“I’m so sorry,” she said softly, her eyes darting about like a frightened doe’s. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Gabe shook his head, his brows coming together in a frown. “It’s okay. Can I help you?”
She swallowed hard and her eyes darted around again, her anxiety immediately putting Gabe on edge. “Are you Deputy Gabe Dawson?”
He straightened, studying her more closely now. There was something vaguely familiar about her. She was young—college aged if Gabe had to hazard a guess—and pretty in a very sweet, wholesome way. Her thick, golden-blond hair was pulled back in a braid that came down to her waist, and she was dressed in a long sundress that obscured her figure. She had innocent written all over her.
Yet she held a bag that contained a small box of what Gabe would’ve guessed were condoms from what he could see through the thin white bag from the pharmacy. When she saw him glance at what she was holding, she quickly wrapped the bag around its contents and shoved it deep into the pocket of her skirt. Based on the way she flushed, he’d been dead on about her innocence—but it looked like she wasn’t planning to stay that way.
“Yeah,” he finally replied to her question, his tone cautious, “I’m Deputy Gabe Dawson. Who’s asking?”
She took a quick step forward, grasped his arm, and said in a tumble of words, “I recognize you from the photos. You have to be careful. You and the woman. He’s planning something. I don’t know what, but he’s making my brothers do things, and they’re going to get killed! You have to stop him. Please—you have to save my brothers. Brian’s only thirteen—he doesn’t understand what he’s doing!”
“Whoa, hold on there,” Gabe said, holding up his free hand. Realization sent a cool shiver down his spine even as he asked, “Let’s start with your name. You okay with telling me that?”
“Sandra Monroe,” she whispered, glancing around frantically.
“Jeb Monroe’s daughter.”
She nodded, her eyes darting again.
Damn, he hated being right all the time.
“He’ll be back soon.” She whimpered ever so slightly, as she added, “I can’t be seen with you. My father will kill me if he knows I’ve told you anything.”
Gabe’s hackles were up in an instant, his protective instincts in full force. “Get in the car, Sandra,” he urged, opening the door for her. “I’ll take you to the sheriff’s department where you can give a statement. We can protect you.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No! I can’t. I have to protect my brothers.”
Gabe took a cautious step toward her and gently grasped her upper arm, keeping his voice even when he said, “Sandra, the best way to protect your brothers is to come in with me and tell us what you know. Then we can do what’s necessary to remove them from your father’s house.”
She lifted wide blue eyes to his, silently pleading, clearly torn. God, the woman was completely terrified. What kind of father terrorizes his own daughter, for fuck’s sake? Gabe was gonna wring that bastard Monroe’s neck when he got his hands on him.
“I…I don’t know,” she stammered. “I need to think. This was a mistake.”
Gabe bent his knees slightly so that he was at her eye level. “It’s never a mistake to do that right thing, Sandra.” He took out his phone and dialed his brother’s number, planning to give him a heads-up that he was bringing in Monroe’s daughter, but she snatched the phone from his grasp with a strangled cry and hung up.
When she handed the phone back to him, her hand was trembling and she seemed to curl into herself, as if she expected him to lash out at her. “Please don’t tell anyone I said anything,” she pleaded. “If he finds out…”
Gabe shook his head. “I won’t say a word.”
“Not even to the woman, the attorney,” she insisted. “I don’t want her to get hurt. My father can’t suspect she knows anything or it’ll force his hand.”
Gabe’s blood chilled. “What’s he planning, Sandra? I love that attorney you’re talking about. Very much. If anything ever happened to her…” His throat constricted at the thought, making it impossible for him to finish the sentence. He leveled his gaze at Monroe’s daughter. “Tell me how to protect Elle, and I promise I’ll do everything I can to protect your brothers.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, and he knew he’d gotten through to her. “Okay. But not here. My brother will—”
“Sandra.”
The woman practically jumped out of her skin at the harsh bark behind her. Gabe’s eyes snapped up to meet the furious gaze of Jeremy Monroe.
“Get away from my sister,” Jeremy growled, his hands balled into fists at his sides.
Gabe immediately took a step back. “It’s okay. It’s not what you think.”
“Liar!” Jeremy yelled, taking a menacing step forward, shaking with rage. “I know all about you, sinner! Leave my sister alone. You already have a whore.”
It took every bit of Gabe’s control to not deck the little shit for calling Elle a whore. He clenched his jaw and shoved his finger in the kid’s face. “Watch your mouth, Monroe. If I didn’t know you were just parroting your father’s words—”
