As I relayed instructions to get Gabriel to the ladder, I walked to the room with the ladder and crouched at the hatch. A moment later, the top of his head appeared below.
He looked up.
"Found it," I said.
I grinned down at him. As calm as I'd tried to stay during this whole ordeal, there'd been a feeling that something was missing, something as essential as the gun nestled in my pocket. Seeing Gabriel, that knot untwisted.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Better now that you're here. Thanks."
His head tilted to the side, and he frowned, as if unsure he'd heard right.
"I tried to leave you out of this," I said. "That's why I hung up the first time. I didn't want to bother you when it wasn't a legal issue. I'm sorry that guy got my phone and texted you. But I'm glad you're here."
Another frown and searching look, as if he'
d moved from suspecting he'd misheard to suspecting I'd been dosed.
I shook my head. "Just come up."
He gave the bottom rung a tug. "It's not going to hold me. Is there another route?"
"There must be, but it's a huge place. If you want to just stay down there, I can resolve this and--"
"No, I'll try." He gave the rung another test pull. "Please note, I'm not a gymnast."
"In other words, you'd appreciate it if I averted my gaze while you awkwardly try to haul yourself up?"
He rolled his eyes, but I did turn away. God forbid Gabriel should be seen doing something that might require actual effort. I suspected that was more of a concern than whether the rungs would hold his weight.
A few not-quite-stifled grunts as he got himself onto the ladder.
"How did you manage it?" he said. "That bottom rung was almost over my head."
"I, uh, had help. Ricky's here."
He stopped, standing on the ladder, his head still a few feet below the opening. "Ricky?"
"Gallagher."
He gave me a cool look. "I highly doubt we have any other mutual acquaintances who go by that moniker. The implied question was: what is Ricky doing here?"
"He was with me when I got the call."
"With you? Where?"
"Really?" I wanted to say, It was two in the morning. Do I need to spell it out? But Gabriel kept looking up at me with genuine confusion.
"I was at home. Asleep."
It still seemed to take a moment for him to make the mental leap. When he did, his eyes emptied, and that ice-cold stare blasted through me, and I felt like I'd just done something terrible. Something unforgivable.
I'd woken him in the middle of the night and dragged him out here, into a dangerous situation, expecting his help, and now he finds out I'm screwing around with another man? That was crazy on all counts--I hadn't woken him or dragged him or expected anything, and we weren't sleeping together or even moving in that direction. He was only annoyed that I hadn't told him about the relationship earlier. If I interpreted more, it was because I felt more.
That's why I hadn't told Gabriel I was seeing Ricky. Because of what it felt like, no matter how groundless that was. To feel guilty because a guy I wasn't dating found out I was involved with someone? That went beyond an overblown sense of fidelity and tripped straight into ludicrous.
After what felt like ten minutes of silence, he said, "I see." Another five seconds, then, "I wasn't aware you were seeing one another."