by Cali MacKay
“You may not want to discuss it, darling, but you’re an open book, and once we deal with whatever crisis has turned up, I’m going to have you, Hadley. Every which way possible.” His mind was already imagining each and every scenario, knowing that there was little chance she could deny him for long. “I think you’d like that…wouldn’t you, sweetheart?”
“Have you gone through these letters yet?”
He barked out a laugh. “Fine, we can focus on work—for now. And to answer your question, no, I didn’t have a chance to go through them. Was hoping to do that over dinner—though this works too.”
As she started to go through the letters, she separated them into piles, shuffling them around. Though his focus was on the road, the snags in traffic allowed him the chance to glance over at her, and take her in. He loved watching her work—her intense focus, the intelligence in her eyes, her determination. In a lot of ways, she was a lot like him. Nothing ever distracted him from work—until he’d met Hadley. After that, he was damned if he could focus on anything but her.
She wasn’t anything like the women he normally dated, which was probably why she’d managed to keep his interest—that and the fact that she kept trying to push him away. He loved that she was so determined to stand her ground, and yet, when all was said and done, she just couldn’t resist him. And though that was a huge stroke to his ego, it was more about that indefinable—and undeniable—connection to her.
“There’s some interesting stuff here.” Her brow furrowed as she looked through a handful of the letters she’d set aside. “Some of it seems rather personal, though, especially if it was sent directly to your company’s general email address.”
“Sometimes emails addressed to someone specific get caught in the company spam folder. Why? What do you have there?” She now had him curious as to the sort of letters she’d come across. “If it’s coming to our company email though, it’ll likely be work-related. We all have email accounts elsewhere for personal stuff.”
“Yeah…you’d think that, though it’s my experience that people get used to working from one email address and don’t bother using secondary addresses all that much. And with the amount of work you guys put in, I could see it becoming a matter of convenience to just use the company email.” She hadn’t even bothered to look up from what she was reading. “So, you wanted to know what I have here? Well…” She finally glanced over at him, her blue eyes steady as she looked at him. “I think your brother might be in trouble.”
Chapter Twelve
Hadley silently reread the letter as Gabe swore and slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Perhaps she’d been wrong to say anything before looking into it more. “I could be mistaken, Gabe. It’s just that…something feels off about this.”
“What email address was it sent to? Was it sent to Quinn or Morgan?” Gabe tossed a glance in her direction, his brow furrowed and his jaw clenched as he maneuvered them through traffic, their speed finally starting to pick up.
“Morgan. Though the email it’s coming from is generic. No way to really guess who sent it.” Hadley thought back to the family dinner, trying to recall whether or not Morgan had seemed nervous. He’d certainly been quiet enough, though Gabe had said his brother was a loner, kept to himself.
“Fuck…” Gabe shook his head, fury knotted in every movement. Hadley knew they were a tight-knit family and protective of each other. “What’s the letter say?”
“We should wait, Gabe. Wait until we’ve had a chance to pull over.” The last thing they needed to do was get into an accident, especially when she still had her sister’s mess to deal with.
Hadley didn’t have all the details on what exactly had gone wrong this time, but she didn’t need them if it involved her sister, Abby, and her latest asshole boyfriend.
Gabe glared at her, looking more than a little annoyed and frustrated. “Just read the damn thing, Hadley.”
She knew his anger wasn’t with her, and knowing she’d be just as pissed off if their roles were reversed, she didn’t argue with him. “You know it’s not safe for you to come. I’ll manage until I can find out more, but if they find out who you are, there’ll be no way to keep you from harm. Please, Morgan—don’t. It’s not worth the risk.”
“What the fuck has he gotten himself into? And what the fuck does that all mean, anyway?” The worry in his voice had her reaching out to take his hand, though she knew she was likely of little comfort.
Did this mean “they” had found out who Morgan was, and the attacks were the result? It was hard to know, with so little to go on.
“We can sort it out once we have a chance to speak to him. It might be nothing, Gabe.” And she wasn’t just saying that to ease his worries. “Let’s not jump to conclusions, yeah?”
“Yeah…”
Gabe said very little after that, making her wish there was something more she could do to distract him from his thoughts and worries—not to mention her own problems. It was amazing how rapidly their day had turned to shit. The only sound breaking the silence was the GPS squawking out the directions.
Once Gabe finally pulled up outside her sister’s cookie-cutter ranch, he shifted in his seat to face her, his brow still furrowed with worry and anger. “I’m sorry I wasn’t better company.”
Leaning forward, Hadley nuzzled him, his stubble rough against her skin. She breathed in his now familiar scent as she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, needing to ease some of his worries.
And fuck…she was falling for him, and she didn’t care if everything else went to hell. “I know we both have more important things to worry about, but…tell me again, Gabe. Tell me that we can do this and it won’t screw everything up.”
“I swear, Hadley, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Gabe seemed so serious now—and so determined. The underlying humor that had always been there when he dealt with her seemed to have dissipated in the face of their problems. And yet the fact that they were helping each other get through their crappy day was something she hadn’t expected. Suddenly her little one-night-stand-turned-fling felt like it was turning into so much more.
