Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(35)
Come on, come on, come on…
Her heart began to pound, the blood flooding her ears. The birds chirping nearby suddenly sounded distorted, surreal. The sunlight was overly bright, blinding. Her chest heaved, her breath coming in gasps as fear surged in her veins.
He should’ve answered the door by now. Something was wrong. She knew it. Something was terribly wrong.
She punched the doorbell a couple of times then pounded on the door with her fist, trying the knob with her free hand. “Gabe! Answer the door! Gabe!”
She was bringing her fist up to pound on the door again when it suddenly swung open. Gabe stood in the doorway leaning on a walking cane, shirtless and barefoot, his jeans apparently hastily pulled on because they weren’t yet buttoned. “Hey, I didn’t—”
Without thinking, Elle threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank God,” she whispered. “I was so worried when you didn’t answer the door.”
His arm came around her, holding her close. “I’m fine,” he assured her. “I was just getting out of the shower when I heard you pounding on the door. Took me a minute to get here.”
Her hold on him eased a little as humiliation overrode her fear, and she pulled back, one arm still around his neck. She closed her eyes on a relieved sigh. But when she realized her other hand was resting lightly on his bare chest, her eyes snapped back open.
“Oh jeez,” she said in a rush, pushing back to put some distance between her and one of the most amazing sets of pecs she’d seen in a seriously long time. But his arm around her waist tightened just enough to keep her from backing away.
“Hang on a sec,” he said, his brows drawn together in a concerned frown as he searched her face. “What’s really going on? This isn’t just about me. Your heart is pounding like a rabbit’s.”
She swallowed hard, not about to tell him that, at least at that moment, her pounding heart had nothing to do with her fear and everything to do with the fact that her body was pressed against his.
“I thought someone was following me,” she admitted. “I didn’t see anyone—just felt like I was being watched. And then when you didn’t answer the door…”
He released her and took hold of her hand, leading her into his office, where music was playing on the stereo. He grabbed a remote from the desk and adjusted the volume. “Sorry,” he said. “Guess I forgot to turn it off before I got in the shower.”
Is that Ray LaMontagne? Huh. Somehow she’d pegged him more as a country music kind of guy.
He hadn’t been kidding about being an enigma. As she was quickly discovering, there were many things about Gabe she hadn’t expected…
He gestured to the laptop on his desk. “Which one of the Monroes do you think it is?”
She brought her focus back to the investigation and narrowed her eyes, realizing he had photos of Jeb Monroe and his various family members and acquaintances open on the screen. “Where did you get these?”
“Kyle’s pals at the FBI,” he told her. “They’re helping with some surveillance. I got these last night.”
She pointed to a photo of a man she recognized. “He’s one I’ve seen around a couple of times.”
He blew out a harsh sigh. “That’s Jeremy Monroe, one of Jeb’s sons.”
She pointed to another photo. “He’s definitely the one who was following me the day after the shooting.”
Gabe’s brows lifted. “The one who slashed your tire?”
“I can’t prove it,” she admitted. “But it’s a little too coincidental, don’t you think?”
He sat down on the corner of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge in a way that was most distracting. “How long?”
She dragged her gaze up to his eyes. “How long what?”
“How long have you been having this feeling?” he pressed. “You haven’t mentioned anything when we’ve talked.”
She felt warmth flooding her cheeks. “I didn’t want to worry you just because I was being paranoid.”
He gently took her hand and pulled her closer, until she was standing between his thighs. “I want you to tell me everything, especially when it’s something that causes you to have a panic attack on my front porch.”
She tried to avert her gaze, but he tenderly grasped her chin and forced her to look at him.
“Elle, you are the strongest woman I know. Nothing is going to change my opinion of you in that regard.”
Elle’s breath caught in her chest when he looked at her with such intense admiration. She’d noticed it before, had seen the respect in his eyes. But she hadn’t realized until that moment how much it meant to her. He was right. One of the reasons she hadn’t said anything was because she didn’t want him to think any less of her. Why that mattered was a mystery. But it did.
“Okay,” she said softly.
His thumb smoothed lightly over her jaw and his aqua gaze grew more intense. Just when she thought he might lean in and kiss her, he said softly, “I want you to come to me.”
She shook her head, clearing the fog of desire that’d been building there, swamping her reason. “Sorry?”
“If you even suspect anything else is going on,” he explained.