“Another thing,” Rory said. “We found a big swatch of black paint on the driver’s side, damage consistent with her car being pushed off the road like she said. The sheriff’s either one lazy sonofabitch or he’s covering for these murderers. Kelsey didn’t over-correct and she didn’t lose control. She was pushed into the river. No doubt about it.”
Mark swallowed his opinion of crooked cops. The local police department had just gone through an extensive housecleaning at the heavy hand of the Virginia Attorney General. A couple detectives and police officers were implicated in a cover-up that nearly cost Taylor Armstrong his life. Liars and cheats were everywhere. Hell, even Alex had to deal with the likes of Charles Oakes, the bastard at the root of this current nightmare.
“It gets better.” Connor keyed in another command and the video clip continued. Another man, one dressed completely in black and wearing a covering over his head and face, emerged at the extreme right of the screen, his arm extended at the first four.
“Whoa. Who’s he?” Izza’s nose scrunched.
“Who do you think?” Connor asked.
Within seconds, three of the first four fell to the ground. The last ran around the nearest SUV for cover. The fifth man peeled the covering off his head and dove into the river toward Kelsey’s submerged vehicle. In the meantime, the last of the four shooters assisted one of the other men off the ground. Between the two of them, they dragged the others behind the Escalades.
“It’s him,” Izza murmured, her eyes glued to the screen. “It’s got to be him.”
Mark winced. Here we go again. No, it isn’t. Alex is dead.
The man in the river wasn’t visible for several long minutes, but when he emerged, he had Kelsey in his arms. He laid her on the riverbank and rolled her onto her side.
The room stilled while everyone watched Kelsey choke river water out of her lungs while the stranger thumped her back. She lay there unmoving. He disappeared off screen, but quickly returned with a blanket and his head covered again. He wrapped Kelsey in the blanket and lifted her off the ground.
“What the hell is he doing?” Mark muttered, not convinced this stranger was as noble as he appeared, not if he’d also kept Kelsey hidden those three days.
Hidden and cared for, his logical side reminded him.
Bullshit. Kidnapped. Medicated. And all to himself, the bastard. He should’ve called the police or an ambulance.
“Just wait,” Rory said. “Watch.”
Connor typed in another command. The close-up shot zoomed out to reveal where the man had taken Kelsey. It wasn’t far. He’d placed her in the back of a black sedan, but the way he did it spoke volumes. He climbed inside the vehicle with her, taking his time laying her on the backseat. With his knee to the car floor, it almost looked like he—kissed her.
“Zoom in,” Mark ordered. Who the hell is he? It almost looks like Alex, but this guy is broader shouldered. Bulkier. Isn’t he?
Connor zoomed in as tight and close as he could. No go. The black covering blurred the guy’s head. The image was pixilated. The man exited the vehicle, closed the door and ran to the driver’s side. In seconds, he drove away.
“Who was that guy?” Mother asked, her brows narrowed and her lips pursed.
“Alex,” Taylor murmured. “He sure looked like Alex.”
“How could you tell?” David asked quietly. “He had a balaclava on his head.”
“You saw him kiss her,” Izza argued. “It had to be Alex.”
“No,” David replied. “We saw a man with a covering over his face and lips lean into her. He might have been making sure she was still breathing.”
Mark released a sigh of relief as David took the lead for a change. He needed someone on his side, damn it, someone not emotionally compromised.
“It was Alex,” Izza declared, an edge to her voice. “Who else could it be?”
David’s sharp eyes met Mark’s across the table. He often played the role of Devil’s Advocate. It forced people to think better and dig deeper, whether they wanted to or not.
“Good question,” Rory answered. “Ember is working on some satellite images for us. Hope we can have a better answer next time we meet, but at least this footage agrees with Kelsey’s version of what happened. So does the evidence in and on her car.”
“Can you get the footage prior to her car going into the water?” Mark asked, needing to validate Kelsey’s version of events.
Ember spoke up. “We did, but it agrees with her story. This footage shows what she couldn’t tell us because she was already underwater and drowning. It fills in the blanks. Someone did come to her rescue just like she told you.”
