Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(89)

“Where’s Elle?” Gabe demanded.

“‘Deliver me, my God!’” Jeb called out over the wail of the sirens, ignoring Gabe’s question. “‘Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the—’”

When Gabe heard the report of the gunshot, for a split second, he thought he’d been ambushed, that this time he wasn’t going to be lucky enough to walk away from it. But then he saw Jeb drop.

Gabe’s head whipped toward the sound of the gunshot to see Sandra Monroe standing there holding a .22, her entire body trembling, tears streaming down her face. “Sandra, honey,” he said, edging toward her, “you need to put down the gun.”

In his periphery, Gabe saw several local police cars as well as his brothers arriving, getting into position to assess and assist.

“Gabe!”

Relief washed over him at the sound of Elle’s voice, and he sent a glance her way that he hoped conveyed how full his heart was at seeing her alive. But he held up a hand, motioning for her to stay where she was when she took a step forward to come to him, and turned his attention back to Sandra.

“Honey,” he said softly, “it’s okay now. Let me help you.”

Sandra blinked once and finally turned her eyes away from her father’s body to meet Gabe’s gaze. “Deputy Dawson.”

He gave her a slight smile. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m going to help you now. You just need to give me the gun.”

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

He came to her at an angle, holstering his Glock, then slowly reached out and took the gun from her trembling fingers. Then he gently put an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the line of police cars. He turned her over to his brother Tom and gave a terse nod to his father, who was on the radio calling for EMTs. Kyle was on his cell phone, most likely reporting on the situation to the FBI field office.

“Jeb’s other brother is behind the barn in cuffs,” Gabe muttered to no one in particular, motioning in the general direction of the outbuilding. Joe clapped him on the shoulder as he headed that way.

When he turned back around toward the house, the lawn was a sea of activity as local officers rushed forward to check on Jeb and James Monroe and to intercept Janice Monroe and her sons as they exited the house with their hands raised.

But it was pretty much all a blur. The only clarity in the chaos was Elle’s beautiful face as she rushed toward him. Then her arms were around his neck, holding him tightly. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her, letting the warmth of her love envelope him.

*

“Are you okay?” Elle asked when she pulled back enough to peer up into his face. Her heart was still racing, her head still spinning. He looked okay, but she had to be sure, had to hear him say it. Her voice broke when she said, “My God, Gabe, when I heard that gunshot, I thought—”

He stopped her words with a slow, tender kiss, and her heart was racing for an entirely different reason. When the kiss ended, Gabe took her face in his hands. “I’m fine,” he assured her, “now that I know you’re safe.”

“Where’s Joe?” she asked in a rush. “You have to get someone out to check on Sadie.”

“Sadie?” he frowned. “Why?”

She grasped the front of his uniform. “Monroe—he had someone at the ready to harm her if luring me here didn’t get your attention. Please, Gabe.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

When he hurried off to talk with his dad and apprise him of the situation, she leaned back against the nearest car and wrapped her arms around herself, missing Gabe’s embrace already. A few moments later, he returned, a deep scowl creasing his brows.

“Dad’s sending two cars over right away,” he assured her. “And Joe’s on his way. Whoever Monroe had watching Sadie better be glad that the other deputies will get to him before Joe does.”

“Ms. McCoy?”

Elle turned toward the sound of her name, glad Gabe kept his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against him. “Mrs. Monroe.”

The woman came toward her, an officer at her elbow, her youngest son tucked close to her side, and took Elle’s hand in hers. “Thank you. For saving my children. For saving me.”

“I didn’t save you,” Elle assured her. “That was all you. You made the right decision, Mrs. Monroe.”

Janice glanced at Jeremy and Sandra being loaded into the backseats of police cars, but then pressed a kiss to the top of her son Brian’s head. “I hope so, Ms. McCoy. My Sandra…” Her expression was pained when she met Elle’s gaze. “What he did to her… I hope they’ll understand why she did what she did.”

Elle squeezed her hand, wishing she’d been able to help the woman and her children sooner, that she’d been able to reach out to them before their situation had come to this. “I hope so, too.”

Elle didn’t know how much time passed before she and Gabe were able to finally leave, but her head was pounding and it was all she could do to make it to where Gabe had left his Tahoe.

“I need to call Charlotte,” she told him as he handed her into the SUV. “Before she hears anything on the news.”

He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “I’ll take care of it. You look completely drained. Just rest while I drive you home.”