He gave her a ‘whatever you say’ smile that made him look even more infuriatingly handsome. ‘How’s the Greek going, by the way?’
‘Ante gamisou,’ snapped Ella.
‘Impressive,’ he beamed. What Ella had just said translated into something distinctly unsuitable for children. ‘Let’s eat.’
With a sudden, violent swerve, he turned the car up an unsigned single-lane road that swiftly led them to what looked like an old adobe farmhouse.
Warily, Ella stepped out of the car. ‘This is a restaurant?’
‘When it needs to be. It belongs to The Group. The couple who live here are retired but they make it available when needed. We’re expected.’
The latter was clearly true. Ella followed Gabriel into a pretty, whitewashed dining room. Inside, a farmhouse table had been laid for two with a feast of hot and cold dishes, fresh flowers, a pitcher of iced water and a chilled bottle of vintage Chablis.
‘Help yourself,’ said Gabriel, taking his own advice and spooning mountains of lamb stew, saffron rice and various green salads onto his plate before taking a seat. ‘We can talk freely here.’
Ella gave a cynical laugh. ‘Talk freely? Does that mean you’ll actually answer my questions?’
‘Some of them,’ he replied, admiring the way Ella’s still-damp hair coiled down around her shoulders as far as her breasts. She’d changed into a simple yellow sundress for their excursion, of the sort that would have looked demure on any other woman, even frumpy, but that somehow clung tantalizingly to Ella’s body like a second skin. ‘If you’ll answer mine. Wine?’
‘No thank you.’
Reluctantly, Ella took some food and a glass of water and sat down opposite him. Pouring himself a large glass of Chablis, Gabriel took a long sip and got the ball rolling.
‘Shall we take turns?’
‘All right,’ said Ella. ‘Who goes first?’
‘I do,’ Gabriel announced imperiously. ‘If you aren’t going to go on the mission, why are you still at Camp Hope?’
For a moment Ella was silent. It was a good opener.
‘I told you I’d help you get back to the city if you chose to go. But you didn’t. Why not?’
‘I had no way of contacting you,’ mumbled Ella awkwardly.
‘Bullshit.’ Gabriel took another sip of his wine. ‘Katherine could have reached me easily. You never tried.’
‘OK,’ said Ella, her blood already up. ‘I also stayed because of Dix. He’s been helping me control the noises in my head. To understand what they are, and where they come from and to tune certain signals in and out. He’s helped me with other things too, like how to interpret people better and handle social situations, things I never got the chance to learn as a kid. And I’m getting better. I am! Dix seems actually to know what’s wrong with me, which is more than any other doctor has ever been able to do.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with you,’ said Gabriel. ‘You have a—’
‘Don’t say gift.’ Ella held up a finger in warning. ‘Don’t you dare say gift. You have no idea, any of you, what it’s like. Anyway, my turn. How did you know that I was trying to leave camp that day? You must have been spying on me.’
‘Don’t be so paranoid,’ he said breezily.
‘I want to know how,’ insisted Ella. ‘Are there hidden cameras? Or do you have people inside following me and reporting back to you?’
‘Maybe,’ he leaned towards her slowly, ‘I can read your thoughts. See into that tangled, beautiful brain of yours. Did you ever think of that?’
Ella felt a sick feeling build in the pit of her stomach and her breath start to shorten. That couldn’t be true. Could it?
‘No,’ she said with a confidence she didn’t feel. ‘I never thought of that because it’s baloney. Dix already told me I can only receive information, not transmit it.’
‘What if dear old Dix is mistaken?’ Gabriel teased her. ‘He’s not God, you know. He makes mistakes.’
He moved even closer, sliding a warm, dry hand over Ella’s. The sick feeling intensified but it was mingled with something else, something which Ella recognized but refused to acknowledge. Not now. Not for him.
‘What if I told you I knew exactly what you were thinking, right now? Would that scare you?’