“Great work, guy. Anything else?” Mark asked evenly, not going to entertain for one second the fallacy his team seemed to have latched onto. Hope did funny things to people under stress. He wouldn’t encourage it.
“Yeah. Let Kelsey know that we’re on her side,” Connor said. “Right now she thinks she’s losing her mind. Let her know we’re doing everything we can to prove she’s not.”
Damn. I can’t win.
Chapter Eleven
Gabe stretched out on Kelsey’s front room floor, listening to the quiet creaks all houses made in the still of the night. He flipped through several screens of differing neighborhood viewpoints on the laptop resting on his stomach.
The carpet was quite comfortable. He had no problem sleeping on the floor. Not after some of the places he’d slept during operations and deployments. He had a good buddy who cooked, the kindest woman to watch over, and not much going on otherwise. Life couldn’t get much better.
Zack’s chicken noodle soup had turned out surprisingly good. Right now, the old man was hoofing it around the block and checking the perimeter one last time. He was the only one out there. Good deal.
But Miss Sullivan? What a beast. Kelsey’s medication schedule was now taped to the kitchen cupboard door over the sink, along with a menu plan. Go figure.
Zack had laughed it off, but the pushy woman irked Gabe. She had one thing on her mind and it had nothing to do with simple courtesy. Control freak.
The TEAM better find what was left of the gang of ten or this was going to be one damned long operation.
A noise from the back of the house caught Gabe’s ear. He set the laptop to the floor beside him and shifted to his elbows, his head cocked to listen better.
Zack? Back already? That can’t be right.
There it was again, a quiet sound, almost like a murmur. Or a sob.
Gabe pushed to his feet, his ears on high alert. Either Kelsey was talking to herself or someone was in her bedroom with her. He turned the hallway light on and padded to her closed door. Rapping quietly so as not to wake Sullivan, he asked, “Kelsey? Everything okay?”
She moaned, “Miss... you.”
He waited and listened, but no other voice responded.
Another sad groan. “Don’t... go.”
The desperation in her tone pushed him. Gabe knocked politely again. “Kelsey. May I come in?”
“No. I can’t do it.”
And just that fast he was in the room, his heart pounding at the fear she’d projected. The hall light behind him cast shadows over the tangled blankets. Clutching them to her chest between splintered fingers, she thrashed, whining, “I don’t... want to.”
Gabe crouched at her bedside and placed one palm to her upper arm to hopefully wake her. “Kelsey. It’s me, Gabe. You’re just dreaming. Wake up.”
“N... no!” She came to with a start, bolting upright and blinking, her sleeveless cotton shift twisted around her in a tangle with the bed sheets.
“There you go. Wake up. You were having a nightmare. That’s all.”
“He was here,” she mumbled, scrambling to her knees, her splinted fingers flat to the sheets. “He came to me. I know he did.”
Gabe moved out of her way when she all but climbed under the bed, her fingers splayed and clattering over the carpet, searching for someone she�
�d never find again. Looking for Alex. Damn.
“No, no, no. He was here. I know he was. I... I...” She turned to Gabe. “You saw him, didn’t you? Did he walk past you? God, Gabe. Why’d you let him get away?”
He sucked in a deep breath, wishing with all of his heart that what she had dreamed was real. “You were just dreaming.”
“No, I wasn’t. The bed moved when he got in. It did.” She lifted her face, her eyes wild and her voice tightening with hysteria. “He told me he loved me. He said that this all will be over soon. I can still feel him holding me. He kissed me. I can still smell him. He was here.”
And Gabe could’ve cried. Thank God, Zack came back from the neighborhood check. He stood at the doorway, blocking most of the hallway light. “What’s going on, Kels?”
“He was here, Zack. I know he was.” Desperation crept into her tone. “Please turn the light on. I’ll prove it.”
Zack opened the door a little wider and hit the switch, illuminating one frightened woman hanging on by a thread. Once again, she made the rounds, crawling onto the empty mattress only to end up on the empty floor, her hands outstretched as if touching the sheets and rug would conjure her dead husband.
