“I’m serious, Gabe.”
“So am I!” he shot back.
Tom laughed and snatched an orange from the counter, lobbing it at his brother.
Gabe dodged it easily and chuckled, “Nice throw, dickhead.”
“Piss off,” Tom laughed. “I’m taking it easy on you while you’re recovering.”
“Uh-huh,” Gabe teased. “Sure.”
“Oh, you wanna be a tough guy?” Tom darted forward, putting Gabe in a headlock and rubbing his knuckles on the top of Gabe’s head. Tom released him abruptly and stumbled back with a laugh when Gabe punched him in the gut.
Gabe jabbed a finger at his brother. “You’re lucky I can’t kick your ass right now.”
Tom shook his head, grinning. “Yeah, yeah. You can owe me one, Billy Badass.” His phone chimed, drawing his attention. He checked it quickly and shoved it back into the case at his hip. “Gotta go. Duty calls.”
“Everything okay?” Gabe asked.
“Same shit, different day,” Tom assured him. “Call me if you need anything—or if you get any other presents from Monroe.”
Gabe gave him a mocking salute. “Yes, sir.”
“I mean it,” Tom called over his shoulder as he headed out of the kitchen. “Don’t be stupid.”
Gabe sighed, then muttered, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Chapter 10
Elle was early.
She’d talked to Gabe nearly every day during the week since their dinner at his house, just a few minutes here and there to check in on him, see if he’d had any other problems with Monroe she might be able to work with. But it’d been quiet. For him anyway.
Even though she’d promised to keep him apprised of any uneasiness she’d felt, she wasn’t about to tell him about every single paranoid moment she’d experienced. She was certain someone was following her. She could feel his gaze on her when she was loading groceries into her trunk. When she left the fitness center. When she left the office and was walking to her car…
But she’d only seen someone once. And that could’ve been just a coincidence. After all, Fairfield County wasn’t exactly a bustling metropolis. Mostly comprised of farmland and factories with the occasional cluster of houses in a suburban neighborhood, the towns in Fairfield County epitomized small-town Midwest life. The fact that she’d seen Jeremy Monroe sitting in a corner booth sipping a cup of coffee while she was at lunch with her coworkers was hardly surprising. And really not even worth mentioning to Gabe.
At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. Because otherwise she was going to go crazy.
And yet, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling, even now as she made her way to Gabe’s house to go over some of the information he’d been gathering, that someone was trailing her. She’d checked her rearview mirror too many times to count, had tried to keep track of all the vehicles that were behind her between her house and Gabe’s. But there were none that stood out.
Still, with paranoia adding to her eagerness to see Gabe—purely for the sake of information gathering, of course—she’d broken pretty much every traffic law possible. Lovely. Great idea for the deputy prosecutor to get caught in a serious traffic violation. That’d go over really well with her boss…
She sighed with relief when she turned into Gabe’s driveway and practically sprinted to the front door, glancing over her shoulder as she waited for him to answer her knock. Her stomach began to twist into knots as the seconds dragged on, her uneasiness building. She knocked again, louder this time, glancing around again.
Come on, come on, come on…
Her heart began to pound, the blood flooding her ears. The birds chirping nearby suddenly sounded distorted, surreal. The sunlight was overly bright, blinding. Her chest heaved, her breath coming in gasps as fear surged in her veins.
He should’ve answered the door by now. Something was wrong. She knew it. Something was terribly wrong.
She punched the doorbell a couple of times then pounded on the door with her fist, trying the knob with her free hand. “Gabe! Answer the door! Gabe!”
She was bringing her fist up to pound on the door again when it suddenly swung open. Gabe stood in the doorway leaning on a walking cane, shirtless and barefoot, his jeans apparently hastily pulled on because they weren’t yet buttoned. “Hey, I didn’t—”
Without thinking, Elle threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank God,” she whispered. “I was so worried when you didn’t answer the door.”
His arm came around her, holding her close. “I’m fine,” he assured her. “I was just getting out of the shower when I heard you pounding on the door. Took me a minute to get here.”