Page 7 of Gabe (Blue Team #2)

“Bad timing,” Ivy told me and I glanced over the rim of my mug. “Yesterday all the babies were here and you could’ve seen Maxine. She’s getting so big and don’t tell anyone I said this but Kyle is hot when he gets all big daddy and possessive over his daughter.”

Ivy didn’t have a thing to worry about. I was never going to call Kyle Smith “big daddy,” not even when repeating a story.

Besides, I’d already heard from Anaya how crazy Kyle was with his daughter.

Another thing I was happy my friend had.

It made losing her to Maryland worth it.

I missed Anaya. She and Kyle had come to Riverton to see me a few times but I hadn’t made the trip out here to see her.

My friend, being kind and sweet, said she understood my fear of flying but I knew she was disappointed I hadn’t been out to see her new house and meet her new friends.

As I stared at Ivy it dawned on me what she’d said and I couldn’t stop the hysterical burst of laughter.

Bad timing.

I suppose you could call a gun to your head bad timing—though I called it bad luck.

“Yeah, I would’ve liked to have seen Anaya and Maxine,” I told Ivy. “But I have the feeling Kyle is going to keep them far away from me. ”

And I understood why. Being anywhere near me could be dangerous.

“Eh.” Ivy waved a hand in front of her. “The guys will have this sorted in no time and you can see them before you go home.”

My heart started to pound in my chest and it had nothing to do with getting back on a plane. There were several other modes of transportation I could use to get back to California. The mere thought of going back to my apartment gave me heartburn.

Or was it that I was lonely? That I had a sad, narrow life?

Sure I had friends. And after Piper had hooked up with Ace she’d done her best to include me in her new family.

I’d been invited to plenty of cookouts at Gumby’s—incidentally, Gumby’s real name was Decker.

He and Sidney hosted parties all the time.

Their place seemed to be the family gathering spot.

All of Ace’s teammates were great, their women were even better.

And now Kalee was home but I was still restless.

Not restless for adventure. I was a homebody. But something was missing. I knew what the something was but I was actively pretending I didn’t. Acknowledging I knew meant I’d have to admit what I wanted and I wasn’t at a point in my life where I could handle more disappointment.

I knew I’d never have what Piper, Anaya, and Kalee had. I was too boring, too set in my ways. I’d rather stay at home and watch a movie or read a book than go to a bar. Which was a turn-off for most men.

But I still wanted what my friends had and I’d never have it, so I was living in denial that I wanted it.

“Hey,” Gabe said from the doorway. “You about ready to leave?”

Leave?

Oh, shit. I had nowhere to go, no money.

I’d ditched my phone then found an ATM. Unfortunately, I had a daily limit as to how much cash I could withdraw. A limit I’d stupidly lowered in case someone got a hold of my bank card.

As soon as this was over, I was raising the limit. I’d learned a valuable lesson about being on the run—cash was king and I was fresh out .

Damn.

I’d need to book a hotel with my credit card.

Then they’d find me .

I’d already taken a chance having to book my flight. Which, let me tell you, costs a whack to book a same-day flight at the airport. The ticket was quadruple what it would normally cost. Or maybe it was so expensive because I had to take the redeye and change planes twice.

Now it was Saturday.

Wait, Saturday ? Why were all these people working on a Saturday?

My mind was racing so fast I was nearing panic.

“Hey, Evette,” Gabe called.

“I need a bank. I ran out of cash.”

“Why do you need cash?”

“To book a hotel.”

“A hotel?”

I vaguely heard the surprise in Gabe’s voice but I was descending into mania.

“Is that possible these days? Do hotels even rent rooms without ID and a credit card?”

Oh, God, I was going to have to stay at a rent-by-the-hour, no-tell motel.

Um, gross .

I knew what went on in those rooms. I’d written a piece about prostitution.

A side note, hookers were extremely forthcoming about their activities.

I was shocked to find that some of them enjoyed their profession as they called it.

Others did it as a means to an end to get themselves through school.

Okay, so, I was interviewing high-paid escorts, not streetwalkers but still.

“Babe, hey, look at me.”

