Rescuing Gabriella (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Bravo Series Book 3)

by Anna Blakely

  Gabby’s gaze seemed burrowed deep inside his. “You said you’d kill to keep me safe. That means you’d risk your life for mine, too. Right?”

  “Damn straight I would.”

  She frowned, but he could see the wheels turning. His gut was telling him she understood exactly what that meant. Still, he needed to make sure of it.

  “I know it’s too early for the words, but you need to know where I stand on this, baby.”

  “This?”

  He nodded. “Us.”

  Zade swallowed hard. He was moving fast, but despite his earlier thoughts about waiting to talk about their future, he couldn’t help it. He’d never felt this way about anyone before and was filled with a sudden need for her to know it.

  “I’ll admit, our relationship has been anything but normal or conventional up to this point, but I’m falling hard and fast here, Gabby.” He heard her suck in a breath. Hoping like hell he wasn’t about to send her running in the opposite direction, Zade pushed on with what he felt compelled to say. “Once this mess with Andino is over and your sister’s safe, I’d really like to see where this thing between us can go.” Feeling vulnerable himself, he added, “Please tell me I’m not alone in that thought.”

  “You’re not alone, Zade.” This time, when Gabby turned to face him, he let her. Resting a hand on his bare chest, she blinked quickly, sending a silver trail down her cheek. “I’m falling for you, too. Pretty sure I started to that first night we met. But…”

  “But?” he asked, holding his breath while she finished the thought.

  “But I don’t want you killing anyone for me. Ever. And I sure as hell don’t want you dying for me. If you did that, if you risked your own life for mine, I’d be so pissed off at you.”

  His lips twitched. “Yeah?”

  “I’m serious. Like, worse than baseball bat pissed.”

  Zade threw his head back and laughed. God, he loved this woman. “Well I definitely don’t want you coming at me swinging, so how about this? I promise I will do my best not to get killed while protecting you.”

  It was the best promise he could make. The only promise. Because hell yeah, he’d lay his life down for hers.

  In a fucking heartbeat.

  “Make sure you do.” She poked him in the chest. “Because my swing has only gotten better with time and trust me…I hit what I aim for.”

  Laughing again, Zade pulled her close, his erection pressing against her bare, lower belly. You’d think the damn thing would be satisfied after two rounds of the best sex he’d ever had. But that was the thing about Gabby.

  The more he had her, the more he wanted her.

  With his hands framing her face, he asked, “How did I get so lucky?”

  Gabby smiled the most genuine smile and answered, “You’ve got it all wrong, Zade. I’m the lucky one.”

  “Do you have to argue about everything?” he teased.

  “We could argue.” She shrugged. “Or you could kiss me.”

  There was no question which one he was going to pick.

  Chapter 12

  The aroma of bacon and coffee filled the entire suite, pulling Gabby out of a restful night’s sleep. She stretched, her muscles deliciously sore after three—Three!—rounds of amazing, mind-blowing sex.

  Most of her recent nights had been spent tossing and turning. Worrying about Sam or fighting her way out of memory-filled nightmares. Lying in the safety and comfort of Zade’s arms, she’d slept like a baby.

  Thoughts of Sam and where she’d been sleeping chipped away at Gabby’s euphoric state. Guilt began to seep in as it had when she and Zade were together in Grand Isle.

  Sam was out there, somewhere, and Gabby was here, having the best sex of her life. But this time it was different. They were together, yes, but they were also working to get Sam back.

  There’d be no running this time. Not only because Gabby needed Zade and his team’s help—and Ghost’s—but because she needed Zade. Period.

  I’m falling hard and fast, here, Gabby.

  Her heart flipped inside her chest every time she remembered Zade’s confession. How it happened, she didn’t know, but Gabby had fallen for him, too.

  As in completely and totally in love with him.

  It was crazy, right? And way too soon. At the same time, it felt as if she’d known the man forever. As if she’d loved him her entire life.

  He was everything she’d ever dreamed about, but thought she’d never have.

