Page 27 of Gabe (Blue Team #2)

Three things happened simultaneously.

There was a loud burst of laughter from the phone.

Gabe winked.

Then he grinned.

It was a playful, boyish grin full of mischief.

He was at ease. I was a little stunned and a whole lot mesmerized by the shift in his demeanor.

It wasn’t that I’d never heard Gabe laugh, or seen him smile.

It was that there was always an underlying stiffness.

No, that wasn’t it, maybe detachment. As if he wasn’t fully committed to the idea of being happy.

But something was different and that more than anything had caught my attention.

“I just want it on record, that not only was I not present for any butthole conversations I don’t subscribe to any such themes when it comes to my butthole.” Cooper paused and smiled. “However, I am a huge fan of it the other way around.”

“TMI,” Gabe mumbled.

“Just to point out, you brought it up.”

“On that note, I’m hanging up,” the voice over the phone said. “I’ll hit you up when we land.”

I thought it was Myles but I hadn’t spent a lot of time speaking to him or Kevin before they’d taken off. And when they called in I hadn’t been included in those conversations. But before I could ask for confirmation, the papers strewn on the counter caught my attention.

“SITREP and police report,” Gabe told me.

“May I take a look?”

The boyish left Gabe’s grin leaving only the mischief when he said, “If I told you work could wait until the morning would you heed my suggestion and come to bed?”

I felt heat hit my cheeks and my gaze cut to Cooper to find him highly amused and shaking his head.

“Don’t look at me, babe,” Cooper started. “I’m over here minding my own business.”

“It was worth a shot.” I heard Gabe mumble before he moved to the fridge and opened it. “Hungry?” he asked over his shoulder.

“You can’t help yourself, can you?” I smiled.

I instantly regretted my offhanded remark and I only exhaled the breath I was holding when Gabe chuckled.

“About as much as you can control your nosiness.”

“I prefer to call it an inquisitive nature,” I huffed.

“You can call it whatever you want, but right now your nature is delaying me getting something I want so I’ll call it nosiness.”

He was teasing me.

And for some silly reason, my heart started to pound.

It was playful, carefree, normal, and it almost made me forget there was a do not enter sign up ahead. I couldn’t let myself get anymore caught up in Gabe. This was all a game meant for fun, not for keeps.

My thoughts turned sour and now my heart was pounding for a different reason. Pain so acute it pulsed through me.

Why did Kalee, Piper, and Anaya get to find their happy and I was stuck in the rut that was my lonely life? Why couldn’t I have what they had?

Actually, the better question was, why was I cursed?

Standing in front of me was a man who excited and interested me in every way yet he hadn’t minced words.

Fun and sex, that was all he wanted. So I’d take what I could get and when I got home to California I would contemplate how cruel the universe was.

“Well, me and my nosiness can take the police report back to my room, lock the door, and see you in the morning if you’d prefer.”

“Honey.”

“Is that an answer?”

“Quit fuckin’ around and read the report.”

“Someone’s testy,” I groused even though I was secretly pleased he was impatient.

Gabe’s stare sliced to Cooper then back to me. The dazzling smile didn’t bode well for me.

“You’re lucky Coop’s here or I’d demonstrate just how testy I can get.”

“Just forget I’m here,” Coop invited.

“Pervert,” I uttered under my breath and picked up the police report.

“Oh, darlin’, you have no idea.”

“You mind not flirting with my woman?”

My eyes stopped moving across the page and the words blurred.

My woman .

Twice he’s called me that.

Cooper chuckled.

Gabe growled.

Cooper said something but I didn’t hear what it was because my mind was reeling.

Why’d Gabe call me his woman? I wasn’t his anything.

“Besides, y’all are the ones who were talking about butt plugs.” I heard Cooper say when my brain started functioning again.

“No one was talking about butt plugs,” Gabe said.

“Well, how the hell else is your butthole threatened if a butt plug isn’t involved.”

Oh my God.

I can’t…

I couldn’t.

I tried my hardest to contain the laughter that was bubbling up but I lost it.

Totally and completely. Belly-aching, gut-busting, deep-from-your-soul laughter spilled out of me until tears rolled down my cheeks.

And even then, I couldn’t stop it. I fanned my face and pinched my lips in an effort to stop but that made it worse and it sounded like I was making some sort of weird mouth-flatulent noise that only made me laugh harder.

Throughout this, I was oblivious to what the guys were doing. All I could see were two watery figures. And I couldn’t hear anything over my own hilarity.

