Not a Hero

by Cherise Sinclair

  He’d been damn pissed at their deliberate destruction of what people were trying to build. Barbarians versus civilization.

  Only…these two had chosen a dying town and to live in the bush, obviously to escape civilization. Now, an influx of people was ruining their primitive sanctuary. They wanted their world to stay the same. The men were scared and cornered and, like animals, had fought back.

  Unfortunately, no one could prevent change, no matter how much he spray-painted and destroyed.

  “All right, here’s how I see it. I can give you over to be prosecuted. You’d probably end up in prison, a tax drain on our law-abiding populace. Or you can visit each business you screwed with, tell the owners what you did, and work off the damage…within a month’s time. In addition, I want your word you’ll stop this shit.”

  When Baumer started to speak, Gabe shot him a warning look. The officer settled back in his chair.

  Knox stared at Gabe. “You’d let us go? After fighting with you?”

  “That fight was the best five minutes I’ve had since I started this job. Yeah, I’m taking a chance here, but neither of you would do well in prison.” It would feel too much like he’d be locking up the sarge. Mako’s PTSD would’ve gone through the roof if he’d been put behind bars.

  Under Knox’s long mustache, a muscle twitched.

  Chevy opened and closed his hands repeatedly. He had kids. A wife.

  No matter their hatred for Gabe, the new businesses, and the tourists, neither man wanted to go to jail.

  “I’m serious about you paying for the damages.” Gabe shook his head. “My oath is to the citizens here—to protect them. If they don’t feel they’ve been recompensed, we’ll have a problem.”

  Knox’s gaze met his. He was openly furious at being caught, furious at being trapped, furious at being indebted to Gabe, let alone the businesses that were destroying his world. “I’ll do my part.”

  Chevy looked like a badger with its paw caught in a trap. “Same.”

  Their voices, their body language, their eyes held no lies. Good enough.

  “I’ll hold you to that.” Gabe pulled out his handcuff key. “Let me get those off so you can get started.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Sunday morning, Audrey scowled at the loud staccato rap on her door. Gabe had said 9 a.m., and he was annoyingly on time.

  And if she complained, he’d probably tell her the sun had risen hours ago. It had. This crazy state. Last night, the sun had still been up at 11 p.m., and who could go to bed before sunset?

  But tired or not, she couldn’t sleep late this morning. Just not possible. Because Gabe was gorgeous and terrifying, and just seeing him, let alone hearing him, made her go weak in the knees.

  And because she’d been to bed with him. That so wasn’t who she was. She wasn’t a woman who did one-night-stands with police chiefs. That would be someone like Brooke.

  Audrey was a nerd—a brilliant one, true, but…a nerd. Socially inept, somewhat clumsy…sheesh, look how well her moose encounter had gone. That was who she was. Being with Gabe today would undoubtedly leave her feeling as stomped as if she’d tried to pet that moose.

  However, if he wanted to teach her about Alaska, she should take advantage of it.

  Putting her shoulders back, she pulled open the door. Bright morning light streamed into the cabin, blinding her. Then something blocked the light—a body. Squinting, still half-blinded, she realized she was staring at Gabe.

  His faded red flannel shirt was open enough she saw the edge of his collarbones above the thick muscles of his chest. The base of his corded neck had a tantalizing hollow.

  Oh, wow. Swallowing hard, she stepped back and looked up.

  Well, hmm. He’d demanded this appointment, but he wasn’t bursting with enthusiasm, was he? His carved face held no expression. His dark blue eyes were unreadable.

  She glanced past him. No moose. Didn’t that figure?

  Noticing her frowning at the cars, he shook his head. “I checked. We are moose-free at the moment.”

  “Okay.”

  His gaze took her in. He nodded approval of her lightweight boots, one of the first things she’d purchased in Alaska.

  Her jeans got a frown.

  “What’s wrong with my jeans?”

  “You’ve lost weight. More weight.”

  Men. A girl just couldn’t win. She’d thought her hips looked better. “I’m not sick—I’m just not used to such an active job.”

  “Ah.” His keen gaze lifted to stab her in the eyes. “What did you do before?”

