76. Chapter 76
Chapter seventy-six
Abbie
A bbie
Gabe’s gone. I can’t see him anymore and that’s all it takes to jolt me into action.
I yank the man in front of me by the hair. He stumbles with the force of my pull and in that quick of a moment, Gabe is there, pulling the man away from me and shoving him against a wall. I reach for my phone to call the police, but I don’t have time to react. Adam is here, stepping in front of me, big and broad, a hand on his weapon under his jacket.
“Don’t call the police,” he orders. “Not yet.”
I blanch and when I would defy him, he’s stepping beside Gabe, and the two of them are speaking to the man. No one is shooting. No one is dying. Relief and adrenaline collide and I sink against the wall.
“Abbie!”
Cat rounds the corner and she’s on full speed, spotting me and running my direction.
Her presence sets me off all over again. She and her unborn child don’t need to be near this. I take off running toward her. “Get back!” I shout.
“What happened?” she pants out when I step in front of her, my hands coming down on her shoulders, her pregnant belly between us. “What happened?” she repeats, inspecting me for injury.
“I don’t know,” I say. “That guy just grabbed me. I have no idea what just happened.”
“Thank God you’re safe. I was terrified. I shouted for Adam. He was close, thank God.”
Two thank God statements in one sentence. She’s rattled. The truth is, so am I.
“He’s a fucking reporter,” Adam says, joining us right as Gabe does the same, pulling me around and into his arms, his hands on my face.
“Are you okay?” he demands, his voice fierce, his hands traveling my body, inspecting me for injury. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“Yes. Thank God you were here. I’m fine and thank you for saving me but don’t do it again.” I poke his chest, thinking about what could have happened. “You could have been killed.”
“He was a reporter.”
“You didn’t know that and he’s crazy. Clearly.”
His hands move to my waist and he pulls me to him, away from the group. “If you need me, I’ll be there. Don’t you see that?”
I swallow hard, emotion balling in my chest. “You can’t be there for me if you’re dead.”
“You have no idea what I felt when that man dragged you down the alley.” He cups my face. “Damn it, woman.” He presses his hands to the wall on either side of me. “What the hell are you doing to me? And why the fuck did you leave? Together, Abbie. Remember?”
“Yes. Do you? You forgot that today on many counts.”
“I know I did and I was wrong, but damn it, don’t fucking leave. Yell. Argue. Punch me if you have to, but don’t leave.”
Don’t leave . This is a hot point of his. This is a trigger and I quickly agree. “Okay. No leaving. I will just punch you instead.”
“Okay,” he says, completely serious right now. “That works.”
I laugh and wrap my arms around him. “You’re impossibly intense right now.”
“You know how to fix that?”
“How?”
“Don’t leave,” he growls.
“I know. I know.”
“And you could get naked.”
“Here?” I smile.
“My office. Let’s go.” He takes my hand but we get nowhere fast.
“What the hell just happened?”
At the sound of Reese’s voice, Gabe and I break apart and watch Reese fold Cat into his arms.
The group of us come together and Cat and I tell our story. The crowd. The reporters. The sudden yanking of me down the alley.
“Where is this asshole now?” Reese demands.
“Going back to his office to have his boss call me,” Gabe says, eyeing Reese. “What do you have time for now? What’s our plan?”
“I have a problem at the courthouse and I’m out of time,” he says. “We’ve—meaning all legal counsel involved—have already called and put the interviews off, pending new evidence provided by Blake.” He eyes Gabe. “Let’s meet tonight just to debrief and be sure we’re ready for anything.”
“Where and when?” Gabe asks.
“Our place at seven Reid wants to be there. I already told him.”
Cat leans over and hugs me. “I’m so sorry that just happened. Reporters can be such assholes.”
“I can’t believe a reporter would put his hands on a person,” I murmur.
“They don’t make a habit of it,” Gabe says. “And they’re going to regret it. I’m going to sue the paper and you can use that money for the shelter.”
My heart falls all over again for this man every day about ten times. His first thought is the shelter and I’m quick to kiss his cheek, and just as quick to whisper, “No. I will not fall in love with you.”
“Promise?”
I laugh and there’s a lot of coordination that follows. Who gets what security protection and who’s riding with who to go where. Funny thing about the next few minutes is that I’m reminded of Cat calling me family. How can it not? This crazy chaos that alternates hugging and fighting, fighting and hugging, that finally leads to me and Gabe being escorted to his office by Adam, feels like family.