Gabe: The Alvarez Security Series

by Maryann Jordan

  Gabe looked over at Alicia as she moved from clinging to desperately trying to make him jealous. Sure, she had been a decent fuck on the occasions that she made it plain that she wanted him, but jealous? It took some kind of emotional investment to feel jealousy, and Gabe saw her for exactly what she was. Spoiled. Stuck-up. A prima donna. And right now, a pain in his ass.

  Nodding toward Jobe, he spoke into his microphone. “Break. Move in.”

  Distancing himself from Alicia, he moved toward the back door leading to the kitchens as Jobe maneuvered over to take his place on the watch. The kitchen was hot, with a multitude of staff moving in and out quickly. Looking at the crew as he walked through, he nodded to the kitchen manager as he pushed open the outside doors, moving into the cool of the night.

  The air hit him like a blast, but he welcomed the crisp slap of the breeze blowing through the alley. Standing against the brick wall, he leaned his head back fighting the urge to pound it against the surface.

  The last time he had to escort Alicia to an event, her blatant attempts to get him to sleep with her made him angry. He was tired of the one-night stands. There’s got to be more. If some of my friends are finding it, then…

  A noise coming from the dumpsters brought him instantly to alert as his body tensed and he pushed away from the wall. To his amazement, a child popped from behind the dumpsters carrying a box. Watching carefully, he saw the child deftly jump around the trash cans and move toward the kitchen doors. Wearing an old jacket with a hood pulled over his head, it was hard to distinguish his features.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Gabe barked out, startling the urchin.

  A squeak came from the child as they dropped the box and stumbled backward, tripping over some of the debris in the alley and landing on their ass. The hood flew off of their face and a mass of long, yellow blonde curls unfurled around the pixie face of the…girl?

  Priding himself on his steel nerves, Gabe stared dumbly at the vision in front of him. The heart shaped face, with porcelain skin tinged with pink cheeks, stared up at him from the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen. Blue eyes that were staring at him in…anger.

  Before he could reach out a hand to assist, she had quickly scrambled up dusting off her jeans. Breathing hard, she looked up at his face, furious at his intrusion.

  “What I’m doing is none of your business,” she huffed, bending over to retrieve her box, presenting him with a perfect view of a delicious ass.

  He now knew this was no girl, but a full grown woman. His dick began to stir, surprising him. Jesus, I’ve been around Alicia all night and all I’ve felt is disgust. I take a look at this tiny creature and I’m thinking…

  “What are you staring at?” she questioned, her blue eyes snapping. A gust of cold wind whipped down the alley causing her blonde curls to blow across her face. Setting the box down, she grabbed her hair and expertly twisted it into a messy knot at the back of her head and pulled her hood up once again. The wind also sent the empty box skittering several feet away, landing at Gabe’s feet.

  Before she could move, he scooped it up and held it. She walked over with her hand extended. He stared down into the blue depths of her eyes as though looking into a pool of swirling water, both crystal clear and leaving him wondering what lay beneath its surface.

  “What do you need this box for?” his voice rumbled.

  Stopping a few feet away from him she had to lean her head way back due to the height difference. “Again, a question that is none of your business,” she stated daring him to differ.

  Before he could reply, the kitchen door opened and Gabe found himself instinctively stepping in front of her for protection.

  “Hey, have you seen a woman out here?” asked the kitchen manager, carrying several bags.

  Before Gabe could respond, the woman moved from behind him. “Hi Carlos, I’m here. If this big oaf would move out of the way, you could see me!”

  Carlos smiled at the woman before his eyes darted up to Gabe’s. “Where’s your truck?”

  The smile left her face as a look of disgust rolled over her. “It died. But I’ve got someone who says they can get it running again soon. So for now, I’m on my two good legs.”

  “Dios girl. You shouldn’t be out at night without at least that hunk of junk. If you wait a while, I can get you home.”

  “No need. I’ve got it. I know I can’t take as much tonight without the truck, but if the giant here will give me my box, I’ll take what I can and be on my way.” Snatching the box from Gabe, she held it out to Carlos.

