He scanned her up and down, then blew out a relieved breath. She was unharmed. Her gaze traveled over him in the same devouring, desperate manner.
God, he knew exactly what she was thinking. He needed to hold her, to reassure himself she was fine. But, the job wasn’t done.
The sound of a huey helicopter drawing near rumbled through the house.
“That’ll be Brooke with enforcements. They’ll cover the outside.” The commander smiled. “We’re good down here if you want to head upstairs and assist Jon and Zane. They have Marhub and some of his men cornered upstairs.”
“On it,” Turbo answered.
Gabriel ripped his gaze from Gina and followed his buddy upstairs. He was so ready for this to be over.
When they reached the top, he met the barrel of Zane’s gun.
The SEAL nodded when he recognized Gabriel, and returned his aim toward the locked door at the end of the hall. “What’s with the chopper?”
“Knight’s reinforcements,” he replied.
“Damn.” Zane smiled. “It always was great working with the commander.”
Jon nodded for them to fall into position across from him and Zane. “On three. One. Two.” Jon raised his tactical machine gun and opened fire, shooting right through the door to clear them a path. “Three!”
Turbo kicked down what was left of the door and the four of them rushed inside, two-by-two, taking out all five men who shot at them from behind an overturned bed and dresser. When the shooting stopped, Zane walked to the dead man in the middle and bent down to compare his face with the one on his phone.
“Marhub,” he confirmed.
Good. Thank God it was over. Now he just needed to see Corcoran’s dead carcass and move on with life.
“Corcoran?”
Zane shook his head. “Not here.”
Fuck.
Maybe the bastard was among the bodies downstairs. Which was where he was headed to see Gina and get her the hell out of there.
Jon glanced out the window, then turned to him as he pulled out his cell. “I’ll let Cam know the threat to the summit is over. Thanks for the assist. Go get your woman and see one of the paramedics pulling up in the drive.”
With a nod, he headed for the hall, his boots flying down the steps on his way to Gina.
“Gabriel,” she called, relief clearing the pinch of worry from her face as she rushed over and flung herself at him. “I nearly died when I heard all those gunshots.”
He swallowed down the spike of pain wracking his arm from her exuberant embrace. She was safe. Shaking like a leaf, but safe. He held her tight and kissed her temple. “I’m okay. Let’s get out of here.”
She nodded, slipping her arm around his waist as they walked out the front the door. Several black vans, three ambulances, and a mass of agents, no doubt from some of three-letter bureaus, littered the driveway.
Two paramedics rushed close. “Sir, let us take a look at you.”
“I’m good.” He waved them off, but when he tried to sidestep them, Gina stopped and dug in her heels. “Oh no you don’t, Gabriel. You need their help.”
Opening his mouth, he was about to protest when she set her hands on her hips, cocked her head, and raised a brow. He knew better than to mess with a woman wearing that expression.
“Fine.” He nodded, letting the men usher him to the back of one of the ambulances. She followed and watched from the opened doors. The quicker they patched him up, the faster he could take Gina home, get them naked, and sink into her sweet, hot, body.
It was in her arms his demons were slayed, old wounds healed, and scars disappeared. She was his best medicine.
The paramedics had just finished dressing his arm when a familiar face appeared in the doorway right behind Gina. Gabriel’s heart lurched and he felt all the blood drain from his face.
Corcoran.
“Let’s keep calm, and no sudden movements.” The bastard flashed a gun as he yanked Gina’s back against his chest.
Gabriel clenched his jaw. “Let her go.”
“Don’t be silly. She’s my ticket out of here. Now, lay down or I’ll shoot her in the back. Maybe I’ll hit a lung, maybe I won’t.” Corcoran nodded to the paramedics. “Strap your patient in nice and tight boys, then give him something to knock him out.”
Fuck.
He glanced at the commander over the armed man’s head, willing him to quit talking to Jon and get his ass over to them. But it was no use. They were giving some sort of report to a suit from one of the agencies. He refocused on Gina. Alarm rounded her gaze, but she seemed to be keeping panic in check.
Gabriel contemplated the gun at his side, now two inches from his hand as he shifted back on the cot as per Corcoran’s order. Would he be quick enough to hit the bastard, and accurate enough with his damn eye swollen shut?
“Forget it, hero.” Corcoran snickered as if knowing his thoughts. “You’re not that good.”
But, apparently, Gina didn’t agree because she glanced from the gun now pressed to her ribs, then to Gabriel’s face, motioning with her eyes that she was about to move.
His heart stopped. No! He wanted to shout to her, or warn her, but Corcoran watched him closely.
“Ouch. You’re hurting me,” she said, clutching at the hand gripping her hip. “I thought you said I was safe under your protection.”
Corcoran shifted his stance and sneered. “That was before, sweetheart.”
And as the bastard moved the weapon from her ribs, Gina stopped Gabriel’s heart when she reached for the gun with one hand, bent the thumb on the man’s other hand to loosen his hold, then performed a series of quick moves that left Corcoran’s left side wide open.
Gabriel instantly drew his weapon and double-tapped the man’s chest.
