Level Up

by Hadley Quinn

  Gabe sighed and tried to relax. He knew Ronan was right but he struggled with it. Finally he nodded. “Okay. But you’re in the next room, Ro. That’s the only way.”

  “I’ve got your back,” he nodded. “I’ll give you an hour to, uh, get situated. And then I’ll be up.”

  He’d raised an eyebrow with insinuation, and Gabe smiled. “Okay.”

  He turned to head upstairs but Ronan said, “Oh, and Gabe?”

  “Yeah?”

  Ronan closed the distance between them again and kept his voice low. “Don’t be afraid to be honest with her, okay? Let her know exactly how she can help you. Communicate and you can get through things better. Trust me. Don’t shut out a good woman.”

  Gabe nodded his understanding. Ronan would never forgive himself for losing Molly.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Ava had just climbed into bed when she heard a light knock at her door. It scared her until Gabe said, “It’s me, babe. Can I come in?”

  “Yeah, of course,” she answered.

  She got out of bed as he opened the door. She wasn’t sure what to expect but he seemed fairly relaxed. He must not have come up to ask for her help because he shut the door behind him. The room went dark again except for a tiny light that spilled out from the nightlight in the bathroom.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, her eyes trying to see him in the dim light.

  He took her in his arms with ease, holding her face in his hands. She forgot he had night vision.

  “Everything’s fine,” he said softly.

  He kissed her on the cheek and along her jaw. She could now determine the purpose of his visit, so she slid her hands up his chest in return.

  “I love you,” he said as his lips found hers. “I love you so much.”

  She melted. Right there in his arms. “I love you, too.”

  He continued to kiss her, his lips soft and loving. His fingers tenderly touched her skin. “I’m going to spend the night with you, okay?” He paused to wait for her response.

  “Okay.” If he was going to lie down, she didn’t think he’d go anywhere else, but maybe he just wanted her to okay it first. They were, after all, in her bedroom. He’d never been with her in this particular room for the night.

  “I need your help, though,” he continued. “I’m gonna do my best to relax, and Ronan’s gonna be in the next room a little bit later, but I just want you to be aware, okay?”

  It took a second for what he was saying to register. “You’re here to sleep with me?” she asked with surprise.

  She could see him nod. “Yeah. I’m gonna try.”

  Her heart was overjoyed. She had hoped he’d let it happen since the other guys were in the house—maybe he really could relax that way—but she tried not to think about it too much. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

  “Just don’t expect a lot,” he answered. “I don’t know if I can do it, but I want to try. I just want to be here with you.”

  She didn’t reply with words. She led him to the bed and he gently laid her down with him. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to make love or not—maybe that would help him relax—so she just pressed her body against him to see how he’d respond.

  His hand slid behind her and pulled her even tighter to him. Her mouth was already waiting to kiss him when his lips searched for hers. After that it was just the pure desire of two willing participants and one thing led to another. They were naked a few minutes later, and he was gently sliding in and out of her.

  She exhaled with contentment, enjoying the easy way they joined like that. Her hands went from over her head as he softly held them there, to against his back and shoulders while she held him close. It was almost like they were setting the tone for the rest of the night: relaxed, easy going, and no pressure.

  When he held her afterwards the mood continued. They talked and touched, and there was no mention of how Gabe was going to get to sleep. She had even unplugged the clock because she didn’t care what time it was. She softly touched his skin as she snuggled into the crook of his arm. There was a natural lull between them as she studied Gabe’s breathing.

  It got heavier.

  She silently prayed that he would sleep. Even if it was just for a few hours, she just wanted him to sleep. None of this resting now and then and telling her he slept for three hours just because he’d lain down for three hours. No, she wanted him to sleep soundly.

  After twenty minutes she was sure he was out. His breaths were long and steady and he hadn’t moved. She thanked God several times and prayed that he wouldn’t have any nightmares.

