Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(42)
A grumble sounded in his chest.
He widened his stance, then lowered his hands down her back to her curves. Two could play at that game.
A whimper escaped and she nipped his lower lip.
A car’s engine purred. Gabe groaned and opened one eye. Sure enough his mother and John Garrison pulled up in front.
Their timing sucked.
* * *
CHAPTER NINE
* * *
GABE OPENED LUKE’S front door. “Mom’s here,” he announced.
“Grandma’s coming?” A sleepy Joy padded over to her uncle from the hallway leading to her bedroom, dragging her blanket behind her.
He knelt down and smiled at the blonde-haired beauty. “Nap time over, short stuff? Maybe Grandma would like to look at your room when she gets here. I heard you have a pretty nice princess setup in there.”
Luke raised his brow. “Wimping out, little brother? Man, what have you done?”
“Mom hasn’t told me yet.” Gabe felt bad for an instant about getting his niece to distract his mother, but he needed to talk to John alone.
“Maybe you could show Deb your room, as well?”
Deb’s eyes widened. “You barely introduced us. Joy might not want my company.”
“Are you Uncle Gabe’s girlfriend?” Joy asked.
Deb’s eyes widened and Gabe bit the inside of his cheek. Joy could charm anyone.
“You’re almost as tall as my new mommy,” the littler girl chatted. “You can see my room, too. Do you like princesses? My mommy has hair like Rapunzel.”
Deb knelt down to speak with Joy and Gabe chanced a look at Jazz. She crossed her arms and glared at him. The jig was up. She knew him better than most. They’d been SWAT teammates for several years before his attack. “What’s going on, Gabe?”
“Nothing.” He picked up the phone. “Hey, why don’t I order pizza for dinner?”
“Yay!” Joy ran around in circles. “Pizza, pizza, pizza.”
He placed the order while Luke stood next to him, cursing. “You’re digging yourself in deeper and deeper, and now it’s not just with Mom.”
“For heaven’s sake,” Jazz said, “your mother isn’t scary. She raised six sons and not a bum in the lot. Don’t let these guys fool you, Deb. She’s amazing. She just doesn’t let them get away with anything.”
“Why thank you, Jasmine.” Anna Montgomery stood at the front door. Gabe’s boss—and her boyfriend—Captain John Garrison stood at her side. John shifted his feet, his eyes low, clearly uncomfortable.
She’d obviously torn into John already. Gabe swallowed. He was in for it.
“Grandma!” Joy raced toward her grandmother. “Come see my room. Uncle Gabe said you’d want to see my princesses.”
Anna’s brow arched, the movement identical to Luke’s. “He did. Nice ploy,” she said, staring down Gabe, before turning to Joy with a warm smile. “I’d love to see your room, honey. But first, I’d like to meet Gabe’s friend.” She looked pointedly at Deb.
Gabe tugged her forward. “Deb Lansing, Mom.”
Anna’s lips frowned. “I heard about your sister.” She patted Deb’s hand. “You’ll find her.”
“I have to,” Deb said simply.
The two women’s gazes met and Anna nodded. “You have the grit that will see you through this.” She turned to the captain. “John, I’m sure you want to consult with Gabe since he’s working undercover for you now. I want to see that princess room.”
John winced and gave her a quick nod.
Gabe swallowed hard. “Oh, sh—”
Anna whirled on her youngest son. “Gabriel Francis Montgomery, do not say that word aloud. You are in enough trouble with me already. Swearing in front of my four-year-old granddaughter isn’t going to win any points with me, and believe me, boyo, you need them.”
Anna grabbed Joy’s hand and she, in turn, latched on to Deb’s hand and they walked away.
Luke blew out a breath. “You’re working undercover and you haven’t left the sheriff’s office? No wonder she blasted you with all three names. She’s pissed.”
John rubbed his eyes. “I’m sleeping on the couch. We need to wrap this case up quickly.” He nodded toward the porch. “Let’s talk, Gabe.” He turned back to Luke and Jazz. “Excuse us, please?”
Gabe didn’t wait for a response. He walked outside. “How did she figure it out?”
“I needed to talk to you and tried to slip the calls in while she was painting. Unfortunately, she forgot something and came back in the room. I had put my phone down and it showed three calls to you this morning. She immediately knew something was wrong. A few pointed questions later, and she guessed. It wasn’t pretty.”
“Why did you call me?”
“Believe me, I wouldn’t have if I’d had a choice.” John paused. “The DA’s case on that gun-running charge against Jeff Gasmerati is falling apart. The key witness disappeared. They found his body, minus a hand, in the landfill.”
“You have his taped confession, right?” Gabe didn’t like the look on his boss’s face.