She set it on the table, lifted it open, and turned it on. Two seconds later, the screen lit up and after she tapped a couple of keys, Ellena smiled wide. “Oh, my gosh. It’s all here! Nate, you really are a genius.”
Nate slid him a smug smirk. “I know.”
“And so modest, too.” Gracie laughed as she walked over to them. Her teasing was obvious, but so was the love she felt for Nate.
Struck with a sudden dose of jealousy for his younger teammate’s relationship, Gabe had to work to keep from squeezing his teammate’s shoulder too hard.
“Thanks for bringing that by.”
“No problem, brother. Glad to be of service.”
The two women looked back and forth between him and Nate a few times before Gracie rolled her eyes and made her way over to them.
“He wants us to leave, Nate.”
“You do?” Nate’s brow furrowed right before a slow, knowing grin spread across the bastard’s face. “Ah, I get it. Come on, baby.” He reached for Gracie’s hand. “Let’s leave these two lovebirds alone.”
Ellena’s confused eyes shot to his, but Gabe blew Nate’s comment off with a slight shake of his head.
“That’s not…” He started to comment, but let his voice trail off. Because there really was no good way to end that sentence. Not when Ellena was standing right there.
“Um…thanks, again for fixing this for me, Nate.” Her lips curled into an uncertain smile. “And Gracie, it was really nice meeting you.”
“You, too, sweetie.” Gracie pulled a surprised Ellena in for a hug.
She mentioned a get-together with the other R.I.S.C. wives, which struck up a whole new conversation, and as the two women talked for a couple more minutes, Gabe seized the opportunity.
Turning his voice low enough for only his teammate to hear him, he kept his eyes on Ellena while he asked Nate, “You get it?”
“You even have to ask?” Nate’s dark brow rose. “I’m running her patient list through my program as we speak. If there’s anything there, we’ll know by tonight. Oh”—he pulled a burner phone from his pocket and handed it to Gabe—“I almost forgot this.”
“It’s clean?”
“Dude, seriously.” Nate scowled. “You act like this is my first rodeo”
Gabe slid his gaze to Ellena. “It’s the first one involving her.”
Just then, Gracie whispered something in Ellena’s ear. He couldn’t hear what it was, but whatever Gracie was saying had Ellena’s eyes travelling straight up to his.
After another round of goodbyes, the other couple headed for the door. Just before Gracie walked through it, she looked back at Ellena. “Don’t forget what I said.”
Gabe studied his wife carefully, but her only response was a guarded smile and a soft, “Thank you.”
With a ‘who the hell knows’ shrug, Nate led Gracie to his truck. As he was opening the passenger door for her, he hollered back at Gabe.
“Keep your phone handy, big guy. Just in case.”
“Always.” Gabe stared back at the other man with a deliberate smirk. “And the next time you decide to just pop by, use yours to send me a damn text or something so you don’t get your ass shot.”
Walking around the front of the truck to his side, Nate snorted. “And ruin the element of surprise? What’s the fun in that?” Giving him a departing wink, Gabe’s teammate climbed into his truck and shut the door.
For a moment, Gabe remained on the cabin’s modest porch, watching as they drove off. He scanned the wooded area surrounding the structure and prayed that coming here was the right decision to make.
Make love to me, Gabe.
His heart thumped against his ribs as he pictured her lying beneath him, saying those whispered words to him again. The sweetest he’d heard in years.
He glanced back over his shoulder at the closed door and wondered what was going through her head. Was she in there right now, remembering that exact same moment?