  “I did a lot of sitting.” She smiled. He already knew she was lying about her name. Why give him more ammunition?

  A crease appeared in his lean cheek. “You’re a frustrating wench.” His scrutiny resumed. “The T-shirt and hoodie work. Do you have a waterproof jacket?”

  “Waterproof?” She frowned at the blue sky.

  “Weather on the Peninsula changes quickly. Stuff a jacket in your daypack.”

  “My what?”

  He nudged her inside. “I’ve seen you carrying a small pack. Get that.”

  But she’d put her wallet and keys in her jeans so she wouldn’t have to carry anything. Aaand she could see from his face that arguing wasn’t the right response. “Right.”

  She’d bought the lightweight backpack to carry her laptop when she walked to town. After emptying it, she stuffed her waterproof jacket inside.

  Returning from his Jeep, Gabe gave her a plastic grocery bag with several items inside. “Add that in. From now on, you wear your daypack anytime you go hiking.”

  She added the plastic bag to the backpack. “What’s in there?”

  “Bunch of stuff. Bug juice—repellent. A bottle of water and a filter. Couple of granola bars. Sunscreen. Matches and greasy cotton balls. A multi-tool.” He thought for a second. “First aid kit. Space blanket, hand warmers, socks. Compass, flashlight, and whistle.”

  She stared at him. “Do you have this stuff sitting around?”

  “It’s extras I had lying around. I figured you wouldn’t have much, and you need these to stay safe.”

  Stay safe. She dropped her gaze, and her eyes prickled with tears. He was such a protector.

  “Come, Goldilocks. Let’s get going.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. When he looked down at her, his gaze softened for a second.

  And her insides melted.

  Later that day, Audrey lay on a riverbank beside Gabe. As the sun soaked into her shoulders, her calves ached and burned. Hiking up and down trails was far different from walking around in a bar.

  And, boy, Gabe had walked her. And talked.

  In fact, her brain felt overstuffed with information. Moose precautions. Scaring off black bears as opposed to protecting vulnerable body parts from brown bears that didn’t scare. And she’d seen a brown bear that would be called a grizzly if it’d lived inland. Talk about scary.

  He pointed out the nasty cow parsnip plant that’d burn a person who blundered into it. And countered that with amazing views of the Kenai Mountains. The river was lovely, too—an impossible blue-green color.

  She could now recognize alder. “Good for smoking salmon.” And spruce trees—and the spruce grouse. A ptarmigan had burst out, almost from under her feet, and she’d landed on her butt.

  Then a woodpecker loudly hammering a tree above her had startled her into a squeak that made Gabe laugh.

  She’d never realized woodpeckers were so big.

  Speaking of big, nothing compared to the size of the bald eagle that’d landed on the riverbank to tear apart a fish. Its head would be level with her waist.

  Beside her, Gabe sat with his back against a tree, playing with a strand of her hair. Why did she like that so much?

  “Now that you’ve lived here awhile, are you enjoying Alaska?” he asked.

  How in the world could she answer that? “It’s not what I expected,” she said finally. “It’s—”

  A rus
tling sound from behind them made her stiffen. “Bear.” She grabbed Gabe’s hand, ready to run.

  “Not a bear, a bull,” he said. “Listen. The thud-thud indicates a two-legged animal. A human.”

  Seriously? Her hearing didn’t work like that. “Then—”

  “It’s Bull,” he said. “Not many people are as heavy, and he has a slight hitch in his stride.”

  She stared at him. She could barely hear the footsteps, and he could tell who it was?

  Bull stepped out of the thick forest on the path that led to the road. Despite the chill, he only wore a T-shirt covered by a flannel shirt. Like Gabe, he had a daypack. “Hey, you two.”

  With a breath of relief, Audrey settled cross-legged on the blanket. “How’d you know we were here?”

  “Gabe left word where he planned to take you, and I saw the Jeep beside the road.”

  “Oh.”

  “Always leave word where you’ll be hiking.” Gabe’s smile flickered. “You know, so someone can rescue you…or retrieve the body.”

