“Face down and keep your hands where I can see ’em,” the gruff voice barked.
This man had the wrong idea, but she didn’t argue. She didn’t like the thought he could be trigger happy. She’d never even remotely been in a situation like this in the past, so she had no experience to draw on.
“My friend is bleeding. Please, help him,” was all she shouted.
“These two are with me.” Gabriel’s deep timbre vibrated through her, warming places she knew better than to allow. “Let ’em up and get that man medical attention.”
“Yes, sir,” the guard said.
As Kinsley looked up her heart took a huge hit. Gabriel was beside Blake, helping him roll over onto his back.
Kinsley moved opposite Gabriel and focused on her friend, ignoring the heat bouncing off Gabriel. The Army had filled him out and given him muscles in places she didn’t realize there could be.
“We’ll get this taken care of and you’ll be good as new.” Gabriel was on his knees, his size dwarfed Blake. The image of him comforting her friend brought an odd sensation over Kinsley. She pushed it aside as unproductive and inappropriate.
Kinsley’s finger went up to the scar and trailed along it before she reminded herself to cut it out. She’d caught herself doing the same thing any time stress became almost too much to handle or her stress meter shot through the roof. She’d made a conscious effort to break the habit.
Gabriel was being a rock for Blake and she appreciated him for it. She had a dozen questions on the tip of her tongue but giving Gabriel the space to make sure Blake got the medical attention he needed was her priority.
“Get me an EMT,” Gabriel shouted like he was the one in charge.
Speaking of which, why did he seem like he was the one being listened to? She’d ask him that and a few other questions later, after Blake was stabilized and she made sure she wasn’t trapped in some bizarre nightmare.
“Ouch.” Blake wrapped his hands underneath his injured knee and winced in pain.
“This is going to hurt like hell until the doctor gets some good pain meds in you, which won’t be long.” She didn’t want to know why Gabriel knew so much about taking a bullet but reason told her his time in the military had taught him that and more.
“How long until I get something for pain?” Blake looked Gabriel in the eyes. Her friend’s skin was pale. Kinsley had never felt so helpless. She didn’t like it.
“It’s coming.” Gabriel motioned toward the guard from earlier.
The man came running.
Another thing Kinsley wasn’t sure she wanted to know the reason for. Gabriel was clearly used to being the one in charge of situations like this. She also wanted to ask him who those men were. She wanted to ask Blake what he was talking about earlier. She wanted answers.
But all of that would have to wait until she knew Blake would be okay.
Within a few minutes of Gabriel’s chat with the guard, the three of them were being escorted inside the building.
This whole experience was surreal. None of this could be happening. Kinsley’s brain couldn’t fathom guns being pointed at her, Blake being shot, or seeing Gabriel again. The eyes of one of the masked men would most likely haunt her for the rest of her life. Those dead slate-colored eyes.
“It’s the shock,” Gabriel said to her. He looked at her like he was looking right through her and could see what was going on inside her head.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She blinked at him, trying to provide a curtain to her thoughts.
“The reason everything feels like it’s hitting you all at once and nothing’s sinking in. The shock of what happened is wearing off. Your adrenaline is fading and your brain can’t begin to process what it just saw, heard and felt.” His voice was the calm in a raging sea.
She refused to gravitate toward it, toward him for comfort. So, she folded her arms across her chest to stop her body from trembling, no doubt more aftereffects from the shock.
“Blake needs to get to a hospital,” she said.
“As soon as it’s clear he’ll be taken out by chopper,” Gabriel said.
It hadn’t occurred to her that there might still be a threat out there. An icy shiver raced down her back.
“It’s precaution,” he reassured. “A special room in the hospital is being set up for him on a secured floor.”
Again, she blinked at him. More questions flooded her, some from the past. This wasn’t the time or place to deal with those.
“You arranged all this?” She stopped her toe from tapping against the tile.
“I have a few friends.” His knowing smirk shouldn’t rile her up. Fine. He’d figured her out. She was impressed. That probably shouldn’t irk her as much as it did. The only emotion she could afford to allow under the circumstances was gratitude. He’d saved Blake’s life and hers, too. She appreciated Gabriel for that.
“What kind of special job did you do in the Army that makes you know all this and be able to do all this?” she asked.
The smirk toyed with the corner of his mouth and his right dimple made an appearance. She’d loved that dimple, that face, with as much enthusiasm as a high school senior could. Meaning, she’d completely given over her heart to him with no knowledge of the pain she’d feel when he walked away from her.
“Your boyfriend will be safe—”
“Publicist,” she corrected. Why had she felt the urge to make sure he knew Blake wasn’t her boyfriend so strongly? And why did her heart flip when she’d caught Gabriel checking out her ring finger?
“Whatever,” Gabriel said, and she nailed him. Jealousy? Guilt? He couldn’t bring himself to look at her scar. The accident hadn’t been his fault even though he’d been the one driving. It had been raining. The road was curvy. They were distracted. But his actions after said a
