Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(34)

Tom’s expression barely altered, but Gabe could see he was startled by the news. “You should’ve called me when you found it.”

“Why?” Gabe asked. “So you could come racing over here to hover around like a mother hen? I figured it could wait until morning. There’s nothing you could’ve done last night that I didn’t already do unless you want to canvas the neighborhood to see if anyone saw anything. I wasn’t quite up to pounding the pavement.”

“I could’ve filed a report so we could have the incident on record,” Tom snapped.

Gabe sighed. “Well, I’m telling you now. But there’re no prints on anything, of course—already checked for that. Nothing tying Monroe to the damned thing. There never is.”

Tom scrubbed a hand down his face, looking even more haggard than when he’d first arrived. “Shit.”

Gabe grunted. “Tell me about it.”

“Why’s he targeting you, though?” Tom asked.

Gabe shrugged. “Maybe I’m just up first because Mark didn’t finish me off? Or maybe it’s because I was the one who arrested Derrick after Chris’s murder.”

Tom frowned. “Yeah, but I was the one who killed Mark. You’d think he’d be coming after me.”

“Who says he’s not?” Gabe replied.

“I’ll give Kyle a call,” Tom told him, “see if we can get some additional surveillance going from the FBI. Unless Monroe gives us something to bring him in on, there’s not much else I can do.”

Gabe leaned back in his chair and spread his hands. “Exactly why I didn’t call you.”

Tom regarded him for a long moment then finally said, “If you turn up anything, you’ll tell me? You won’t go off half-cocked?”

Gabe raised his right hand. “My hand to God—if I go anywhere, I’m taking my whole cock.”

“I’m serious, Gabe.”

“So am I!” he shot back.

Tom laughed and snatched an orange from the counter, lobbing it at his brother.

Gabe dodged it easily and chuckled, “Nice throw, dickhead.”

“Piss off,” Tom laughed. “I’m taking it easy on you while you’re recovering.”

“Uh-huh,” Gabe teased. “Sure.”

“Oh, you wanna be a tough guy?” Tom darted forward, putting Gabe in a headlock and rubbing his knuckles on the top of Gabe’s head. Tom released him abruptly and stumbled back with a laugh when Gabe punched him in the gut.

Gabe jabbed a finger at his brother. “You’re lucky I can’t kick your ass right now.”

Tom shook his head, grinning. “Yeah, yeah. You can owe me one, Billy Badass.” His phone chimed, drawing his attention. He checked it quickly and shoved it back into the case at his hip. “Gotta go. Duty calls.”

“Everything okay?” Gabe asked.

“Same shit, different day,” Tom assured him. “Call me if you need anything—or if you get any other presents from Monroe.”

Gabe gave him a mocking salute. “Yes, sir.”

“I mean it,” Tom called over his shoulder as he headed out of the kitchen. “Don’t be stupid.”

Gabe sighed, then muttered, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”





Chapter 10


Elle was early.

She’d talked to Gabe nearly every day during the week since their dinner at his house, just a few minutes here and there to check in on him, see if he’d had any other problems with Monroe she might be able to work with. But it’d been quiet. For him anyway.

Even though she’d promised to keep him apprised of any uneasiness she’d felt, she wasn’t about to tell him about every single paranoid moment she’d experienced. She was certain someone was following her. She could feel his gaze on her when she was loading groceries into her trunk. When she left the fitness center. When she left the office and was walking to her car…

But she’d only seen someone once. And that could’ve been just a coincidence. After all, Fairfield County wasn’t exactly a bustling metropolis. Mostly comprised of farmland and factories with the occasional cluster of houses in a suburban neighborhood, the towns in Fairfield County epitomized small-town Midwest life. The fact that she’d seen Jeremy Monroe sitting in a corner booth sipping a cup of coffee while she was at lunch with her coworkers was hardly surprising. And really not even worth mentioning to Gabe.

At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. Because otherwise she was going to go crazy.

And yet, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling, even now as she made her way to Gabe’s house to go over some of the information he’d been gathering, that someone was trailing her. She’d checked her rearview mirror too many times to count, had tried to keep track of all the vehicles that were behind her between her house and Gabe’s. But there were none that stood out.

Still, with paranoia adding to her eagerness to see Gabe—purely for the sake of information gathering, of course—she’d broken pretty much every traffic law possible. Lovely. Great idea for the deputy prosecutor to get caught in a serious traffic violation. That’d go over really well with her boss…

She sighed with relief when she turned into Gabe’s driveway and practically sprinted to the front door, glancing over her shoulder as she waited for him to answer her knock. Her stomach began to twist into knots as the seconds dragged on, her uneasiness building. She knocked again, louder this time, glancing around again.