by Regina Kyle
“Hermanita.” Leo’s voice was soft but insistent, stopping her in her tracks. “If you love him, go to him. Fix this before it’s too late.”
A shadow crossed his face, and not for the first time she wondered what romantic skeletons were hiding in Leo’s closet.
“What if you’re right?” she asked, the words almost catching in her throat. “What if he really is giving it all up for me?”
“Then he’s your seahorse. Your mate,” Victor said. In a rare moment of real connection, her brother’s eyes met hers, and the raw honesty, the trust, the understanding she saw there floored her. “For life.”
* * *
“I’M SORRY, BUT YOU just missed him.”
“Shit.” Devin scuffed the toe of her boot on the linoleum. “Are you sure you can’t catch him? I only need a minute. It’s...”
“Let me guess. It’s urgent.” Gabe’s secretary gave her a patronizing smile. “Again.”
“Yeah, like last time.” Devin knew she sounded like a goddamned broken record, but she was way past caring. All that mattered was getting to Gabe ASAP so she could stop him from throwing away everything he’d worked so hard for. “It’s about the election.”
“Then it won’t be urgent for much longer. Gabe’s about to give a press conference. He’s withdrawing from the race.”
Fuck. This was even worse than she thought. He wasn’t just considering dropping out. He was actually doing it. Today.
“He can’t quit,” Devin insisted. “I have to stop him.”
The secretary pressed her lips into a thin, harsh line. “Good luck with that. He’s on his way to city hall. He’ll be half way through his speech by the time you get there.”
“City hall?”
“He’s giving a statement to the press and filing the withdrawal papers with the clerk’s office.”
“What time?”
“You’ll never make it.”
“What time?” Devin repeated even louder.
“His speech starts in ten minutes.”
“Thanks,” Devin grumbled. “For nothing.”
“Wait.”
Devin turned, hands on her hips. “This better be worth every second it’s costing me.”
“Here.” The secretary came out from behind her desk and handed Devin a plastic identification card on a mint green lanyard. “Take this.”
“What is it?”
“Press pass. It’ll get you past security.”
Devin lowered her head to stare at the other woman. “What gives? Now you want to help me?”
“Let’s just say I have a feeling work will be a lot more pleasant if you’re back with Gabe.”
“Who said anything about me getting back with Gabe?”
“Why else would you race downtown to stop him from committing political suicide? And he’s been unbearable since you guys split.” She nudged Devin toward the elevators. “Now go. Fast. Stop him before he files those papers.”
“Thanks,” Devin said, meaning it this time.
She didn’t stop running when she hit the street, racing all of the six plus blocks to City Hall, thankful every step of the way she’d traded her thigh-high stiletto boots for a pair of Docs just before leaving her apartment. It was like some inner voice was telling her she’d need speed more than sex appeal to fix this mess.
She’d also need the right words, which she didn’t have yet, and the guts to say them in front of a pack of strangers. And a lot of luck to get there and track down Gabe before it was too late.
Any worry that she’d have trouble finding him in the maze of corridors and offices that made up city hall vanished the second she turned the corner and saw the crowd on the massive steps leading up to the building’s main entrance. The same steps where Gabe had announced his candidacy on television almost two months ago. News vans from all of the major stations sat parked at the curb, their antennas whirling.
And on top of the stairs, at the center of it all, stood Gabe behind a wooden podium, a gray wool coat over his usual suit, one hand thrust in his pocket, looking like a modern-day Atticus Finch. Several other well-dressed gentlemen surrounded him. One she recognized as his boss, but unlike last time the rest of the men were unfamiliar. Devin rubbed her hands together, trying not to attach too much significance to the fact that the heavy hitters were noticeably absent.
“We’re here for two reasons today,” Gabe began. “First, we’ve made an arrest in the Park Avenue homicide case.”
Her heart pounded even faster than it already was from her six-block sprint. He hadn’t announced that he was dropping out yet. She wasn’t too late.
She breathed in the cool, fall air and let it out in a long, slow hiss. She’d faced plenty of scary-ass situations in her twenty-eight years. Taking care of her stoned mother. Having Victor ripped out of her arms and taken away from her. Sleeping on the street, alone and cold.
This topped them all.
She pushed her way through the crowd as Gabe continued to discuss the arrest, desperate to get to the front before he started in on the election.
“I’m sorry, miss.” A thick-necked man with Security written across the chest of his navy blue windbreaker stopped her with an outstretched arm. “Press only past this point.”
She flashed the pass around her neck with a cocky grin she hoped said “ace reporter.”
The security guard frowned. “Which outlet?”
Shit. She hadn’t thought of that.
“Uh, The Village Voice.” Hopefully he’d believe the alternative weekly tabloid would employ someone with four earrings in one ear and a spider-web tattoo.
“Go ahead.” He lowered his arm and she made her way up the steps.
She stopped about halfway up and listened, staying partially hidden in the crowd. She kept quiet as Gabe fielded questions about the murders. After a few minutes of answering what seemed like the same question asked ten different ways, he ran a hand through his hair and scanned the crowd.
