interesting about me. I've always been too busy with school or my job to get into much trouble."
His pacing stopped at the fireplace and he stared into the gilt-framed mirror as if not recognizing the reflection. "I've been hiding for four years," he said brusquely. "But if we want to have any relationship beyond the superficial, you need to know the truth."
Val felt as if ice water had been poured over her. "Are you a...a fugitive from justice?" The name Robert Smith sure sounded like a pseudonym.
"Nothing criminal on my part, though for a couple of years I saw way too much of the justice system. I walked away from my old life because...because..." He stopped again. She hardly breathed, not wanting to spook him.
When he spoke again, he took a different tack. "Do you recall hearing about an environmental terrorist who called himself the Avenging Angel?"
"Jeffrey Gabriel, self-righteous destroyer of projects built on coastal wetlands," she said promptly. "Started with simple arson and moved into fire bombs. Four people died in his fires and a dozen more were injured, along with millions in property damages. He was torching developments for something like eight years before they caught up with him in Texas. I saw him on television. He had the coldest eyes I've ever seen."
Rob pivoted sharply away from the fireplace. "It's time to quit before things get ugly. I'm sorry, Val. I should have kept my interest to myself."
She was off the sofa in a shot. "You can't walk out in the middle of this! Were.. were you involved in setting those fires? A co-conspirator who wasn't caught?"
"It would have been easier if I had been." He looked down at her, his pale eyes like ice. "I'm the Avenging Angel's brother."
She gasped, riveted by Rob's eyes, which were so like those of the man she'd seen on television and in newspapers. Dear God, no wonder he was haunted.
"You're Robert Smith Gabriel," she breathed. "The man who turned him in."
Chapter 9
∗ ∗ ∗
Rob tensed at the sight of Val's shocked expression. He should have known she would be familiar with the whole sordid story. "Right--the cold-hearted computer tycoon who blew the whistle on his own brother. Cain slays Abel. There was quite a media feeding frenzy at the time." He turned the doorknob. "Good night, Val. Let's pretend I left right after packing my files and forget anything else happened."
She caught his wrist in a light but tenacious grip. "You must carry a world of guilt about this, but you did the right thing. When the story broke, I was awed by the incredible courage it took to do what you did. I've wondered sometimes how much it cost you." She studied his face, then shook her head. "I saw pictures of you then, but I would never have recognized you under that beard."
"Which was the point. To eradicate Robert Smith Gabriel. Easy enough to drop the Gabriel and become generic Robert Smith. It worked, until tonight."
"Now that you've started, why not tell me the whole story?" Her voice was very gentle. "A nightmare shared is a nightmare tamed."
He hesitated, torn between a desire to bolt back into the rabbit hole where he had been living since Jeff's arrest, and an equally powerful desire to talk with Val, who had no judgment in her eyes, only acceptance.
"Come sit down," she said. "You can tell me as much or as little as you want."
Her words tilted the balance toward talking. Val was the first person he'd met who made it possible to imagine a life beyond paralyzing guilt and betrayal, so maybe it was time to bare his soul. She already knew the essentials; he wondered how she would handle the grim details that had festered inside him for so long.
When he gave a jerky nod, she tucked a hand in his elbow and guided him back to the sofa, taking the chair opposite herself. "You weren't kidding about the media feeding frenzy," she said. "They loved that you were a Silicon Valley honcho while your younger brother was burning down marinas and expensive
His pacing stopped at the fireplace and he stared into the gilt-framed mirror as if not recognizing the reflection. "I've been hiding for four years," he said brusquely. "But if we want to have any relationship beyond the superficial, you need to know the truth."
Val felt as if ice water had been poured over her. "Are you a...a fugitive from justice?" The name Robert Smith sure sounded like a pseudonym.
"Nothing criminal on my part, though for a couple of years I saw way too much of the justice system. I walked away from my old life because...because..." He stopped again. She hardly breathed, not wanting to spook him.
When he spoke again, he took a different tack. "Do you recall hearing about an environmental terrorist who called himself the Avenging Angel?"
"Jeffrey Gabriel, self-righteous destroyer of projects built on coastal wetlands," she said promptly. "Started with simple arson and moved into fire bombs. Four people died in his fires and a dozen more were injured, along with millions in property damages. He was torching developments for something like eight years before they caught up with him in Texas. I saw him on television. He had the coldest eyes I've ever seen."
Rob pivoted sharply away from the fireplace. "It's time to quit before things get ugly. I'm sorry, Val. I should have kept my interest to myself."
She was off the sofa in a shot. "You can't walk out in the middle of this! Were.. were you involved in setting those fires? A co-conspirator who wasn't caught?"
"It would have been easier if I had been." He looked down at her, his pale eyes like ice. "I'm the Avenging Angel's brother."
She gasped, riveted by Rob's eyes, which were so like those of the man she'd seen on television and in newspapers. Dear God, no wonder he was haunted.
"You're Robert Smith Gabriel," she breathed. "The man who turned him in."
Chapter 9
∗ ∗ ∗
Rob tensed at the sight of Val's shocked expression. He should have known she would be familiar with the whole sordid story. "Right--the cold-hearted computer tycoon who blew the whistle on his own brother. Cain slays Abel. There was quite a media feeding frenzy at the time." He turned the doorknob. "Good night, Val. Let's pretend I left right after packing my files and forget anything else happened."
She caught his wrist in a light but tenacious grip. "You must carry a world of guilt about this, but you did the right thing. When the story broke, I was awed by the incredible courage it took to do what you did. I've wondered sometimes how much it cost you." She studied his face, then shook her head. "I saw pictures of you then, but I would never have recognized you under that beard."
"Which was the point. To eradicate Robert Smith Gabriel. Easy enough to drop the Gabriel and become generic Robert Smith. It worked, until tonight."
"Now that you've started, why not tell me the whole story?" Her voice was very gentle. "A nightmare shared is a nightmare tamed."
He hesitated, torn between a desire to bolt back into the rabbit hole where he had been living since Jeff's arrest, and an equally powerful desire to talk with Val, who had no judgment in her eyes, only acceptance.
"Come sit down," she said. "You can tell me as much or as little as you want."
Her words tilted the balance toward talking. Val was the first person he'd met who made it possible to imagine a life beyond paralyzing guilt and betrayal, so maybe it was time to bare his soul. She already knew the essentials; he wondered how she would handle the grim details that had festered inside him for so long.
When he gave a jerky nod, she tucked a hand in his elbow and guided him back to the sofa, taking the chair opposite herself. "You weren't kidding about the media feeding frenzy," she said. "They loved that you were a Silicon Valley honcho while your younger brother was burning down marinas and expensive
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