Page 40 of Gabe (Blue Team #2)

Extreme violence welled inside of me and I made a vow to gouge out the asshole’s eyeballs when he came back.

I didn’t tell Gabe any of that. I didn’t let on I heard what I heard. I did what I had to do and in a carefully measured tone, I answered him.

“Not very long. I almost have your legs apart. If I’m not hurting you I want to finish.”

“Evette, honey, come up here.”

I closed my eyes and kept them closed when I admitted, “I can’t. I’m barely holding on and I’m afraid if I slow down I’ll break. I have to be strong for you. I have to get you free.”

“Babe, please trust me and come up here.”

“I do trust you, but—”

“I have something that will help you.”

Help me?

I needed help. All the help I could get. So with my weapon in hand, I scooted on my bottom and stopped at his hips, careful not to jostle him.

“How bad is it?”

“You’re fine. What do you—”

“Babe. How bad?”

“Bad,” I whispered. “I haven’t checked under your shirt because with you not awake I was afraid I’d hurt you so I left you be. But there are two gashes that are still bleeding and I don’t have anything to stop it.”

“All right. In my wallet, I have a cuff key. My ribs are broken so this is gonna be tricky. I’m gonna roll as far as I can to the side and you’re gonna reach into my back pocket and get my wallet.

” Gabe paused and took in a labored breath.

“Here’s the thing and it fucks me to say this but I can’t lean too far to the side.

My ribs are fucked up and right now it burns to breathe.

If I twist too far and puncture a lung I’m more fucked. So I need you to be quick.”

Oh, God .

Punctured lung.

Gabe didn’t give me time to dwell. He leaned and I reached around feeling for his pocket. My fingers slipped in but I needed more room.

“Can you lean more?”

He nodded and groaned a low guttural sound that was similar to something a wounded animal would make but he did it. And as fast as I could I pulled out his wallet. Gabe righted himself and I opened his wallet.

“Behind my license.”

I found the key, closed his wallet, and stowed it in the back pocket of my jeans.

I felt around behind him, and without room to see I blindly felt for the cuffs.

It took agonizing minutes of Gabe leaning forward—and I say agonizing because Gabe was panting the whole time while I was trying to insert the key.

Finally, after several failed attempts I felt the key catch.

The cuffs opened and fell to the concrete with a clatter.

“I can’t believe you had a key,” I muttered in disbelief.

“Old habit.”

Thank God for that.

“I’m gonna work on your feet,” I told him.

But before I moved, my eyes roamed his face stopping on the worst of the cuts. Then my gaze met his and locked.

“Brave.” I shook my head in denial and he semi-repeated, “So brave.”

“I think you’re the bravest person I know, Gabe Harris, but how ’bout we argue about it when we get out of here.”

Then I watched as his fat, swollen, cut lips curved up into a bloody smile.

“All right, Evette. Cut my legs free while I get some circulation back in my arms. Then we’ll get out of here. ”

With renewed vigor, I went back to work on the zip ties and I found they were much easier to saw through with Gabe’s encouragement.

After the ties fell away he slowly bent his knees.

I knew the pain he was experiencing from the blood rushing to unused extremities.

Once the cramps subsided he asked, “Is the door locked?”

Shit. I forgot to check.

“I haven’t checked.”

“Okay, few things before we do. How long before me did you wake up? Do you know where we are?”

“I woke up in the car not long before we got here. I didn’t see anything but trees.

There was a lot of bouncing so I’m guessing it’s a dirt road.

We’re in a cabin. I was pretending to still be out so I didn’t look around but I did sneak a peek at the living room.

It’s not big—one open room with a kitchenette in the corner.

We’re in the last room down the hall. I counted three doors plus this one. ”

Gabe smiled and nodded.

“Good, babe. Now, tell me the truth, how long was I out this last time?”

I pinched my lips and since it was important I told him the truth.

“Long enough for me to crawl to you. Crawl back to the chair, bang it on the concrete until it broke, then come back to you and finish the disassembly. Best guess is almost an hour. Good news is, I made a ruckus and no one came in to check.”

“Okay. I need you to promise—”

“No, Gabe. No more promises.”

“Evette—”

“No,” I hissed. “Just no. I did what you asked. I didn’t watch.

I kept my eyes closed and I didn’t see a damn thing.

But I will not ever do that again. I won’t run and leave you behind.

I won’t stay quiet. I know you feel it is your responsibility to protect me but I want you to understand something—it is just as much my responsibility as it is yours.

We’re in this together. I’m the only team member you have right now and I will not ever leave you behind to save myself.

So don’t ask me to promise you because I won’t do it. ”

“Evette—”

“Don’t ask me to promise,” I snapped.

I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for Gabe’s face to turn cherry red under all that nasty bruising, yet right before my very eyes, his face turned a glowing ruby color.

The sound of the front door slamming cut off any further argument.

“What’s our plan?”

“Fight.”

“Um… you care to elaborate?” I scuffed.

“Fight like hell, honey. Swing your baton, kick, punch, scratch, bite, scream, spit, claw. Whatever you have to do—do it. Just keep fighting until you can get out the door. Then run like hell and don’t stop.”

“Gabe—”

“If I go down, there’s not a damn thing you’re gonna be able to do. The only way you can help me is to run until you find someone to help you.”

Okay. Shit. He was right. I couldn’t carry him over my shoulder to safety.

Punctured lung.

If that happened he could die.

He’d been shot, beaten, and lost blood.

We needed help.

“Okay. I can do this.”

“Yeah, honey, you can.”

I was lying. I’d never punched anyone in my whole life, but to help Gabe I’d find a way.

“Go by the door,” he told me. “When it opens, swing that as hard as you can at his head. And don’t forget the end is jagged; use that to stab and slice.”

Stab and slice.

Slice and stab.

Oh. My. God.

This was happening.

I scrambled to my feet, picked up my support bar that was seconding as a baton, and moved to the door.

Gabe stood much slower than I did and I now understood why I was at the door and he wasn’t.

He needed to get his bearings and if someone came in before his head stopped swimming he’d be useless to defend himself.

I didn’t want to think what it cost him by asking me to be his shield.

As I heard the footsteps coming down the hall all I thought was that I wasn’t going to let him down.

Gabe trusted me.

Those were my thoughts when the door opened and I swung with all my might.