by Anna Blakely
“Pretty sure we can all guess what that is,” Nate mumbled.
Ignoring the girlfriend comment, Zade got right up in Kole’s face. “You think I don’t know that? That I don’t care about what happens to those girls?”
“Oh, I know you care. I just think you care more about that deceitful little—”
Zade was moving before he even realized it.
One minute he was standing toe-to-toe with one of his best friends, and the next his fists were filled with the front of Kole’s shirt. He shoved the guy backward.
“Watch your fucking mouth!”
“Ah, hell,” Nate groaned from somewhere nearby.
Sure, Gabby had lied to them. Multiple times. But he was starting to understand why. At least part of the reason, anyway.
Regardless, he sure as shit wasn’t going to stand by and let his teammate—or anyone else—disrespect her.
“Guys.” Matt tried pushing himself between Zade and Kole. “This isn’t helping.”
Neither man relented.
“Stand down.” Gabe was suddenly there, his dark eyes shooting lasers at him and Kole. “Both of you take a fucking step back. Now.”
With a shove, Zade released Kole’s shirt and did as he was ordered. Chest heaving, he ran a hand through his hair as he tried to get a grip and understand what had just happened.
You damn near beat the hell out of your teammate defending Gabby. That’s what happened.
“King. Go cut Miss Stevens free.”
Kole’s eyes flew to Gabe’s. “Seriously?”
“I’m with Jameson on this one, Gabe.” Nate’s gaze bounced between Zade’s and Kole’s before landing on Gabe’s. “Don’t you think we should figure out why she’s here before we let her go?”
The former SEAL addressed the entire group. “We’re not letting her go.”
Nate frowned. “Then why—”
“I’ll tell you why.” The formidable man rested his hands on his hips. “While these two shitheads were bickering back and forth, I got word back from Ghost about Gabby’s involvement with Andino.”
Zade’s heart beat a little harder. When Nate had taken her picture and prints earlier, he’d also sent the info to Ghost and his Delta team so they could do their own checking. Second set of eyes and all that.
“What did Ghost find?” His question came out a hell of a lot steadier than he felt.
Gabe stared back at him, his expression unreadable. Zade held his breath and waited.
“Not a damn thing. She has no known connection to Hector Andino or any other member of his cartel.”
Hope flared to life inside him. “So Gabby’s telling the truth.” Zade slid an I told you so gaze to Kole. “She isn’t on Andino’s payroll.”
Gabe shook his head. “Doesn’t appear to be, no.”
“I knew it.” Zade’s shoulders fell with relief.
“I wouldn’t celebrate quite yet,” his team leader warned. “We still need to know why she’s here, in La Paz.”
Kole opened his mouth to argue, but Zade shut him down.
“You heard him, Kole. Gabby’s not in bed with the cartel.”
The young sniper gritted his teeth. “Doesn’t mean she’s clean.”
He had a point. Still…
“We’ll have a hell of a lot better chance at getting her to talk if she doesn’t feel like a damn hostage.”
“King’s right,” Gabe agreed. To Zade he said, “Cut Gabby loose. We’ll take her back to the hotel with us. Give her a chance to clean up and get something to eat. She gets a little more comfortable and starts feeling as though she can trust you again, she may let her guard down enough to open up to you.”
Zade liked Gabe’s plan. He liked that plan a lot. But he needed to tread carefully. Why? Because he was man enough to admit his weaknesses.
He didn’t want to get close to her simply to gain intel. Zade wanted to be close to Gabby again, period.
Huge. Fucking. Weakness.
“Think we all could use a shower.” Matt sniffed himself. “It’s after eleven and it’s still hot as fuck in this place.”
Ignoring the others’ mumbled agreements, Zade returned to the room where Gabby was being held. He tried to ignore the defeat in her red-rimmed eyes as he made his way over to her.
Pulling his knife from his jeans pocket, Zade heard a sharp intake of air over the snick of his blade being released.
“W-what are you doing?” Gabby began fighting against her restraints. “Please, Zade. I swear I’m telling you the truth. I’m not involved with Andino or anyone like that. I swear!”
He froze in place, his eyes locking with hers. The fear he saw there nearly undid him.
Jesus, she thinks I could…
“I’m not going to hurt you, Gabby,” he quickly assured her. He then held his hands—and the knife—out to his sides.
Slowly, Zade moved closer in the most non-threatening way he could manage. “I could never hurt you. I’m just going to cut you loose.”
Gabby stopped struggling but kept an uneasy eye on him as he slid the sharp tip of the blade between the chair’s wooden arm and the plastic tie. With a quick twist of his wrist, the plastic snapped, releasing her wrist in the process.
Her breath of relief was like a kick to his fucking gut. She’d actually believed he was capable of hurting her. Of cutting her.
Christ, what kind of a prick did she think he was?
You did help knock her out and bring her here. Not to mention you’ve been holding her against her will.
Ignoring the tiny voice, Zade quickly and carefully cut away the remaining ties. When she was completely free, Gabby took a moment to stretch her stiff legs and arms.
