible to not purposely lie?
    Don’t get distracted. With Gabe’s intelligence, this conversation would take every one of her brain cells to navigate. She shook her head. “I have a meeting.”
    Which she did. With an airplane.
    Slowly, he nodded. Those dark eyes like focused lasers as he took in her face, looking for clues of deception. Uh-oh .
    “A meeting.”
    Jo stood still. Don’t react . If she moved, he’d sense her discomfort. He was brilliant that way, every little nuance of her personality had been figured out. After months of working together and, more recently, enjoying a personal relationship, he’d identified all her signals: happiness, sadness, anger. He knew all the cues.
    “Fine. I’ll drive you. Get in.” He waved her into the car. “Get a move on. Don’t want you to be late.”
    And then she caught it, the quirking smile. He knows .
    She marched right up to him. Even with her wearing heels, he looked down at her. Terrible position of weakness. Still, she squeaked out a few more millimeters by holding her head high. If he wanted to play, she’d let him. But she wouldn’t make it easy.
    She walked two fingers up his jacket to his collar and tugged. “What are you up to, sergeant?”
    “Me? You’re asking me what I’m up to?” He stepped back, clearly wanting to break the contact. “That’s classic, Jo, considering you’re trying to bullshit me right on the goddamned street. You are busted .”
    A few pedestrians glanced their way, spotted the giant man wearing a gun and kept going. My heroes .
    “Why are you yelling?”
    He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and leaned toward her. “Because I’m upset. I’m communicating .”
    Jo made snoring noises. Communicating. Funny man. Two weeks ago they’d argued over something—who knew what—and she’d scolded him for failing to communicate. “Okay, smartass. Fine. You’ve communicated. Now I have to go.”
    She made a move to step around him, but he blocked her path. Not in an aggressive way, just a minor hindrance that she could avoid if she wanted. She glanced up at him expecting to see the normal ferocity and tight skin that were so much a part of him. Instead, his mouth sagged and his eyes—those were the killers—his eyes didn’t have that normal heat. He looked…sad.
    “Gabe?”
    “You were going to fly off to South Carolina and not tell me?”
    He knows .
    She grabbed his arm and squeezed. “No. I’d never do that.”
    “I just caught you.”
    “You caught me going home to pack. I planned on calling you from the airport.”
    “So I couldn’t get there in time?”
    “Yes.”
    “And somehow that should make me feel better?”
    Now that he’d