We scour the rest of the storage unit for whatever information we can find – wallets from all the dead guys, pictures of all the bodies. The Murrays want us to strip their clothes off, so I set the boys to work following their instructions.
Ethan left me to handle this on my own – and definitelyblames me, which is why he only sent me out here with Cody. Odhran Murray came for his wife and since they locked eyes with each other, they have been physically inseparable to the point of indecency considering the presence of dead bodies in this place. We’re closer to something big here – uncovering the viper’s nest of racist fucks interfering with our operations and creating terror in the local communities when the government isn’t up to the job.
Four hours later, I leave the building with Gabby, who clearly wants to fall asleep instead of rattling away on the back of my motorcycle. Odhran lends us a comfortable Lexus sedan for as long as we need it, so I strap Gabby into the passenger seat and drive her back to Ethan’s place.
We got such a motherlode of information from the unfortunate souls I helped cross over earlier in the night that Ethan and Wyatt won’t hold me responsible for disobeying orders in an effort to get ahead of Tylee. None of us are happy about her narrowly escaping, especially because she might get back to Selma’s house before Oske…
I use Gabby’s exhaustion as an excuse for us to retreat to our own space. I can’t complain about having extra protection tonight. Like most gamblers, Ethan is paranoid to the point of mental illness. His home security system is borderline obsessive. Amanda must know there’s something diagnosable about it.
Honestly, I don’t relish being alone with Gabby.
Whatever spark might have existed between us, I know I extinguished tonight by roping her into my family drama.She’s in worse danger than before now that Tylee knows of her existence. I don’t know how many other men Tylee has roped into her vendetta against me. There could be an entire biker gang of racists empowered by the government who know exactly where to find Gabby.
Who could hurt her.The guilt for the position I’ve put her in only worsens. Is this tendency I have to end up in trouble the very thing that drove Tylee away in the end? If I take things all the way there with Gabby, is this where we’re going to end up?
Once we’re alone downstairs, Gabby sighs, relaxing her shoulders and heading straight to the bathroom, peeling her clothes off and tossing them on the ground on the way there. I pick up each article of clothing as I trail behind her. I can’t blame her. The blood dried onto my own clothing smells terrible along with the delightful mixture of adrenaline and sweat.
Gabby turns the shower on. I feel more compelled to say something than to stare at her ass, which must be a first because Gabby has an incredible ass.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess.”
For a few painful seconds, she says nothing. I watch her hair bouncing in a tangled mess of coils in the middle of her back. My dick jumps in my pants unwillingly. I should join her and take my clothes off.
“You didn’t drag me into anything,” she says. “You rescued me.”
I don’t expect the softness in her voice. She slept the entire drive back and she’s been out of it since I brought her here.
“I… I can let you go tomorrow if you would prefer going back to your normal life. You’re no safer by my side clearly. I’ll pay Odhran Murray for a security detail.”
She looks over her shoulder and a funny expression crosses her face. “Oh. Okay.”
“What’s wrong?”
It is incredibly hard for me to focus on this conversation while she’s naked in front of me. I’m trying to stay respectful but…
“I just thought…” she says. “Never mind.”
The shower water must be hot enough. What women mean by that is hot enough to boil men’s skin the second they touch the shower water. Still. I’m frozen in place watching Gabby step beneath the water. Everything about her is just… fucking hot. She makes me question everything.Everything.And the timing of all of this?
What kind of man falls in love when his kids are still missing? When his ex-wife is on an unhinged rampage because she hasn’t processed her feelings about…anything.I wish Tylee knew it was okay to be a goddamn woman sometimes. She had it hard as a girl, but she’s become worse than any of us by far.
Gabby never hurt her. I know she wouldn’t.
“You’re still committed to your wife,” Gabby says.
“What?”
“I saw what she was willing to do for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was still something there.”
I feel transfixed by her body while her words shred me to pieces. Does she seriously believe that I still love Tylee? I spent all goddamn night by Gabby’s side.I chose her.I did something that I never thought I was capable of because Gabby… Her head tilts back to soak her hair with water. She has a strange thick hair texture that takes a long time to get wet. I watch as her long thick coils slowly saturate with water and try not to cum all over myself like a teenager as streams of hot water carve little rivers over Gabby’s nipples.
Fuck…
“I loveyou.”
It’s quiet.
So quiet.