  She was afraid to move for quite a while. She didn’t want to at first because she loved being next to him, but her neck was in need of a pillow. She spent ten minutes moving just a tad bit at a time so she didn’t disturb him, and by the time she was on her own, Gabe hadn’t even budged.

  When she woke up, Gabe was on his stomach. What a beautiful sight he was, lying there with his face on the pillow and his arms around it. It was light out but Ava didn’t care what time it was. She listened for sounds in the house but didn’t hear any.

  As quietly as she could, she got up to go pee. She watched Gabe the entire time to make sure she didn’t disturb him and she didn’t dare flush the toilet yet. He was still asleep when she came out and she glanced at the time on her phone that sat on the dresser.

  Seven-thirty.

  Silently she sighed her relief. He’d been sleeping for almost five hours.

  Ava carefully returned to the bed to lie down again. Gabe slightly moved but remained asleep. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the fact that he was sleeping in her bed. It probably seemed so silly to normal people, but it was an obstacle overcome and she was thrilled.

  She ended up falling back asleep, but some time later she woke to a hand that slid down her thigh. Gabe had a sexy smile on his face as he scooted closer to her, his lips kissing her shoulder and down her arm.

  “Someone’s in a good mood,” she teased.

  His deep chuckle sent tingles down her legs as his hand moved to her top and slid it up so he could kiss her stomach.

  “Waking up next to you will do that to a man,” he replied softly. She could smell mint on his breath and she wondered how long he’d been up. He returned to kissing her shoulder and then her neck while his fingers slid into her panties. “And I think I slept a little bit, so I may have some energy to expend.”

  She smiled as he hooked his arm under her neck to kiss her while the other hand did its work down below. He was definitely spunky, even joking that he needed to get his fill of her before he was stuck with all the guys for the day. Ava would have done anything for him at that point; she was so happy that he finally slept.

  It didn’t take long for her legs to be wrapped around him as he thrust into her, and because there was something so refreshing about the fact that he seemed recharged, his body was more vigorous and spirited against her. She tried to keep quiet, just because she knew there were people downstairs, but apparently the two of them were a little too into their love-making session.

  Her bedroom door flew open right in the middle of it.

  Ava froze with shock to see one of Gabe’s buddies standing there, ready to fight someone.

  “We’re good, Ro,” Gabe stated, using his body to cover hers.

  “Roger that,” Ronan murmured, and he quickly shut the door behind him.

  “Oh my God,” Ava exhaled. But Gabe laughed and she smacked his shoulder. “It’s not funny!”

  “I’m sorry,” he smiled, shaking his head. “It’s just…” He rubbed his forehead but didn’t finish the thought.

  “It’s just what?” she asked, playfully narrowing her eyes at him.

  He started to move inside her again and said, “It’s just my luck, I guess. Sorry, it’s the only reason I stayed here to sleep. If Ronan stayed next door. I totally forgot about him.”

  She let that sink in, and then she finally laughed a little. “So he probably
thought you were attacking me.”

  “Yeah,” he laughed lightly. “But I kind of was,” he murmured, kissing her neck again.

  She tried to shake off the fact that some stranger had seen her having sex and continued to give herself to Gabe. Yeah, it was weird. But Gabe assured her that Ronan would never say anything to the other guys.

  ***

  While Ava started breakfast, Gabe headed to the basement for an update. Not much had gone on during the night, but Jessop had gotten a message to Davis early morning. So far Bobby was still in the compound and he was okay, but the brief response by Davis said that Bobby was getting way too close, way too soon.

  Tell him to back off; we’re here to help was the last message they sent. There wasn’t a response to it yet and the guys were getting impatient.

  “Sorry about this morning,” Ronan said quietly as he and Gabe studied a map together.

  “No worries.”

  He paused. “Ava didn’t freak out?”

  Gabe shrugged. “Maybe a little. She’s a good girl. Not something she’s used to.”

  “People watching it?” he joked.

  He smiled. “Anything weird like that. She’s special.”

  Ronan nodded. “I see. Well, I’m happy for you. Don’t fuck it up.”

