Entwined With You

longer to heal. He played it so cool, but I should’ve known better. “The weekend after next, you want to fly out to San Diego? See my dad, our friends … maybe even Dr. Travis, if we’re up for it?”
    “Subtle, Eva,” he said dryly. “But yeah, sounds good. I may need you to front me some money, since I’m not working right now.”
    “No problem. I’ll make the arrangements and we can square up later.”
    “Oh, before you hang up. One of your friends called earlier—Deanna. I forgot to tell you when we talked before. She has news and she wants you to call her back.”
    I shot a look at Gideon. He caught my eye and something on my face must have given me away, because his eyes took on that familiar hard gleam. He headed toward me with that long, agile stride, the remnants of dinner carted neatly in the original delivery bag.
    “Did you tell her anything?” I asked Cary in a low voice.
    “
Tell
her anything? Like what?”
    “Like something you wouldn’t want to tell a reporter, because that’s what she is.”
    Gideon’s face took on a stony cast. He passed me to drop the trash in the compactor, then came back to my side.
    “You’re friends with a reporter?” Cary asked. “Are you nuts?”
    “No, I’m not friends with her. I have no idea how she got my home number, unless she called up from the front desk.”
    “What the hell does she want?”
    “An exposé on Gideon. She’s starting to get on my bad side. She’s all over him like a rash.”
    “I’ll blow her off if she calls back.”
    “No, don’t.” I held Gideon’s gaze. “Just don’t give her any information about anything. Where did you tell her I was?”
    “Out.”
    “Perfect. Thanks, Cary. Call if you need me.”
    “Have a banging good time.”
    “Jesus, Cary.” Shaking my head, I killed the call.
    “Deanna Johnson called you?” Gideon asked, his arms crossing his chest.
    “Yep. And I’m about to call her back.”
    “No, you’re not.”
    “Shut up, caveman. I’m not into that ‘me Cross, you Cross little woman’ bullshit,” I snapped. “In case you’ve forgotten already, we made a trade. You got me, and I got you. I protect what’s mine.”
    “Eva, don’t fight my battles for me. I can take care of myself.”
    “I know that. You’ve been doing it your whole life. Now, you’ve got me. I can handle this one.”
    Something shifted over his features, so swiftly I couldn’t identify whether he was getting pissed. “I don’t want you to have to deal with my past.”
    “You dealt with mine.”
    “That was different.”
    “A threat is a threat, ace. We’re in this together. She’s reaching out to me, which makes me your best shot at figuring out what she’s up to.”
    He threw up one hand in frustration, then raked it through his hair. I had to force myself not to get distracted by the way his entire torso flexed with his agitation—his abs clenching, his biceps hardening. “I don’t give a shit what she’s up to. You know the truth, and you’re the only one who matters.”
    “If you think I’m going to sit around while she crucifies you in the press, you need to revisit and revise!”
    “She can’t hurt me unless she hurts you, and it’s possible that’s what she’s really after.”
    “We won’t know unless I talk to her.” I pulled Deanna’s card out of my purse and dialed, blocking my number from showing on her Caller ID.
    “Eva, damn it!”
    I put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter.
    “Deanna Johnson,” she answered briskly.
    “Deanna, it’s Eva Tramell.”
    “Eva, hi.” The tone of her voice changed, assuming a friendliness we hadn’t yet established. “How are you?”
    “I’m good. You?” Studying Gideon, I tried to see if hearing her voice had any effect whatsoever. He glared back, looking deliciously pissed off. I’d become resigned to the fact that whatever his mood, I always found him irresistible.
    “Things are churning. In my line of work that’s always good.”
    “So is getting your facts straight.”
    “Which is one of the reasons I called you. I have a source who claims Gideon walked in on a ménage composed of you, your roommate, and another guy, and flew into a rage. The guy ended up in the hospital and is now pressing assault charges. Is that true?”
    I froze, my hearing drowned by my roaring blood. The night I’d met Corinne, I’d come home to find Cary in a four-body sexual tangle that included a guy named Ian. When Ian had