Page 29 of Undercover
We set off around the edge of the room, Gabe leading us roughly toward a display of photos and memorabilia set up on the other side, near where an older couple were holding court.
Gabe’s parents, I could tell immediately, both by their proprietary air and by the way the man looked so much like Gabe. He didn’t have Gabe’s appeal, and he was a few inches taller, but the light eyes and light hair, long straight nose, and slim build were unmistakable. Gabe’s mother had darker hair and eyes, and yes—the younger man approaching her from the other side had to be Dave, Gabe’s older brother. He’d gotten his father’s height but his mother’s coloring.
Gabe’s family. Shit, how would I be feeling if I were here for the reasons Gabe thought? If I were here for what I’d started to realize I wishedweremy reasons.
This was why I’d never done any real undercover work. I didn’t mind lying to perps, if I had to, but lying as a lifestyle didn’t fucking work for me.
And I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Gabe, after our disastrous first date, that he deserved better.
It didn’t help that Dave superficially fit the physical profile I’d meant to look out for tonight. If I compounded my deception by arresting Gabe’s brother for drug smuggling, Gabe would never forgive me.
We circled around a knot of laughing people swilling champagne and came out right in front of the Middletons. Gabe swallowed audibly at my side, but when I looked down at him he’d pasted on a bright society smile that any debutante would’ve envied.
“Mom, Dad,” he said, with only the faintest trace of anxiety showing. Jesus, they really had trained him for this. The back of my neck already itched with the desire to get out of here. No wonder he’d fled to the quiet, nerdy safety of a chemistry lab the second he could. “Dave.”
Dave nodded, Mr. Middleton offered his hand for a manly shake—seriously, even my old-school father hugged me, Jesus—and Mrs. Middleton went in for a kiss on the cheek.
“Gabriel,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re here. Introduce me?” She gave me a quick, subtle once-over that I might’ve missed if I hadn’t been looking for it. Her expression didn’t change at all from the smile she hadn’t lost once since I’d been watching her.
Gabe froze, his eyes going wide, and the hand on my arm tightened painfully.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’d never told him my last name. Not even a fake last name.
How badly could I fail at being a fake boyfriend? Let me count the fucking ways.
“Alec Borodin,” I put in smoothly. “Pleasure to meet you. Thanks for having me.”
Did I imagine that slight wince from Gabe’s dad? Well, at least the fake name didn’t matter. I doubted he’d have been much more pleased by Kaminsky.
Gabe’s hand went from painful to simply tight. “Alec, I’d like to introduce you to my parents, Mark and Blythe, and my brother Dave.”
“David,” Dave said in a tone that clearly invited me to call him Mr. Middleton or preferably nothing at all. “Nice to meet you.” His sneering once-over had a lot less subtlety than his mother’s.
“And how do you know each other?” Mark said, reaching out for my hand, this time. He narrowed his eyes at me, but at least he didn’t do the try-to-break-my-hand thing.
“We met in a bookstore.” I tried to smile, but I could feel my resting pissed-off face taking over. “Nothing like mutual interests to bring people together.”
Gabe shot me a grateful look. I could tell by his faint air of continuing panic he hadn’t spent any time figuring out how he’d explain meeting me in a way that didn’t sound borderline insane.
“How nice,” Blythe put in. “Our Gabriel’s always been a bookworm.”
Mark snorted. “Science fiction doesn’t count, Blythe.”
The contempt in his voice pushed a button I didn’t even know I had. How the fuck dare he dismiss his own son like that?
“I read science fiction all the time,” I said, knowing it came off as belligerent and not caring. Fuck it. I’d never see these people again, and maybe if I defended Gabe now, he’d hate me a little less when he found out why I’d attached myself to him in the first place.
And then it hit me, viscerally, the thing I’d been shoving away since we got involved:Gabe would find out. I’d end up telling him once I’d completed the portion of the investigation involving Middleton Marine. I’d see his face go from affectionate and curious to crumpled and distraught. He’d shout at me. Tell me he never wanted to see me again.
It didn’t matter what I did from here on out. That was already the future. No way around it.
My head swam a little, and I had to swallow back a wave of nausea.
Fuck. Standing here, meeting Gabe’s parents, I’d already lost him. I hadn’t meant to want to keep him.
Who knew what I might have said next if Dave hadn’t spoken first. “Is this your first time at an event like this, Alec?” he asked, full of faux-concern. “Please tell us how we can make you more comfortable. We don’t have a science fiction reading room, of course, but other than that.”
Jesus Christ, Gabe had been right about his brother. Gabe started to sputter, Mark and Blythe both smiled. Dave wore a smirk I wanted to wipe off his face with my fist.