  “I’m trying not to,” Gabe lightly chuckled. “But she can do way better than me.”

  With a smile, Ronan shook his head. “Don’t do that to yourself, pal. She’s a smart girl. She knows what she wants and she’s got it. Just give and take, Gabe. That’s what makes a relationship work.”

  Gabe considered that for a minute. He and Ava really did have an equal partnership when it came to relationship stuff. So far he thought he was doing okay, but Ava was so easy to get along with that he was probably kidding himself. Maybe he should be doing more. He wanted to do more. He wanted everything with Ava. He’d never had someone like her in his life.

  “So one thing about Ava…” Gabe decided to say. “Don’t pretend like nothing happened this morning. Just apologize or whatever; don’t pretend you didn’t see anything.”

  “I only saw your ugly ass.”

  Gabe chuckled. “Good. But just don’t act like you didn’t walk in on us. Just acknowledge it and it’ll be more comfortable that way. She’ll learn she can trust you.”

  “Roger that. But what happened to the communication last night, man? Didn’t you get that I was giving you time to get yer freak on before I came up? That’s what that time was for, bro.”

  “And I used it well.”

  He gave Gabe a look. “And this morning too? Jesus, Gabe…”

  “What can I say,” he shrugged. “I can’t stay away from her.”

  “Yeah, I guess not. Like I said. Don’t fuck it up.”

  Gabe didn’t need the reminder. “So what about right here,” he pointed on the map to refocus. “If Bobby can make it here, let’s see… Four kilometers, that will take him about thirty-two minutes with that terrain…”

  “What about here,” Ronan pointed. “Two-and-a-half klicks.”

  “Too open. A klick in view of three guard posts.”

  “He could belly and crouch.”

  Gabe considered it. “True…” He silently calculated the extra time on that method.

  “You’re both gonna hate me,” Kit said, joining them. He pointed to the map. “New post set up right here.”

  “No way,” Ronan muttered.

  “Yep. See, ‘cause they’re building some kind of garage-thing here.”

  “A garage?”

  “Shit, I don’t know. Some kind of out-building.”

  “It wasn’t on the satellite.”

  “That image was from two days ago. It’s already half erected.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll go for right here,” Gabe pointed.

  “That’s about a three-hour trek, Gabe.” Ronan shook his head. “And Bobby’ll need assistance if his knee is jacked up again. A couple of klicks I’d tell him to figure it out, but that’s what, fifteen?”

  “Then one of us will take it in. Timed right, he can meet us there. But he’s not gonna leave without his kid.”

  They all knew that too. Bobby’s extraction would be dependant on whether or not he found Kael.

  Ronan sighed. “Well, let’s wait for word on that. Davis says he hasn’t seen the kid.”

  “Bobby was sure Radic had him there,” Kit shrugged. “I mean we can’t just assume that, but we gotta consider it.”

  “Let’s determine that first,” Gabe said. “What we do has everything to do with that, and we’ll just keep coming up with in-and-outs.”

  Kit left them with his new assignment as Gabe sighed and pulled up a stool. “This fucking sucks. We need our own intel in there.” He paused to think it over, but really he seemed to snap into auto mode. “I’ll do it.” He got up to find the right equipment.

  “Bullshit, I’ll do it,” Ronan said.

  “You’re slow as snot,” Gabe told him.

  “You’re a cocky fuck.”

  “Well at least I know I’ll get it done.”

  “You’re not going, Gabe. That’s an order.”

  By then all of the guys caught wind of their disagreement and they’d stopped what they were doing. It had nothing to do with authority at that point; they wondered why Ronan was being so protective of his ace player. Gabe didn’t need Ronan sticking up for him.

  “We need our own damn surveillance,” Gabe announced. “We can’t make this successful if we don’t know what the hell we’re working with. Piggybacking whatever shitty audio we’ve got isn’t cutting it. Gimme that,” he told Jessop. The small case was quickly handed over. “One hundred eighty meters, right?” he made sure.