  The strange exchange had Gabe speechless, a condition that he was not used to, nor liked. He watched as Carlos carefully placed several bags of food in the box before handing it to the woman. A smile lit her face that had Gabe swearing he had been punched in the gut. Her expression shone with beauty and her blonde curls once again escaped their bun and swirled around her pixie face. Her ears stuck out ever so slightly at the top giving her an otherworldly look.

  She turned to walk away when he was jolted into action. “Wait,” he called out. “You can’t walk to wherever you’re going. I’ll take you home.”

  Just then the kitchen door crashed open once more, as Alicia stumbled out with Jobe right behind her. Gabe’s angry eyes glared at the interruption and he grabbed Alicia to keep her from falling.

  Jobe’s equally angry look was explained quickly. “Sorry, man. She realized you hadn’t come back and pitched a fit to get to you saying she was going to sue Alvarez if she couldn’t find you.”

  Alicia looked at the girl with the box and turned her drunk gaze over to Gabe. Draping herself over him again, she crooned, “Baby, I couldn’t find you. What if someone got to me while you were out here talking to…who is that?” Turning her attention to the other woman, she continued, “God, you look like some kind of alley trash. Do you actually live in the dump?”

  The woman gasped and Gabe jerked on Alicia’s arm, swinging her around to him.

  “Shut the fuck up, Alicia.”

  “What? You’re out here chatting with some garbage-crawler and not doing your job escorting me and I’m supposed to be all right with that?”

  Before Gabe could answer, the woman turned quickly, hustling around the corner out of sight, carrying the heavy box.

  “Baby, it’s cold,” whined Alicia as she pulled on his arm.

  “You should have stayed inside then,” he growled as he maneuvered her toward the kitchen door. Jobe moved ahead of her, holding the door as he saw that Gabe had stopped to talk to the other man standing there.

  Before Gabe could speak, Carlos had turned to one of the kitchen staff barking, “Follow her, Jim.”

  A bald, barrel-chested man, arms covered in tattoos nodded and headed down the alley. Gabe swung his eyes back to Carlos in question. Carlos caught the look and just said, “She’ll be fine. She’s a regular and Jim’ll see her safe.”

  “Gabester, come on,” came the drunken whine from the kitchen.

  Furious with Alicia, himself, and the entire fucked-up encounter, he stalked back in. Walking brusquely past her he headed back to the ballroom leaving her to wobble on her heels to catch up, with Jobe taking the rear.

  Re-entering the gala, the other men of Alvarez Security could see the anger in Gabe’s eyes, although to the rest of the gathering he played the bodyguard host perfectly. By the end of the evening, he had pried Alicia’s grasping claws off of his arm for the last time, depositing her with her manager.

  “I need you to see me to my room, Gabie dear,” she purred with a wink.

  “My shift is over Ms. Morgenstern.” Looking at her manager, he said, “And if you check your contract, I believe that you will find that Alvarez Security has fulfilled its obligation.”

  “But James,” she pleaded, turning to the man standing behind her. “I’m not safe. You know I have someone after me.”

  The beleaguered manager looked up at the wall of testosterone that had approached, swallowing several ti
mes.

  “Is there a problem?” Tony clipped.

  Her eyes narrowing, she bit out, “Yes. I want to be escorted up to my hotel suite and I want Gabe to do it. It’s in my contract for me to have access to him and if I need to, I’ll call my lawyer.”

  The men looked with disgust at the woman standing in front of them. Tony, not moved by threats, loomed over the statuesque woman but focused his comments to the manager. “You will find that Alvarez Security has fulfilled their obligations to the letter. If you feel unsafe, then you need to call the police and discuss it with them.” With that, the men turned and walked away from the steaming woman.

  “I can’t believe you’d just walk away. You know who I am. I can break your little security business you know. One word from me and no one will want you.”

  At that, the men laughed out loud, their mirth angering her further. “Fine, the next time your dick gets lonely for me, don’t come calling,” she called out loudly gaining the attention of several bystanders.

