After her day, Gabrielle really didn’t need Penelope’s drama.
Gabrielle hurriedly tried getting her boss on the line. Only he wasn’t picking up. The guy never ignored a call from any of his reporters. And Hugh also didn’t just rush out of town. In fact, he usually stayed at the Inquisitor until after midnight most nights.
What’s going on?
She looked up. Cooper had his eyes on her. “My boss is leaving town.” She rubbed the growing knot of tension in the back of her neck. “Some strange folks in suits came in, and Penelope was pretty much saying they’ve pressured him to leave.” Government-type suits. “Feds,” she muttered.
Cooper’s brows climbed. “Uh, you think Feds are pressuring your boss to get out of D.C.?”
Her gaze cut to the window. “I have to get down to the Inquisitor.”
“You just told me that you don’t like storms.”
“No, I don’t,” she agreed quickly. “They scare the ever-loving hell out of me. But I can’t let fear stop me.” She never had, never would.
She headed for the bedroom.
He blocked her path. “Maybe we should get out of town.”
Her eyes widened. “What?” But, before he could reply, Gabrielle shook her head. “I can’t! I have a story, people counting on me—”
“You have a killer calling you, threatening you. You need to get out of sight and get some place safe.” He gave a hard nod. “I can keep you safe. I can take you someplace that no one else would ever be able to find.”
His words held an ominous ring that unsettled her. “I don’t want to vanish. I’m not hiding.” She brushed past him.
“Fine.” That word was bitten off. “I’ll take you to the Inquisitor.”
Gabrielle stopped at the bedroom door and swung back to face him. “Uh, try that again.” She motioned to the window. “I’m not getting on your motorcycle. We’ll take a cab. My whole facing-your-fears bit only goes so far.”
For an instant, she thought he’d smile at her.
But then he did that little trick of his—that trick where all emotion vanished from his face and eyes. “When you want to vanish, tell me. Remember that, okay? I can get you out of this game anytime.”
“It’s not a game.”
“Isn’t it?”
Life and death shouldn’t be a game.
And Cooper’s words shouldn’t have reminded her of the killer.
But they did.
The killer’s voice seemed to echo in her mind.
“Winner kills all.”
* * *
HUGH’S COMPUTER WAS GONE. His files were boxed up.
And he was sweating.
Gabrielle stood in the doorway of his office, frowning. “Hugh?”
His head jerked up at her call.
“What happened here?”