He stared at her like the ground had opened under his feet. His hands dropped from her wrists and he stepped back once. His chest rose and fell hard, but his face was empty of color.

“You should not have seen that, Isabel,” he said quietly. His voice was calm in a way that made her skin prickle. He rubbed his palm down his thigh as if steadying himself.

She flinched and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “So I was right,” she said, her breath jerking. “You brought a gun and ...