Except that Gabe wasn’t the sort of guy who did relationships, and she’d only just reclaimed her single status.
She must have done a crap job of masking her thoughts, causing Gabe to curse under his breath. “Fuck…I’m an ass for dumping all this on you when you’re dealing with your own problems.”
“This is my job, Gabe, so don’t you dare feel bad about it. My problems are nothing compared to what you and your family are dealing with. This is no more than my sister running into trouble after dating the wrong guy, yet again.” Not that she’d been any better, which only made her question if it was wise to be growing attached to Gabe. He was definitely different than every other guy she’d dated, but that didn’t mean the curse had been miraculously lifted.
“It doesn’t mean this isn’t difficult for you, babe.” He pulled her close and kissed her, his lips lingering on hers. “I don’t want to be just another inconsiderate asshole.”
“Well, I appreciate it—and though you can be pushy, you’ve never been a jerk.” It was the truth, and damn, but it made her heart skitter and skip a beat to think that maybe—just maybe—she’d escape the curse. “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to deal with the drama—and believe me when I tell you, there will be drama.”
Gabe slipped her hand in his and brought it to his lips, reminding her that he was fully capable of being a patient and considerate man. “I don’t scare easily, babe. And I want to be there for you, especially when you don’t really know what you’re walking into.”
Suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotions for the man before her, she fisted her hands in his shirt and pulled him close, kissing him hard as her tongue darted against his, her breathing heavy. Finally managing to pull away, she let her breathing slow back to normal before speaking again. “Thanks for this, Gabe.”
“Come on then.” Gabe fo
llowed her up the steps of the front porch and waited by her side as she knocked on the front door.
Hadley could hear yelling, making her wonder if Abby’s boyfriend was still around. Already dreading what was to come, she pounded on the door, ready to read her sister the riot act and let Abby clean up her own mess for once, despite the long drive to get there. She didn’t need to deal with some asshole, on top of her sister’s drama.
The door was finally yanked open, but what she saw was like a sucker punch to the gut. “What the hell is going on, Abby? And why the hell is Matt here?” The last person she wanted to see was her ex-husband.
Abby was still yelling at Matt over her shoulder. “Hadley’s all you ever talk about, so here she is! Never mind that she kicked you to the curb, and I was the one who took you in.”
Gabe stiffened at Hadley’s side, before taking her hand in his, protectively. Hadley thought about leaving, but something still didn’t feel right—until all the pieces fell into place. “Oh…no way! Are you kidding me? You’re fucking him? You’re fucking Matt? That’s a really low blow to be screwing my ex-husband—even for you, Abby. And here I was rushing down here because I thought you were in trouble again.”
Hadley’s sister was prone to making bad choices, and always managed to get herself in trouble, but this was pretty fucking low, even for her.
Abby held onto the door, giving Hadley a pissed-off look, of all things. What the hell? “Well, you can have him. It’s not like he cares about me. It’s always ‘Hadley, Hadley, Hadley…’ and I’m sick and tired of it.”
“If I wanted that ass hat, then I wouldn’t have divorced him, Abby. And for you to leave me a message, sobbing your eyes out, is downright manipulative. You knew I’d come—especially after your last asshole boyfriend knocked you around.” Why Hadley bothered to drag her ass over there, she hadn’t a clue. She should have known better.
“The only reason you came down here is because you always have to be the one to save the day.”
Matt shifted around Abby, his gaze settling on Gabe, who was still standing by Hadley’s side, his body stiff as if his muscles were coiled tight and ready to attack. “Who the fuck’s this? The ink on our divorce isn’t even dry, Hadley.”
“Said the dickhead fucking my sister.” Hadley shook her head. She’d seen enough. More than enough. “You know what? On second thought, you guys are perfect for each other.”
“I still love you, Hadley.” Matt grabbed her arm as she turned to go, and yanked her to him, his grip tight as she struggled to get free of him.
And damn, but that was one hell of a mistake.
Gabe pulled her free and grabbed Matt’s arm with a quick move Hadley had only seen in movies. He pinned Matt against the wall with a rough shove, as he twisted Matt’s arm painfully behind his back. “You don’t touch her. Are we clear?”
“Fuck off. She’s my wife.” Matt was big, but Gabe was just as big and he wasn’t budging.
“Ex-wife. And she’s mine, now.” Gabe shoved Matt again as he got in Matt’s face and growled, “Mine. Do you hear me? Touch her again, and I’ll put you in the fucking hospital.”
“Hadley! Don’t do this.” Matt tried looking over his shoulder at her, but Gabe had yet to let him go.
Gabe caught her gaze and tilted his head towards the street. “Get in the car, babe. We’re done here.”
And they were. There was little she had to say to her sister or her ex. “I’m through—with both of you. Don’t call me again, Abby—from now on, your messes are your own to clean up. The two of you deserve each other.”
“You can’t go, Hadley. I’m pregnant.”
Abby’s words were like a knife to her gut. Hadley ran for the car, desperate to get out of there. She was such a goddamned fool. And to think that she’d dropped everything to come help her sister, worried that she’d gotten herself into trouble.
