Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(35)

The TEAM better find what was left of the gang of ten or this was going to be one damned long operation.

A noise from the back of the house caught Gabe’s ear. He set the laptop to the floor beside him and shifted to his elbows, his head cocked to listen better.

Zack? Back already? That can’t be right.

There it was again, a quiet sound, almost like a murmur. Or a sob.

Gabe pushed to his feet, his ears on high alert. Either Kelsey was talking to herself or someone was in her bedroom with her. He turned the hallway light on and padded to her closed door. Rapping quietly so as not to wake Sullivan, he asked, “Kelsey? Everything okay?”


She moaned, “Miss... you.”

He waited and listened, but no other voice responded.

Another sad groan. “Don’t... go.”

The desperation in her tone pushed him. Gabe knocked politely again. “Kelsey. May I come in?”

“No. I can’t do it.”

And just that fast he was in the room, his heart pounding at the fear she’d projected. The hall light behind him cast shadows over the tangled blankets. Clutching them to her chest between splintered fingers, she thrashed, whining, “I don’t... want to.”

Gabe crouched at her bedside and placed one palm to her upper arm to hopefully wake her. “Kelsey. It’s me, Gabe. You’re just dreaming. Wake up.”

“N... no!” She came to with a start, bolting upright and blinking, her sleeveless cotton shift twisted around her in a tangle with the bed sheets.

“There you go. Wake up. You were having a nightmare. That’s all.”

“He was here,” she mumbled, scrambling to her knees, her splinted fingers flat to the sheets. “He came to me. I know he did.”

Gabe moved out of her way when she all but climbed under the bed, her fingers splayed and clattering over the carpet, searching for someone she’d never find again. Looking for Alex. Damn.

“No, no, no. He was here. I know he was. I... I...” She turned to Gabe. “You saw him, didn’t you? Did he walk past you? God, Gabe. Why’d you let him get away?”

He sucked in a deep breath, wishing with all of his heart that what she had dreamed was real. “You were just dreaming.”

“No, I wasn’t. The bed moved when he got in. It did.” She lifted her face, her eyes wild and her voice tightening with hysteria. “He told me he loved me. He said that this all will be over soon. I can still feel him holding me. He kissed me. I can still smell him. He was here.”

And Gabe could’ve cried. Thank God, Zack came back from the neighborhood check. He stood at the doorway, blocking most of the hallway light. “What’s going on, Kels?”

“He was here, Zack. I know he was.” Desperation crept into her tone. “Please turn the light on. I’ll prove it.”

Zack opened the door a little wider and hit the switch, illuminating one frightened woman hanging on by a thread. Once again, she made the rounds, crawling onto the empty mattress only to end up on the empty floor, her hands outstretched as if touching the sheets and rug would conjure her dead husband.

Gabe reached for her shoulder, needing to stop her from falling apart. The Alex he knew wouldn’t torment his wife like this. And he sure as hell wouldn’t hide. If he were still alive, he’d be the one on the floor comforting his wife, not a couple of hired hands.

Breathless and shaking from head to foot, Kelsey pulled away from Gabe’s touch. “But he was. I felt him. He was here, and he... he told me he loved me. You have to believe me.”

“I do believe he loved you,” Gabe offered sincerely. God, I want to believe he was here, too, but it was just a nightmare.

“You both think I’m crazy. I can see it in your eyes. Stop looking at me like that!”

“No, we don’t, Kels,” Zack grumbled, “but we do know you’re going through hell right now. Take it easy. Here’s the thing. Did you see anyone else in this room when you opened the door, Gabe? Was the window opened? Anything?”

Gabe hesitated. Kelsey needed one glimmer of hope. He wanted it to come from him.

“You didn’t, did you?” She pinned him with those big brown eyes, daring him to lie. “Did you hear anyone else in here besides me? Did you hear him tell me not to worry, that he’d be back as soon as he could? Please tell me you did.”

Gabe shook his head just enough to destroy all hope.

She sucked in a sharp breath, her gaze still sweeping her room. Her eyes brimmed and the tears spilled over. “It always seems so real. Every night. I close my eyes and he’s there and none of this nightmare ever happened. I almost start to believe that... I almost believe him, but then I wake up and...”

Gabe was a goner. He would’ve gathered her into his arms if it had been proper. If she’d have let him, but she only wanted Alex. She sat there beside him blinking and trying not to cry. “Maybe I am losing my mind.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. He circled her shoulder with one arm and tugged her into his side. His heart choked on the sheer sadness pouring out of her. “I’m so sorry.”

She sagged into him, wiping her face with the backs of her hands, her fingers stiff and as useless as Gabe felt. “I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s too hard. I almost wish he were dead.”