Gabe moved even faster, then. The muscles in his thighs began to burn from their effort to take him to the one place he needed to be. Despite the cool, autumn air, a thin sheen of sweat began to bead on his forehead, but Gabe ignored it and continued on.
“Damn it, Gabe. Hold the fuck up a second!”
He was about to tell the pansy-assed agent to go to hell when a deafening bang echoed through the trees. The few birds that hadn’t flown south yet scattered, their caws and chirps muffled by the rush of Gabe’s blood through his ears.
“Ellena!”
His primal, protective instincts allowed him to move even faster. Barely registering the low curse coming from the man behind him, Gabe pushed on. With only a few feet left between him and the cabin, he forced his body to its limits, covering the distance in record time.
Skipping the wooden steps completely, he flew up to the porch and kicked in the door. His heart stopped cold when he saw the splatter of blood on the wall next to the small table, and the body on the hardwood floor in front of him.
Chapter 14
Ellena ears were ringing, and she was shaking so badly the gun nearly fell from her hand. The man who’d broken in was still on the floor, fresh blood seeping past the hand he had pressed to his injured shoulder.
I don’t even remember pulling the trigger.
She’d been in the kitchen trying to decide what to make for dinner when she heard what sounded like someone unlocking the front door. At first, she assumed it was Gabe. But when she heard his voice, she knew it was someone else.
A different voice. Afamiliarvoice.
It’s him.
“I-it was you.” She stared down at him. “You ran your car into me.”
“Wasn’t me,” he ground out past his pain. “But, yeah. I was there. Damn. I forgot how much getting shot hurt.”
He’d been shot before? Who was this man?
I think I’m going to be sick.
“Easy, Doc. Slow, deep breaths. In through your nose, out your mouth.”
Ellena’s eyes flew to his.
The guy had broken in here to do only God knows what. He’d quite possibly caused her wreck, and most definitely took her picture and sent it—along with several others—to her as a warning. She’dshothim, and he was giving her advice on how not to throw up?
“Wh-who…” Ellena swallowed back the burning bile. “Who are y-you?”
Grimacing in pain, the man opened his mouth to tell her, but before he could answer, an extremely panicked Gabe burst through the door.
Weapon in hand, his terror-stricken gaze moved from the blood on the wall behind the table, to the man on the floor. His entire body seemed to nearly crumble with relief when his eyes landed on her.
Keeping his weapon pointed at the intruder, his eyes softened as he slowly began walking toward her.
“Ellena?”
She could see his lips moving. Could make out what he was saying, but the ringing from the gunshot and the sound of her own heart racing muffled his voice.
Ellena wanted to go to him. To grab hold and never let go. But for some reason, she couldn’t get her legs to move.
“Hey, Dawson.” The man on the ground groaned. “You mind telling your wife to quit pointing her gun at me?”
“Actually, yeah.” Gabe slid the man a narrowed glare. “I do mind.”
Another man came rushing through the opened door. One she’d never seen before. He took in the unthinkable scene then shook his head and cursed.
A shot of renewed fear hit her system, and Ellena swung her hand in his direction, instead.
