Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(36)

And there it was. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought or said.

Kelsey still believed.




The next morning and a good night’s sleep brought new energy. Shelby woke early, determined to strike a proper balance with the men she was stuck with in this tiny house. How hard could it be? She’d stay out of their way. They could stay out of hers.

According to the menu she’d organized, it was her turn to fix breakfast. Kelsey had wanted a spinach omelet the morning all this started, and Shelby intended to deliver. Hmm. Breakfast in bed and a nice leisurely start to the day might be just what Kelsey needed to help get her day off to a good start, too.

Only the aroma of coffee already filled the air. A man’s quiet voice, too. Great. The guys were already up, and by the sound of the one-sided conversation, Agent Lennox was on his phone with his boss. Darn. Didn’t he ever go to sleep?

She wrapped her bathrobe around her and proceeded down the hall. The kitchen light was on at her right, but it was the sight on her left that stopped her in her tracks.

There lay that obnoxious Agent Cartwright, flat on his back and sound asleep in Kelsey’s living room. His hands were peacefully interlocked on his chest, his legs crossed at the ankles, and he was completely dressed except for his boots.

Did the man not realize how much room he took up? A person could barely step around him if they needed to get out the front door. His computer equipment and gear bags took up the rest of the room. Things had to change.

Her eyes lingered a moment too long on that long body. His black polo had ridden up, exposing his abdomen and the lightest trail of hair between his navel and his belt.

Oh, mama. What’s the thermostat set on?

She couldn’t stop watching the way his belly expanded and contracted with each steady breath. The way scruff shadowed his clean-shaven chin. The way sleep had mussed his hair.

A narrow beam of early morning sun lay diagonally on his chest. She stopped walking.

Gabe Cartwright was one long combination of squared-off angles and corners, his chest muscled, his shoulders broader than she remembered. Was this the same guy who’d aggravated her yesterday? She couldn’t think. He looked—different.

Her heart pinched in a really annoying way just looking at him, and those darn pesky nipples might as well have been waving pompoms.

It wasn’t often a guy made her look twice. Most were immature and needy. Either they still lived at home with their mothers or they wanted to. One guy she’d dated had actually planned to move into her apartment while he was job hunting. Yeah, right.

She could smell a loser a mile away. No way was she desperate enough to fall for a line like that. She had her nursing degree. No sense in marrying down. No. Her sights were set on a man with uncommon business sense and a plan for his future that didn’t include playing in a band, flipping burgers, or anything law enforcement related. Or military related.

She was about rules and plans, playing it safe and being smart. Still...

Agent Cartwright looked relaxed. Endearing. Cute, in a really annoying way. His long fingers interlocked in prayerful repose set her heart to throbbing. Heck, it set her entire body to throbbing.

She licked her lips, wondering how his mouth tasted. How that morning scruff might feel against her—

Good grief, her breasts tingled with heat and hormones, suddenly alive and—needing to be cupped by those masculine hands?

Uh-uh. No way. Not him. Never.

She crossed her arms over her chest, tucking her fingers in her armpits to control the tremors. How was he able to do that to her? Asleep? She knew biology, but this was more like some kind of sizzling black magic. Unsettling for a woman of her advanced edu—

“You ready for some coffee?”

Shelby jerked out of her tantalizing reverie. Darn it anyway. Agent Lennox kept catching her in the act of outright voyeurism. She nearly couldn’t speak, not with her hormones welling up in her throat as they were. Or was it her throbbing libido? Argh.

“Umm, sure. That would be nice,” she spat out, lowering her hands to her sides, her fingers still clenched, but she was hoping for nonchalance. Oh, yeah. That was where I was going. The kitchen. Breakfast. Omelets.

Agent Lennox kept his eyes on the cup in his hand while he poured, the jerk. He had to have seen her gawking at his junior agent like a teenage girl in heat. “Hope I didn’t disturb you. Had to make a few calls. Take a seat. Those two won’t be up for a while. Kelsey had a nightmare. He stayed up with her for a while.”

Shelby glanced into the living room where Agent Cartwright snored lightly, because looking at Agent Lennox made her uncomfortable. Darn. Kelsey had a nightmare and I slept right through it?

“You should’ve woken me, Agent Lennox. I didn’t know,” she said meekly, taking the proffered cup of coffee and wishing her fingers didn’t tremble like they did.


“Darn, girl. Chill. Knock off the formality already. I’m Zack. He’s Gabe. You’re Shelby. Sound good?”

Gabe, huh? As in Gabriel?




Gabe woke to Zack crouched over him and tapping his shoulder.

“Time to take another look around the ’hood. Miss Shelby’s in the shower. Kelsey’s outside on the patio. Coffee’s on the counter.”

“Right. Got it.” Gabe stretched the kink out of his neck while blinking himself awake. “How is she this morning?”