“Is his bait,” Gabe told Ellena bluntly.
She frowned. “Bait for what?”
“You, Doc.” Walker finally found the balls to admit it. “I’ve been able to hold Price off as long as I could, but I gotta give him something.”
Ellena’s eyes grew wide. “So you’re going to give himme?”
“The fuck he is.” Gabe took a step toward Walker.
“Take a breath, Dawson,” Ryker ordered him. “Of course, we’re not just going to hand her over and walk away.”
“Why not?” Nate challenged the Homeland agent. “Isn’t that what he did with Gracie and Kat? What makes Ellena any different?”
“Because I’m done with that shit!” Walker’s voice boomed throughout the room. Chest heaving, pain etched all over the man’s face, he met everyone’s gaze before landing on Ellena’s. “Look, I’m supposed to be the best of the best when it comes to being a hitman, but my two ‘attempts’ on your life resulted in squat. I had to talk a huge load of bullshit just to convince Price to give me one last chance so he wouldn’t have Hall shoot my ass. That happens, my plan to protect Ellena and Jenna gets shot to hell. Problem is, the second chance Price gave me came with a condition.”
“What’s the condition?”
“I made him think I was going to use Jenna to draw you out. You show up to save your friend, I take you for her, we go see Price. Together.”
“Not happening.” Fuming with anger, Gabe walked over to Ellena, standing protectively in front of her. Eyes locked on Walker’s, he made sure the prick understood. “She’s not doing this so get that idea out of your head right fucking now.”
With a grimace, Walker tried looking around Gabe. “You don’t do this, Doc, Jenna will be dead within a week.”
“Gabe?” Ellena’s worried eyes shot to his.
“Don’t,” he warned Walker off. The tips of his fingernails dug into his palms as the fists at his sides tightened.
“She deserves to know what will happen, Dawson.” Refusing to back down, the other man shifted his gaze to Elle’s. “They’ll kill Jenna, Doc. They’ll kill her, and then they’ll come after you.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Gabe snarled. “They’re not touching either one of them, and neither are you.”
“Don’t be naïve, Gabriel. You know I’m right on this.”
He didn’t get it. How could he? A soulless, coldhearted bastard like Adrian Walker would never understand the lengths a man will go to in order to protect the ones he loves.
I’ll die before seeing her hurt again.
Voice low and flat, Gabe made sure he understood. “They’ll have to go through me.”
“Eventually, they will.” Walker glanced around the room. “That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to see. Radcliff and his men will do whatever it takes to win next year’s election. They’ll use whoever they have to in order to keep this shit buried. Your women. Your families.” When Walker’s gaze landed on Gabe’s again, there was a level of sincerity Gabe couldn’t deny. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, but I’m telling you the truth. If you don’t let me do this my way, we’ll lose them both.”
Something flashed behind the man’s eyes. The coldness in his concrete stare darkened, and if Gabe didn’t know any better, he’d think the pain he saw there had nothing to do with the man’s wound.
What the hell?
“I need some air.” Gabe started for the door, pointing to Walker as he walked past. “He tries anything while I’m gone, shoot him.”
“Your wife already did that, remember?”
Not bothering to look back at the prick, Gabe gave him a low ‘Fuck You’ before walking outside and slamming the door behind him.
Chapter 16
Storming across the crisp, fall grass, Gabe was halfway to the tree line before he was able to fully fill his lungs. With his hands on his hips, he hung his head and closed his eyes, doing his damnedest to make sense of it all.
Walker wasn’t the backstabbing criminal they believed him to be. Ryker had known this entire time and didn’t tell them. Both men had conspired to kidnap Jenna under the guise that she would be bait, and now…
They want me to willingly send my wife into the lion’s den.
