“Seven?” A shudder wracked her. “Then why did you leave the SEALs? You’re landlocked now, I take it.”
He considered her question. “It stopped being fun.” Blurting out the honest reply startled him. He was always careful not to reveal his true feelings.
“So you quit.” Her brows arched. “What happened?”
Guilt wrenched inside him. You don’t want to know. That’s what he got for following his crazy impulse to open up to her.
Thrown off balance by his out-of-the-blue lapse of control, which seemed to happen too often around her, he focused on the business at hand. “As you’ve realized, this…situation concerns the checks. But it’s complicated. Gregson may or may not be genuine FBI. Too much information has leaked out. Cops are involved and we’re not sure how high the betrayal goes. That’s why I had to pull the bank job. I couldn’t just waltz in and ask to see the checks. I’d have blown my cover. The robbery got me the checks without arousing suspicions. From the local cops on up, nobody can know I’m working for the good guys. Two of our agents are already dead. We can’t trust anybody. Including our own.”
“But you trust me?”
Gabe had discovered the hard way he couldn’t trust anyone. He’d learned the lesson early, and learned it well. He survived by holding people at arm’s length, substituting adventure and excitement for relationships. A clever quip and a ready smile kept deeper emotions where they belonged. Buried.
Every day was a party. But it was a party for one.
He’d run a thorough background check on Tessa and discovered nothing incriminating. Defying logic, his gun-shy instincts urged him to trust her all the way. If he couldn’t get her out of this mess, he might have to. A suffocating fist gripped his lungs. He might be forced to include her—to a minimum—on a professional level, but he’d make damn sure it didn’t get personal.
“Obviously if they’re after you, you’re not in on it. And you saw the checks, which puts you in jeopardy.” Quashing his inner turmoil, he grinned at her. “I need your cooperation, and I can’t be afraid to eat or drink when you’re around. Very clever, by the way. I couldn’t see straight for twelve hours. Which made surveilling you since you left the hospital a little difficult. Luckily, I managed, or Gregson’s abduction attempt would have succeeded.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry. I felt badly about drugging you, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I wanted to go home. But even after I escaped, nobody would let me.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“The doctor made me stay in the hospital overnight and then I had to wait for Mel to get me some new clothes.”
“What happened to your clothes?”
“They were ruined and someone threw them away.” Her voice dropped to a murmur. “Then the doctor wanted to do an exam and lab tests. He wouldn’t believe you didn’t rape me.”
Nausea slammed into him at the thought of anyone violating her that way. His jaw felt too tight to get the words out. “I would never force myself on a woman.”
“I know,” she replied softly. “I know you wouldn’t.”
He squeezed the stick to keep from ramming his fist into the door. She’d been hurt and humiliated because of his actions. Her head injury was also on his account. In spite of his devil-may-care attitude, he went out of his way to make sure no innocent bystanders took any flak. This time he’d failed. And Tessa had suffered the consequences. It ate at him like acid. “I’m sorry you had to go through that because of me.”
“Everybody kept patting me until I wanted to scream. I told them you were nice, and they stuck an IV in my arm,” she huffed. “Mel was the only one who believed me.”
His stomach rolled again, for an entirely different reason. He didn’t want to analyze why he suddenly felt proprietary and protective toward this woman, when he’d never before felt that way about anyone. Step back, Colton. “Is Mel your boyfriend?”
“My best friend since first grade, we’re like sisters.”
“Funny name for a girl.”
“Her name is Melody. Mel’s a nickname. You should talk…Valentine.” A grin sneaked out before remorse erased it. “I’m sorry, teasing you is mean.”
An answering smile curled Gabe’s mouth. “You’re not the first. How do you think I learned to fight? I was battle-hardened long before Navy martial arts training, believe me. Anybody who called me Valentine got clobbered.”
“Why did your parents choose something so unusual? Is Valentine a family name?”
Gabe’s face shut down, his eyes darkening, his expression shifting into neutral. “I have no idea.”
Tessa frowned. Obviously, she’d hit a nerve. Too late, she remembered he’d mentioned a foster mom. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Look, there’s our destination ahead.”
Her gaze followed his pointing finger out the windshield. She gulped. “That microscopic patch of grass between the trees?”
His grin reappeared, banishing his wariness. She studied his deliberately casual profile. This complex man wasn’t what he appeared, in more ways than one. The grin that sprang so easily to his lips covered a shadow inside. Compassion flooded her. No stranger to pain herself, she recognized the deep hurt he so determinedly held at bay. In spite of herself, she was drawn to him, to the impudent courage that shielded his heart.
“No problem. Your pilot knows how to hit the sweet spot every time.”
True to his word, the helicopter floated gracefully between the colorful oaks and maples, and then kissed the ground with a slight bump. “Cape Hope. I believe you’ll recognize the cabin.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked through the forest. Heat radiated from his hand, through her. Though the path wasn’t steep, her breathing accelerated. Baffled, she gulped in the cool, autumn air.
Gabe unlocked the door, and they entered the familiar log cabin. He grasped her upper arms and pulled her toward him. “I want your word you won’t run off. These scum are dead serious, and Gregson got too damn close.”
“I realize that now. I won’t, I promise.”
“If I hadn’t made it there in time—” He shuddered, swallowed hard. His darkened emerald gaze ensnared hers. As if he couldn’t help himself, he fingered a curl that had fallen over her shoulder. “You have hair like a Caribbean sunset. Copper and red and gold. Bewitching. Beautiful.”
Nobody had ever called her beautiful. Warmth curled through her, settling around her heart. “I, um, thank you,” she whispered.
His callused fingertips traced the shell of her ear, and delicious sensations rained down her spine. His gaze caressed her face, lingered on her mouth, then slipped upward to hold her captive again. “So tempting.” He lowered his head, moving closer. “You smell so sweet, Tessie. Makes a man want to eat you up,” he murmured, his breath feathering across her temple.
