“Ms. Taylor?” Stephanie buzzed in, interrupting my train of thought.

“Yes?”

“Gabriel Betts is downstairs—he just, um, stormed the lobby.” She coughed. “Security stopped him and he sort of…didn’t seem to appreciate it.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it, not capable of conjuring an appropriate response.

Security was calling on the other line. “I have to go, Stephanie—thanks for letting me know.”

“Ms. Taylor?” It was Eddie, sounding tense. “Mr. Betts is here to see you. He tried to come straight up to your office but we, uh, detained him and had him searched.”

I’m sure that had gone over like a lead balloon.

“Was he abusive to the staff?”

Eddie coughed. “Only verbally, ma’am. And just to me and Timmy. We’re fine.” He said it quickly, as though he were protecting Gabe.

Enabler. I sighed. “Send him up.”

Timmy brought Gabe up a minute later. Timmy’s expression was carefully neutral, but Gabe looked pissed.

Timmy left as quickly as possible, closing the door behind him and not saying a word.

Gabe stalked past me, also not saying a word, and threw himself on my couch. I couldn’t help admiring his T-shirt, his biceps, and the stubble that had grown on his face over the past few days. In spite of everything that was going on, my heart beat rapidly in response to the visual stimulation.

He didn’t look at me.

I crossed my arms against my chest. “Um…hi?”

He put his face in his hands and shook his head. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t bother with small talk now.” He clenched his fists together, looking like he was trying very hard to keep calm. “If you wanted small talk, you should have picked up your goddamned phone. Before Clive Warren turned up dead!”

“Gabe—”

“Do you understand that I’ve been worried sick about you?” The muscle in his jaw jumped. “And then this happens—Clive gets murdered in jail. And you still won’t return my goddamned calls?”

“I was waiting to have the building swept for bugs. I didn’t want to call you until it was safe.” I went and sat down slightly away from him on the couch, watching him cautiously even as I longed to touch him.

He raked a hand through his hair, his bicep popping out from underneath his T-shirt. “I told you, you don’t need to protect me.”

“I don’t need to throw you to the wolves, either.” All I wanted was to throw myself at him, but that hardly seemed appropriate, given the circumstances.

The circumstances. I needed to keep my eye on the ball, not on Gabe’s bicep. “I can’t believe Clive’s dead.”

Gabe finally looked up, his eyes tortured. He reached out for me. “C’mere.”

I went and buried my face against his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, rocking me against him. My senses were overwhelmed by his smell, the feel of his chest against mine, his solid arms around me. “If I ever lost you…if anything ever happened to you…”

“You won’t.” I buried my face in his chest. “Not ever.”

He dropped a kiss onto my head. “I’ve been going crazy without you. We need to deal with this, once and for all.”

“Hold on a second—there’s something I want to show you.” I hustled to grab Clive’s letter from my desk.

Positioning me against him, Gabe took the letter and read it straight through, not saying a word.

After a minute, he put it down. He seemed calmer now. “I can’t believe he’s dead. And I can’t believe he called me a prick in his death note. And a thug. What an asshole.”

I gave him an exasperated look. “Sympathy really isn’t your strong suit, is it?”

He shrugged. “I feel sorry for him, but only because he was too stupid to see he was in over his head. He’s right—you are smarter than him. But everything else he said is just scary.”

The image of Clive, dead on the floor, came back to me again. “I’ve increased security—we have armed guards at all entrances. That’s why they gave you such a hard time. Also, all employees have to turn in their cell phones. Everyone’s required to submit to a mandatory search.”

Gabe nodded. “I’ll do the same at Dynamica, just to be safe.”

We sat in silence for a moment. I could feel his heart beating as I relished our closeness, so grateful to be back in his arms.

“I guess this is where I say I’m sorry for storming in here and throwing a temper tantrum.” He squeezed me closer. “I understand that you don’t want me to get hurt, but I don’t like being told what to do. Especially if you’re telling me to stay away from you.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “I suck at staying away from you, you know.”

“I know.” It came out muffled against his chest. “I forgive you—there isn’t exactly a manual for how to handle this situation.”

Gabe chuckled. “If there was, I’m sure you would’ve read it.”

I pulled back slightly. “While we’re at it, I suppose I should say sorry, too. I pushed you away, even though I didn’t want to. I push everybody away.”

Gabe played with my hair. “I don’t know about that, babe. I’m still right here. And I’m not going anywhere. That is…if you’ll still have me.”

“Oh, please. I love you so much, it’s undignified.” I threw my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. Danger surrounded us and still, being back in his arms, my body lit up with joy, like I was a Christmas tree and somebody had finally turned my lights on.

Gabe laughed, not letting go of me either. “It’s not undignified. It might be primal, but it’s scientific. I guarantee that if someone monitored my brain regions when I saw you, they would probably say my nucleus accumbens—otherwise known as the brain’s pleasure center—goes into overdrive when you’re around.”

I laughed and kissed his cheek again. His new scruff was scratchy against my lips. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” He paused for a beat. “I’ll tell Stephanie I’m sorry I was so…curt on the phone earlier. I’ll give Eddie and Timmy my apologies, too.”

“Next time, be polite. They’ve got bigger problems than you to deal with right now.”

