Maddox flicked the barrel of the rifle at her head and then toward Gabe again. "You left me for dead and now you've stolen my only family."
"Maddox, it's not like that." She tried to step around Gabe. He wouldn’t die because of her.
Gabe refused to let her go around and he stayed in front of her.
Maddox aimed right at Gabe. "Sis, stay out of this. Your boyfriend left me to die and now he's stolen you too."
No. She couldn't lose Gabe too. She cried out. "This doesn't have to end in violence."
"Tell that to my parents." Gabe refused to step aside.
“No.” Megan screamed for the two of them while sirens echoed in the distance. "Don't. Stop. The police are here."
“I had called them earlier, Megan.” Gabe told her without one glance in her direction. “I thought this might happen.”
"Gabe, for you touching my sister, I will repay you in kind. You have two sisters.” Maddox shot.
Gabe threw her on the ground in the same second. The shot hung in the air—then she felt warm goo on her hand. Gabe still blocked her, but she moved her hand up from his thigh and saw blood on her fingers. She knew it wasn’t life-threatening, but she cried out, "Gabe!"
"You've chosen the wrong side, sis." Maddox said.
At the same time the police circled around them in their cars.
She sat forward and was stunned. Gabe’s wound oozed more than she realized and he needed to get to a hospital, soon. Right now he was still alive, but her brother was her issue. She held Gabe in her arms. "The police have you surrounded. There is no escape. Maddox, don't do this."
While the police began to open their doors, her brother put his rifle on his back, grabbed her off the ground, wrapped his arm around her neck and held a small gun toward her temple. "Sure there is. I have you."
He began to drag her toward the trees. His skin smelled like gun residue and all traces of her once good brother were gone the moment he squeezed her neck. She struggled and yelled, "Get off."
He continued to drag her away while the police all pointed their guns at her. Every inch they took felt like an eternity, but then she glanced down at Gabe and he wasn't where he’d been slumped over, shot. Her body felt numb but her mind raced.
Everything was a blur.
A twig underneath her brother's feet snapped as they were close to the palmetto trees. The sound hadn’t warned her. Suddenly she was shoved to the ground. She grunted and realized that someone jumped both her brother and her from behind.
The weight on her lifted. She lifted her head, but felt the men struggle beside her. Dirt splashed in her eyes and she twisted away. A split second later, she felt cold metal next to her knees while she stood.
She glanced down at the gun next to her.
Maddox reached for it. Her heart pounded, and she kicked it farther away. She stood taller and was ready to help more.
Her heart beat throbbed in her ears when she realized that Gabe had tackled them. He punched her brother hard against the jaw.
She winced and her own jaw throbbed from pain, when she wasn't even in the fight. Her mother would want her to stop this. She felt the presence and she screamed out, "Gabe!"
He stopped the next punch midair. "I couldn't let him hurt you."
Gabe was her hero. Her heart fluttered. The moment was almost surreal and black and white, but it became vivid and bright the moment the police came and read her brother his rights.
The instant the police took Maddox into custody, Gabe limped toward her and hugged her.
In that flash of color, nothing stirred. She could smell the testosterone and the sense of belonging she felt in his arms made her forget everything except they were together.
She felt in his arms that the world circled around them. Her body ached for him, but she pulled away. The world came back into its intense hue while the police blue and red lights shone in her eyes and the clatter of her brother being handcuffed into a car broke the peace of the cemetery. She sighed and grabbed Gabe's arm. "Let's get you to a hospital."
"Only if you're right next to me." Gabe fingers intertwined with hers.
Good. Yes. There was nowhere else she'd be. His fingers warmed her.
A police sergeant nodded like he had some voice in their lives. "We can question you both there."
Right. At some point they'd give statements and this might seem real. She unlaced her hands and held a finger up. "I need to talk to Maddox."
As she walked away, Gabe called out, "He's in the police car."
"One second." She turned around and met his gaze. A huge part of her wanted to stay in his arms, but this was her last chance. Maddox was her brother and once upon a time, he’d protected her from school bullies that tried to knock over her lunch tray. She walked toward the car that her brother was in and talked through the open door, "Maddox."
He refused to look at her. "I have nothing to say to traitors."
In his profile, she still saw flickers of the boy she remembered. She felt her eyes begin to swell with tears. "You will always be my brother. Our mom loved us both, and you were her favorite."
He turned and his blue eyes met hers. "You don't know what family is."
Right and wrong sometimes swirled in her head, but she had done everything to do the right thing but at the same time protect him. Her mother instilled in her that she would always find her way, and that she needed to help Maddox.
She hugged her waist and tried not to let his words act like a slap to her face. "Maddox, you're wrong. I will see to it that you're offered help. I miss the boy who used to protect me."
He turned away. "Go away, Megan."
The police slammed the door closed and she felt her entire body drag until she returned to Gabe. Then he leaned on her for support. In unison, they walked, and she held him tight. "Let's go."
She walked him toward an ambulance and felt a peace growing inside of her. She was with the right man. Alone, she'd tell him that she was in love with him. Right now she kept the conversation light. "How did you call the police? I never saw you make a phone call."
