Page 19

19

K night pulled back the covers and noticed the soaked clothes. “Saint, turn around, please.” He gently sat Gabby up and began to tug at her shirt.

She shook her head and gripped the bottom with all her strength. “No.”

“You’re soaked, and shivering. Let’s get you warm,” he coaxed. When she gave a slight nod, he removed her arms from the material and then over her head. Taking astep back, he removed his sweatshirt and placed it over her, helping get her limbs through the sleeves. Gabby whimpered as his fingers touched her cold skin.

“Turn the heat on high. I’ll bring her out in a second,” he ordered as he gently lifted her and removed the sodden pants from her hips. “Gabby, I’m wrapping you in a blanket.” Setting her on the bed, he tugged the material the rest of the way down and off her ice-cold feet. Muttering a curse, he removed his boots and socks and rolled them on her. Slipping back into his boots, he jerked a blanket from the bed and wrapped her from the waist down. He leaned down and picked her up into his arms. Instead of relaxing into his hold, she felt stiff.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“It’s almost 1830,” he informed her.

“I need to go to Peggy’s Diner. Jackie’s waiting for me. Where’s my phone?”

“It’s sitting on the floor with your purse.”

Saint walked in.

“Can you please gather her purse and phone?” Knight asked as heheaded toward the vehicle. Taco held the door open as Knight placed her in the back seat, covering her with another blanket Shadow passed him.

Saint slid into the front seat while Shadow stepped back. “One of Victoria’s men will pick me up. I’ll meet you at home.”

“I need to get to Peggy’s Diner. Jackie’s there. I need the files,” Gabby pleaded to Saint as she ignored Knight beside her.

Saint glanced at Knight before he asked, “Does this have anything to do with why someone’s trying to hurt you?”

Gabby shakily nodded. “I asked my assistant to bring my files. Then I can contact the FBI,” she admitted. “I need to call and tell her I’m on my way. She’ll arrive any minute.”

Taco drove them across the city as Gabby frantically called Jackie. Her assistant’s phone went straight to voicemail. “I don’t understand. She always answers when I call.”

“I thought you waited tables,” Knight spoke quietly.

“You’ve thought wrong about many things,” she snapped.

Knight leaned back in his seat, realizing he didn’t know the woman beside him. His fun-loving, easy-to-forgive wife seemed hostile and cold. He knew he deserved every bit of her anger. Knight didn’t know where he lost himself, but in the process, he destroyed them. The one thing he desired the most he had wrecked.

They pulled into the parking lot. Gabby searched for Jackie’s car. “She’s not here, yet.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “She must’ve gotten stuck in traffic.”

“We’ll give her thirty minutes and then leave,” Knight ordered. “You’re freezing. I don’t know what you’re involved in. Do you think she may be in danger?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m the only one who figured it out. Jackie promised to bring my files where I put the ledgers.”

“What do you do?” he asked her.

She stared straight ahead as she answered him, “I manage an accounting firm.” Turning to face him, Gabby’s face held no emotion or expression. “I quit the diner a year and a half ago when they offered me an intern position and hired me when I received my master’s degree. A transfer to the Seattle office opened up and I accepted it. After all, California didn’t hold anything else for me. You made sure of it.”

Silence filled the car as the damning statement struck him like a blow to his face. Everything he believed shattered before his eyes. While he became obsessed with hunting down a monster, his wife moved on with her life. One, which didn’t include him.

The minutes ticked by and she pressed her face against the glass, searching for her friend.

“Gabby. We need to return,” Knight insisted. “If she returns your call, I’ll come to Seattle and retrieve them. We need to get you into warm clothes.”

Gabby peered at Saint. “Does Serenity have a hotel?”

Saint turned to Gabby. “There’s a bed and breakfast. You’re welcome to return to our house. Bryanna’s beside herself worried about you.”

She turned to scan the parking lot one last time. “I’ll leave Jackie a text. It’s possible she forgot, but I’m worried. I didn’t say anything to her about what I found.”

Taco pulled out of the diner parking lot and onto the road leading to Serenity. “With your condition, I think taking you to Doc and PITA’s hospital for a quick assessment might be better. Plus PITA may have a place for you to stay.”

“PITA?” Gabby asked.

Saint chuckled. “You aren’t the only woman who keeps us on our toes. PITA is our team’s nickname for Kassie. We raced to save her but she saved herself. In the process, she shot Leo in the ass. Our team refers to her as PITA, AKA, pain in the ass.”

Gabby giggled.

“She seems nice. Can you tell Bryanna…I understand. But I’m not ready to speak with her yet,” Gabby confessed.

“Wounds heal with time. Why don’t we take you to the hospital? PITA will check you out. Once we’re assured both you and the baby are fine, we’ll need you to tell us what’s in those files and who’s after you,” Saint said as they drove out of Seattle.

Gabby trembled but nodded. Knight attempted to hold her fingers to offer support and she moved her arm, refusing any comfort from him. The gesture cut him like a knife.

She texted Jackie’s number and waited for a reply.

It’s Gabby. You must’ve gotten held up. An acquaintance of mine will pick up the files from you. Let me know when you receive this message.

Frowning, Gabby placed her phone in her purse.

Laying her head against the seat, she closed her eyes. A few minutes later, her head lolled to the side as she fell asleep. Knight brushed the damp hair from her face. His gaze scanned Gabby from head to toe. Weariness overtook him as he recalled all his blunders over the last year and a half. The Gabby he knew threw her arms around him and kissed him repeatedly until they laughed and forgave each other. While he’d rescued strangers from across the world, he felt at a loss on how to save his marriage.