Beyond the Call of Duty (12 page)

“As I said, incorrigible. Go to bed.” She kissed him again.

“At least tell me you love me, Lexi,” he whispered, procrastinating from leaving her side.

“You know I do.”

“Then tell me.”

“I love you, Gabe,” she whispered against his lips and pulled away, turning him back toward his room and giving him a push. “Go, bed, now!”

She turned and headed into the room next to his. She heard him moving around the room, heard the telltale squeak of the bed as he got back in it. Pulling at her jeans, she laid them out next to her shoes on a chair, at easy reach. Then she tugged the comforter down and climbed into the bed.

She was tired, almost overly so, and her eyes didn’t want to close at first. Every tiny creak, from the settling of the house to a bunch of teenagers bursting their eardrums playing their music too loud in their cars, had her jerking up, pulling her .45 from its hideaway under her pillow.

When she finally did sleep, it was deeply, and she didn’t wake until Gerald touched her shoulder at 0600, a cup of coffee in his hands for her.

* * * *

A few houses down, behind a huge stone wall softened by ivy and roses, two men plotted a different fate for Gabe.

“You didn’t find anything?” The man who asked was a bit on the short side, stocky, with an ex-boxer’s build, one who had too close of a relationship with a plate of pastries from his favorite bakery.

“She didn’t have any addresses or even a file on Elliott. Did you have her car blown?” This man was tall and almost too thin, his angular arms with their sharp, pointed elbows lying on the table.

“I didn’t plan nothing on the bitch. We need her to find Elliott.” Francis
Frankie
Traeger picked up the cut-crystal tumbler he’d been drinking from and threw it as hard as he could at the fireplace. It burst like a bomb, tiny crystals jetting from the initial impact. “Find Elliott, dammit! What the fuck am I paying you for?”

“Alexandra Hunter is a United States Marshal, Mr. Traeger. If she’d gone into the Witness Protection Program with Elliott, finding either of them might be impossible. I’ll call in for a couple favors I’m due and see if I can get any information, but it might be difficult.”

“Do it, Chucky. Do it, or you might be the next stiff in the morgue!” Frankie poured himself another two fingers of scotch, tossing it back easily. When Chucky didn’t leave, he turned to glare at the man. “What?” he growled.

“It’s not going to be cheap, Mr. Traeger.”

Frankie rolled his eyes and reached into the pocket of his dinner coat. “When is it ever?” He pulled out a stack of hundreds and handed them to Chucky. “Get out and get me the information I need. Gabriel Elliott cannot be allowed to testify against me.”

He smiled when his library door opened and his wife, a gorgeous red head with huge green eyes and breasts that seemed almost too large to be real, hurried into the room. “Oh, Frankie, you promised no business tonight. You said we would have dinner and then go to the show. You promised, Frankie,” she whined, though on a woman like her, the whine was considered cute by her man.

“I know, Gina. We’re through. I just had to get this moving. You’ll let yourself out?” he said to Chucky, wrapping his arm around Gina’s tiny waist and resting his hand just under one of her bulbous tits. She giggled and clapped her hands in the manner of dumb blondes everywhere, and then tossed her red hair.

“Which show, Frankie? Which one are you taking me to?”

Chucky hurried to the door himself, his ears ringing from the boss’s squeaky new toy, and then he was out in the cool, damp air and off to check on his people.

Chapter Nine

Gabe opened his eyes to sunshine streaming in through the huge French doors. A patch of it fell across his face, and he tried blurrily to brush it away. Rolling away from the sun, he grabbed his pillow and pulled it over his face, but then the smell of Lexi and that damn lotion she used hit him like a brick.

It smelled so sweet, so spicy, almost as if created for her to wear to drive him crazy. He inhaled greedily and pushed the pillow away, wanting the real thing and not just the pillow. He slid carefully out of bed, feeling the pull of the stitches to remind him of how bad his injuries had been.