"I had an app built on my phone. I don't have to dial 911 now. The app sends my exact location to my security team and the police. I hit the button when we arrived at the cemetery because I guessed your brother’s every move."
"You're a genius. That app alone will probably net you millions." Numbers swam in her head and her logical brain wanted to crunch the numbers of how much that could earn him. This thought helped her carry more of his weight and become numb to what her brother said earlier. Right now she was helping everyone she loved.
He pressed more of his weight on her until the stretcher with the EMT came toward him. "I created it fast when my family was being targeted."
Someone reached out and helped him onto the ambulance bed and he didn't struggle. She let go and hopped in once the crew member invited her. The team of people who helped him worked on stabilizing him. She took his hand while they placed his leg in an orange brace to keep him still. The EMTs worked, but she stilled and patted his hand. "How is your leg?"
"At least it wasn't my chest." He tilted his head and ground his teeth.
Goodness. This was her fault. The thought weighed on her while she massaged the side of his face. If she could've stop what happened, she would have. At least the threat was over. She lowered her gaze as he face felt hot. "Maddox was arrested."
"And I kept my promise not to kill him." He took her hand in his again.
The ambulance blazed down the street, away from the grave. "Gabe, your family will be worried."
The second the ambulance made a turn, the crew held all the equipment despite how everything was strapped into place, and she swayed.
"Wheel me into their room later, but right now, don't leave me."
"Never! You're my hero." She kissed his forehead. Today he’d saved her. She'd never leave him.
He mumbled, "I'm no one's hero."
On that he was wrong. Gabe Hawke was the best
man she’d ever met.
Chapter 10
The orderly brought Gabe back to his room for now with the promise he'd bring him the paperwork to go home within minutes. Now he'd find Megan and leave, but as the doors opened to his room, he saw both of his parents holding each other and resting on two chairs next to the window. The second he was wheeled closer to them, his parents stood.
If he didn't follow protocol at a hospital, they might not let him leave. Once the orderly left, he stood and hugged them both. "Mom, Dad. I'm okay."
His mother brushed her hands against his cheeks, but he stilled, and she checked his head and continued lower. She assessed him all the way down to his toes. "You just came out of surgery."
The bullet grazed him, so physically he was fine. Mentally, was another story. He needed to talk to Megan. Her brother triggered more memories that came to him hard on the drive. His pulse began to race again while he thought about her sweet face and how she was almost killed in this mess until he answered his parents, "I wasn't in surgery. It was a thorough examination."
"And?" His father placed his hand on his mother's shoulder and she stepped back.
He grabbed his ripped shirt from the bed and tugged it back on now, so no one else saw his scars. "And they are releasing me. I'm having you both moved to your home tomorrow with Harrison as your bodyguard."
His father said, "We can leave now. Maddox Murdock was arrested. We are free."
The police arrest should have satisfied him, but images of the desert while he struggled to get his USB from Maddox replayed in his mind. Again he saw in his mind’s eye where Belle screamed to get Colt out of the wires, this time had even more faces in the moment. James and Harrison had fought a man clearly trained in martial arts who then disappeared. The memory then flashed to when Conner had pulled him out of the fire and the same time Conner screamed about Jax Romero.
More had happened out there that he pushed from his memory. All of this might affect his family. Until he figured everything out, his family needed protection. Hopefully he was just being overboard and his parents were right, but right now he needed to find Megan but he answered, "No. I don't want his lawyers to find out you’re alive. Not yet."
His father patted his shoulder. "None of this matters, son. We have security. We will be fine."
No. Everyone in his family needed protection. He had to talk to his friends who were protecting them but most of all he had to ensure Megan was safe. "Humor me. Tomorrow, follow Harrison's instructions."
"What about you? Whose taking care of you when you get home?" his mother said while he finished with his shoe lace.
Megan's voice rang in the air. "I am."
Gabe jumped off the bed, but his heart thumped. She was here. She held a brown paper bag in her hand that must be her lunch. His lips ached to kiss her again and again.
But the moment lapsed and he glanced at the clock behind them. She was early, though with her here he felt a sense of belonging. "Megan, I thought you went to get lunch."
"I'm back." Her gaze narrowed at him and he felt like he said the absolute wrong thing. Then she shrugged and held out her hand to greet his father and mother. "Nice to see you both again."
"Nice to see you too." His mother ignored the handshake and hugged Megan. "Gabe hasn't looked at a woman like he looks at you before."
Megan swayed on her feet as the hug ended. "What do you mean?"
Gabe stepped closer to them and put his hand on Megan's back. "Mom!"
His mother winked and turned toward his father. "He likes you. It's good to see. We'll leave you both now."
Gabe’s eyes widened.
His father kept his hand on his mother’s back but met his gaze. “Don’t worry son. Harrison ensured the public believes us to be out of the country on an extended holiday and he told your board of directors you went out of town on business.”
Good. He trusted his friends and it was good they all remained underground.
