Page 6 of Playboy

“Show me your hands!” she barked, aiming directly at the man.

He barely had time to register her presence before freezing, hands half-raised in the air. But what neither Gabby nor Oliver saw was the second man coming out of the bathroom. Using hisbig body, he slammed into Gabby from the side, knocking her off balance.

“Shit!” she hissed as she hit the floor hard. Her rifle clattered to the ground and lay out of reach.

Oliver went after the other man, who bolted for the door, but Gabby had her hands full. The man who tackled her was huge and only wearing a pair of boxer shorts. She quickly got to her feet. The guy pounced and swiftly threw a punch that landed hard against the side of her face, near her eye. Pain exploded in her skull as she tumbled backward, her vision swimming.

Yeah, it hurt like a bitch, but Gabby wasn’t one to give up easily.

The guy came at her again, and this time, Gabby managed to dodge his fist. She latched onto him and threw her knee into the groin area. He cried out as they both fell to the floor and rolled across the room in a brutal scramble. Fist and elbows were flying. Gabby managed to twist her body just enough to spring back to her feet. She didn’t hesitate as she drove her boot into the side of the man’s head with all the force she could muster.

He crumpled to the floor, out cold.

Breathing heavily, Gabby stood over his unconscious form, her heart still pounding. Just then, Oliver and Leo came bursting into the room. Leo immediately moved to cuff the unconscious man while Oliver rushed to Gabby’s side. His eyes blazed with a mix of concern and fury as he took in her swollen lip and the darkening bruise around her eye.

“Fuck, are you alright?” His voice was tight, his hand brushing gently against her cheek.

She winced at the touch but nodded. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” he growled. His eyes scanned her face, then her body, as if searching for other injuries. What he didn’t know was that her hip was throbbing like hell from where she’d slammed into something during the fight.

But Gabby’s focus wasn’t on herself. It was on the young woman curled up in the corner of the room, her body shaking with silent sobs. She had been through something unspeakable, something Gabby couldn’t begin to imagine. The woman’s face was tear-streaked, her hands covering her head as if she expected another blow to come any second.

“Oliver, I need to help her,” Gabby said softly, brushing him off as she knelt down, moving cautiously toward the woman.

“Hey…hey, it’s okay,” she whispered, keeping her voice low and soothing. “You’re safe now. No one’s going to hurt you.”

At first, the woman flinched, drawing further into herself. Gabby held her hands up, showing the woman that she meant no harm. Slowly, the woman peeked up at her. Her big brown eyes were wide and terrified. Gabby stayed where she was, patient and calm, waiting.

After what felt like an eternity, the woman finally allowed Gabby to touch her. Her trembling hand clutched Gabby’s arm. Oliver handed Gabby a blanket, and Gabby gently wrapped the blanket around the woman’s shoulders and pulled it tight to cover her exposed body.

Oliver radioed in, his voice clipped but steady. “Lower cabins secured. Have medic on standby.”

Tristan’s voice crackled through the radio. “Copy that. The entire yacht is secure. Other agencies are moving in.”

With Oliver’s help, Gabby carefully guided the woman up the stairs. She was fragile, her legs barely able to hold her weight, but she clung to Gabby like she was a lifeline. When they reached the upper deck, EMTs were already waiting. The woman was quickly handed over to their care, wrapped in blankets, and ushered onto a stretcher.

As Gabby watched, her mind still reeling from the chaos, Tristan and the team approached. She saw the anger in their eyes when they took in the sight of her battered face.

“You alright?” Tristan asked, his voice rough with concern.

“Yeah, just a busted lip and probably a black eye,” Gabby said, keeping her voice light. She again didn’t mention her hip, which was still throbbing painfully. She’d deal with that later.

Oliver stood by her side, his hand resting protectively on her shoulder.

Now that the situation was somewhat under control, Gabby took a second to really take in the scene, and the sight that met her was both heartbreaking and infuriating. There were dozens of women together, their faces etched with fear or some who just looked lost. She couldn’t begin to imagine what could’ve been going through their minds.

James joined her and Oliver. “Tristan wants you to get checked out by the medic.”

She went to protest, but she knew there was no use in arguing, so she just nodded.

Once they were back on the Coast Guard Cutter, Gabby allowed the medics to examine her face and head. She, of course, downplayed any pain anywhere else. She seemed to have convinced the medics she was okay, though they told her to get checked out again once she got back.

James sat down beside her. “The medic is right. You should get a doctor to look at you when we get back in.”

“We’ll see,” she murmured as she held the ice pack the medic gave her to her eye.

“You did good down there,” James told her, and she looked at him.

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