  With a quick scan, Gabe assured himself that there were no press nearby, but with cellphone cameras everywhere he forced himself to stay as calm as possible while stalking back over to her. Leaning down, so that only she could hear, he whispered, “Banging you was the biggest mistake I’ve made in a long time. You were a convenient fuck and we both knew it at the time. And truthfully, not a good fuck at that. But hear me now and hear me well—I don’t take to threats. My dick doesn’t come at your beck and call. And if you don’t turn and walk away, then you’ll get a public scene that’ll not be good for your career. You get me?”

  With one last pull on her arm, her manager managed to drag her across the room to the doors. Gabe stood there for a moment, trying to gain control of his anger. I shoulda’ never fucked her. It had seemed so easy at the time and they had only been together three times. Never shoulda’ done it the first time and sure as shit, never shoulda’ gone back.

  Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to see Vinny standing there, concern on his face. “You okay, bro? Forget her.”

  “Yeah, well your dick didn’t just get the agency in trouble.”

  “No trouble,” came Tony’s response. “Our contract was for escorting and providing security while at the events only. What you do or don’t do on your time is your business.” With that, Tony, Jobe, and the others headed out.

  “You coming?” Vinny asked when Gabe made no move to follow them.

  “Nah, you go on out. I’m going to check in on something in the kitchen.” He turned and walked back into the kitchen, which was in full swing of the evening clean-up. His eyes landed on Jim, but before he could walk over to him he was intercepted by Carlos.

  “She’s fine.”

  Gabe eyed the man. “Who is she?”

  “What’s it to you? With that tux and that actress on your arm, what do you care about the girl in the alley? Not exactly your type, is she?”

  Not used to being questioned, Gabe moved in another step. “Just want to know her story.”

  Carlos stared at the large man in front of him, seeing the questions in his eyes. He was good at reading people and had to admit to himself, this man gave off a trustworthy vibe. Nodding slowly, he jerked his head to the side before turning and moving toward the kitchen doors again.

  Gabe followed him out then waited, not so patiently, while Carlos lit a cigarette and took a long pull on it.

  “She comes some evenings and gets bread and food that hasn’t been used. Occasionally, I’ll slip in something special, but mostly she just comes for the bread. The manager knows and approves so I give her what she needs.” With that he smiled, looking over at the alley.

  “Bet you’d give it to her whether the manager approved or not,” Gabe observed.

  “Yeah,” Carlos said, taking another long drag. “She usually takes more when her old junker truck is working, but like tonight,” he shrugged, “she comes on foot if she has too.”

  “What does she do with the bread?” Gabe asked, intrigued now more than ever.

  “Don’t know. Don’t ask. But I got a feeling it isn’t for her.” At Gabe’s raised eyebrow, Carlos continued. “Jim’s followed her a couple of times when she was on foot and said that she gives some of it away to homeless people on the way.”

  At that, Gabe reared back. “What the fuck?” The thought of the tiny woman moving among the streets at night, offering something to unknown people, floored him. “Is she crazy? Does she have any idea how dangerous that is?”

  With one last drag on his cigarette, Carlos dropped it and crushed the butt under the heel of his boot. “Got a feeling that little one knows what she’s doing. And as long as she comes here looking for handouts, I’ll give ’em to her.” Turning, he walked back into the kitchen, leaving Gabe standing in the dark alley.

  Pulling up the collar of his tux, he walked toward the parking garage and his new truck, thoughts of the pixie swirling through his mind. Pixie? He suddenly remembered a story his mother used to read when he and Vinny were young, about a pixie fairy flying out of the woods to help a boy who had been captured by a witch. While he couldn’t recall the details of the story, he vividly remembered the pictures. And the woman from the alley with her blonde curls blowing wildly around her perfect face and her slightly protruding ears, she looked exactly like the drawing in the book.