I must’ve completely zoned out because when I blinked Gabe was in a crouch right next to me. His hand was on my knee. Again, his hand placement was friendly but that didn’t stop the thrill from tingling up my leg straight to my—nope, not gonna go there.

No way.

No how .

“I’m out of cash,” I repeated.

“No, babe, you misunderstood. You’re coming with me.”

I wasn’t sure I misunderstood as much as Gabe hadn’t properly explained.

“Where are we going?”

“To a safehouse.”

Okay, a safehouse sounded good. A safehouse sounded safe. I could seriously use a safehouse right now.

“I can pay for it,” I quickly told him, remembering the way Zane complained about people not paying their bills. “I have money—”

“Family doesn’t pay.”

“But I’m not family.”

“Yeah, Evette, you are. You’re Anaya’s best friend.”

That was really nice but still.

“I feel like I should pay. Zane was pretty vocal about clients paying their invoices. And he doesn’t look like a man who sends his past dues to a collection agency.”

Gabe’s face broke out into a wide smile and that thrill raced straight to my girly parts. Again.

“You’re right about that,” Gabe confirmed.

“Puh-leeze,” Ivy huffed. “As if my husband knows which accounts are past due. And anyway, don’t scare Evette. Zane’s all bark.”

My gaze went to Ivy and I gave her my best “are you crazy” look.

“Fine. He bites. He also growls and hisses. But with women, he’s all bark. Unless you’re a rogue CIA agent, then he’ll shoot you.”

Eek .

I was happy to report I was not a rogue CIA agent. Though there seemed to be a story behind that comment and I loved a juicy story.

“CIA?” I prompted.

Ivy leaned forward and whispered, “I’ll tell you later when Owen’s not around. But for the record, Zane didn’t actually shoot her, he just threatened to. Though the bitch is dead.”

Double eek !

“I think you should hold off telling her about Ashaki,” Gabe said and pulled himself from his squat. “Or maybe not tell her at all.”

“Why? I wanna know about Ashaki.”

“Yeah, Evette, and you’re not hiding it. I’m waiting for you to pull out a notebook and pen.”

Damn.

“I would never write about something a friend told me.”

“I didn’t think you would. But let's get you through this trauma before you go digging up dirt on a dead CIA agent, a sex trafficking ring, a crime boss, and Owen’s woman.”

“Owen’s woman?”

Gabe’s expression became guarded and I immediately regretted my question.

“Owen’s woman,” he confirmed.

Alrighty, that conversation was closed.

“Before we leave may I speak to Kyle?”

“Yeah, he’s waiting for us in the conference room.”

Gabe helped me out of my chair which was totally unnecessary but gentlemanly and I followed Ivy out of the breakroom.

Which wasn’t like any breakroom I’d ever seen.

It looked more like a kitchen you’d find in a really nice house.

Top-of-the-line appliances, black marble countertops, a large dark-wood table in the middle of the space with nice, padded chairs.

Even the walls were painted a calming gray.

As a matter of fact, the whole office was done in grays varying from cool bluish undertones to a deep stormy color.

All of the accents were chrome. The whole space looked masculine and sterile.

Professional, if you were in the business of putting satellites into space.

But what caught my attention was the large glass enclosure that took up a large portion of the cavernous space.

The first time I’d walked past and saw the glass was clear, now it was smoked out.

“What’s in there?” I asked.

“Garrett calls it command central,” Ivy told me.

“It’s Garrett’s office,” Gabe corrected.

“It’s cool the way the glass changes,” I noted.

“When he needs privacy he tints the windows,” Ivy said. “Or when Zane’s having a baby fit, then Garrett closes himself in and so Zane forgets he works here.”

I couldn’t imagine Zane having a baby fit. A man fit, sure. A behemoth fit, absolutely.

I decided to leave that alone and focus on what I was going to say to Kyle. I needed to apologize for showing up unannounced and bringing my troubles to his work.

Unfortunately, the stroll through the office wasn’t that long and Kyle was standing outside the conference room waiting for me.

Damn .

I wasn’t ready.

