“You don’t know me.”

Patience, an endless well, seemed to fill him. He didn’t touch her, knowing it would make her run. He merely shrugged, the truth plain. “Yes, I do.”

“Stop saying that!” she seethed, and the sun played through the clear glass, a beacon to highlight the anger that overflowed. “You don’t know who I was!”

“Tell me.”

“I was nothing! A wraith with no feelings except the ones he gave me. With no thoughts except the ones he let me think. I was nobody except who he made me!”

Gabriel caught her hand then, brought it to his cheek. Molten rage churned inside him, but he corralled the fury, knowing she didn’t need his anger. Whether she could admit it or not, she needed him. “Tell me what happened to you, Erin.”

As quickly as resentment had taken her, it fled, leaving her drained. “I can’t,” she said tiredly. She raised her free hand in a gesture of defeat, then pressed it to her stomach, as though to hold the pain inside. “Not yet. I can’t.”

“What else do you want from me, Erin? What will it take to make you trust me?” Anger flashed, and he let it spill over. “I’ve worked beside you. I’ve taken everything you’ve told me on faith. All I have ever asked of you is the truth. But you don’t think enough of me to give me that.”

Erin shook her head, stunned. “It’s not you. God, Gabriel, I do trust you.”

“Then why the lies? Why won’t you let me all the way inside?”

“Because I can’t go back yet!” she railed. “I can still see Harmony’s body, Gabriel. I knew she was dead, but I still tried to save her. I knew why she was dead. Because of me. Because of what I’ve done.” She raised her eyes to his, begging for understanding. “I see him everywhere, and damn him, I can’t escape.”

“Let me help you. Tell me.”

On a nearly inaudible whisper, she said, “Tomorrow, I’ll be stronger. I promise.” She shook her head. “Today, I just can’t.”

He stepped closer, and she sidled away. Relentless, he pursued her, and when her spine met the window, he cupped her chin, his thumb resting lightly on the faint cleft. “Okay.”

Startled, she met his look. “Why?”

“Because I have time. And, though I didn’t know it before now, I can be terribly patient.”

“Why?” she repeated, in a voice so small it broke his heart.

“Because you need me to be.” He chuckled ruefully. “It seems I can also be sensitive. Who knew?”

Compelled, she moved into him. His hand slid to her throat and she tilted her head to hold his gaze. “Where’ve you been, Gabriel Moss?”