“I will. I promise.” He rubbed my back, then suddenly stopped. “But now you have to promise me something.”

“What?” I asked warily.

“I’ve hated being away from you.” His eyes glittered, never wavering from mine. “When this is over, move in with me.”

“You already moved me in with you.”

He took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. “I mean, for real. I want my address to be your address. I want my house to be your house. I want to know that even when we have a fight, you’re coming home to me. It’s called a commitment, Lauren.”

My breath caught in my throat.

“I know it’s soon, but I told you, I’m an early adopter.” He shrugged. “I know the goods when I see them.”

I kept silent for a moment, stunned. “But how can you be sure?”

“It’s just something I know. Like I know I’m breathing. Like I know my nucleus accumbens lights up when I see you. I believe in it, and I trust it. I have good instincts. They’ve delivered for me again and again. They don’t require my scrutiny.”

I considered his request. I was prepared for all the fears and questions in my head to start shouting their objections. But they didn’t. Instead, I felt peaceful inside, calm in a way I hadn’t felt in weeks.

“Okay,” I said.

He looked cautiously optimistic. “Okay as in…you recognize that my decision doesn’t require my scrutiny? Or okay as in…you’re agreeing to move in with me?”

I beamed at him. “Okay as in I’m agreeing to move in with you. It feels right. There isn’t any place I’d rather be. And let’s face it—you have the best wine and the best push-button fireplaces.”

“And as soon as you move in with me, I’ll really have the best view.” A huge grin spread over his face, the dimple emerging again beneath his scruff. He pulled me to him and kissed me again, making me stir with heat and desire. “I love you. Thank you for saying yes.”

“I love you too.”

I rejoiced that Gabe and I had taken care of our personal business, and that things were right between us again. But there were all sorts of things going on at the moment that were wrong, and those were the things I had to face next.

I pulled back and looked at him regretfully. “I really have to get back to work.”

“I know. I’ll stop being a distraction—but I had to see you.”

“I’m glad.” Then I looked at him miserably, hating that he was leaving. “I don’t know if it’s even safe for us to talk on the phone right now.”

Gabe nodded. “When we need to communicate, let’s use burner phones.”

“What’s a burner phone?”

“It’s a cheap phone that you just throw out. You can use it with a prepaid credit card so you can’t be traced. Have Eddie get you one—he’ll know what it is.”

“How will you know my number?”

“I’ll send you mine,” he said.

I wanted to ask how, but Gabe knew what he was doing. “Okay,” I said over a sudden lump in my throat. We weren’t going to see each other for longer than I cared to acknowledge, and we weren’t going to be able to really talk. “We got our final approvals, and I have to launch as soon as I can. I’m going into lockdown mode.”

Gabe gave me a resigned smile. “I understand. I won’t storm the castle again.”

I leaned against his side and closed my eyes, relaxing against his powerful form one last time. “I don’t want to say good-bye to you right now.”

“Me either.”

“There’s one more thing. Dave and Leo hacked into Jiàn Innovations and I got to review their progress—they’re still behind us in their development.” I paused for a beat, choosing my words carefully. “I’m going to have Dave and Leo blow their files up.”

Gabe looked at me sharply. “Because why?”

“Because…they messed with the wrong CEO.”

Gabe gave me one final squeeze and stood to go. “There’s a reason I love you.”

“I have my reasons for loving you too.” I gave him a quick good-bye kiss, wishing we had time for so much more. My heart twisted. I really didn’t know when I would see him again.

“Stay safe,” Gabe warned, his eyes dark. “I mean it, Lauren. Remember, you promised me. I intend to hold you to it. I have plans for you…partner.”

* * *

On my way to see Leo and Dave, I passed Hannah in the hall. Wes was close at her heels. “Where have you been?” she asked.

“In my office. With Gabe.”

My sister peered at my face. “With Gabe in a good way? Or in a way that’s going to make you grumpier than usual?”

I shot her a look. “A good way.”

“How good?” She arched an eyebrow, and Wes chuckled in the background.

“I didn’t ask for your input,” I snapped at him.

“Lauren,” Hannah said, her voice a warning tone.

I sighed and plastered a fake smile on. I would deal with my sister and her hunky bodyguard later. “Sorry, Wes. I’ll catch up with you later, Hannah, okay? I have a patch to launch.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m the one who’s handling the publicity, remember? You’re not the only one who’s busy. But I still want all the Gabe details!” She winked before she turned on her heel and sashayed out of sight, Wes close behind.

I would give her details, but she was going to have to share some too.

I hustled into Leo’s office and was shocked to find it sparkling clean. There wasn’t a Vitá Water or empty Twix wrapper in sight. “What happened in here?” I asked.

“Housekeeping, aka Eddie,” Dave said, grinning. “So now we’re clean—really clean.”

“Great. Then I’ll speak freely. And actually sit down.” There was a chair behind me that wasn’t piled with junk, and I sank onto it. “I have an assignment for you two.”

Dave and Leo looked at me eagerly over their respective dark circles.

“I want you to start deleting the Jiàn Innovation files.”

“Which ones?” Leo asked.

“All of them,” I said. “I want you to start figuring out their backup systems. Map everything out. Be ready. I’ll tell you when.”