Gabe reached for her shoulder, needing to stop her from falling apart. The Alex he knew wouldn’t torment his wife like this. And he sure as hell wouldn’t hide. If he were still alive, he’d be the one on the floor comforting his wife, not a couple of hired hands.
Breathless and shaking from head to foot, Kelsey pulled away from Gabe’s touch. “But he was. I felt him. He was here, and he... he told me he loved me. You have to believe me.”
“I do believe he loved you,” Gabe offered sincerely. God, I want to believe he was here, too, but it was just a nightmare.
“You both think I’m crazy. I can see it in your eyes. Stop looking at me like that!”
“No, we don’t, Kels,” Zack grumbled, “but we do know you’re going through hell right now. Take it easy. Here’s the thing. Did you see anyone else in this room when you opened the door, Gabe? Was the window opened? Anything?”
Gabe hesitated. Kelsey needed one glimmer of hope. He wanted it to come from him.
“You didn’t, did you?” She pinned him with those big brown eyes, daring him to lie. “Did you hear anyone else in here besides me? Did you hear him tell me not to worry, that he’d be back as soon as he could? Please tell me you did.”
Gabe shook his head just enough to destroy all hope.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her gaze still sweeping her room. Her eyes brimmed and the tears spilled over. “It always seems so real. Every night. I close my eyes and he’s there and none of this nightmare ever happened. I almost start to believe that... I almost believe him, but then I wake up and...”
Gabe was a goner. He would’ve gathered her into his arms if it had been proper. If she’d have let him, but she only wanted Alex. She sat there beside him blinking and trying not to cry. “Maybe I am losing my mind.”
He couldn’t take it anymore. He circled her shoulder with one arm and tugged her into his side. His heart choked on the sheer sadness pouring out of her. “I’m so sorry.”
She sagged into him, wiping her face with the backs of her hands, her fingers stiff and as useless as Gabe felt. “I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s too hard. I almost wish he were dead.”
And there it was. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought or said.
Kelsey still believed.
The next morning and a good night’s sleep brought new energy. Shelby woke early, determined to strike a proper balance with the men she was stuck with in this tiny house. How hard could it be? She’d stay out of their way. They could stay out of hers.
According to the menu she’d organized, it was her turn to fix breakfast. Kelsey had wanted a spinach omelet the morning all this started, and Shelby intended to deliver. Hmm. Breakfast in bed and a nice leisurely start to the day might be just what Kelsey needed to help get her day off to a good start, too.
Only the aroma of coffee already filled the air. A man’s quiet voice, too. Great. The guys were already up, and by the sound of the one-sided conversation, Agent Lennox was on his phone with his boss. Darn. Didn’t he ever go to sleep?
She wrapped her bathrobe around her and proceeded down the hall. The kitchen light was on at her right, but it was the sight on her left that stopped her in her tracks.
There lay that obnoxious Agent Cartwright, flat on his back and sound asleep in Kelsey’s living room. His hands were peacefully interlocked on his chest, his legs crossed at the ankles, and he was completely dressed except for his boots.
Did the man not realize how much room he took up? A person could barely step around him if they needed to get out the front door. His computer equipment and gear bags took up the rest of the room. Things had to change.
Her eyes lingered a moment too long on that long body. His black polo had ridden up, exposing his abdomen and the lightest trail of hair between his navel and his belt.
Oh, mama. What’s the thermostat set on?
She couldn’t stop watching the way his belly expanded and contracted with each steady breath. The way scruff shadowed his clean-shaven chin. The way sleep had mussed his hair.
A narrow beam of early morning sun lay diagonally on his chest. She stopped walking.
Gabe Cartwright was one long combination of squared-off angles and corners, his chest muscled, his shoulders broader than she remembered. Was this the same guy who’d aggravated her yesterday? She couldn’t think. He looked—different.
Her heart pinched in a really annoying way just looking at him, and those darn pesky nipples might as well have been waving pompoms.
It wasn’t often a guy made her look twice. Most were immature and needy. Either they still lived at home with their mothers or they wanted to. One guy she’d dated had actually planned to move into her apartment while he was job hunting. Yeah, right.
