My gaze locked with Gideon’s and gave me away. One darkly winged brow arched upward, and the corner of his mouth lifted in amusement.
“Hello to you, too,” he teased, in reply to my heated look.
The two men behind him stood in contrast with their bespoke but starkly basic black suits, white shirts, and unembellished black ties all perfectly arranged.
I’d never really noticed before how superfluous Angus and Raúl appeared when standing beside Gideon, a man who could clearly manage a hand-to-hand confrontation without any help.
Raúl stood stone-faced, as per his usual. Angus, too, was stoic, but the mischievous glance he sent my way told me he’d caught me eye-fucking his boss.
I felt my face get hot.
Stepping back and out of the way, I let them in. Angus and Raúl headed into the living room where Cary waited. Gideon hung back with me as I shut the door.
“You’re giving me that look, angel, but you wanted Angus with me. Explain.”
That made me laugh, which was just what I needed to break the tension. “How can I help it when it looks like you were stripping when I called you?”
“I can finish here.”
“You realize I may have to burn all your clothes after the wedding. You should always be naked.”
“Would make for interesting meetings at work.”
“Umm … maybe not, then. For my eyes only and all that.” I leaned into the door and took a deep breath. “Anne’s made contact with Cary since the dinner.”
All the warmth and lightness left Gideon’s eyes, replaced by a chill that warned of bad things ahead.
He started toward the living room. I raced to catch up, linking our hands to remind him that we were in this together. I knew it was a concept that was going to take some getting used to. Gideon had been standing alone for so long, fighting his own battles and those of the people he loved.
Taking a seat on the coffee table, he faced Cary and said, “Tell me what you told Eva.”
Gideon looked ready to tackle Wall Street while Cary looked ready to tackle a nap, but that didn’t seem to impact my husband at all.
Cary ran through it all again, his gaze darting occasionally toward Angus and Raúl, who stood nearby. “That’s it,” he finished. “No offense, guys, but you seem like a lot of muscle for a redhead who’s maybe a hundred twenty pounds soaking wet.”
I would’ve pegged Anne at a hundred thirty, but that was neither here nor there. “Better safe than sorry,” I said.
He shot me a look. “What can she do? Seriously. What’s everyone all anxious about?”
Gideon shifted restlessly. “We had an … affair. That’s not the right word. It wasn’t pretty.”
“You fucked her,” Cary said bluntly. “I figured that much.”
“Fucked her over,” I elaborated, stepping closer so I could rest my hand on Gideon’s shoulder. I supported my husband, even though I couldn’t condone what he’d done. And truthfully, the part of me that was obsessed with Gideon pitied Anne. There had been times when I believed I’d lost Gideon forever, and I had gone a little crazy myself.
Still, she was dangerous in a way I could never be, and that danger was directed at people I loved. “She’s not taking it well that he’s with me.”
“What? Are we talking Fatal Attraction–type stuff ?”
“Well, she’s a psychologist, so Fatal Attraction meets Basic Instinct would be more accurate. It’s a Michael Douglas marathon wrapped up in one woman.”
“Don’t joke, Eva,” Gideon said tightly.
“Who’s joking?” I shot back. “Cary saw her in that long wig she wore to the dinner. I’m thinking she wanted him to recognize her so they could chat.”
Cary snorted. “So she’s crazy town. What do you want me to do? Let you know if I run into her again?”
“I want a protection detail on you,” I said.
Gideon nodded. “Agreed.”
“Wow.” Cary rubbed at the five o’clock shadow on his jaw. “You guys are hard-core about this.”
“You’ve got enough going on,” I reminded him. “If she’s got an agenda, you don’t need to deal with it.”
His lips twisted wryly. “Can’t argue with that.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Angus said. Raúl nodded, and then both men headed downstairs.
Gideon stayed behind.
Cary looked back and forth between us, then stood. “I don’t think you two need me anymore, so I’m hitting it. I’ll catch you in the morning,” he said to me, before sauntering down the hall to his bedroom.
“Are you worried?” I asked Gideon when we were alone.
“You are. That’s enough.”
I took the spot on the sofa directly across from him. “It’s not so much worry. More like curiosity. What does she think she can accomplish through Cary?”
Gideon exhaled wearily. “She’s playing head games, Eva. That’s all.”
“I don’t think so. She was very specific in her comments to me at the dinner, warning me away from you. Like I don’t know you and wouldn’t want you if I did.”
His jaw tightened and I knew I’d struck a chord. He’d never really gotten into what they had talked about when he went to her office. It was possible she’d said something similar to him then.
“I’m going to talk to Anne,” I announced.
Gideon pierced me with his icy blue gaze. “The hell you are.”
I laughed softly. My poor husband. So accustomed to having his word be law and then choosing to marry a woman like me. “I know we’ve covered a lot of ground over the course of our relationship, but somewhere in there we did discuss working as a team.”
“And I’m open to doing that,” he said smoothly, “but Anne is not the place to start. You can’t reason with someone who’s completely irrational.”
“I don’t want to reason with her, ace. She’s targeting my friends, and she thinks I’m a weak spot for you. She needs to know I’m not helpless, and that by taking you on, she’s taking on both of us.”
“She’s my problem. I’ll deal with her.”
“If you’ve got a problem, Gideon, it’s my problem, too. Listen. Operation Gideva is in full effect now. My inaction is only making this situation with Anne worse.” I leaned forward. “In her mind, either I know what’s happening and I’m too weak to do something or you’re hiding everything from me, which suggests that I’m too weak to handle it. Either way, you’re making me a target and that’s not what you want.”
“You don’t know what’s in her mind,” he said tightly.
“Things are a little twisted up there, sure. But she’s a woman. Trust me, she needs to know I have claws and am prepared to use them.”
His gaze narrowed. “What would you say?”
A little flare of triumph had me holding back a smile. “Honestly, I think it’s enough if I just pop up somewhere unexpected. An ambush, so to speak. That’ll shake her a little, to find me lying in wait. Will she go on the defensive or take the offense? We’ll get insight from her reaction, and we need it.”
Gideon shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
“I didn’t think you would.” I stretched out my legs between his. “But you know I’m right. It’s not my strategy that’s bugging you, Gideon. More like your past won’t go away and you don’t want it in my face.”
“It will go away, Eva. Let me handle it.”
“You need to be more analytical about this. I’m a member of your team, like Angus and Raúl, but obviously I’m not an employee and I’m sure as hell not a dependent—I’m your better half. It’s not just Gideon Cross anymore. It’s not even Gideon Cross and wife. We are Gideon and Eva Cross, and you need to let me live up to that.”
He leaned forward, his gaze hot and intense. “You don’t have anything to prove to anyone.”
“Really? Because I feel like I have to prove something to you. If you don’t believe I’m strong enough …”
“Eva.” Gideon’s hands cupped the back of my knees and pulled me closer. “You’re the strongest woman I know.”
He said the words, but I could see he didn’t truly mean them. Not in the way we needed him to. He saw me as a survivor, not a warrior.
“Then stop worrying,” I countered, “and let me do what I have to do.”
“I don’t agree that you have to do anything.”
“Then you’ll have to agree to disagree.” I leaned into him, draping my arms across his broad shoulders and pressing my lips to the corner of his stern mouth.
“Angel—”
“To be clear, I wasn’t asking permission, Gideon. I’m telling you what I’m doing. You can either participate or stand back—your choice.”
He made a noise of frustration. “Where’s the compromise you’re always pushing me for?”
Pulling back, I shot him a look. “The compromise is letting me try it my way this time. If it doesn’t work, we try it your way next time.”
“Thanks.”