The crowd stilled. A second later, Turbo, Jon, and the commander sprinted in their direction. Gabriel was off the cot and out of the ambulance, grabbing Gina and crushing her against him as Corcoran’s dead body hit the driveway.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” he murmured in an attempt to quiet her shaking body, except he realized hers wasn’t the only body shaking. “God, Gina, I love you. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
She sniffed against his chest, then drew back to gaze up at him. “I love you, too, Gabriel. I thought I was going to lose you without you ever knowing.”
And just like that, all the pain gripping his heart and his body disappeared under the warmth and fierce emotions blazing from her gaze.
He sucked in a breath for what felt like the first time since Corcoran had appeared. “I know.” He pulled her in close and held her tight. “I know.”
The commander approached with a knowing grin on his face, too. “You’ve got yourself a good woman there, Gabriel. She’s one in a million.”
He closed his eye and basked in the love and acceptance he felt in her arms. “She’s the only one for me, sir.”
Chapter Twelve
Five days later, Gina was in her brother’s kitchen with Paige who was making a salad to go with the burgers and steaks Cam cooked on the grill.
“I still can’t believe your brother was guarding a prince,” her friend said with a shake of her head. “Or that you and Hawk have finally gotten over your aversion to one another.”
“Me too.” She helped herself to a glass of lemonade from the fridge. “I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful that last part is.”
Her friend threw a cherry tomato at her. “Damn, I’m so envious of that look of utter satisfaction you’ve been walking around with this week. And, you got to shoot guns with Jameson Knight. It’s not fair. All I did was catalog a dig from southern Cairo.”
She tipped her head and frowned. “But I thought you loved those artifacts.”
“I do.” Paige grinned. “And, today, Professor Corning invited me to accompany him on the second phase next month.”
She set her glass on the counter with a thump. “In Cairo? Oh my God, Paige, that’s wond
erful! Congratulations!”
All through college and grad school, the only thing her friend had talked about was the world-renowned archeologist and his work involving tombs in Egypt. She rounded the island to pull the beaming woman in for a quick hug.
“When do you leave?”
Paige drew back, excitement lighting her face. “Three weeks, two days, and nine hours. But who’s counting?”
She laughed. Her friend’s euphoria was contagious. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
“Try not to get abducted while I’m away, okay?”
“Not happening,” Gabriel stated, approaching with Turbo and Cam.
“Yeah, once in a lifetime is enough for me.” Her brother shuddered. “I still can’t believe you volunteered the second time.”
“Me either.” Gabriel walked up and pulled her in for a kiss.
She couldn’t believe what a difference a few days of rest and pampering had done for him. The swelling had gone down around his eye, and the bruises on his jaw were fading, too. And the way he held her and kissed her right in front of Cam was the biggest transformation of all.
She sank into the kiss, secretly smiling at her brother’s disgusted grunt.
“Jesus, you two are going to set the house on fire.”
Turbo chuckled. “Good thing you have an extinguisher in the corner.”
“Ah, quit being a kill-joy, Nightwing,” Paige muttered. “A little uncontrolled passion never hurts.”
“Yeah? What do you know about it, Doctor Honeycutt? They teach you that in those stuffy books in your office at the museum?”
Gina broke the kiss and exchanged an amused glance with Gabriel before settling in against his side to watch the Paige-and-Cam show unfolding in her brother’s own kitchen.
“It’s obvious you haven’t read anything more than weapon manuals and comic strips, Mr. Daye, or you’d know passion and desire have been documented in every culture since the dawn of man. But don’t worry, there are ancient scrolls and hieroglyphics—that’s pictures in case you didn’t know—that show sexual acts that I’m sure even you would understand.”
“Wait a damn minute.” Amusement disappeared from her brother’s face as he stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Oh wow. He really should learn to shut up. No one could out-best Paige when it concerned books.
“Nothing.” Her friend lifted a shoulder as she continued to toss the salad. “Just that you could learn a thing or two from reading.”
Cam lifted his beer and winked as his grin returned. “Trust me, sweetheart, I don’t need to read a damn manual to know how to please a woman.”
Paige laughed.
“Uh oh,” Turbo uttered.
Now her brother looked pissed. His eye was starting to twitch. “What’s so damn funny? You don’t think I’m lying, do you?”
“No.” Paige shook her head. “Of course not. I just think you don’t really know. How could you possibly be sure when all you’ve ever had since I’ve known you were one-night stands with strangers after you completed a mission? You never dated a woman twice, so how would you know they’d come back for more? You’re a serial one-nighter, Cam. You could actually write your own textbook on it, I bet. Loving, then leaving a woman before she could drop you. Heck, you have a whole decade of experience to draw on.”
“Oh…I get it.” His easygoing demeanor returned, along with his grin. “You’re just sore because you’re not part of my textbook.”
“Huh. As if,” Paige huffed, but the blush creeping into the poor girl’s face gave her away. “I like romance and foreplay, and kissing as if I’m more important than your last breath—like how Hawk kisses your sister.”
Gina hugged Gabriel tighter. “I like that part, too.”
“See? At least one man in this kitchen knows how to please a woman.” Paige lifted her gaze to Turbo. “No offense.”