  “Sure hope that look on your face has something to do with me.”

  Gabby swung her gaze to the doorway where Zade stood. In his hands were two steaming cups of coffee.

  “It might.” She smiled.

  His eyes glittered with humor and a bit of primal, male pride. Walking toward her side of the bed, his lips curled into a cocky grin.

  “Gotta tell you, baby. A man wakes up to see his woman smiling like that after a night like the one we just had…that’s a damn good stroke to the old male ego.”

  “Oh, I don’t think your ego needs any more stroking.”

  “Maybe not my ego.” He handed her one of the mugs. “But there’s another part of me that will take all the stroking you’re willing to offer.”

  Giggling, Gabby took a sip of the hot brew and moaned. “Keep bringing me coffee in bed, and we’ll talk.”

  Zade placed his mug on the nightstand before sitting on the mattress beside her. The bed dipped and Gabby scooted over a smidge to give him more room.

  “Morning, baby.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. That was followed by a kiss to the tip of her nose and one on her lips. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Like the dead.” She took another sip, careful not to burn her tongue. “Any word from Andino, yet?”

  Zade rested his hand on her thigh, caressing her through the sheet. “Not yet.”

  “Damn. I was hoping he would’ve made contact by now.”

  “He will. We just have to be patient.”

  “The auction’s tonight, Zade. There’s not a whole lot of time to be patient.”

  “He’ll make contact,” he assured her again.

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I saw the way he was looking at you last night. Bastard was practically salivating.”

  Gabby tilted her head and smirked. “Careful, soldier. You almost sound jealous.”

  “Of course I’m fucking jealous.” He frowned. Taking the mug from her hand, he set it down next to his. Leaning in, he brushed the tip of his nose against hers before giving her a soft, sweet kiss. “Told you last night, you’re mine. I’m a selfish bastard, baby. I don’t like to share.”

  Her mouth grew into a wide grin. “That’s good because I don’t share either.”

  “No?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I blame it on growing up with next to nothing. On the rare occasions I got something special, I held on tightly and never let it go.”

  “You trying to say I’m special?” He nipped her bottom lip.

  “Not trying to say anything.”

  Heat flared to life behind his brown eyes. Eyes that were staring back at her with an emotion she was terrified to assume.

  Not because the emotion scared her, but because she didn’t want to be wrong.

  Zade lifted a hand, pressed the palm of that hand to her cheek. “Gabby, I—”

  The phone next to the bed rang, the sound piercing through the air…and Zade’s words.

  Don’t answer it. Ignore it and finish saying whatever it was you were going to say.

  Muttering a low curse, he reached for the phone. Picking up the receiver, Zade answered with a frustrated, “King.”

  His eyes shot to hers. “Thank you. I’ll be right down.” He hung up the phone and blew out a breath. “Someone left an envelope for you at the front desk.”

  Her heartrate spiked. “Andino?”

  “That’s my guess.”

  Gabby practically pushed him off the bed. “I’ll get dressed.�
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  “Whoa.” Zade nearly stumbled as he stood to get out of her way. “Where’s the fire?”

  “Sorry.” She didn’t bother looking back at him. Rushing to the bathroom, she said, “I need to get myself presentable before going downstairs. If he has someone watching, they’ll be expecting the me from last night.”

  “The what?”

  “You know.” She peeked back out of the bathroom doorway. “The woman who was all poised and professional. And sexy.”

  That woman would definitely not go out in public with hair that screamed all-night-sex-fest.

  Gabby smiled as she started the water, thoughts of said sex-fest entering her mind. She was also smiling because Hector Andino had taken the bait.

  As she rushed through washing her hair and body, Gabby couldn’t help but feel hopeful. She was going to see Sam at that auction tonight.

  She’d ‘buy’ her, and once she and Sam were a safe distance away, Bravo Team and Ghost’s men would take Andino down. Sam would finally be safe, and Gabby’s life would go back to normal.

  Do you really want normal?

  No. She wanted a different life than before. One that included Zade.