Throwing on a T-shirt with the sweat pants he’d worn to bed, he headed out the door and down the stairs, the smell of coffee reeling him in. At the bottom of the stairs he could hear voices coming from the kitchen and smell the wonder of bacon frying. His stomach grumbled, and he laid his hand over it before pushing through the kitchen door.

“Morning, Gabe,” Luke said when his gaze landed on the man. He noted his lack of facial hair. “Nice.”

“Thanks,” Gabe said, staring at the faces around him and not seeing the one he wanted. “Where’s Lexi?”

“Jack has her on the phone.” Molly nodded toward the door to the kitchen and the one room Gabe hadn’t gone into. “He’s not happy.”

“Why isn’t he happy now?” Gabe reached into a cupboard and grabbed a cup, pouring himself coffee and diluting the strong brew with milk. “Are we going to have to move again?”

“I hope not,” Luke said with a grin. “I don’t think we could handle another ride with you and what traveling does to your digestion.”

Molly chuckled. “That’s for damn sure. There are doughnuts, if you want them. If not, Luke’s cooking breakfast.”

“Eggs and bacon?” Gabe asked greedily.

“And pancakes,” Luke added.

“Count me in.” He sank down at the table and sipped the hot coffee, feeling the zing of the strong brew running through his veins. He was very curious about what was going on with Lexi, but trying to find out might cause more problems. She’d tell him when she could. “So, does Lexi do this stuff a lot?”

“What stuff?” Molly asked. “She’s worked for WITPRO for about eight years. She’s one of the longest-working marshals we’ve got. Most people burn out after a few years. Too much danger, too many scumbags, too many evil-doers who are getting a free pass because they know something the government wants.”

“You mean, like me.” Gabe’s voice was disgusted, mostly with himself. Now that Molly talked about the scumbags, he knew he was one of them. He’d worked for Tony Blandon for years, closing his eyes when what Tony wanted done was a bit more past the wall than what Gabe was comfortable with. He had no one to blame for the position he was in right now but himself, and for a moment he wondered if he was even good enough for someone like Lexi.

Molly was quick to negate his words. “No, I’m talking hardcore scumbags, Gabe. Compared to them, you’re a baby. We’ve had to protect pimps that put thirteen-year-old girls on the streets, drug dealers who sent little boys to school to hand out free drugs to hook kids before they are even in their double digits. We’ve had murders and more, but it’s the job, and if you sign on for it, you have to be ready to deal with all kinds.”

“Like that woman last year,” Luke said. “The one that had ten kids and had them all out on the streets, bringing her money to feed her habit.”

“Yeah,” Molly groaned. “God, that was one woman I wouldn’t have minded watching get blown up into little pieces. Compared to her, Gabe, you’re an angel.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, just sat and stared down into the murky cup of coffee in his hands, as if searching for an answer there. He was still staring when the kitchen door opened again and Lexi strolled in.

“Morning, Gabe.”

He glanced up and nodded, barely meeting her gaze. She was everything that was right and beautiful, and he was little more than a drug-pusher, out hooking kids on shit that would ruin their lives. How could he have ever thought she would want to be with him?

“What’s wrong?” Lexi asked, staring down at him and no doubt seeing the confusion and concern in his eyes.

“Nothing.” He rose to his feet, leaving his cup on the table. “I don’t think I’m hungry after all, Luke. I think I’m going to go back to bed for a little while.” He spun and retreated, not seeing the hurt in Lexi’s eyes or the concern on her face.

* * * *

“Okay, what was that about?” Lexi growled at Luke and Molly.

“He was asking about the job, Lex. We told him he wasn’t near as bad a scumbag as some of the others we’ve had to protect. He wanted to know how you liked the job.”

“You didn’t call him a scumbag, did you?” She wanted to kick Luke. He wasn’t known for his tact, but then again, neither was Molly which was why she paired them up together. They rarely got angry at each other, but drove other marshals nuts.

“Well, not in those exact words.”

“Dammit, Molly. You know better.” Lexi closed her eyes and counted to ten slowly, but when she opened them, she was still aggravated and just plain pissed off. “You know we don’t rag on our wits no matter who they are or what they’ve done. You damn well don’t talk about past cases. I thought you two knew better than that.”