“It wasn’t a butt plug,” I sputtered and tried to gain some sort of control. “It was Ex-lax.”

“Ex-lax is no joking matter,” Gabe deadpanned.

I choked on another laugh. I did it so hard this time my arms went around my stomach and I bent forward. I felt a hand curl around the back of my neck and squeeze.

I pulled myself together, thinking about how shitty my luck was.

How much I loved Gabe teasing me. How much I enjoyed the banter between Gabe and his friends.

How Owen, Cooper, Gabe, Garrett, and the others reminded me of Phantom and his friends.

Close as brothers. They laughed a lot and poked fun at each other.

How much I wanted this for myself and I’d never have it.

“Sorry, I’m good,” I said.

“Yeah, you are,” Gabe said under his breath.

I focused on the paper in my hand and scanned the police report instead of the way my heart flipped over and my belly tightened.

Why couldn’t this be real?

It took an enormous amount of concentration but I pulled myself together and started reading. Nothing stood out as important. I picked up the autopsy report and again nothing. Then I read Delilah’s email to Garrett. When I was done I read it again.

Please keep her safe.

Why would Delilah Watts want me safe?

Garrett’s response was also included and I noted the reply was sent before Gabe and I had gone into the office. Zane hadn’t needed me to reach out to Delilah, he’d already instructed Garrett to do it. And according to the return email, Zane was offering Delilah protection.

“Zane has a cabin outside of Riverton?” I asked .

“No. Abe does,” Gabe told me.

“Abe? Does he work for Z Corps, too?”

“No. Abe is a retired SEAL. Sometimes if we’ve got something going on that requires more manpower Zane will call Abe and his team to help.”

“That’s nice of Abe to loan Zane his cabin.”

Gabe’s lips twitched and one side of his mouth tipped up in a lopsided smile.

“Yeah, well, Zane did pay a fortune to remodel the place after the last time Zane used it. Alabama—that’s Abe’s wife—was pretty pleased with the upgrades.”

“Zane remodeled Abe’s cabin as payment?”

“No, honey. He remodeled it because while Leo was hiding Olivia there the bad guys found them and half the house was taken out by an RPG.”

My eyes widened in shock. Bad guys? RPG?

“I see you wanna sink your teeth into that story, too. How about we get you through your drama first then I’ll fill you in on everyone else’s.”

Drama.

That was one way to describe what I was in the middle of. It actually sounded better than calling it what it was—attempted murder all because I couldn’t mind my own business.

“So, Zane thinks she’s on our side.”

“No. I already told you this; no one thinks anything. We’ll do what we have to do to protect you.”

“Zane’s not offering protection, he’s setting a trap.”

I didn’t like that. And it was a good thing Zane didn’t need me to reach out to her because I wouldn’t help him detain her.

It might’ve taken me getting safe to understand that Delilah was helping me and at the same time warning me to be careful, but now that I did, I wouldn’t allow Zane and the others to treat her like an enemy combatant.

“It’s not a trap in the sense that harm will come to her.

We need to question her and to do that we have to find her.

Delilah’s on the run, she doesn’t want to be found, she’s been vigilant, she’s been cautious.

So you tell me, Evette, why does a woman run and do it in a way that doesn’t leave a trail? ”

I could think of a few reasons.

“Because someone is after her.”

“Right. Now the question is why. Is she running from us or Abrams?”

“Abrams,” I quickly answered.

Gabe sighed and shook his head.

“Honey, I get you wanna believe she’s on your side.

And I’m not saying she isn’t. Delilah might very well be.

But you need to get this—I will not under any circumstances put your life at risk.

I need more than might bes and looks likes before I believe she’s helping.

And then I need a hell of a lot more before I trust her. ”

“But, Gabe—”

Gabe’s face turned to stone and his eyes narrowed before he shook his head.

“No, Evette. No buts. We’re working to bring her in.

No harm will come to her. But saying that, Delilah Watts is not my responsibility.

You are. And I will not allow anyone who I deem a threat close to you.

My only priority is keeping you safe. That’s it.

” Gabe paused and some of the harshness went out of his features before he continued.

“You said you trusted me. So now I’m asking you to please do that. ”

I did trust Gabe. If he said no harm would come to Delilah I believed him.

“I trust you,” I told him.

Gabe tightened his hand on the back of my neck and he put pressure there, bringing me closer while he dipped his head. He finished this maneuver with a kiss on my forehead.

“Thank you,” he murmured his gratitude against my skin and I closed my eyes.