  “Yeah, up to two hundred,” Jessop replied. “Closer to be sure.”

  Gabe nodded.

  “I’m coming with you,” Kato said, strapping on his weapons belt.

  “Too risky.”

  “Bullshit. We’ll parallel. Half-mile.”

  “Fine, but I say fall back, you fall back.”

  “Deal,” he agreed, grabbing an M40 from its case.

  “I’m gonna head over to the cabin and grab my gear,” Gabe informed them.

  “I’ll be ready to give you the rest,” Jessop said, packing a bag for intel.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  When Ava called that breakfast was done, only three of the guys came up. It didn’t faze her until it’d been ten minutes and there was still no sign of the rest.

  “Where’s Gabe?” she asked Titus. He was currently shoveling down the last few bites of his food, and Kit was even eating as he stood.

  “Mm, we got some work stuff going on,” he replied. “Just gotta eat in shifts right now.”

  She nodded, just as Kit and Chuck thanked her for the food and disappeared to the basement.

  “Something’s going on, isn’t it?” she asked Titus while they were alone.

  He looked her straight in the eye. “Just time for some action, that’s all.”

  “What kind of action?”

  “Well, can’t rely on what we got going on right now. We need better information.”

  “Which means what?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. He immediately clammed up and she figured acting like a scared, possessive female wasn’t going to do her any favors. “So what needs to be done?” she asked as neutrally as she could.

  He still wouldn’t tell her.

  “Is Gabe a part of it?” she asked as calmly as she could. “Is he going into the compound to find Bobby?”

  “No, he’s not,” he answered.

  She breathed a sigh of relief but could tell there was more to it. “I’m sure he’s put a gag order on you. Can you just tell me? I guarantee I’m imagining something way worse.”

  He smiled kindly at her but eventually nodded. “I understand. He’s not going into it, but he’s going close to it. We’ll get better audio with our own equipment. Gabe and Kato can do that for
us.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that. How close to the compound were they going to be? And what if they were caught? Shit, she did not think she could handle this…

  “I know you’re worried, but it’ll be okay,” he told her. “Gabe is the best person for the job. He’s the guy that can get it done faster than any of us, even being a perfectionist. There are miles of forest through there, so it will be to his advantage.”

  Footsteps came up from the basement. Ava’s heart dropped when she saw Gabe, dressed in dark green cargo pants, a tight black t-shirt, and boots. He could obviously tell by the look on her face that she already knew.

  Titus slipped out of the room in silence.

  “Please don’t do this,” she whispered. “You told me you were done, Gabe. I can’t let you go.”

  “This isn’t anything, Ava. You don’t need to worry.”

  “That’s bullshit. You can’t guarantee me anything!”

  “Yes, I can. I wouldn’t lie to you. I’ve got the legs and the speed to get close without being detected. We’ve got excellent equipment that will pick up better sound and visual than what we’ve got. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can be done with it all.”

  “And what makes you think it’s going to be as easy as you say it will be? What if you hurt yourself, or someone sees you, or your information is wrong and the layout is not what you thought it would be. You can’t plan for everything.”

  He smiled as he came closer to her. “Damn, girl. Listen to how well you think ahead.”

  “Damn it, Gabe. It’s not funny.”

  “I’m just impressed.”

  “And what about shit in the woods like booby traps, or mines, or… Jesus, I don’t know!”

  “Ava, Ava, Ava, shh. Listen to me.” He put his hands on her shoulders and softly squeezed. “We’ll be fine. I’ll be back in the morning, most likely.”

  “The morning? You’re going to be out there all night?”

  “Yes, pretty much. We’ll be where we need to be by nightfall. Hopefully we can get what we need quickly, and then we head out.”

  She sighed heavily. Her comfortable little world was being disturbed. She didn’t like it, but what could she say? He was all ready to go and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop him. Maybe there would always be that soldier inside of him. Her intention had never been to change any part of him, but her concern and worry for him was only getting worse.