Generation 18 (Spook Squad 2)

A smile quirked the corner of Stephan’s mouth. He hadn’t missed her reaction. “Yes. For now.”

Gabriel stepped to one side as she approached. It was probably meant to be nothing more than a polite gesture—he was simply making way for her to get past—but it fanned the fires of her fury even higher. One way or another, this man was always avoiding her.

She met his gaze and saw only wariness in the green-flecked hazel depths of his eyes. Ever since the factory shootout with Rose and Orrin nearly two weeks ago, he’d treated her this way. She wasn’t entirely sure why. And in all honesty, it was time she stopped worrying about it. She had more important concerns these days.

Like finding out who she really was. What she really was. Like getting a life beyond the force.

She stopped in front of him and his scent stirred around her, spicy and masculine, making her want things she could never have. Not with this man.

“You win, Gabriel. You have your wish. I’m out of your life.” She held out her hand. “I wish I could say it’s been pleasant, but you sure as hell made certain it wasn’t.”

His fingers closed round hers, his touch sending warmth through her soul. A promise that could never be.

“You’ve been reassigned, then?” Relief edged his deep voice.

“Yeah.”

He released her hand and her fingers tingled with the memory of his touch. Part of her was tempted to clench her hand in an effort to retain that warmth just a bit longer. But what was the point of holding on to something that was little more than an illusion? A desire that probably came from loneliness more than any real connection?

“Who’s the new partner?”

There was something a little more than polite interest in the question. Were he anyone else, she might have thought he cared. With Gabriel, who knew?

Sam shrugged. “It’s really none of your business now, is it?” She glanced back at Stephan. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He nodded and she met Gabriel’s eyes one final time, her gaze searching his—though what she was looking for, she couldn’t honestly say. After a few seconds, she turned and walked out, her fury a clenched knot inside her chest.

—

Gabriel watched her go and the anger so visible in every step seared his mind, reaching into places he’d thought well shielded and far out of reach. Whatever this connection was between them, it was breaking down barriers not even his twin had been able to traverse, and raising emotions he’d long thought dead.

Which was just another reason to get her out of his working life. Whether or not she should then appear in his social life was a point of contention between the two parts of his soul. The hawk half—the half that had already lost its soul mate—wanted no strings, no ties, nothing beyond those that already existed, but the human half wanted to pursue what might lie between them. Wanted to discover if, given the chance, it could develop into something more than friendship.

Not that there ever would be a chance, if her anger was anything to go by. Which was precisely what he’d wanted, what he’d been aiming for over the nine months they’d been partners. So why did his victory feel so hollow?

He shut the door and walked across the room to the chair. “So,” he said as he sat down. “Where has she been reassigned?”

Stephan leaned back in his chair, his blue eyes assessing. “She’s right. It really is none of your business now.”

“Don’t give me that crap. Just tell me.”

Stephan smiled, though no warmth touched his expression. It was that, more than anything, which raised Gabriel’s hackles. Stephan was up to something, something he wouldn’t like.

“She’s on special assignment as of tomorrow.”

Gabriel regarded him steadily. His brother was enjoying this. He could almost feel his twin’s satisfaction. “Give, brother. What the hell have you done?”

Stephan steepled his fingers and studied them with sudden interest. “I’ve assigned her to the Wetherton case.”

The Wetherton case? The one case she should have been kept well away from, if only because of its possible links to both Sethanon and Hopeworth? “Get her off it, Stephan. Get her off it now.”

His twin’s gaze finally met his, filled with nothing more than a steely determination. “She is the best person for the job, whatever the risks.”

“You haven’t even warned her, have you?” Gabriel scrubbed a hand across his jaw. Christ, she could be walking straight into a goddamn trap, and there was nothing he could do to save her.

“She knows we believe Sethanon is involved,” Stephan commented.

“Which is the least of our worries. Wetherton’s and Kazdan’s clones can have only one source, and we both know it. Neither the government labs nor the black marketeers have succeeded with personality and memory transfers. Hopeworth has.”