Erin could hear Jessica’s shrieking cries but only had eyes for Gabriel. Stumbling, Erin made her way to him, meeting him near where Nathan had died. Gabriel cradled her bruised cheek in a cautious hand. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t kill him.” The immensity of her vindication crumpled her into an exhausted heap. “She did it,” Erin sobbed in a broken litany. “Gabriel, I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill him.”

Crouched beside her, Gabriel could do nothing but hold her as she wept. When she subsided, Gabriel gained his feet and scooped her body into his hold. Purple colored her cheekbones, swelled the ripe mouth he adored. He’d let her walk in alone. She’d never be alone again. Giving voice to his oath, he pledged, “I’m taking you home.”

ERIN AWOKE TO find herself swathed in crisp cotton sheets. And nothing else. Her jaw ached from Jessica’s gun, and her stomach growled in hungry protest. Next to her, Gabriel sat on an upholstered chair, feet propped on the bed. She realized, with a start, that he’d been there for hours. Dawn hadn’t broken, but the sky was lightening.

She watched Gabriel, flooded by emotions too huge to comprehend. Shadows bruised the skin beneath his eyes. Stubble darkened his chin. One hand held hers in an unyielding grip. Touched, Erin pressed a kiss to the warm skin. Gabriel blinked once.

“You’re awake,” he murmured in a voice scratchy from sleep.

“Why are you over there?” Erin patted the empty space beside her. “You didn’t have to sleep in a chair, Gabriel.”

“I didn’t want to crowd you.”

The wide expanse of the king-size bed belied his explanation. “Are you trying to tell me something?” she teased.

Gabriel didn’t smile. Instead, he loosened his hold on her and stood up. “I’m sorry, Erin.” He stalked over to the balcony, where the drapes framed the Golden Gate Bridge. Fog hung low over the night city, a gauzy blanket over the pastel and stucco houses below.

Pushing her tangled hair away from her face, Erin struggled to sit up without dislodging the sheet. When she finally managed to lean against the headboard, she remarked evenly, “You have nothing to apologize for. You saved my life.”

“I put your life in jeopardy.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, afraid to touch her now that she was awake. Through the long night, he’d grappled with his guilt. He’d get this out before he asked her the question that would complete his life. “Before I bullied you into helping, you were safe.”

“I started investigating on my own. I found the clues.”

“You wanted to quit.”