“If there’s nothing more on the Park Avenue case, I’ll move on to the second reason I brought you here today.” He paused to take a sip of water from a bottle on the podium. “It’s with a heavy heart and after much consideration that I’ve decided to—”
“Stop.” Devin shoved past the people standing in front of her so she stood alone, exposed. He’d made the choice for her. It was now or never. And never wasn’t an option. “Don’t do it.”
Gabe’s eyes found hers. She could hear the footsteps of the security goons and their muffled “make ways” and “coming throughs” as they tried to reach her, but she didn’t flinch. Her feet stayed firmly planted, her gaze locked on Gabe.
“Don’t quit.” Her words tumbled out, racing to be heard before the guards got to her and shut her down. “The city needs you.”
Gabe’s eyes darkened and he stepped away from the podium. “There’s only one person in this city I want to need me.”
“I need you. I...”
Her words ended in a groan as one of the guards yanked her hands behind her back. “Press my ass. You’re busted, sweetheart.”
“What, no handcuffs?” she quipped.
“I’m only authorized to escort you peacefully from the premises. Unless you’d like me to get the police involved.”
“Let her go.” Gabe raced down the steps to Devin, his clipped tone saying that he meant business. “She’s with me.”
The guard hesitated a moment then released her and moved away, staying close enough to restrain her if things went south. A second guard appeared and stood next to him.
Two on one. How was that fair?
“And I, for one, want to hear what she has to say,” Gabe continued, his voice lower, more tender, his focus back on Devin and not the brute squad.
“You’re really going to make me do this here? In front of everyone?”
Gabe smiled and crossed his arms. Smug bastard.
“Okay, fine. If that’s how you want it.” She took a deep, shuddering breath and plun
ged forward. “I love you, dammit. That’s why I can’t stand by and watch you give up.”
The smile playing about his lips turned from smug to sincere. “Only you can say ‘I love you’ and curse in the same sentence and make it sound romantic.”
“You see? That’s exactly why I left.” She waved her arms in a gesture that screamed crazy bag lady. “I swear too much. I dress all wrong. I’m about as far from a political asset as you can get. I didn’t want to cost you your dream. And now you’re throwing it away anyway.”
“Don’t you get it? You are my dream. The rest of it’s crap without you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t mean that.”
“I can and I do.” He took her cheeks in his palms, meeting her gaze. “If I have to choose, my choice will be the same every damn time. I choose you. I love you.”
She closed her eyes. It was nice to hear the words, but she didn’t need them. It was her she’d doubted, not him. But she was through doubting. Through questioning. She was running on raw emotion now. “What if you didn’t have to choose?”
“Hey,” one of the reporters on the other side of the crowd shouted before Gabe could answer. “We can’t hear you.”
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
“Who’s the girl?”
“Are you dropping out of the race or not?”
“You tell me.” Gabe lowered his forehead to hers. “Am I quitting or not?”
“No.” Devin pulled back so she could look at him. Her heart squeezed in her chest at what she saw on his handsome face: vulnerability, resolve, but mostly pure, unconditional love.
She grabbed Gabe’s hand and dragged him back up the stairs to the podium. “Definitely not,” she said into the microphone for the benefit of the fourth estate.
“You don’t have to do this.” He covered the mike with his hand. “I don’t have to run.”
“Yes, you do. Serving the public is what you do. It’s who you are. I don’t want to change that. Just don’t blame me and my big mouth if you lose.” She gave him a saucy smile and a shrug.
“I like your big mouth,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her and holding her so tightly it almost hurt. “And how can I lose when I’ve already won?”
“Kiss her,” someone yelled.
“Yeah, kiss her.” Another man joined in and within seconds the entire crowd was chanting, “Kiss her, kiss her.”
“What do you think?” he asked. “Should we give them what they want?”
“Well...” She looked down at the crowd then back up at Gabe, loving the way his eyes devoured her with not only desire but affection. “They are the public. And you are their servant.”
“No.” His lips hovered inches from hers. “I’m yours.”
“I like the sound of that.” Tears pricked her eyes and for the first time in her life she didn’t try to blink them away. Let Gabe see—let everyone see—how much he affected her. “Now shut up and kiss me so we can get the hell out of here—” Devin dropped her voice to a whisper “—and I can have my wicked way with you.”
Hell, it had been almost two months since they’d gotten naked together. And that was almost two months too long, if you asked her.
He smiled against her lips a second before claiming them in a kiss filled with tenderness and heat and promises for the future. “Now that I like the sound of.”
Epilogue
“KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED, dammit!” Devin laughed as she guided Gabe up the steps. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“What is?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Besides, we’re almost there.” She pulled out the key Graham had given her and unlocked the door.
“Just make sure I don’t run into anything.”
Devin scanned the large, empty room. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
She stepped inside, bringing him with her. “You can open them now.”
Gabe swiveled his head, no doubt taking in the bare, white walls, the gleaming wood floor and the lack of anything else. “It’s...charming. But we have an apartment. With furniture.”