  Men had such a warped sense of humor. “That’s not funny.”

  “Just the truth.” Bull smiled at her. “But rescues aside, sometimes you get good stuff when people know where you are. You know, like bribes.”

  “Yeah?” Gabe raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah.” Her boss set down his pack, pulled out a bottle of beer, and passed it to Gabe before winking at Audrey. “Want one?”

  How could she resist? “A beer would be lovely, thank you.”

  He handed over a bottle, took one for himself, and leaned against a tree. “By the way, Chief, your two graffiti artists showed up at the roadhouse and are working their asses off. You’re not their favorite person right now—neither am I—but they are trying. Reminds me of when Mako made us rebuild the meat cache after we’d misjudged felling that tree.”

  With a smile at Audrey, he added, “When we were cutting down a dead spruce, the trunk caught on another tree—something we should have predicted. The spruce came down and smashed the platform where we stored meat in the winter.”

  “Those were good days.” Gabe chuckled.

  Wait a minute here. Audrey gave Bull, then Gabe, a long stare. “You said, ‘Mako made us’. Does that mean you two grew up together?”

  “I guess I never told you, did I?” Gabe patted her knee. “Yes, Bull’s my brother. Caz too. The scrawny Hispanic you met at the roadhouse the other night.”

  He meant the devastatingly gorgeous, leanly muscled Hispanic? Then again, Caz and Bull called Gabe old man. Brothers were weird. “Does anyone in town know you men are siblings?”

  “Only a few.” Bull flashed his signature grin. “The sarge only had a couple of friends in Rescue—and when we visited him, we weren’t into being sociable. I was building a business in Anchorage, and Caz was in grad school and being a nurse practitioner. Gabe was in LA, then South America. And Hawk—hell, like always, he was off getting shot at.”

  “I see.” She took a long gulp of beer. Dante and Lillian knew about the guys being brothers, and maybe Sarah, too, since the coffee shop owner seemed to know everything about everyone.

  But sheesh, these guys took private to a whole new level.

  Gabe took a drink of beer and then waggled the bottle. “Why don’t you tell me what the bribe is for?”

  “I’m supposed to remind you about the town council meeting this evening. As chief of police, you’re expected to be there.”

  “It’s good to have expectations,” Gabe said mildly.

  “Listen, old man…”

  Why did Bull sound so worried? “He’ll be there,” Audrey told Bull.

  Gabe lifted an eyebrow. “Will I?”

  “Well, yes, of course. It’s your job, your duty, and I know you take that seriously, even when it makes you unhappy.”

  Bull’s grin was wide. “You have a good read on him, woman. Looks like I’ll see you both tonight.”

  “Me?” Her mouth dropped open. “I don’t need to—”

  “If I have to go, so do you.” Gabe gave her a really mean look.

  Uh-oh. She’d really over-reached her bounds. “Oh my, it’s getting late, and I should get cleaned up. If you’re leaving now, Bull, how about I catch a ride with you?”

  As she started to rise, Gabe gripped her hand and drew her back to the blanket. “I don’t think we’re finished here, Goldilocks.”

  “But…”

  Gabe waved his brother along. “See you later, Bull.”

  Bull’s booming laugh sounded before he disappeared into the forest.

  Audrey frowned at Gabe. “I thought you said we were finished hiking.”

  “We are. There might be a couple of other things to finish up.” He ran a finger over her lower lip.

  Tingles spread from his light touch in a wave over her skin.

  “Other things.” Her voice came out husky.

  “I could be wrong.” He bent. His mouth brushed against hers. Tantalizing. Tempting.

  Oh, the way he kissed… Needing more, she leaned into him. Gripping his shirt, she resisted when he started to straighten.

  He huffed a laugh. “Or not.”

  “Yep.” His mouth settled on hers again, firmer, claiming a response.

  Her mouth opened under his. And as everything inside her melted, he pressed her back onto the blanket. His weight came down on her, his hand behind her head.

  Unable to help herself, she put her arms around his shoulders. His lips turned upward against hers as he smiled.

  “You planned this, didn’t you?” she whispered.

