Page 21 of Tempting Gabe
Right and wrong sometimes swirled in her head, but she had done everything to do the right thing but at the same time protect him. Her mother instilled in her that she would always find her way, and that she needed to help Maddox.
She hugged her waist and tried not to let his words act like a slap to her face. "Maddox, you're wrong. I will see to it that you're offered help. I miss the boy who used to protect me."
He turned away. "Go away, Megan."
The police slammed the door closed and she felt her entire body drag until she returned to Gabe. Then he leaned on her for support. In unison, they walked, and she held him tight. "Let's go."
She walked him toward an ambulance and felt a peace growing inside of her. She was with the right man. Alone, she'd tell him that she was in love with him. Right now she kept the conversation light. "How did you call the police? I never saw you make a phone call."
"I had an app built on my phone. I don't have to dial 911 now. The app sends my exact location to my security team and the police. I hit the button when we arrived at the cemetery because I guessed your brother’s every move."
"You're a genius. That app alone will probably net you millions." Numbers swam in her head and her logical brain wanted to crunch the numbers of how much that could earn him. This thought helped her carry more of his weight and become numb to what her brother said earlier. Right now she was helping everyone she loved.
He pressed more of his weight on her until the stretcher with the EMT came toward him. "I created it fast when my family was being targeted."
Someone reached out and helped him onto the ambulance bed and he didn't struggle. She let go and hopped in once the crew member invited her. The team of people who helped him worked on stabilizing him. She took his hand while they placed his leg in an orange brace to keep him still. The EMTs worked, but she stilled and patted his hand. "How is your leg?"
"At least it wasn't my chest." He tilted his head and ground his teeth.
Goodness. This was her fault. The thought weighed on her while she massaged the side of his face. If she could've stop what happened, she would have. At least the threat was over. She lowered her gaze as he face felt hot. "Maddox was arrested."
"And I kept my promise not to kill him." He took her hand in his again.
The ambulance blazed down the street, away from the grave. "Gabe, your family will be worried."
The second the ambulance made a turn, the crew held all the equipment despite how everything was strapped into place, and she swayed.
"Wheel me into their room later, but right now, don't leave me."
"Never! You're my hero." She kissed his forehead. Today he’d saved her. She'd never leave him.
He mumbled, "I'm no one's hero."
On that he was wrong. Gabe Hawke was the best man she’d ever met.
Chapter 10
The orderly broughtGabe back to his room for now with the promise he'd bring him the paperwork to go home within minutes. Now he'd find Megan and leave, but as the doors opened to his room, he saw both of his parents holding each other and resting on two chairs next to the window. The second he was wheeled closer to them, his parents stood.
If he didn't follow protocol at a hospital, they might not let him leave. Once the orderly left, he stood and hugged them both. "Mom, Dad. I'm okay."
His mother brushed her hands against his cheeks, but he stilled, and she checked his head and continued lower. She assessed him all the way down to his toes. "You just came out of surgery."
The bullet grazed him, so physically he was fine. Mentally, was another story. He needed to talk to Megan. Her brother triggered more memories that came to him hard on the drive. His pulse began to race again while he thought about her sweet face and how she was almost killed in this mess until he answered his parents, "I wasn't in surgery. It was a thorough examination."
"And?" His father placed his hand on his mother's shoulder and she stepped back.
He grabbed his ripped shirt from the bed and tugged it back on now, so no one else saw his scars. "And they are releasing me. I'm having you both moved to your home tomorrow with Harrison as your bodyguard."
His father said, "We can leave now. Maddox Murdock was arrested. We are free."
The police arrest should have satisfied him, but images of the desert while he struggled to get his USB from Maddox replayed in his mind. Again he saw in his mind’s eye where Belle screamed to get Colt out of the wires, this time had even more faces in the moment. James and Harrison had fought a man clearly trained in martial arts who then disappeared. The memory then flashed to when Conner had pulled him out of the fire and the same time Conner screamed about Jax Romero.
More had happened out there that he pushed from his memory. All of this might affect his family. Until he figured everything out, his family needed protection. Hopefully he was just being overboard and his parents were right, but right now he needed to find Megan but he answered, "No. I don't want his lawyers to find out you’re alive. Not yet."
His father patted his shoulder. "None of this matters, son. We have security. We will be fine."
No. Everyone in his family needed protection. He had to talk to his friends who were protecting them but most of all he had to ensure Megan was safe. "Humor me. Tomorrow, follow Harrison's instructions."