She could smell a loser a mile away. No way was she desperate enough to fall for a line like that. She had her nursing degree. No sense in marrying down. No. Her sights were set on a man with uncommon business sense and a plan for his future that didn’t include playing in a band, flipping burgers, or anything law enforcement related. Or military related.
She was about rules and plans, playing it safe and being smart. Still...
Agent Cartwright looked relaxed. Endearing. Cute, in a really annoying way. His long fingers interlocked in prayerful repose set her heart to throbbing. Heck, it set her entire body to throbbing.
She licked her lips, wondering how his mouth tasted. How that morning scruff might feel against her—
Good grief, her breasts tingled with heat and hormones, suddenly alive and—needing to be cupped by those masculine hands?
Uh-uh. No way. Not him. Never.
She crossed her arms over her chest, tucking her fingers in her armpits to control the tremors. How was he able to do that to her? Asleep? She knew biology, but this was more like some kind of sizzling black magic. Unsettling for a woman of her advanced edu—
“You ready for some coffee?”
Shelby jerked out of her tantalizing reverie. Darn it anyway. Agent Lennox kept catching her in the act of outright voyeurism. She nearly couldn’t speak, not with her hormones welling up in her throat as they were. Or was it her throbbing libido? Argh.
“Umm, sure. That would be nice,” she spat out, lowering her hands to her sides, her fingers still clenched, but she was hoping for nonchalance. Oh, yeah. That was where I was going. The kitchen. Breakfast. Omelets.
Agent Lennox kept his eyes on the cup in his hand while he poured, the jerk. He had to have seen her gawking at his junior agent like a teenage girl in heat. “Hope I didn’t disturb you. Had to make a few calls. Take a seat. Those two won’t be up for a while. Kelsey had a nightmare. He stayed up with her for a while.”
Shelby glanced into the living room where Agent Cartwright snored lightly, because looking at Agent Lennox m
ade her uncomfortable. Darn. Kelsey had a nightmare and I slept right through it?
“You should’ve woken me, Agent Lennox. I didn’t know,” she said meekly, taking the proffered cup of coffee and wishing her fingers didn’t tremble like they did.
“Darn, girl. Chill. Knock off the formality already. I’m Zack. He’s Gabe. You’re Shelby. Sound good?”
Gabe, huh? As in Gabriel?
Gabe woke to Zack crouched over him and tapping his shoulder.
“Time to take another look around the ’hood. Miss Shelby’s in the shower. Kelsey’s outside on the patio. Coffee’s on the counter.”
“Right. Got it.” Gabe stretched the kink out of his neck while blinking himself awake. “How is she this morning?”
“Tired. Said she needed time to think. The dogs are with her so she’s not alone.”
“You talk with Mark yet?”
“Yeah. Guess Connor and Rory tore into Kelsey’s car. They also got hold of some surveillance footage near the shore where Kelsey wrecked, too. They’ve got definitive proof four guys tried to kill her, but get this. A lone Samaritan showed up at the last minute. He rousted the other guys and pulled her out of the river.”
Gabe’s heart jumped to the back of his throat. It couldn’t be. No way. “Alex?”
Zack shook his head. “You know better. Mark says no. The guy was thicker in the middle. Didn’t walk like the boss. Come on. Get moving. We’ve got work to do.”
“Good enough.” Gabe pushed off the floor in time to see Zack’s backside clear the front door. Yeah. There was no way Alex had saved Kelsey. Why the question sprang to his lips the way it had, Gabe couldn’t explain. Chalk it up to hope springing eternal, or something crazy like that.
He checked the view out the kitchen window before he fixed himself a cup of coffee. The sight of Kelsey alone in her backyard tugged at his heartstrings, which were damned tender anyway. There’d always been something about her that got to him. She’d proven herself to be a very resilient woman, but he couldn’t suppress his instinct to protect her, even when Alex was still alive. The feeling only intensified with him gone.
Gabe (In the Company of Snipers Book 8) Page 11