  Walking into his apartment, he tossed his keys on the table in the entrance hall. Pulling off his tux as he headed through the bedroom and into the luxury bathroom, he turned on the shower. A few minutes later he walked back through the large apartment to the refrigerator, snagging a water bottle. Taking a long drink, his mind continued to play the meeting with the mysterious woman over and over. And once again, his dick was coming to attention.

  What the fuck am I doing? It was a chance encounter. A one-time meeting. That’s all. Trying to force the thoughts of her out of his mind should have been easy. His Special Forces training had him prepared to clear his thoughts in an instant to re-focus on the mission at hand. Unfortunately, his mind was not prepared to let her go. As though she had become his mission.

  *

  Jennifer’s arms were aching by the time she made it to the first floor of her building. An older man was standing by the back door as she turned into the alley.

  “Miss Jennifer, I was afraid somethin’ had happened,” he exclaimed as he hustled to her aid.

  “Oh, the stupid truck wouldn’t start and I had to walk. I didn’t get as much,” she explained as she handed the box to the older man. “It’s the best I could do, Henry.”

  He bestowed her with a benevolent look, smiling as he took the box from her arms. “Lordy girl, this box is heavy.” Hesitating for just a moment, he looked at her beautiful but tired face. “But it’s appreciated.”

  Gifted with her smile, he just shook his head. “Go on up. Ross is waitin’ for you.”

  With that incentive, she took the stairs two at a time, all the way to the third floor. Walking down the well-lit hall, she ignored the peeling paint and worn tiles. Getting to her apartment, she tapped out the special knock on the old wooden door and heard the sound of several locks being unlatched. Throwing open the door, she was almost knocked over with a bear hug from Ross.

  “I missed you,” he effused.

  Laughing she replied, “I wasn’t gone that long, you know.”

  “I know, but I can’t go to sleep until you get home.”

  Lifting one eyebrow, she asked, “Well, are you ready to head to bed now?”

  “Oh yeah.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the back of the small apartment. Hopping into the bed, he grinned as he turned toward her.

  She walked over, love shining in her blue eyes, and grabbed the covers to pull them up. Tucking him in, she whispered, “I love you, Ross.”

  “I love you too, sis,” came the reply. “Tell me a story.”

  Piling up on the bed with him, it only took a few minutes for her to regale him with tales of dragons, little bo
ys being rescued, beautiful fairies and tonight she couldn’t help but add in giants. In a few minutes, he fell asleep and she gently stood from the bed, careful not to wake him.

  Kissing the top of his blond head, she left his bedroom making sure the night-light was on. He may be eight years old, but Ross still liked having some light at night.

  Walking back into the kitchen, she ran a glass full of tap-water. Taking a large drink, her mind wandered back to the man she encountered in the alley. Arrogant giant, thinking of him standing there in his immaculate tuxedo. Well, gorgeous, Greek god-like arrogant giant, she admitted to herself. He was huge and even though most men seemed large to her five foot, two inches petite frame…he was larger than most by far. His muscles were hidden beneath the expensive fabric, but she had no doubt that they were there if his square jaw and thick neck were anything to go by.

  A warm feeling began to curl in her stomach and descend as she imagined what it would be like to be held by him. Then the image of the woman who was a dead ringer for Alicia Morgenstern came to mind. Arghhh…she called me alley trash! What a bitch. Glancing down at her apparel, she paused. Jeans that she had had for years and were worn at the knees and seat. A jacket that had been given to her for the purpose of staying warm on the nights she went to pick up bread, but it too had seen better days. The image of the woman in her sky-high heels, black evening dress with a slit up to her thigh showing off impossibly long legs, and her boobs. Good Lord, those things looked like they needed their own zip code.

  Sighing, she walked around the bar toward the tiny bathroom and stripped as she ran the water into the tub. It was an extra small tub, but it was a feature of the apartment that she loved. Turning, she looked into the mirror. Long, tangled blonde curls hung down her back. Pulling it up on her head, she noticed her slightly pointy ears giving her the elfish look she always hated. Clear skin, blue eyes. Glancing down, she knew she had curves that were generally hidden under large clothes, but nowhere near the monster curves of the woman clinging to the giant.