  She was almost certain he’d been about to tell her he loved her. It had been right there, staring back at her. The words ready to fall off the tip of his tongue.

  At least she was pretty sure that’s what he was going to say.

  Whatever it was, there’d be time for it later. Time for that and, with any luck, a whole lot more.

  Twenty minutes later, a put-together Gabby was walking to the hotel’s front desk. Her trusted bodyguards—a.k.a., Zade and Kole—followed a few steps behind. She’d tried to tell them it wasn’t necessary, but Zade had insisted a woman like Gabriella Smith would always have her protective guards in tow.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at the kind clerk who handed her the envelope. It was black with her name stamped in gold on the front. “Andino goes all out, doesn’t he?” Gabby mumbled to Zade as they got onto the elevator.

  She started to rip it open, but he stopped her.

  “Not here.”

  Feeling as anxious as a kid on Christmas morning, she looked over a him quizzically. “Why wait?” She needed to see what the envelope held.

  “He could have someone watching,” Kole mumbled. His eyes slid to the camera in on corner of the ceiling.

  “Oh.” Gabby smiled. “Right.”

  Doing her best to appear indifferent and not at all ready to tear into that damn envelope, Gabby forced herself to wait until they’d returned to the room. The second she stepped foot inside, however, she was tearing into it.

  She stared at the mostly white slip of paper. “It’s an address and a time.” Her eyes rose to meet Zade’s. “That’s it.”

  He took the paper from her and studied it. “This is all we need.”

  “Oh.” Gabby frowned. “I was expecting some sort of formal invite.”

  “That is your invite, darlin’,” Kole grinned and gave her a wink.

  He’d been much nicer to her since they’d left the club last night. Not that Gabby had held his standoffish behavior against him.

  Kole was Zade’s friend and teammate and had only been looking out for Zade. How could she be mad at someone for wanting to protect the man she loves?

  However, it did make things a lot easier when Kole wasn’t acting all burly and suspicious of her.

  “Eight-thirty,” Zade read the time aloud. “That gives us”—he glanced at his watch—“Less than twelve hours to find out what we can about that location and get things ready to go.” He glanced at Gabby. “I need to show this to Gabe. I’m sure he’s going to want to meet back up with Ghost and those guys to go over everything in detail.”

  “Okay.”

  To Kole, he said, “Stay with her while I take this to Gabe?”

  “Didn’t even have to ask, brother.”

  Zade tipped his head to his teammate. He took her hand in his and pulled her close. “I’ll be right back. A few minutes tops.”

  “Kole doesn’t have to stay here, Zade.” Gabby stared up at him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  One corner of his mouth rose into that sexy, half-smile of his. “Kole’s not staying to keep you from running off, baby. He’s staying to keep you safe.”

  Her heart flipped again. “Not necessary, but I won’t argue.”

  “Thank you.” He leaned down, kissed her softly, and left.

  Surprised by the blatant show of affection in front of his teammate, Gabby felt herself becoming a bit flushed.

  “I owe you an apology.”

  She blinked and then frowned. “You do?”

  “I was an asshole to you. I’m sorry.”

  “You were looking out for Zade.” Gabby smiled. “He’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

  The man nodded but didn’t respond. A stretch of awkward silence had her looking away while she tried to think of something else to say.

  “He’s in love with you, you know.”

  Kole’s shocking words had Gabby’s eyes flying back up to meet his. “What?”

  “You don’t see it?” He shook his head. “Maybe you don’t, because you haven’t known him as long as I have. Trust me, Gabby. That man is head over ass for you.”

  Her heart didn’t just flip inside her chest. It stood up and cheered. Except…

  “Why are you telling me this?” And why did it sound like more of a warning than a declaration?

  “Like you said, Zade’s my friend. He’s been through a lot recently, and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  Her heart stopped cheering. “You think I’ll hurt him?”

  “You already did. The second you walked out on him.”

  “I explained that to him. And to you and the others.”