“None taken.” The smiling SEAL winked. “And you might want to mention the men, too.”
Paige sucked in a breath and shot her gaze to Cam. “You switched to men? When?”
Cursing, Cam swiped a cucumber from the counter and whipped at his friend. “I haven’t switched to men. I like women just fine.”
Gina’s chuckle mixed with Gabriel’s as Turbo caught the flying cucumber with ease. Her brother needed to shut up. He was digging himself a bigger hole.
“Are you sure?” Paige spared Cam a glance. “It kind of explains the wham-bams and lack of intimacy.”
Her brother swigged his beer and shook his head. “Nope. That would be my desire for a no-strings good time, honey. You’re looking for romance and a relationship.” Cam shivered, with distaste pinching his features. “Not my bag. Stick with your books, Doc, and I’ll stick with my one-nighters.” He turned to Gina and rolled his eyes. “And as for you two, I’m going back out to watch the steaks. They don’t make me sick to my stomach.”
Gabriel’s chuckle rumbled through Gina as his hold tightened and he kissed her head. “You don’t know what you’re missing, buddy.”
“Sure I do. A big, fat headache,” Cam called over his shoulder as he and Turbo disappeared outside.
Gina turned in Gabriel’s arms and smiled up at him. “He’s utterly clueless, like you used to be.”
“True.” He nodded, face suddenly serious. “That was before I realized you were everything good missing in my life.”
Her heart rocked. “Well, you are mine, so I guess we’re even.”
“Not by a long shot.” He lowered his face until they shared a breath. “I could never give you the light you bring into my life, Gina.”
Tears blurred her eyes as she worked past the lump forming in her throat. “Silly man, you do that daily whenever you look at me with your heart in your eyes. Like now.”
“You own my heart,” he said against her lips.
Then he was kissing her long and sweet, with everything he had, everything she ever wanted.
Him. Just him.
If you enjoyed A DAYE with a SEAL, please consider leaving a review.
The danger began in Lisa’s story, Knight’s SEAL, and continues in Nikki’s story LOCKE and Load, Tarah’s story, Cowboy LAWE, (part of Cowboy Justice 12-Pack boxed set rel. 4/5/16),
and will continue with:
Paige’s story, A SEAL for Paige
Sharon’s story, Rescued HARTE
Brooke’s story Hungry for JUSTICE,
and Kenzie’s story Forbidden KNIGHT
all coming soon in the Dangerous Curves Series.
Visit Donna Michaels’ websiteand sign up for her Newsletter.Enjoy exclusive reads, enter subscriber only contests, and be the first to know about upcoming books!
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Book 4: Cowboy LAWE
Dangerous Curves Series
Releasing 4/05/16
in the COWBOY JUSTICE 12-Pack Boxed Set
12 Cowboy lawmen who are so hot it’s criminal…
Available now for Pre-order
ALSO BY DONNA MICHAELS
Amazon.com/author.donna-michaels
~Citizen Soldier Novels~
(Harland County Spinoff Series)
Wyne and Dine (#1)
Wyne and Chocolate (#2)
Wyne and Song (#3)
Wine and Her New Year Cowboy (#4) (Harland County Crossover Novella—part of—RING IN A COWBOY boxed Set)
~Harland County Series~
Harland County Christmas (Prequel)
Her Fated Cowboy (#1)
Her Unbridled Cowboy (#2)
Her Uniform Cowboy (#3) (Award Winning)
Her Forever Cowboy (#4) (Award Winning)
Her Healing Cowboy (#5)
Her Volunteer Cowboy (#6) (12-Alarm Cowboy Box Set)
Her Indulgent Cowboy (#7) (Rel. 6/16)
~Dangerous Curves Series~
Knight’s SEAL –KW (#1)
Locke and Load (#2)
A DAYE with a SEAL—KW (#3)
Cowboy LAWE (#4)(Cowboy
Justice Boxed Set Rel. 4/5/16)
A SEAL for Paige (#5) tba
~Time-shift Heroes Series~
Captive Hero (#1)
Future Cowboy Hero (#2) (tba)
~Related~
Cowboy-Fiancé (formerly Cowboy-Sexy)(being hand drawn into a MANGA, avail. 10/16)
Cowboy Payback (sequel)
~Do-Over Series~
Valentine’s Day Do-Over (#1)
Valentine’s Day Do-Over Part II: The Siblings (#2)
~Novels~
She Does Know Jack
Royally Unleashed
The Spy Who Fanged Me
~Novellas~
Thanks for Giving
Ten Things I’d Do for a Cowboy
Vampire Kristmas
DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com
About the Author
Donna Michaels is an award winning, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of Romaginative fiction. Her hot, humorous, and heartwarming stories include cowboys, men in uniform, and some sexy, primal alphas. With a husband in the military fulltime, and a household of nine, she never runs out of material. From short to epic, her books entertain readers across a variety of sub-genres, and one is even being hand drawn into a Japanese MANGA.
To learn more about Donna Michaels and her books, or to join her mailing list, visit www.DonnaMichealsAuthor.com
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Thanks for reading,
~Donna
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