Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(72)

Gabe shook his head. “Something tells me that won’t be the case.”

“Give me a name,” Elle pressed.

“Elle—”

“I’ll look into it myself,” she continued, “see if I can convince the person to meet with me.”

“Let it go,” he said, his tone sharp. When she pulled back a little, taken off guard by how adamant he was, he closed his eyes for a moment before saying in a much calmer tone, “I go back to work tomorrow. I’ll see what else I can dig up while I’m there.”

“And you’ll share what you find?” she prompted.

He gave her a terse nod. “Scout’s honor.”

She arched a single brow at him. “You are a lot of things, Gabe Dawson. But a boy scout is not one of them.”

The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back and Gabe was grinning down at her. “Thank God for that.”





Chapter 20


Gabe stood in front of the mirror and stretched one arm across his chest and then the other, the new uniform he’d been issued feeling a little stiff. Or maybe it was just the fact that he hadn’t been in his Class A’s for several weeks. The material felt coarser, scratching the back of his neck; the weight of his gun belt felt heavier somehow.

Then Elle appeared in the mirror behind him, her gorgeous hair pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck, her tailored charcoal-gray pantsuit accentuating the tantalizing curves of her figure. Her eyes caught his in the mirror and an adorable flush flooded her cheeks.

“Wow,” she breathed. “I’d almost forgotten how good you look in a uniform.”

He laughed and turned to gather her into his arms. “And here I was thinking I looked like a tool. You’re good for my ego, Elle McCoy.”

She tapped his chin with her index finger. “I don’t think your ego needs any help, lover. But I’ll go ahead and tell you that you look seriously hot anyway.”

He pressed a kiss to her jaw near her ear, loving the soft little sigh she made, wishing the workday wasn’t calling them away from bed so soon. “You have plans this evening?”

Her arms went around his neck, pulling him closer. “Mmm-hmm. And they involve a hot bubble bath.”

“Yeah?” he murmured, nuzzling the curve of her throat. “Want some company?”

She pulled back enough to give him a sultry grin. “Sure. Know anyone who’d be interested?”

He bent his head and captured her mouth in a slow kiss, deepening it when she nipped at his bottom lip. When his watch alarm started beeping, they both sighed in disappointment, then chuckled. He pressed his forehead to hers. “We should probably go.”

She reluctantly pulled out of his embrace. “Guess so,” she agreed as she turned to leave the bathroom. “Give me a ride to the office?”

Although a ride to the office wasn’t the kind of ride he had on his mind at that moment, he was happy to give her a lift since her car was still in the shop. “Only if you agree to accompany me to my brother’s tonight.”

She slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and grabbed her handbag. “Sure. For what?”

Gabe turned on the house alarm and followed her out onto the porch, locking the door behind him before responding. “Abby and Kyle wanted to throw a dinner party at their place. Back to work celebration for me or something, I guess.”

She offered him a smile. “I’m glad to see you and Kyle trying to get along better.”

Gabe shrugged. “I love the little shit—I hated having that tension between us. But once he lost the massive chip on his shoulder over everything that happened when Mom was sick, we were able to bury the hatchet.”

“Well, then, dinner would be great,” Elle mused as she headed to his department Tahoe. “So…maybe we should invite Charlotte. Unless you think Kyle and Abby would mind.”

He gave her a sidelong glance, noticing she was trying just a little too hard to appear nonchalant. “She’s always welcome, of course. But why do I get the impression you have ulterior motives beyond just wanting to include your aunt? What are you up to?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. I just thought it would be nice. I assume your dad will be there?”

“I guess so.” He eyed her for a moment before starting up the Tahoe and pulling out of the driveway. “Where are you going with this?”

She cleared her throat and tried to look casual, fiddling with the hem of her suit jacket as she said, “Nowhere. Not really.” But when he let silence hang between them she cracked like an egg. “Well, okay—I just thought maybe it would be nice for them to finally go public, for crying out loud. I mean, it’s got to be tough sneaking around—”

“Sneaking around?” Gabe sent a startled glance her way. He’d had no idea what she was thinking, but he sure as shit hadn’t anticipated an implication his dad was banging Charlotte on the sly. “What the hell are you talking about?”

The look she gave him was equally incredulous. “You didn’t realize…? Oh boy.”

“What?” he demanded. “You think there’s something going on between the Old Man and Charlotte?”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “Seriously? You haven’t noticed? He calls her Charlie, Gabe. No one else ever calls my aunt that.”