  “I know. And this isn’t me shoving it in your face or trying to make you feel bad. You did what you thought you had to do to help your sister, and I respect that. Doesn’t mean there weren’t consequences to that decision, though.”

  “He was upset.”

  Kole chuckled. “He was a hell of a lot more than upset, darlin’. That man was devastated. I’ve never seen him like that. He spent every spare minute he had trying to track you down.”

  She thought of the scarring near his collar bone and felt like an ass because she hadn’t asked him about it yet.

  “What happened?” When Kole remained quiet, she said, “I’ve seen the scars, Kole. I know he was hurt.

  “You didn’t ask him about it?”

  “We haven’t had a lot of time to sit and talk.” They’d had time for other things…other, deliciously amazing things…but she wasn’t about to tell Kole that.

  With an almost knowing smirk, he said, “The short of it is, Zade was hurt trying to protect Matt’s wife, although she wasn’t his wife at the time.”

  “But he’s okay, and I’m assuming Matt’s wife is okay, too?”

  “She is, now. Almost wasn’t.” A shadow fell over the man’s face. “She was taken by some very bad men. Zade was pinned inside a wrecked car and couldn’t do anything to stop it. He was shot, and we damn near lost him.”

  Oh god. “That’s awful.”

  “It was. We were able to get Katherine back, but Zade…he wasn’t quite the same after that.”

  She thought of how overprotective he’d been with her and what he’d said last night about being terrified when she’d gone into that room with Andino.

  “He blames himself, doesn’t he?” Gabby looked up at Kole. “For what happened to Matt’s wife.”

  “He did. I think he’s finally starting to get past it. Something happens to you, though…” Kole shook his head. “That shit will stay with him for the rest of his life.”

  Gabby’s chest tightened. “I don’t have a death wish, Kole. I plan to go into that auction tonight, get my sister out, and walk away from this whole mess.”

  “What about Zade? You gonna walk away from him, too?”

>   “No.” Her answer was instant and certain.

  A slow smile began to spread across Kole’s handsome face. “Good.”

  “Okay, so Gabe got ahold of Ghost and—”

  Both Gabby and Kole swung their heads around toward Zade, who’d just walked back into the room. He looked like he was watching a ping-pong tournament, his eyes bouncing back and forth between the two.

  “Everything okay, here?” Zade asked slowly.

  “Everything’s great.” Kole grinned. “You were saying?

  Eyeing her suspiciously, Zade continued only after Gabby gave him a reassuring smile. “Uh…I was saying, Gabe got ahold of Ghost, and those guys want to meet up in an hour.”

  “Sounds good. Gives me time to call Sarah before she has to go into the office.”

  Gabby assumed Sarah was the reason for the thin, pewter-colored band on Kole’s left hand. “Thanks, Kole,” she offered as an afterthought.

  He turned to her and winked. “Any time.”

  Zade waited until the other man left before turning back to Gabby. “What was that all about”

  “What?”

  “When I walked in, you two looked like you were in the middle of a pretty serious conversation.”

  “We were discussing the weather.”

  “The weather, huh?” Zade strolled toward her, clearly aware of her obvious lie. “You sure there wasn’t something more to it? Something you’d like to share with me?”

  Gabby smiled as he pulled her into his arms. “Only that I’m glad you have such good friends watching your back.”

  The skin on his forehead bunched together. “Kole wasn’t being a dick to you again, was he? Because I can—”

  Gabby cut him off with a quick, hard kiss. “No, Kole wasn’t being an asshole. Actually, he apologized for being one before.”

  “He did?”

  “He did. I told him that wasn’t necessary.”

  “Uh…yeah. It was.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” She kissed him again. “He was only looking out for you.”

  “And that’s all it was? An apology? Because it sure looked like a lot more than that.”

  “Are you always this suspicious?”

  Zade shrugged. “Occupational hazard.”

  Gabby’s smile fell as she thought about what that occupation was. “Kole told me what happened. About the wreck and you getting shot while protecting Matt’s wife.”