34. Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
Gabe
A t the sight of the emergency vehicles, Abbie sits up on the edge of her seat. “What’s going on?”
I keep my voice calm, level. “Law enforcement tend to overreact to high profile residence needs. They’re probably aiding the set-up of the temporary shelter. I’ll call Grayson for news.”
“Aiding the rescue with all those lights?” she asks incredulously. “Why would they do that? That would cause scandal and fear in the community.”
She’s right and my phone is already in my hand, finger already on the button to call Grayson. He answers on the first ring. “Are you at the ranch?”
“Yes, and I was about to call you. It’s a gaggle down here. A neighbor called the police because we were on the property and then the police car scared a horse, and the rider ended up with a broken leg. We’re trying to get everyone cleared out of here before the dogs get here and get spooked, too.”
Relief washes over me. “We’re about to pull up to the ranch. We’ll be right there.” I disconnect and update Abbie.
“Oh thank God. I thought—Just thank God.”
She thought her ex did this and that brings questions to my mind. Nothing about this man coming at her this hard makes sense. Nothing. He’s filthy fucking rich. Why would that property be this valuable to him? This is a conversation I’ve tried to have with her, and the only way I know to get her to open up to me is to be naked, in all ways. The problem is I don’t know if I can get her that naked as fast as I need her to be. Because this isn’t just about naked in body. It’s naked emotionally. I keep going back to there being something that she’s not telling me about this situation.
I pull to the side of the road. “Why are we stopping?” Abbie asks, sounding worried.
I place us in park and flip on the lights, illuminating her features. “You don’t have to tell me now,” I say, turning to her, “but you’re going to have to tell me, or even Reid, what the hell is really going on with your ex.”
“I told you—”
“That you don’t know what this is about, but you assumed he was why there were emergency vehicles here, Abbie. All of the people I’ve involved matter to me. I need to know what I am getting them into. I need to know what you’re into so I can protect you with them.”
“I didn’t ask you to protect me, Gabe, and of course, I assumed he was behind this. He’s come at me hard and fast in the past few hours.”
“There’s a reason.”
“I told you. I don’t know that reason and you acting like I’m lying to you is pissing me off.”
The truck carrying the dogs drives past us. She reaches for the door. I catch her arm. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to help.”
“We’ll meet them inside the ranch,” I say.
“Let go, Gabe. You and your accusations are too much right now. I can’t take it.”
“I need to know what I’m dealing with. That’s all.”
“And I’ve told you what I know. Let me go.”
“No. Stay with me.”
“So you can sit next to a liar that’s pulling you into some sort of nefarious act that you don’t even understand?”
“So that I can earn your trust.”
“Earn my trust? What about you trusting me?”
“This isn’t about trust. It’s about fear. You’re afraid of him.”
“Yes, I am. Which is why I told you to back off of this. And in case you don’t remember, I did that to protect you and everyone around you. I didn’t bring all these people into this. I tried to keep them out, Gabe. I tried. I pushed you. I—”
I drag her to me, tunneling my fingers in her hair and kissing the hell out of her, a long stroke of my tongue against hers. She presses against my chest, resisting, and that guts me. I deepen the kiss, stroking my tongue against hers yet again, and this time she moans. “Damn you,” she whispers against my mouth. “Damn you, Gabe.”
“Damn me, why?”
“Because you won’t just let me pull back and yet you question me. I can’t win with you.”
“You can. Let me help. Tell me what I need—”
She growls. “More implication that I’m not telling you everything. Really, Gabe?”
“No. Fuck. No. I’m just saying that—oh hell.” I kiss her again and she softens almost instantly. “I’ll stop talking.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” she says and her cellphone rings. “That’s going to be my mother. We have to go to the ranch. I need to help.”
“I know,” I say, but I don’t fucking want to let her go. I have this sense that she’s in trouble that she’s not fully sharing and I have never wanted and needed to protect anyone like I do this woman. “We’ll go help. We’ll talk when we get back to my place.” I kiss her again and release her, flipping off the light and pulling us back onto the road.
She answers her phone. “Yes, mom? Yes, we’re here. I’ll be right in. Yes, I’ll tend to Gabbie and the puppies.” They continue to talk.
I pull us down a dirt road as several cop cars pass us by, their lights off now. Their response still feels too wide and big to me. Or maybe it’s just Abbie’s ex that is making me feel that everything is too wide and big with him. There’s something bothering me. I never get these feelings and have them be wrong.
We pull up to the giant white house, alight with spotlights, the truck filled with dogs parked at the side of the house beside a giant white barn. I pull us to a spot by the front of the main house, and next to several other vehicles.
“Whatever you do,” I say, as I kill the engine, “don’t tell your mother about the lawsuit you got tonight. It’s fake. You don’t need to upset her.”
Abbie turns to me. “A lawsuit, or a trick that your father directed? I think you’re too close to this. You have to back off of this. I have to step back, too. We have to step back until this is over.” She opens the door and gets out.
I’m at the front of the car by the time she gets there, trying to escape. I pull her to me. “That’s not happening. I’m not backing off of this, and here’s what is going to happen: You’re going to tell me everything. I’m going to make this disappear. In between it all, we’ll spend lots of time naked and fucking like rabbits. If you want to argue about this, we’ll do it naked and fucking like rabbits.”
“We’ve been through this, Gabe. You don’t get to make my decisions for me.”
“Call it what you want, but I’m in this. It’s already personal to me and I won’t walk away. You’re personal to me. My fucking father coming after you is personal to me. And in case you don’t get it, he came at me with you. I’m protecting you. I’m shutting him down. If you don’t like it, I’m still in. So, you might as well go home with me and sleep naked with me.” I release her. “Now, let’s go take care of Gabbie.” I turn and start walking.
She rushes up beside me and then steps in front of me, her hands flattening on my chest. “You need something. I need to say something.”