“It’s my decision,” his wife stated again. A message he received loud and clear. “And I’m making it…Now!”.
The scene became a slow-motion movie as everything happened all at once.
His daring wife spun her head to the side—away from Vic’s gun. Simultaneously, she used her right hand to push his arm upward as she threw herself to the floor.
A deafeningboomfilled the air as Vic pulled the trigger. Pieces of drywall and paint rained down on them from where the bullet pierced the ceiling.
With a maddening fury, the unstable man’s eyes went from being wide with surprise to a narrowed, venomous glare.
“You bitch!” Swinging his gun back around toward Ellena, he made his intentions clear.
Gabe didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger, his bullet hitting its mark with perfection.
The sound of the shot barely registered as Gabe watched as his teammate’s body jerked. The man’s brain matter and blood splattering on the door behind him. A second later, Vic fell against it before sliding down to the tiled floor below.
He was dead before he ever hit the ground.
“Elle!”Gabe shoved his gun into his waistband against his lower back and rushed to where his wife lay.
Shaking, Ellena pushed herself into a sitting position. “I-I’m okay.”
Despite her words, Gabe frantically ran his hands down her arms and back up to her shoulders. He cupped both sides of her face, his own hands trembling. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” Tears fell from her eyes, her face crumbling as she glanced over at Vic’s lifeless body. “Oh, God.”
“Baby, don’t.” Gabe gently forced her focus back on him. “Just keep looking at me.”
Shoving his hand into his pocket, he yanked out his phone and dialed 911. He kept one hand on her face, his thumb caressing her precious skin as he reported the shooting to the police.
Hanging up, he immediately made another phone call. This one to his commanding officer.
When the authorities arrived, he and Elle were separated to give their official statements of the events. Gabe hated to leave his wife’s side for even a second, but he understood the reasons behind the protocol.
Several minutes later, he was still in the kitchen speaking with the lead detective and his CO when the officer taking Elle’s statement came running into the room.
“Your wife needs you,” the young man blurted loudly, his wide eyes staring directly at Gabe. “I’ve already called for an ambulance.”
An ambulance?
Gabe’s pulse spiked as he shoved past the kid and ran into the living room where Elle had been taken. His heart nearly stopped altogether when he saw her down on her knees, hunched over and clutching her stomach.
“Elle!” He ran to her for the second time in as many hours. Dropping to his knees beside her, he asked, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t know.” Tears fell from her eyes, sorrow filling her beautiful face. “I was telling the officer what h-happened, and I got this sharp p-pain. Then I felt the b-blood, and I…” She squeezed her eyes shut, crying out as another pain hit.
The baby.
Please, God. Don’t take the baby!
But when he saw the blood seeping through Ellena’s jeans, Gabe knew his silent prayer had come too late.
Chapter 1
Gabe opened his apartment door. Distracted by the ghosts of his past, he almost missed the fact that the light he’d left on in his apartment—the one healwaysleft on to give him a clear view of the space when he returned—was off.
The place was pitch black…almost.
In one fluid motion, he pulled his gun from its place at the small of his back and flipped the safety. After spending several years as a Navy SEAL, and the last few as the leader of an elite private security team, the weapon was like an extension of his body. And even better than his American Express.
