Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(110)

“Are you okay?” she asked, finally tuning in to what was really happening. “Gabe? My gosh, you’re pale. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good, but Becker’s right.” He circled an arm around her shoulder, tugging him into his side and still breathing hard. “Let’s get out of here while the getting’s good.”

She planted a palm to the center of his chest, needing to be sure he’d told her the truth, that he really was okay instead of on the verge of another panic attack. “Your heart’s racing.”

“I know.” He covered her hand with his and pulled her across the street, headed toward the Arlington Memorial Bridge, the scene of their previous close encounter with Becker. “SWAT’s on their way. Come on. We’re at ground zero, Shell. Let’s get back to Kelsey’s where it’s safe. We’ve still got some cleaning up to do.”

She relented. Cleaning she could do. Anything to help Kelsey. And Gabe. Shelby fell into step alongside the man who had just saved D.C., if not the whole world. It had taken a lot out of him, but he’d done it without firing a shot.

Emotions she couldn’t identify swelled inside for the gentle warrior walking away from the scene, content to fade to black. Content that no one would ever know his name or his role in the miracle. Content in the knowledge he’d done his job.

His hand on hers still trembled, but he walked with his back erect, his shoulders squared and his arm protectively around her. If ever there was a right time, it was then. She had to tell him before the moment slipped away. He needed to know.

“I love you, Gabe. I really do. I’m so proud of you.”

He stopped walking, his brows lifted in surprise. Twisting her into his arms, he planted a kiss in the middle of her forehead, and she didn’t want to move from his side.

Her fingers rested at his throat, directly over the pounding pulse of her man. Her hero.

Shelby sighed. She knew exactly how Kelsey felt.




Instead of backtracking to the vehicle he’d parked to the east, Gabe hailed a cab. He didn’t want to deal with the crowd between him and there. He and Shelby arrived at Kelsey’s in no time. They entered through the rear door. The empty dog kennel seemed bleak without Whisper and Smoke sitting at the gate waiting for them.

The scene inside was no cheerier. Mark had done a good job sweeping the glass and debris, and yes, the windows were boarded, but the cute little bungalow where Alex and Kelsey had made a home and a life together felt hollow. As if its heart were missing or something. It had to have been pretty bad for a guy to notice.

Easing his gear to the floor behind the back door, Gabe unfastened his tactical vest and let it slide out of his hands to the table while Shelby did the same. Of course, she headed for the hallway closet where Kelsey kept her vacuum and cleaning supplies, but really? Did she honestly believe his line about cleaning the house when they got back? Now? When they were finally alone? When she’d blurted out the feelings of her heart?

Oh, hell no.

He let her get a couple of steps away from him before he grabbed her hand and swung her back into his arms. “Where do you think you’re going?”

A rosy hue crept over her cheeks. Yeah. This woman had to know what he’d been thinking on the taxi ride. It had nothing to do with Pine-Sol. Certainly not Mr. Clean.

Shelby came easily against him, her body warm and willingly pressed into his. He traced his index finger along the soft swell of her heated cheek. The sweet girl blushed, but she didn’t meet his eyes long enough to answer the question in them.

He let the pads of his fingertips absorb the feel of her skin, the new texture of silky soft in his life. That now familiar fragrance of rose and vanilla lifted into his nostrils. He’d already tasted her mouth and found it addicting. He wanted a whole lot more.


She might not know it, but he’d seen this same look of adoration on other women’s faces before. Libby Houston’s when she thought she was alone with Mark in the hallway at the office. Mei Lennox’s when she came by the office with her little girls and a plate of cookies for Zack. Kelsey Stewart’s when she’d danced with Alex at Taylor’s wedding.

“I meant it,” Shelby said breathlessly, her index finger tracing some kind of a design on his shirt below his right collarbone. “I do love you.”

Enough said. With one scoop, she was off the floor and headed for destiny. Shelby weighed next to nothing, not compared to all the gear he’d carried in the Corps. Her arm around his neck felt perfect, her fingers combing through his hair more than enough motivation.

He angled her through the door of her bedroom. Laying her down, he stepped back. Like most traumatic stress survivors, she had a nightlight in her room. Sweet. The time had come for show and tell.

“How much do you love me?” He teased her with the most juvenile question he could think of. With one quick tug at the back of his collar, he pulled his shirt over his head and off, kicking out of his boots at the same time.

Her eyes widened when he discarded his belt and unzipped his cargo pants. Socks and pants went next, and there he was, a nearly naked man with a spiffy prosthetic foot that usually made women turn tail and run. Right about now.

It was time to put her words to the test. That was all he’d meant by that stupid how much do you love me question. Yeah, he might’ve meant for her to prove it, but not by sex.