Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 138522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“Are you okay?” he demands, his voice fierce, his hands traveling my body, inspecting me for injury. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“Yes. Thank God you were here. I’m fine and thank you for saving me but don’t do it again.” I poke his chest, thinking about what could have happened. “You could have been killed.”
“He was a reporter.”
“You didn’t know that and he’s crazy. Clearly.”
His hands move to my waist and he pulls me to him, away from the group. “If you need me, I’ll be there. Don’t you see that?”
I swallow hard, emotion balling in my chest. “You can’t be there for me if you’re dead.”
“You have no idea what I felt when that man dragged you down the alley.” He cups my face. “Damn it, woman.” He presses his hands to the wall on either side of me. “What the hell are you doing to me? And why the fuck did you leave? Together, Abbie. Remember?”
“Yes. Do you? You forgot that today on many counts.”
“I know I did and I was wrong, but damn it, don’t fucking leave. Yell. Argue. Punch me if you have to, but don’t leave.”
Don’t leave. This is a hot point of his. This is a trigger and I quickly agree. “Okay. No leaving. I will just punch you instead.”
“Okay,” he says, completely serious right now. “That works.”
I laugh and wrap my arms around him. “You’re impossibly intense right now.”
“You know how to fix that?”
“How?”
“Don’t leave,” he growls.
“I know. I know.”
“And you could get naked.”
“Here?” I smile.
“My office. Let’s go.” He takes my hand but we get nowhere fast.
“What the hell just happened?”
At the sound of Reese’s voice, Gabe and I break apart and watch Reese fold Cat into his arms.
The group of us come together and Cat and I tell our story. The crowd. The reporters. The sudden yanking of me down the alley.
“Where is this asshole now?” Reese demands.
“Going back to his office to have his boss call me,” Gabe says, eyeing Reese. “What do you have time for now? What’s our plan?”
“I have a problem at the courthouse and I’m out of time,” he says. “We’ve—meaning all legal counsel involved—have already called and put the interviews off, pending new evidence provided by Blake.” He eyes Gabe. “Let’s meet tonight just to debrief and be sure we’re ready for anything.”
“Where and when?” Gabe asks.
“Our place at seven Reid wants to be there. I already told him.”
Cat leans over and hugs me. “I’m so sorry that just happened. Reporters can be such assholes.”
“I can’t believe a reporter would put his hands on a person,” I murmur.
“They don’t make a habit of it,” Gabe says. “And they’re going to regret it. I’m going to sue the paper and you can use that money for the shelter.”
My heart falls all over again for this man every day about ten times. His first thought is the shelter and I’m quick to kiss his cheek, and just as quick to whisper, “No. I will not fall in love with you.”
“Promise?”
I laugh and there’s a lot of coordination that follows. Who gets what security protection and who’s riding with who to go where. Funny thing about the next few minutes is that I’m reminded of Cat calling me family. How can it not? This crazy chaos that alternates hugging and fighting, fighting and hugging, that finally leads to me and Gabe being escorted to his office by Adam, feels like family.
Chapter seventy-seven
Gabe
The walk back to the building is short and Adam and I keep Abbie between us, out of the reach of random, psycho reporters. This whole mess has been a shit show that leaves us now needing security to go along with legal counsel. The irony of which is that none of these problems would exist if not for her ex coming after her. If not for her ex, if not for my father, I suspect we wouldn’t have met.
We enter the building and leave Adam at the lobby level, to fend off any press that might follow. Abbie and I have just stepped into the elevator, when my phone buzzes with a text and I pull it out, expecting Reid but finding the dog walker, complete with a photo of Dexter shaking her hand.
“Real serial killer there,” Abbie teases, glancing over my shoulder. “The dog walker might need security instead of us.”
“Dexter’s good at fooling everyone,” I say, but I’m thinking of me, not my new furry best friend. I’m thinking about what Reid said to me earlier today, about how I hide behind jokes and laughter. There was nothing funny about what I wanted to do to that reporter for touching Abbie. “Maybe we should bring him to work with us. I bet that dog would kill for you.”
“Dexter would get fat from treats and the staff would be distracted by him. Plus Dexter would tell the world we’re a couple in his jabbering doggy style. Which brings me to a topic we should have addressed already. If I’m working here, no touching, kissing, or familiar stuff at work.” She pushes out of my arms. “I have to earn respect. I can’t do that if everyone knows we’re together.”