But this was Kyle, I shouldn’t have been scared. He’d proven time and time again he was a good guy. No, he was the best. And he proved it once again when he pulled me into a bear hug and squeezed the breath out of me.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I do. I brought this mess to you. And put Anaya in danger.”

Kyle separated from me but kept his hands on my shoulders and dipped his chin so he could maintain eye contact.

“Listen to me, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’d be seriously fucking pissed if you found yourself in trouble and didn’t come to me for help. You did the right thing and now we’re gonna get you safe.”

“I shouldn’t’ve been poking around,” I admitted.

“No, you shouldn’t’ve. But you’re Evette.

You love your friends. You stand up for what’s right.

We all should’ve known you were going to get to the bottom of what happened to Kalee, Piper, and Anaya.

It’s what you do. I just wish that when you started this you would’ve reached out and asked for help.

We could’ve kept you safe while you were looking. ”

His offer shocked me. So much so I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “You wouldn’t have stopped me?”

“Fuck no. I would’ve flown to California and driven you here myself so you could have access to Garrett. You could’ve gone anywhere on the web and done it in a way that wouldn’t trace back to you. ”

“But I want them to die,” I whispered my horrible secret. “I want them all to pay for what they did.”

“Yeah?”

I jerked in surprise and stared at him in stupefied silence.

“Do you really think you’re the only one?

There was a time when it was all I thought about, every day, several times a day I wished I could go back to Timor-Leste and kill every fucking rebel I could find.

Over time that nonstop need faded, but you don’t think there are times when I look at my baby girl and my gut doesn’t clench?

If Anaya had made the smallest of missteps they would’ve killed her.

I wouldn’t have my wife or my daughter. One wrinkle and I wouldn’t have them.

Some days it eats at me, then I hear Anaya laugh or watch her with Maxine and the knot loosens and I remind myself that didn’t happen.

She’s alive, she married me, and we created a beautiful little girl.

I’ve never asked but I reckon Ace and Phantom feel the same.

No one blames you for wanting justice. But hear this, Evette, none of us wants you putting your life on the line for it. ”

All the words I wanted to say clogged my throat, making it impossible for me to speak. Impossible for me to thank him. And since I couldn’t express my gratitude I nodded.

“I’m going to take Anaya and Maxine and go to Wyoming. When we get there I’ll explain what’s going on.”

Right, he didn’t want me around his wife and daughter. I understood but it still broke my heart. I missed my friend and really wanted to see Maxine in person.

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t. You think I want to keep her from you but we’ve had this vacation planned and I’m using it as insurance to prevent Anaya from jumping in on this crusade.

You know my wife; she catches wind you’re here and why, there will be no stopping her.

She’ll be in the thick of it plotting and planning and next thing I know she will have talked you into flying to Timor-Leste to kick rebel ass.

That is, after she secures a prescription for sleeping pills so she, Tatiana, and Emerson can carry you on the plane.

It’s my guess Eva would stay behind but that would only be the case because someone would have to babysit.

I’m saving myself from the ass-kicking I’d receive from my team when my wife ropes all of theirs into whatever revenge you’ve planned. ”

Well, when Kyle explained it made sense. Anaya was the adventurous one. She was brave and smart and wouldn’t bat one of her pretty eyelashes flying back to Timor-Leste.

“When you get to Wyoming may I speak to her?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thanks.”

“Did Gabe tell you he’s taking you to a safehouse?”

“Yes.”

“Good. He and Cooper will stay there with you.”

Wait. What ?

Gabe was staying there, too.

“The house isn’t far from here. I called Thad, Max, and Brooks. They’ll be keeping an eye out and working with Gabe’s team. This shouldn’t take long and you’ll be safe to go back to your normal life before you know it.”

There it was again—back to my boring, humdrum, lonely life.

But before I could sink too far into the miserable thoughts, my mind wandered back to Gabe staying at the safehouse with me.

And suddenly the house didn’t feel so safe.

Whatever strange feeling I got when he was next to me, and the way my body reacted to him, was more than worrisome. It was downright terrifying.

Scarier than having a gun to my head.

A pull of the trigger would’ve ended my life.

But falling for Gabe would cause a lifetime of hurt.