Hadley barely remembered getting to the car, barely registered Gabe getting in next to her, nor him steering them towards the highway. She felt broken and betrayed, and though she managed to keep her tears from falling, the lump in her throat kept her from speaking.
As if sensing that she was barely holding it together, Gabe didn’t say anything, but instead took her hand and held it tight. Traffic had died down by the time they got to Boston, though the last thing she’d been expecting was for Gabe to pull off the highway.
When she finally managed to speak, her voice sounded rough and broken. “Where are we going?”
“You’ve had a long day, and I’m going to take care of you.” He glanced over at her and cupped her face for a moment. “And before you say anything, I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Truth was, she didn’t have the energy to argue with him. She felt like her soul had been ripped from her body and then someone—her sister and ex, to be exact—had filled her empty shell with poison, inky black and heart-wrenching.
“I meant what I said to your ex, Hadley. You’re mine, now. Mine. And I take care of my own.”
Chapter Thirteen
Gabe had never come that close to losing control, but between Hadley’s sister, and her ex, he’d barely held it together. To betray her like that…it was unforgivable. Every family had their difficulties, but this went well beyond that.
Pulling up in front of an elegant apartment building, Gabe gave the valet the keys, grabbed their things, and then helped Hadley out of the car. Seeing her so upset, so distraught, left him furious that someone would hurt her like that. It also left him fiercely protective of her—something he’d never felt for anyone other than his family.
This was the apartment he kept for the times he was working in the city, and though it wasn’t exactly home, it was close enough. It didn’t take long to get up to his loft, keeping her tucked against his side the whole time, desperate to soothe her and distract her from her problems.
The moment he closed the door behind them and set aside their bags, Hadley slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “Thank you…I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there.”
Gabe didn’t want to think about it. Especially now that he had a face to go with her ex’s name. The thought of Matt touching Hadley—the thought of him actually trying to get her back—made him fucking crazy.
He tilted her head back so she’d look at him, so she’d know he was serious. “I want to be there for you, babe…no matter what you’re going through. You can count on me, okay?”
“You don’t have to do this. You’re not responsible for my happiness—even if I think you’re the sweetest, most honorable man I’ve ever met.”
“I don’t have to, but I want to. I may have my own code of honor, but just so we’re clear, I’m not a sweet man, Hadley. Far from it. And…” Fuck. “I’ve gotten to care about you—and it fucking pisses me off to see you upset. I don’t know your sister or your ex, but they’re assholes, and if that bastard of an ex-husband of yours shows up again—if he touches you again—I’m going to fucking kill him.”
Seeing Matt manhandle her when it was clear she was upset and desperate to get away from him had been more than enough to push Gabe over the edge. Though he could easily take care of himself in a fight, having grown up in a rough neighborhood, he usually avoided trouble. Yet when it came to Hadley…he’d never felt so protective before, and he was starting to think he’d lay it all on the line for her.
Hearing Matt confess that he still loved Hadley had set something off deep inside Gabe, something that made him realize that, despite not knowing Hadley all that long, his feelings for her had turned into something more serious.
Gabe had been telling himself that this thing with Hadley wasn’t anything more than a brief fling while she was in town—until Matt had touched her and declared his love for her. It was then that Gabe realized that the thought of Hadley with someone else, rather than by his side, in his arms, was enough to make him feel like he was drowning and couldn’t take a breath, like his very s
oul was consumed with fire.
Hadley’s brow furrowed as she shook her head. “I don’t know where this is all coming from with Matt. The divorce dragged on for two years. Maybe having it finally go through sent him into a panic. But I swear, Gabe, I have no interest in getting back together with him, especially now that…” Her voice cracked, as he pulled her close, though she managed to continue. “I still can’t believe my sister slept with him and is now pregnant. This is a new low, even for her—and you know it means that I’ll never truly be free of Matt. Every Christmas, or family event, I’m going to be forced to deal with him—not to mention their betrayal.”
Her tears finally spilled over, making him angry on her behalf. Cupping her face in his hands, he brushed her tears away, her skin smooth and hot to the touch. “They’re not worth your tears, babe. They don’t deserve you. Neither of them.”
“Then why does it hurt so much?” She closed her eyes and, with her head against his chest, softly wept.
He scooped her into his arms and carried her to his bed, laying her down, before settling in at her side and holding her close. This was new territory for him, having not ever been in a relationship before, but he figured she needed to know she wasn’t alone. And he needed her to know she was important to him, and the rest of it didn’t matter.
He ran his hand down her back and rested his cheek on her head, breathing in the already familiar scent of her shampoo. Truth was, it didn’t take her long to settle and her tears to stop, as if she’d forced herself to be strong—as if she’d realized Matt and Abby weren’t worth the pain.
She shifted in his arms and pressed her warm lips to his neck. “Tell me again, Gabe.”
He wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear, but he knew what he wanted to tell her. “You’re mine, Hadley. I know things have been a bit crazy between us, and it hasn’t been long, but I’m serious about you. Mine, babe. And I swear, I don’t think I’ll ever get my fill of you. I want you—you and you alone, until I can think of nothing else.”