Page 11 of Tempting Gabe
He sat straighter and nodded. "We had anonymous letters. I refused to let anything happen to your mother."
"Well you were still unconscious for days." His lips curled and he crossed his arms. Weeks earlier, Maddox had sent them warning before he tried to kill them. This behavior was a tell. He had threatened Megan too.
His father tried to end the questioning. "Neither of us are spring chickens anymore, kiddo."
Megan stepped forward but kept her head down. "You were wearing bulletproof vests?"
"Yeah." His mother stared with a quizzical look in her eye.
"Oh thank goodness." Megan swallowed and she sucked in her breath.
His mother turned toward him and asked, "Who is this young lady?"
Right. He expected the question sooner, but Olivia had been too preoccupied. He glanced at his parents and sister and let how healthy they looked sink in. A second later, he motioned for Megan to join him. She hugged her waist and followed him to the center of the room. Once he had his hand on her back, he hoped she relaxed. "Mom. Dad. This is Megan Murdock. I served with her brother during the war."
His mother gave her the 'welcome smile' as best she could in a hospital bed. "Nice to meet you."
Megan stared at him and her face went white. He then said, “Megan’s in danger too for telling us who fired at you and I’m trying to keep her safe.”
“How did you know?” His mother asked and stared at Megan.
“I found my brother’s confession.” Megan backed into him. " The second I found out, I contacted Gabe and the police."
“Mom, Megan’s scared too and she’s been more than helpful. I intend to keep her safe.” So the cat was out of the bag. He had texted James, Conner and Harrison everything he knew about Maddox to protect his family, but he hadn't told his sisters, not yet.
His father stared at him and asked, "Why would he...?"
"He blames me for being captured and getting tortured, Dad." Gabe interrupted while the memory of a gun pointed at him blazed through his mind. His head throbbed until he met his friend's gaze. "It was in the desert."
A nurse entered the room with her traveling kit to check on both of his parents. His mother clenched her heart as his father shook his head and said, "I never wanted you to join."
No one said anything until the nurse left. Once the door closed, Megan added, "My brother has not been well in a long time. I'm so sorry."
"You seem lost, Megan." His father stared at her but briefly glanced at him. A second later, he lowered his head on his pillow and seemed tired, though he softened his gaze and asked, "Did he hurt you?"
His entire body froze. He looked away from Harrison and gazed at the first woman who had made him crave for more than anyone else in years, if he told himself the truth. He hadn't asked Megan if she was ever hurt by her brother.
Then her face turned red. "No, but he's not the same guy he was before he left."
Traitor. At least he hadn't said that out loud. The silence in the room was palpable. No one said anything, and the sound of hospital equipment filled the silence. "Give me one second to talk to Harrison and Conner."
Conner and his sister Olivia shared a look and the three of them walked toward the window. Gabe kept his voice low. "Did Maddox point a gun at me the day we almost lost Colt?"
"I wasn't close enough to you to see," Conner said.
Harrison wrapped his hand around his waist. "You screamed traitor right before the bomb exploded."
Again he thought about the gun that was pointed at him, but this time he remembered a USB in Maddox's hand. Suddenly the scene played out and the entire moment clicked in his head. Maddox had set Colt up to die though Belle pulled him out. Conner had chased Maddox to get his hands on the USB that had his information when the bomb detonated, and they were all almost killed.
He gazed up at his friends and whispered, "I don't think Maddox was taken to prison that day, if ever. Everything was a blur.”
Conner nodded and glanced at his sister Olivia. “True and we all moved on, intending to forget.”
“Agreed. I started my tech firm in Internet security because I kept seeing codes in my head that could hurt our countries Internet infrastructure. Banks are my biggest clients. Maddox took a program I had worked on at the time."
Harry then asked, "His sister is looking at you with wide eyes. Are you sure she's not a spy for him?"
The thought hadn't crossed his mind about Megan. He'd been fascinated with the curve of her hips. As he thought about her, nothing came to mind but she was being honest. "I don't think so, but I ran a background check on her to be sure."