His eyes fell to the cuts on her wrists, his chest tightening when he saw the red, raw skin there. Gabby stood, her movements slow and stiff.
Hesitantly, Zade raised a hand to one of hers. Her flinch ripped a giant hole in his heart.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Gabby,” he whispered the promise again. This time when he reached for her, she didn’t try to pull away.
Thank you, God.
Taking her hand in his, Zade lifted it in order to get a better look. Using his thumb, he gently caressed the area next to the reddened skin.
“You’re bleeding.” He shook his head. Feeling like a complete asshole, he ignored the electric zing from her touch and brought his eyes to hers. “You weren’t supposed to get hurt. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Gabby looked up at him warily. “I’m fine, Zade. Or at least I would be if you’d let me go.”
He shook his head and released her hand. “I can’t do that, sweetheart. Not yet.”
The endearment made her scowl, and Gabby jerked her hand free. Lifting her chin and straightening her shoulders, the strong woman asked, “Why not? You obviously believe me. Otherwise, you would’ve left me tied to the chair.”
“I cut the ties because we’re leaving.”
“You’re leaving me here?” She looked around. “I don’t even know where I am. How am I supposed to get back to—”
“I’m not leaving you, Gabby. You’re coming with us.”
She frowned. “Where are we going?”
“To our hotel.”
Gabby studied him a moment. She glanced away and then brought those gorgeous eyes back to his. “Your team?”
Zade nodded. “There are five of us, and despite evidence to the contrary…we’re the good guys.”
“Right.” She let out a little snort that held no humor. “I could tell.”
“I promise you, we are.”
And I’m going to do whatever it takes to prove that to you.
“You said you don’t work for Hector Andino,” she spoke softly.
“We don’t.”
“So who do you work for?”
Bravo was very careful when it came to sharing information about their professional lives. With Gabby, Zade knew the more he divulged about himself and his team, the better chance h
e had at regaining her trust.
“I work for a company called R.I.S.C. I’m on one of the company’s two black ops security teams. We work in both the private sector and also take on jobs for Homeland.”
Her brows rose at that. “Homeland? As in Homeland Security?”
One corner of his mouth rose slightly. “The very same.”
“Are you really here to take out Andino?”
Zade nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” Relief seemed to pour from her soul. Then she surprised the hell out of Zade when she added, “We can take the bastard down, together.”
Chapter 6
Gabby wiped the condensation from the bathroom mirror. Droplets of water ran down its length as she studied her reflection.
Her long, towel-dried hair hung over one shoulder. Dark circles from lack of sleep and insurmountable stress were impossible to hide without makeup, but at this point, she was too tired to care.
Running her fingers through her damp hair, the marks on her wrists caught her eye. At first, the shower’s hot water had stung when it hit her skin there, but the reddened and bruised area now felt soothed.
The hotel where Zade and his team were staying was a hell of an upgrade from the dump she’d chosen when she first arrived in La Paz. Of course, when money was limited, you stayed where you could afford.
After several weeks of endless searching for the girl she thought of as her sister, Gabby’s funds were all but depleted. That left her with few—if any—choices.
Her thoughts turned to the man waiting for her on the other side of the door, knowing she had no choice where he was concerned.
Zade had said he and his friends were here to take Andino out. For now, Gabby had to play along and hope to God they were telling the truth. Up to now, she’d been doing everything on her own.
Gabby had to admit, a team of black ops badasses would come in handy right about now. The question was how could she be certain Zade and the others were who they said they were?
Once Zade had cut her free, he’d introduced her to the men on his supposed team. To say their greetings were less than warm would be a massive understatement.
They hadn’t exactly been rude, per say. But it was clear those guys trusted her about as much as she trusted them.
Which wasn’t much.
Having no other choice but to go with them, Gabby had gotten into their SUV. When they pulled up to the place where she’d been staying since coming here, Zade had muttered a low curse before asking for her room key.
He then threw her off guard by ordering her to stay in the vehicle while he and the man named Matt went inside to get her clothes.
Normally, she would have bristled at the order. But she was a little more than outnumbered and decided it was best to pick her battles.
For some reason, Zade seemed even angrier by the time he got back. In fact, he didn’t say more than a few clipped words to her for the remainder of the ride.
Now Gabby was here, in a posh hotel. She was clean and about to share room service with the man who’d held her captive less than an hour ago.
Probably nothing compared to what Sam’s going through.
Shaking those thoughts away, Gabby slipped out of the thick robe provided by the hotel and hung it on the door’s metal hook. She took her time getting dressed, dreading the conversation that would no doubt bring with it more questions.
Questions Gabby still wasn’t quite sure she should answer.
Yes, Zade had sounded convincing when he’d told her he and his team were here to take down Andino. But then, when she’d made the comment about the two of them working together for the common cause, he’d all but shut down.
And men say we’re confusing.
Knowing she couldn’t hide out in the bathroom forever, Gabby filled her lungs, let the air out slowly, and opened the door. A delicious aroma filled her nostrils the second she walked into the spacious suite.