  “This, no. I did want to talk with you.” Fingers tangling in her hair, he tugged her head sideways and nibbled a place under her ear. “But this is good, too.”

  Goosebumps coursed over her skin.

  “I really should torture you some,” he murmured, “for pushing me into that damned council meeting.”

  “But you’re good with people. At least they don’t scare you.”

  He lifted his head, his eyes the blue of the twilight sky. “People scare you?”

  “A little.” She bit her lip. “A lot. I prefer to find my friends in books. The characters there don’t expect me to say anything.”

  “So it’s not really people, it’s conversing?”

  She nodded. “I’m not a…sociable…person.”

  His teeth closed on the muscle at the top of her shoulder, leaving a heady sting. Her breasts felt fuller, tighter.

  “You seem sociable enough to me.” He nipped her jaw. “Hell, you work in a bar.”

  “That’s different. When I’m working, I know what to say. There isn’t any time for inane chitchat.”

  His head lifted as he considered. “That makes sense.”

  She sighed. “I promised myself I’d try to be more of a…a joiner. Lillian says it takes practice.”

  Gabe propped himself on his elbow beside her and idly played with a strand of her hair. “Practice will help. After spending winter in an isolated cabin, coming to town was difficult. Too many people.” A corner of his mouth turned up. “But it got easier. I don’t growl quite as much now.”

  She laughed because she’d heard him snarl a time or two. “I knew you’d been out of touch for a while. But…all by yourself?” Both Bull and Dante had acted as if they hadn’t been sure he’d come to Rescue. “Why an isolated cabin?”

  The creases beside his eyes deepened with his smile. “Did you realize that when you’re curious, you’re not shy at all?”

  “Uh, maybe.” No, she hadn’t, actually. “Asking me a question won’t let you escape an answer.”

  “Stubborn, too,” he muttered. The laughter faded from his eyes to be replaced by…grief? “It’s an ugly story, Goldilocks.”

  His hand had closed around her hair. Laying her hand on top of his, she waited.

  His gaze lifted, focusing on the flowing river. “I ran a crew of security contractors for a private military company. When Hawk and I joined, it was a decent place t
o work, but the ownership changed, and the missions changed. On my last job, we provided security for a CEO inspecting his factories in a third world country.”

  Audrey frowned. Factories in third world countries weren’t always good places.

  “At the fourth factory, we were ambushed. By the factory workers and the villagers, too.” His mouth tightened. “I lost three men in the first few seconds. The last two of us were shot up, but we got the CEO out alive—along with a villager. I needed to know who’d ordered the killing.”

  “Did the CEO have a rival or something?”

  “No.” His grip tightened on her hair. “As we were driving away, I asked the villager why they’d attacked us. Turns out the CEO had a habit of helping himself to any pretty woman working in the factories, especially the young ones. The month before, he’d raped the headman’s twin daughters.”

  Oh, God. Gabe was a protector down to his bones. “What did you do?”

  “The CEO was babbling scared, and he admitted it.” Gabe’s eyes held a darkness she hadn’t seen before. “We turned around, dumped him and the villager outside the factory, and we drove away.”

  After a pause, he said quietly, “The factory burned down that night; his body was found inside.”

  Her skin felt cold. Clammy. The world seemed an uglier place than a few minutes ago. And she knew how ugly life could get. Look at her own past. “Did your company say anything?”

  “I quit. They hadn’t told me that the CEO might require far more than standard protection because I’d have asked why. They knew about his…habit and knew none of us would’ve taken the job—not even the worst of my men.”

  His company had betrayed him. “The ambush. That’s where some of your scars are from?”

  “Hip and shoulder, yeah.”

  That’s why he limped sometimes when he was tired. “Add Mako’s death in, and you didn’t want to be around people any longer.” She closed her eyes, still feeling sick. “I don’t blame you.”

  He was quiet, his gaze on the water. Eventually, he started to play with her hair again.

  When she opened her eyes, she saw the shadows had lifted from his face.

  “I feel like a wimp,” she said. “I’ve always been nervous around people, but not for any particular reason. Not like yours.”