Panic roiled in Erin’s stomach, greasily displacing any lingering heat. A reporter. A man paid to ferret out secrets and expose them to light.

“I apologize for bumping into you, Mr. Moss. Genevieve, I will see you tomorrow. Good day to you both,” she replied stiffly. She hurriedly bent to retrieve the bag sprawled at her feet. Gabriel knelt at the same instant, and they collided, head to chin. He lifted the satchel with one hand and helped her to stand with the other. Baffled by the shift from cautious flirtation to formal dismissal, he murmured for her ears only, “You make quite an impact, Erin.”

She flushed and pulled away. Then, dropping any pretense of dignity, she hurried away.

Gennie followed his watchful stare and considered. Her enigmatic colleague and her curious brother. The match had potential, but she knew better than to interfere. But she could mock. “Gabriel? Hello? Anybody in there?”

Drawing his eyes away from the metal door that had swung shut behind Erin, Gabriel turned his attention to his sister and away from skittish Dr. Abbott. His fingers still tingled, but the sensation would fade. “If you came after me to talk about the paper, you’re wasting your time, Gennie.”

“Mirren Enterprises isn’t worth this, Gabe. You’ll go to the offices, they will say something snide, you’ll hit somebody, and they’ll call the police.”

“One time. I hit Jacoby one time.” Gabriel shifted with defiant embarrassment. “If he hadn’t mentioned Dad—”

Genevieve curled her arm through Gabriel’s and led him inside an empty classroom. She settled on the teacher’s desk. “Sit down, Gabriel.” She imperiously pointed to the chair behind the desk, but Gabriel remained standing.

Alert and ready, he balanced his weight on the balls of his feet, as though expecting attack. Unconsciously, he angled himself between Genevieve and the open door, able to monitor both the hallway and the world beyond the window. He caught Genevieve’s disapproving look and shook his head.

“I can’t let them win. They stole the Chronicle from us, and now they’re coming after the Ledger. I won’t let them have it. It’s all we have left of Mom and Dad.” He shook his head in fierce denial. “They can’t have it.”

“Of course not.” Genevieve leaned forward, imploring. “Why not drop the Adams story? That’s what they’re angry about. There are other stories out there. This is New Orleans.”

Familiar temper ripped through him. “Bert Adams’s trial is front-page news because I dug it up. I found out about the prostitutes and the real estate deals. I tracked the money. I wrote the damn copy!”

“And Mirren Enterprises bought the paper from the stockholders.”

“He fired me for telling the truth.”