“Thought you might be hungry.” Zade’s low voice drew her focus to the small kitchen area on her right.
Neatly spread across the granite bar top were several different platters with various types of food.
Gabby felt her eyes widen. “Expecting an army?”
Because he’d definitely ordered enough room service to feed one.
One corner of Zade’s savory mouth curved upward. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want.”
Stepping closer, Gabby took in the different dishes he’d had delivered. One plate had a burger and fries, the one next to it, a large plate of tacos and rice. Beside that was an enormous, grilled chicken Caesar salad with the dressing, chicken, and parmesan cheese each in their own separate container on the side.
The salad was nearly identical to the one she’d ordered during their memorable weekend together.
Gabby always ordered her dressing and other toppings on the side because, inevitably, restaurants always gave her entirely too much.
Her eyes flew to Zade’s. From the way he was looking at her, she knew. He’d remembered and had ordered the salad exactly the way she liked it.
If they were back on the island, she’d have thought it was sweet. Now Gabby hated that all she felt was suspicious.
Was he trying to butter her up? Trying to win her trust by using memories from their time together against her?
Maybe he’s just being nice and trying to make up for the shitty night you’ve had.
Regardless, she was starving. Walking over to the bar, Gabby picked up the salad and a fork and went over to sit at the small, round table.
“Thank you.”
She offered him the slightest of smiles before taking her first bite. Closing her eyes, a low moan escaped before she could stop it. The salad was even more delicious than the one she’d had the last time they were together.
Forgetting all about everything else, she took another bite. And another. It wasn’t until Zade spoke again that she even realized he’d come over to the table to join her.
“When was the last time you ate?” he nearly growled.
She froze, a fork full of lettuce and goodness almost to her mouth. What was his problem? It wasn’t like she’d been scarfing her food or anything.
Gabby glanced down at the salad that was already half gone. Shit.
“Um…” She set the fork back into her bowl and licked some dressing from her bottom lip. “I had a granola bar this morning, I think. Why?”
“That’s all you’ve eaten today?” Zade shook his head, his tone—and current scowl—made her feel as though she were a child being scolded. “No wonder you look thinner. Your body needs more nutrients than a damn granola bar.”
“I’ve been a little busy,” she said defensively.
Yeah, she’d lost a few pounds over the last month. Who wouldn’t?
Not in the mood for a chastisement over her lack of nutrition, Gabby said, “Tell me more about your team’s plans to stop Hector Andino.”
“Finish the salad, and then we’ll talk.”
She frowned. “You and your friend, Gabe, took your sweet time asking me all sorts of questions. Now it’s my turn.”
“Food first.” He tipped his head toward her bowl. “Then we talk.”
“Seriously? I’m perfectly capable of holding a conversation while I eat.” Something he damn well knew.
The man’s arrogant damn brow rose as he bit into the cheeseburger, and Gabby knew this wasn’t an argument she was going to win. Not that she really wanted to waste time arguing out of spite.
She was too hungry, and the salad was amazing.
Refusing to let him think she was actually fine with his conditional agreement, Gabby gritted her teeth, picked up her fork, stabbed even more lettuce and shoved the bite into her mouth.
Zade coughed to cover up a chuckle.
On the island, he’d told her he found her feistiness adorable. Apparently, he still does.
When Gabby had finished her meal, she set her fork down, wiped her mouth, and crossed her arms in fron
t of her. “There. Happy?”
He didn’t answer right away. Wiping his mouth, Zade set his napkin aside and shook his head. “Not really. Tell me why you were in Grand Isle. And why you took off the way you did.”
“No.”
Zade blinked, clearly surprised by her defiance. “No?”
“It’s my turn to ask the questions, remember? I want to know who you guys really are, who you work for, and what your plan is with Andino.”
For the next several seconds, he stared at her from across the table. When Gabby thought he was going to argue, Zade sat back in his seat and said, “Okay.”
Well that was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
“The guys and I work for a company called R.I.S.C., or ‘Risk’. The acronym stands for rescue, intel, security, and capture. There are currently two teams, Alpha and Bravo. We’re Bravo.”
Gabby thought for a moment. “Is the company really based out of Dallas?”
Zade nodded. “We have an office downtown and everything. You can even Google it.”
She’d be doing that the first chance she got. Still…
“I’d rather hear it from you.”
He smirked. “R.I.S.C. is owned by a man named Jake McQueen.”
“McQueen.” Gabby repeated the name. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“Ever hear of Olivia Bradshaw?”
“Uh, who hasn’t?”
Olivia Bradshaw was a nurse from Texas. She had been part of a volunteer medical group who’d gone to Africa to offer relief after a massive hurricane hit the island of Madagascar. Their group was attacked by members of a violent cartel, and everyone except Olivia had been killed.
“She was taken and held captive by the men who killed her co-workers, right?”
The story had made international news, filling every headline for weeks—on the T.V., in magazines and newspapers, and every online news and social media site in existence.
Zade nodded grimly. “She was. Thankfully Jake and the rest of Alpha Team found her and brought her home.”