"Right. Let me guess. Your friend didn't come to see you this week, did he?" Gabriel asked without looking at her.
"No one did. If anything, you probably didn't tell him where I was. I know you don't like him."
"You trust Wynn more than Gabriel," Andre observed.
"Yes," she said.
"If Wynn were to tell you something about your illness, good or bad, you'd listen?"
"Of course."
Gabriel shifted in either frustration or anger. He didn't break their touch, so she focused on Andre.
"Gabriel," Andre said. "Bring Wynn here."
"I don't like that, Andre."
"She will not be open to you until this is cleared up."
Deidre clenched her jaw to keep from speaking. She wasn't going to fall for whatever trick they played.
"Son, bring him here," Andre said with the gruffness of an older brother. "I'll make sure he talks."
"Yeah, Gabe, bring him here," Deidre echoed. "That way I know you haven't killed him."
"When you hear what he has to tell you, you'll wish I had, Deidre."
His quite regret made her uneasy. Through their connection, she actually felt the emotion. He was reluctant, because he didn't want to hurt her. She broke the contact. Gabriel cared about her. Sometimes. She didn't understand him.
Without another word, he summoned a portal and left.
"I should've taken the bait, huh?" she asked Andre.
"It wasn't bait, dear. You are between Death and well, Death, right now."
She laughed, not expecting the joke.
"Would it have been easier on you if you heard it from either a complete stranger or someone you can't quite figure out? Yes," he continued. "But easier is not the choice we made. You're right. You've been backed into a corner, and you've shut out everything. We have to open you back up."
"Sounds painful."
He didn't deny it as he moved around the kitchen. He retrieved her glass from the basin of the sink and poured her more wine. Her hands were sweating as she accepted it. She deliberated over how strange it was to experience Gabriel's emotions, even if briefly.
Gabriel reappeared at the other end of the penthouse, trailed by Wynn. Her longtime friend was impossible to read, as usual, and she saw the similarity in features between him and Andre.
"We'll leave you to talk," Andre said, raising his glass in greeting to his father.
She watched, curious about how father and son might interact. One warm, the other cold, both self-assured, polished. Aside from the greeting, there was no warmth between them at all. Andre waved a wary Gabriel away from the kitchen. He took up a protective stance within direct sight of them, so still, he seemed like a statue.