Page 20 of Tempting Gabe
“I had called them earlier, Megan.” Gabe told her without one glance in her direction. “I thought this might happen.”
"Gabe, for you touching my sister, I will repay you in kind. You have two sisters.” Maddox shot.
Gabe threw her on the ground in the same second. The shot hung in the air—then she felt warm goo on her hand. Gabe still blocked her, but she moved her hand up from his thigh and saw blood on her fingers. She knew it wasn’t life-threatening, but she cried out, "Gabe!"
"You've chosen the wrong side, sis." Maddox said.
At the same time the police circled around them in their cars.
She sat forward and was stunned. Gabe’s wound oozed more than she realized and he needed to get to a hospital, soon. Right now he was still alive, but her brother was her issue. She held Gabe in her arms. "The police have you surrounded. There is no escape. Maddox, don't do this."
While the police began to open their doors, her brother put his rifle on his back, grabbed her off the ground, wrapped his arm around her neck and held a small gun toward her temple. "Sure there is. I have you."
He began to drag her toward the trees. His skin smelled like gun residue and all traces of her once good brother were gone the moment he squeezed her neck. She struggled and yelled, "Get off."
He continued to drag her away while the police all pointed their guns at her. Every inch they took felt like an eternity, but then she glanced down at Gabe and he wasn't where he’d been slumped over, shot. Her body felt numb but her mind raced.
Everything was a blur.
A twig underneath her brother's feet snapped as they were close to the palmetto trees. The sound hadn’t warned her. Suddenly she was shoved to the ground. She grunted and realized that someone jumped both her brother and her from behind.
The weight on her lifted. She lifted her head, but felt the men struggle beside her. Dirt splashed in her eyes and she twisted away. A split second later, she felt cold metal next to her knees while she stood.
She glanced down at the gun next to her.
Maddox reached for it. Her heart pounded, and she kicked it farther away. She stood taller and was ready to help more.
Her heart beat throbbed in her ears when she realized that Gabe had tackled them. He punched her brother hard against the jaw.
She winced and her own jaw throbbed from pain, when she wasn't even in the fight. Her mother would want her to stop this. She felt the presence and she screamed out, "Gabe!"
He stopped the next punch midair. "I couldn't let him hurt you."
Gabe was her hero. Her heart fluttered. The moment was almost surreal and black and white, but it became vivid and bright the moment the police came and read her brother his rights.
The instant the police took Maddox into custody, Gabe limped toward her and hugged her.
In that flash of color, nothing stirred. She could smell the testosterone and the sense of belonging she felt in his arms made her forget everything except they were together.
She felt in his arms that the world circled around them. Her body ached for him, but she pulled away. The world came back into its intense hue while the police blue and red lights shone in her eyes and the clatter of her brother being handcuffed into a car broke the peace of the cemetery. She sighed and grabbed Gabe's arm. "Let's get you to a hospital."
"Only if you're right next to me." Gabe fingers intertwined with hers.
Good. Yes. There was nowhere else she'd be. His fingers warmed her.
A police sergeant nodded like he had some voice in their lives. "We can question you both there."
Right. At some point they'd give statements and this might seem real. She unlaced her hands and held a finger up. "I need to talk to Maddox."
As she walked away, Gabe called out, "He's in the police car."
"One second." She turned around and met his gaze. A huge part of her wanted to stay in his arms, but this was her last chance. Maddox was her brother and once upon a time, he’d protected her from school bullies that tried to knock over her lunch tray. She walked toward the car that her brother was in and talked through the open door, "Maddox."
He refused to look at her. "I have nothing to say to traitors."
In his profile, she still saw flickers of the boy she remembered. She felt her eyes begin to swell with tears. "You will always be my brother. Our mom loved us both, and you were her favorite."
He turned and his blue eyes met hers. "You don't know what family is."