Her insides warmed at the thought of the cozy two-bedroom they’d picked out together on the upper west side, halfway between his office and Ink the Heights. She’d stopped tending bar for now, focusing on tattooing and...other pursuits. Like the one that had brought them to an empty room in Soho. “It’s not ours. And it’s not to live in.”
“Then what’s it for?”
“It’s a gallery. Called Esoterica. Or will be, once Graham gets it up and running in a few months. And guess who’s going to be the featured artist on opening night?”
“You?”
Devin nodded. “My first show.”
With a whoop, Gabe picked her up and twirled her around. When he set her down, still in the circle of his arms, he planted a wet, smacking kiss on her lips. “I’m so proud of you, babe. I knew you could do it.”
“That makes one of us.” She reached up to caress his cheek. “Thanks for pushing me. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Yes, you could have. But I’m glad you didn’t have to.” He kissed her again. “What do you say we go tell Victor?”
She smiled, loving that his first thought was of her brother. But telling Victor could wait until morning. He was with his friends at his new group home. And she had plans for Gabe.
“I’ve got a better idea. How about we celebrate with dinner at Sura Thai. And dessert in bed.”
“Smart girl.” He slid his hands down her back to cup her bottom. “Must be why I fell in love with you.”
“You mean it wasn’t for my rocking bod?” She moved against him, and she could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing hot and hard on her thigh. “Or my ability to sway voters your way, Mr. District Attorney?”
“Those are just fringe benefits. And I’m not DA yet.”
“You will be. You’re miles ahead in the polls.”
“Let’s hope I stay there.” He released her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the door. “Come on, let’s go. The sooner we eat dinner, the sooner we’ll get to dessert.”
“Or we could skip dinner altogether.” She gave him her most seductive, come-hither look.
He grinned. “Even better.”
“I just have to lock up and leave the key for Graham.”
“Graham? Isn’t that...”
“Ivy’s friend. He’s striking out on his own.”
“You contacted him? I thought you didn’t want to ride on anyone’s coattails.”
“I was being stupid and shortsighted. Like you said, we all need help from our friends sometimes.” She bolted the door and dropped the key through the slot in the locked mailbox.
“You’ve got a veritable army in your corner now, sweetheart.” Gabe took her hand and twined their fingers together. Her heart skipped a beat, like it always did when he touched her. “The Nelsons are a force to be reckoned with.”
“There’s only one Nelson I need on my side.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “And he’s right here.”
“To stay.” He kissed her forehead and started down the steps, leading Devin along with him. “Now, about that dessert...”
* * * * *
Read on for an extract from MIDNIGHT THUNDER by Vicki Lewis Thompson.
Prologue
CARRYING THEIR BOOTS, Cade Gallagher and Damon Harrison crept out of the ranch house’s front door as the grandfather clock in the living room struck twelve. Breaking the house rules was serious, but in this case it was necessary.
After shutting the front door carefully, Cade avoided the porch board that squeaked as he walked over to the steps and sat down to put on his boots.
Damon lowered himself to the top step. “You got your knife?” His voice cracked a little because it was still changing.
“Yep.” Cade’s voice had changed months ago, and he had to shave every two days now. “You got the matches?”
“Yep.”
&nbs
p; Cade pulled on his boots and stood. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
After taking the steps slow so he wouldn’t make too much noise, Cade started toward a grove of trees beyond the main corral. They’d picked out the spot a week ago but had waited for the full moon. It was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds tonight, but the clouds hadn’t dumped any rain, thank God.
After reaching the small clearing, Cade scanned the area. He was the first foster boy taken in by the Padgetts, and he’d used his seniority to claim a leadership position. Damon hadn’t bucked him on it. “Looks okay. Nobody’s messed with our campfire.”
“Nope.” Damon produced the matches, lit one and touched it to the small pile of dry leaves and branches they’d heaped in a circle of dirt surrounded by stones. The branches caught instantly.
“We need to make this quick.” Cade sat cross-legged on the ground. After opening his pocket knife, he dipped the blade into the flames. “It won’t burn for long.”
Damon held out his palm. “Do it.”
“Maybe you should do your own.”
“No, you.” He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved his hand toward Cade.
So Damon was scared. Cade thought about asking if he wanted to forget the whole thing, but Damon wouldn’t like the suggestion that he was a wimp. Cade had never sliced into someone before, but this had been his idea, so he had to hang tough. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed his friend’s hand and made a small cut across the base of his thumb. Blood oozed out.
Damon winced and kept his eyes closed. He looked a little pale, but that might have been because of the moonlight.
Letting go of Damon’s hand, Cade held his own palm steady and applied the knife to the same spot. It hurt, but nothing like the beatings he used to get from his old man. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Damon opened his eyes. “We’re supposed to say something, but I don’t think I remember it all.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.” He positioned their hands so the cuts were aligned. “Just hold on.” As Damon gripped his hand, Cade said the words they’d written down and he’d memorized.
“On Thunder Mountain Ranch in the state of Wyoming, we swear to be straight with everyone and protect the weak. Bound by blood, we declare ourselves the Thunder Mountain Brotherhood. Loyalty above all.”