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“Mikel, you never need to apologize for caring,” Gabriel said, his chin no longer jutting in the air.
Mikel rubbed his hand over his face. “Bien.”
“What will happen to Odette?” Gabriel asked.
When Mikel opened his eyes, they had that flat, deadly look that made Quinn wonder about her boss’s past. “She is being treated for her injury in the high-security prison’s infirmary. I will be interrogating her myself.”
“Is she on suicide watch?” Quinn asked. “She meant it when she told me to shoot her.”
Mikel nodded. “I can assure you that she will spend the rest of her life incarcerated, knowing that she failed. As will Jean-Pierre Dupont and the sniper. The rest of the team that abducted you will be identified by Kodra, and we will arrest them as well. No one will remain unpunished, including that cabrón of a plastic surgeon.”
Quinn wouldn’t want to be any of those people facing Mikel in avenging-angel mode. However, they each deserved all the hellfire he would rain down on them.
She checked on Gabriel to see him staring out the window, his expression thoughtful. “All of them punished,” he murmured before turning back to Quinn. “My appetite for revenge seems to have faded.”
“Mine has not.” Mikel glanced at his watch. “I have to go.”
“One question that’s been bothering me,” Quinn said. “How did Odette get into the house with that gun? You checked everyone going in and out of Finca de Bruma. Except your people, of course.” It felt good to know she was one of those.
Mikel winced. “It was already in the house. It belonged to Gabriel’s grandfather, a gift from an American naval officer after World War II ended.”
“Dios mío! My father kept it—and the ammunition for it—in a locked glass-fronted display cabinet with the family swords. Raul and I were fascinated by all those weapons when we were kids,” Gabriel said. “Once there were no more children in the house, Papa would leave the key on top of the case.” He scowled. “So we handed Odette the weapon she tried to use against us.”
“She would have found another one,” Quinn said. “She was so crazy, she might have gone after Raul with one of those swords.”
Mikel looked at his watch again.
“Will you push Odette about Iowa?” Quinn asked as Mikel started toward the door. “That’s going to bother me until we get an answer.”
Her boss nodded as he turned back to her. “I am proud to call you my colleague.”
Before Quinn could speak through all the pride and gratitude that swamped her, Mikel gave a brief bow to Gabriel and walked out the door.
“Wow! That was intense,” Quinn said.
“It has been an intense two days,” Gabriel said quietly as he picked up the fresh shirt the hospital had provided. They were in the VIP wing, of course, which had high-level amenities as well as security.
Quinn took a deep breath. “Let me help you with the shirt. You don’t want to pull out your fresh stitches.”
“Gracias.” Gabriel surprised her by holding out the neatly wrapped shirt without argument.
She set it on the bed and tore off the plastic, busying her hands with unbuttoning it. “Thank you again for saving me. I—no one has ever done that for me before.” She swallowed. “But I agree with Mikel. If you’d been seriously hurt or…or worse, I would have felt responsible.”
“The only person responsible would have been Odette Fontaine.” Gabriel’s tone was stern. “Don’t take her crimes on your soul.”
“She’s the one who hurt you so much.” Quinn’s hands went still as she looked up at Gabriel. “I wish I had shot her through the heart.”
He shook his head. “She’s the one who brought you here to me. I would willingly sacrifice my ear—and my shoulder—all over again for that.”
“Stop!” Quinn’s heart somersaulted in her chest. “Don’t even think that.”
“I don’t think it. I feel it. You are the gift that came from my pain.” His voice throbbed with intensity.
Hope blossomed inside her. But it was hard to admit she had made a mistake. Even harder to imagine he would want her back.
Just as she was about to speak, there was a commotion outside the room. The door opened, and a large man in a dark suit scanned the room before he said, “The king would like to speak with you.”
Luis swept into the room, and the large man closed the door. Quinn dropped into a curtsy, while Gabriel leaped to his feet and bowed.