“We do. Sorry, boss.”

“Yeah, we’re sorry, Lex.” Molly put her hand out to touch Lexi’s shoulder, flinching when she pulled away.

“Now I’ve got to go up there and calm down the witness.” She growled the words, making them sound worse than what it actually was. “Can I trust you two to keep an eye on things down here, or should I call Joe and Gerald back in early?”

“We can do it, boss.” Molly sounded contrite and glared at Luke as if this was all his fault. They watched as Lexi walked out of the kitchen before Molly turned and balled up her fist, smacking Luke on the arm.

His pained “Hey” was the last thing Lexi heard from them as she headed toward the stairs.

She took them slowly, thinking about her conversation with Jack. It had been confirmed. Teri Milner had been the one to help Traegar set up Tony Blandon and his family. She’d even offered more to the men if they’d made sure Gabe saw it all. She was a cold-hearted bitch and was now engaged to Traegar’s oldest son.

That little piece of information was going to break Gabe’s heart, and she wasn’t anxious to tell him, especially now, since he seemed so out of sorts. She winced a little at the thought and steadied herself. She’d never been one to back away from any job, no matter whom or what it was. She wouldn’t back away from this one either.

Jack wanted to know everything Gabe did about Teri Milner. Lexi was going to have to set up a meeting with the Assistant District Attorney to see if they would have enough to include Teri in the deal or not. It would mean moving Gabe, something that Lexi wasn’t really happy about, but the ADA wouldn’t come here, and if he did, they could be watching his office; they could follow him to the house.

No, the best way was to take Gabe to ADA Bangor.

Ronald Bangor was in the truest sense, a lawyer. He was a shark, not a common thing in the DA’s office. Lexi didn’t know his story, but she’d worked with him before and knew, if they wanted someone off the streets, ADA Bangor was the man to prosecute. He had no fear and sometimes no smarts, as Lexi told him more than once.

The man was fantastic at his profession, but he was one of the biggest hound dogs on the planet. Every time he saw Lexi, he was like a pointer with the scent, pressing her for a date. She’d rather date the proverbial dog than put another mark on Bangor’s bed post.

They set up a time to meet, and Jack would be there as well. She’d also be wearing her weapon, and she’d use it on him if need be. As far as she was concerned, Ronald Bangor could use some more iron in his diet, and she’d love to be the one to give it to him.

She smiled darkly at that pleasant thought as she knocked on Gabe’s bedroom door. She waited a moment and knocked again when there was no answer. “Gabe, it’s Lexi.”

When there still wasn’t an answer, she reached out and pushed open the door, staring around at the empty room. “Gabe?” A tiny thrill of fear had her stomach clenching, and she moved into the room, heading to the bathroom door. “Gabe?” she called again.

“Yeah,” he answered, sending a pulse of relief through Lexi.

“God, you scared me. Can I come in?”

“Why?”

“Why did you scare me, or why would I want to come in?” she asked.

“The second,” he growled, glaring at the door from his side.

“Because I love you,” she called, just loud enough for him to hear. “Open the door, Gabe. Let’s talk about what’s bothering you.”

* * * *

“Nothing’s bothering me,” he growled, staring at his reflection in the wide mirror. There was disgust in his eyes, but it wasn’t for Lexi. It was for himself. He’d done a lot of bad things, and he could look back and see them all. He wasn’t good enough for her, and he knew it.

“Yes, something’s bothering you, Gabe. Don’t even try to pull that crap with me. I’ve been a marshal for a long fucking time, and I know when someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. What’s bothering you, Gabe? Don’t try to hide it, I can feel it.”

“You’re bothering me, Lexi. Why don’t you go do your job and just let me be?” He slammed his palm onto the marble counter in the bathroom before turning away from the mirror to glare at the door. “Just go away!”

“That isn’t what you want, Gabe. You love me, you told me you did.” She sounded as if she was grasping at straws, anything to keep her afloat right now as hurt tried to suck her down.