Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(79)

“He wants you to pull over,” Shelby said, tapping the speakerphone on so Gabe could speak for himself. Zack still sounded plenty irritated, especially with that boyfriend crack.

“Why? We got trouble?” Gabe asked.

“Just do it.” Zack hung up, so Gabe pulled to the curb within minutes and retrieved his phone. Both men climbed out, leaving the vehicles running. Gabe handed his phone over to Zack. Shelby caught it through the side mirror.

Zack crushed Gabe’s and his phone beneath the heel of his boot. “Be sure you discard Shelby’s before we take off,” he ordered. “If anyone’s tracking us by GPS, let this be where the trail ends.”

“Copy that,” Gabe replied. The men leaned against the Land Rover. Their conversation turned to short concise questions and answers.

“You’re sure just two?” Zack asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Positive. Both using ARs.” Gabe scuffed his boots, crossed his ankles and looked at his senior agent.

“The driver, too?”

“Through the passenger-side window.”

“Sullivan has to go,” Zack growled, not seeming to care she might overhear.

Shelby lowered her head and closed her eyes. He was right. She’d been nothing but a liability since she’d shown up on Kelsey’s front door.

“No. She stays.”

“She goes, Cartwright. The sooner the better. The girl doesn’t listen.”

“Understood, but she thought the op was over when we snagged Becker last night. Honest mistake for a civilian to make. Besides, Kelsey needs her.”

“Bullshit. We’ve been fighting her ornery ass since day one.”

Shelby reached for the door handle. She could settle this by walking away. Then they’d all be safe. Kelsey was obviously doing better. She didn’t need her help anymore.

“I seem to remember hearing a story ’bout some guy who blew another operation to hell and back,” Gabe muttered, his head lowered, his gaze on the ground. “Seems to me that moron put his senior agent at risk then, too. Could’ve gotten them both killed. David, wasn’t it?”

Shelby’s ears perked up. Someone else messed up as bad as me?

“That was different and you know it,” Zack shot back.

Oh, my gosh. Zack? What’d you do?

Gabe elbowed Zack’s thick bicep. “You can’t blame her for being naive. ‘Sides, she asked me for a gun. We might need another shooter on our side before this is over.”

Zack lifted his shoulders, but Shelby couldn’t decide if that meant he couldn’t care less or that he might forgive her. He stared straight ahead. “Sons of bitches.”

“Damned straight,” Gabe said. “They are son of bitches and they’ve got us on the run.”

“You got a plan?”

“Always,” Gabe responded. “Same as yours. Snag a couple cheap burn phones. Contact Mark again once we get to my place. Lay low. Eat pizza and chocolate cake. Let The TEAM do their job while we do ours.”

Zack grunted. “Mark needs to step up his game and catch these punks.”

“You do realize we could’ve lost her this morning. She could’ve died in that explosion before she ever got back to the house.”

“Stop with the guilt routine already. She had a good butt reaming coming.”

Gabe winked slyly at her. “Maybe, but she’s not one of us, and you’re scaring the hell out of her.”

“Do you and me need to chat about cozying up with clients, Cartwright?”

“Maybe.”

Shelby could’ve kissed Gabe for defending her when she least deserved it. Kind of like Libby had done after the accident at the hospital. Shelby breathed a deep breath and pulled her phone out of her purse, ready to hand it over and be obedient to the bitter end if needed.

Zack slapped the side of the vehicle. “You got chocolate cake at your place?”

Gabe grinned and his whole face lit up, the laugh lines deep and long at the corners of his eyes. Like rays of sunshine. Her body hummed with appreciation for the easygoing way he’d just handled Zack and her. There he stood, facing his senior agent and looking as if he enjoyed it.

Her heart welled up with—what? Not just appreciation. Not anymore. Every part of her wanted another close encounter in the dark. Her body. Her heart. Maybe even her soul. A wave of need rippled up from her toes for another taste of that man’s sexy, smiling mouth. Those lips that very well could have chewed her out but didn’t.


He seemed at ease, as if they weren’t in the middle of a getaway. “I’m pretty sure I’ll have chocolate cake by the time we’re done with the pizza.”

Zack grunted. He actually smiled. A little.





Chapter Twenty-Four


He hadn’t had time to think about the rose until now, but damn. How had Alex gotten inside his house and right under their noses, too? The man had his nerve, but there was no denying the rose. Someone who cared about Kelsey had left it on her pillow. The only guy who fit the bill was dead—or supposed to be.

Zack didn’t seem convinced, but Gabe gave up fighting Kelsey’s conviction that it was Alex. There had to be a better explanation than resurrection. Gabe just couldn’t think of one, and he didn’t believe a word out of that lying Becker’s mouth.