Page 34 of The Last Grift
“I still haven’t heard from Gordon.” Elton’s voice was laced with concern. “Coulda lost his phone or something, I guess, but I worry about him. Think I might go check on him today.”
The memory of the two bullies at the gas station popped into Gabe’s mind. He hoped he hadn’t made trouble for Gordon, but he didn’t regret teaching the assholes a lesson about who not to fuck with.
Gabriel was about to ask Elton if he needed or wanted company, even though he knew he should get over to theTicketso he would have his own place to sleep sooner rather than later, when there was a knock at the door.
“Expecting someone?” His pulse raced as he worked to keep his voice calm. He hadn’t been fully awake yet, but he was now. It said something that he hadn’t heard a vehicle or approaching footsteps.
Had he been so careless that the Colavito henchmen had found him already? How could anyone—much less Paul and Bart Anderson—have figured out where he’d decided to run to? Gabe hadn’t even known where he was going.
Shit.
He rocked his body forward, intending to stand up. Try to stand up.
“Not really.” Elton pushed to his feet much easier thanGabriel had. “But folks do stop by on occasion, just like you did the other day.”
Before Elton could shuffle to the door, the person on the other side hammered on it again.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Give an old man a break.”
“Elton, it’s Casey, making sure everything’s alright.”
The now familiar yet irritatingly sexy growl made Gabriel’s jaw clench, his molars grinding against each other. He chose to ignore the other reactions from his body, like the spark in his gut.
“What is this guy’s problem?” he muttered under his breath as he sat down again. Was there somewhere Lundin avoided? That was where Gabriel wanted to hang out. Maybe. Again, Gabriel resolutely pushed away last night’s dream.
Ignoring Gabriel’s query, Elton opened the door. “Good morning, Casey. I’ve got coffee on. Can I top up your cup?” Magic words in the Pacific Northwest.
Scowling, Casey didn’t answer. He looked past Elton, directly at Gabriel. If it was possible to be burned to a crisp by a mere glance, Gabriel would have been vaporized.
“Thanks, but my travel mug is full.”
“Come on in.” Elton moved to one side so Lundin would be rude if he continued to refuse.
Lundin started to shake his head but stepped across the threshold. Elton shut the door behind him and trundled into the kitchen.
Not acknowledging each other, Gabriel and Lundin watched Elton pluck a clean mug out of the dish drainer and pour coffee into it. Gabriel sipped at his brew. He refused to make small talk. Lundin was doing his best to make life harder for him, so he could fuck right off.
“Here you go, save your travel coffee for later.” Elton handed the mug to Lundin and started for his chair again. “No reason why we can’t have a civilized cuppa before getting on with the day’s business.”
Gabe allowed his gaze to drift to Ranger Man. At the park the other night, he’d estimated the guy was in his mid-thirties, and his assessment had been right. Gabe’s thoughts should have stopped there, but they took a detour, noting that Lundin was very fit, filling out his uniform much better than Smokey the Bear probably did. Unlike the idiots at the gas station, Lundin’s auburn beard was clipped and close cut, which Gabe found stupidly hot. He was always drawn to guys with nice beards.
No. No. No.
The Ranger may be hot and tick far too many of Gabe’s boxes physically, but his personality left a lot to be desired. He wasn’t in the market for romance of any kind with anyone. History proved he didn’t make the best choices—not even reasonably good ones. Lundin was a grouchy asshole and if Gabe decided that didn’t matter, there was probably some other unmanageable character flaw. He’d trusted Peter and look where that’d gotten him.
“Did you stop by for civilized conversation? I can’t imagine Bowie’s lacking in that,” Elton said when he was comfortable in his recliner again.
Lundin’s sideways gaze snagged Gabe’s. Oops. Ranger Man raised a dark red eyebrow. The glance confirmed what Gabriel suspected: Lundin was checking up on him, making sure he hadn’t made off with the silver.
Admit it, Chance. You aren’t finding that as annoying as you should.
Dammit. Character flaw, he reminded himself.
What could he tell Elton? That he’d ticketed Gabriel for trespassing? Big fucking deal. That he didn’t trust Gabriel? Well, get in line, he wasn’t the only one. Maybe he’d run the Honda’s plates and knew the car wasn’t registered to Gabe.That could be a problem. Could park rangers do that? It was probably a good thing he was leaving the con life behind; Gabe just wasn’t equipped for dealing with new-to-him levels of law enforcement anymore.
“Let’s see.” Lundin looked at Gabe again before focusing on Elton. “I’m checking in because I worry about you. You need a dog. There’s an older hound at the rescue right now. If you don’t want to drive over to meet her, I bet Nina would let me bring her to you.”
Elton made a sound that told Gabe they’d had this conversation more than once.
