Lethal Deception Read Online Free PDF Page B

happening.
     
    “Cassidy.” She ignored the faraway voice. The sleep her body had craved for so long had her in its grip and wasn’t about to let her shake it. “Cassidy.” This time a rough shake accompanied her whispered name. Sleep disappeared fast.
    “Gabe?” She blinked to bring his face into focus. Brown-black eyes bored into hers. “What? What is it?”
    He brushed the hair out of her eyes for her, his fingertips gentle, lingering. “We need to get going. Since you’re bound and determined to head to the orphanage, we’ve got to beat these guys at their own game.”
    Cassidy moved and couldn’t stop the groan that slipped out.
    “Sore?”
    “To say the least. I thought I was in shape up until a few weeks ago.”
    His short bark of soft laughter made her jump. She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Trust me. There’s not a thing wrong with your shape.”
    Cassidy flushed. She gave him a punch in the gut that made him grunt. “That’s not what I meant and you know it, Rambo.”
    “I know, Cassidy. I know.” Cassidy could have sworn his expression went tender for a brief moment before returning to its usual unreadable gaze. He turned and edged cautiously toward the end of the trunk and Cassidy followed him. She cleared her throat and asked quietly, “So, you’re going to help me?”
    Gabe cut his eyes to her. “What do you think?”
    She allowed a small smile to cross her lips. “I think you hate it when I get my way.”
    Gabe’s lips curved into a rueful smile, but he didn’t respond. Cassidy brushed leaves and debris from the seat of her pants then pulled her hair up into a ponytail with the rubber band she’d had in her pocket since opening the papers about Alexis.
    “Let’s go,” he said.
    “You think it’s safe?”
    “You mean, you care what I think?” he taunted.
    Now, that hurt, but she covered it with, “Of course I care. I’ve always cared about you, Gabriel. In spite of whatever happened with Micah and my anger at your silence, you were my brother’s best friend. Now, can we get going before those creeps come back?”
    When she looked up, surprise at her confession was reflected on his face. He opened his mouth to confront her and when he did, Cassidy pretended not to see it. She wasn’t in the mood to discuss matters of the heart—her heart—when she was finally doing something totally unselfish for someone else. Something that not even Gabriel Sinclair and his stubborn personality would be able to deter her from.

FOUR
    I ’ve always cared about you, Gabriel. The statement taunted him.
    He hiked slowly, keeping his ears tuned to the sound of anything that didn’t have to do with nature. Nothing set off his worry alarm, so he decided to give Cassidy a little space while he mulled over her words.
    They’d seen each other off and on over the next couple of years when they attended certain social functions at the request of their respective parents, and Gabe had visited often because of Micah, but Cassidy lived in a different world; one Gabe hadn’t wanted to be a part of. Yet, he’d been fascinated by her. And saddened by her wild lifestyle, thinking she was on the road to destruction. And then all of a sudden, her face and exploits were no longer mentioned in the paper. He’d wondered what happened. He realized now that this was when she’d become a Christian and changed her lifestyle.
    And then came the mission.
    And Micah had died.
    And Gabe couldn’t forget how.
    And he couldn’t forget Cassidy.
    It galled him that he could be so attracted to a flighty debutante, but there just seemed to be something about her…something deeper, like her shallowness was some kind of cover-up and there were many layers to her personality that the public never saw.
    So, he’d gone to attend her college graduation. To see if he could find the deeper layers. Only, before he could see her, he’d read about her engagement in the paper. He’d been disappointed, but