Neither Megan or he moved until the door closed. Silence stayed for another few moments until Megan adjusted her brown paper bag with her lunch and the crinkle echoed in the room. She coughed and asked, "Why don't you want your parents to go home or talk to lawyers?"
He sat on the edge of the bed while his mind imagined how his parents were nearly gunned down in the middle of the street, again. He massaged his temples to make the image disappear but nothing did. In the corner of his vision he saw how Megan put her things down, smoothed out a wrinkle in her pants, and sat next to him. "They will. I just want to know they are safe. Once I hear them bickering about the same old things and they offer me a cup of coffee on a visit, I'll probably start to lose the knife I feel in my stomach every time I think they might have died on me."
She held still and though she sat close, she felt far away to him. He reached for her hand. She sighed and held him close. "My brother was wrong. If you don't want to see me anymore, I understand."
Now he grew cold at the idea she might leave him. He turned his good leg onto the bed and stared at her. "I thought you were taking care of me when I check out of here."
Megan reached for his hand, but the orderly who wheeled him here and returned in a huff and shuffled the paperwork from the nurse's station. Megan tugged her hand away and folded them in her arms while she looked at the linoleum floor.
Gabe stood and read the nurses papers. "Thanks."
The orderly left.
Without supervision, Gabe stood and offered his hand to Megan. She raised herself but locked her arms under his. "You're getting out?"
Good. When she was with him, the world was right. Now he needed to go home. "The bullet did not penetrate the skin. I was grazed and didn't need surgery."
"That's great." She reached out and opened the door. They walked in step to elevators and neither said anything with the crowd around them. Once the elevator arrived and they were alone, she shook her brown bag in her hand. "So why did you want me to go get lunch when the doctor arrived?"
The last time he saw a doctor about his burns, they told him it was time to leave the Marines. He had to face the doctor alone. All of that scared him. "I didn't want you to worry."
"I was more worried because you didn't want me here." She patted his arm.
"I wanted you." There was no one else in his life that made him feel complete. The past blurred, because his only focus was her. The elevator dinged and the doors were about to fly open as he asked, "Are you coming home with me?"
"Is that what you want?" The fluorescent lighting of the first floor flooded the elevator.
"Yeah."
They walked in step together but the moment they passed the emergency room he saw a skinny teenage boy with a fresh burn on his upper arm and a frantic mother who spoke to the nurse. His own scar felt the heat of what happened to him instantly.
Megan checked his forehead and with her palm on him, she stepped right in front of him. "Is everything okay?"
He needed her with him. The moment she lowered her hand, he reached out and pressed his forehead on hers. "We'll talk when we get home. I hate the sound of machines that make me feel like I'm sicker than I am."
"Is that because of what happened with my brother in the desert?"
"You've seen my sides and chest so you know I was burned."
Her gaze flickered to the boy and, the moments until they passed she held her breath. Further away, she regrouped, laced her arm with his again and guided him to walk forward. He followed her directions. "Yeah, but I told you that your battle scars were sexy."
He led her and followed the exit signs. "It didn't feel sexy at the time and I hate hospitals."
"Then let's get you home."
Home was only good if she was there. "Megan, I've never met anyone like you. Don't change."
As they walked outside, he hailed his car service from work. At least being the CEO had perks and they didn't wait.
Seconds later, the driver was there and opened the black town car door for them. Megan sco
oted in. "We'll have to learn to live without the adrenaline rush that came from my brother and just be peaceful."
His usual methods with a woman was gifts and he’d take his physical pleasure. All of that seemed surface level compared to Megan, though he needed to be with her. He traced her leg while he whispered in her ear. "You'll have to learn what it's like to actually be mine."
A smile grew on her lips. "Now that sounds promising."
Agreed. He'd have to do whatever it took to ensure she was his. He'd not let her go.
Chapter 11
During the car ride, Megan stayed close to Gabe but felt he had withdrawn. If they had a shot at happily-ever-after then he needed to speak, but she'd wait till they went home.
The rest of the ride was pleasant the moment he kissed the side of her face.
The car rolled to a smooth stop and the driver opened her door. She scooted out and waited for Gabe who led her into his building and up to his floor. As he opened the door, she saw that candles were lit and everywhere. She turned and saw that a meal was laid out on the table, and that a blue ball gown was hung on a mirror. She stepped back but noticed the bouquets of flowers. She placed her hand on her chest to stop her heart from racing and turned toward him. "What is all of this?"
He picked up a flower and handed it to her. "I wanted you to feel special."
He must have learned that move from a knight in an old movie. She put the flower into the vase he found, though her cheeks felt warm. "I don't need special. I want to know what's going on with you? In the hospital you were quiet and became less talkative."
He pointed with his nose to the flower petals on the floor that Anakin rolled around in. "Your cat likes the flowers."
Cute, but off topic. She reached out for his hand and led him to the couch. "Please, Gabe. What's going on?"
He sucked in his breath like he was about to dive into the ocean and wanted the air in his lungs. He took a second and then said, "I keep having more visions of what happened in the desert and I think your brother was part of the ambush."
Tempting Gabe (The Hawke Fortune) Page 6