The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  Justin looked over at Gabriel, a new lump forming in his throat for an entirely different reason. “I could never be disappointed in you, G Love.”

  “And you are a very good person. Never doubt it.”

  Justin nodded again. He couldn’t manage any more words. How the hell had he gotten so lucky as to find Gabriel? He didn’t deserve this man, but he was going to do everything within his power to keep him.

  Chapter 13

  Gabriel sat in the driver’s seat of the SUV and closed his eyes for a moment. He was exhausted. The past twenty-four hours had been hell. When he and Justin had returned to the house with a wounded Repeat, they’d pulled Devlin and Jake out of the panic room so they could all pile into the car for a very fast drive to the emergency vet. Once there, the vet immediately took the dog back for surgery to remove the bullet.

  He didn’t know how much time passed. Gabriel jumped on the phone and warned Jess not to go to the house. He kept it simple, saying that it looked like a hunter shot Repeat and they weren’t sure if the idiot was still in the area. The truth was that they didn’t want to risk her or any of her family falling into the hands of a mercenary looking for a way to get at Devlin.

  In the waiting room, Justin paced, while Jake was curled up in his father’s lap. The poor kid trembled and remained silent until he finally drifted off to sleep.

  The vet eventually came out to report that Repeat would make a full recovery. They were just going to keep him overnight for observation. Justin collapsed in Gabriel’s arms, and he knew he would never forget the way his lover had clung to him, his body shaking.

  Gabriel loaded them all into the SUV and got them to the house, where Pete and the cats were all waiting for them in the living room, as if they too were anxious to hear the good news about their furry brother. Devlin put Jake down for a nap in his room, and Pete stuck close to the little boy. Justin returned to the woods, armed to the teeth with the intent of scouring the area for signs of the intruder or intruders. When he came back to the house, he retreated to his basement hideaway, determined to find something of use on the surveillance cameras.

  That night dinner had been a muted affair with no one wanting to talk, Devlin and Gabriel turning in early. Justin climbed into bed at nearly three in the morning, only mumbling that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, on the cameras. When Gabriel woke early the next morning, Justin was gone again, back in his basement.

  Jake wasn’t doing much better. He was sticking to his room with the toys he’d brought with him in his backpack and Pete lying at the foot of the bed. For now, it appeared that everyone was content to stay in the house, protected against the unknown assailant.

  Except for the fact that they were running low on food.

  So Gabriel grabbed the keys and a gun to head to town for a grocery run. It had been too long since their last one, and he was pretty sure they needed fucking everything. But despite how tired he was after the previous day’s adventure and the restless sleep, Gabriel hated to admit that he was relieved to get out of the house.

  The mood was bleak regardless of the positive prognosis for Repeat. The vet had warned them that the dog would need to reduce his movement for a while, but he would otherwise make a full recovery. The attack was a brutal reminder that Devlin and Jake were still in danger. For the past week, everything had been quiet. They’d been able to push the threat to the back of their minds and treat their presence like a friendly visit.

  But the gunshot at the lake proved that someone had found them. They were out of time. Security would need to be increased. It was likely that he and Justin would now be taking shifts through the night, watching the security system, and keeping a closer eye on father and son. It would also mean that Justin’s long walks through the woods with Jake had come to an end. It wasn’t safe for them to be separated for extended periods of time.

  Fuck, for twenty-seven million, it wasn’t unheard of for several mercenaries to team up. Particularly if it got around that the Reaper and Chameleon had teamed up to keep Devlin and his son safe. The two of them standing against an unknown number of assailants weren’t going to last long.

  They needed a better plan.

  Gabriel sighed loudly and opened his eyes. But first, they needed food.

  If they were going to be trapped in the house while they made a new plan and Devlin finished his work, then they were going to eat whatever the hell they wanted. With any luck, once he got the food, they’d only need to leave the house to pick up Repeat.

  Out of all the household chores, grocery shopping was becoming one of Gabriel’s favorites. Mostly because it was Justin’s least favorite. Shortly after he’d moved in with Justin, they’d started going together. They did some meal planning on the fly as they wandered through the aisles, arguing over the amount of junk food that was allowed in the cart.

  But then Justin would act a little goofy, making jokes about the packaging or just telling strange little stories about the other customers. Gabriel was pretty sure he did it just as much to entertain himself as he did to entertain Gabriel. But there was a carefreeness to Justin that he loved. It was a glimpse of the kid at heart, away from the computers, security systems, hacking, and general evilness of the world.

  And if he was entirely honest with himself, Gabriel loved the mundaneness of the activity. He loved that he was planning meals with Justin for an entire week or even two weeks. When he’d been living alone, he’d picked up food for only a day or two. He never stayed in one place long, never planned so far ahead that he needed that much food. And what fun was there in shopping alone?

  Today, he could at least be sure to pick up a few favorites for Justin. Little surprises that would put a smile on his lips when he discovered them in the pantry. He wanted Justin to smile again. He knew his lover was still agonizing over that damn hesitation next to the lake. Yes, he’d hesitated. Gabriel didn’t want to know the person who didn’t hesitate when an animal was in distress, but in the end, Justin had made the right decision. Gabriel could only cling to the idea that he’d feel better when Repeat was back home where he could be properly babied and coddled.

  Gabriel hauled himself out of the car and into the store, telling himself that he could make this trip fast. Just toss a bunch of stuff into the cart and get out of there.

  The store was busy for early afternoon on a Tuesday. He wove the cart in between the slowly strolling shoppers, snatching up things as quickly as possible and tossing them into the basket. He was halfway through the store before he heard a familiar throaty laugh behind him.

  “Now that’s a man on a mission,” Jess said, causing Gabriel to twist around. “I’ve been behind you for two aisles, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone shop as fast as you do. I thought I could get through the grocery fast.”

  “Hi, Jess. How are you?” Gabriel said with a smile. She was dressed in her usual jeans and T-shirt. Her short brown hair was pulled back with a couple of barrettes that he had a feeling belonged to one of her daughters, because they looked too sweet and pretty to be her style.

  “I’m good. How are things in your household?”

  “We’re getting by.”

  “And the puppy?”

  He could feel his smile soften a little. “Repeat is going to make a full recovery. We’re just waiting on the vet to call us so we can pick him up. He will need to take it slowly for a while, which I’m sure he won’t enjoy.”

  Jess nodded. “Yeah, we had a dog that thought it was smart to tangle with a porcupine once and get all torn up. The worst part—after we got all the damn quills out—was trying to keep her still and resting for the next several days. Goofy animal.”

  “Glad she recovered.”

  Jess snorted. “Damn dog is now a couch potato. Loves talk shows and snacks.”

  Gabriel chuckled, feeling some of the weight lift from his shoulders. Jess was a natural at brightening a person’s mood. She was a people person like Justin, but he’d seen her turn Momma Bear scary in
a heartbeat when it came to the safety and happiness of her kids.

  “Did you ever find out who shot Repeat?”

  Gabriel shook his head, his mood sobering in an instant. “No, but we have a feeling it was someone hunting who didn’t realize they were on private property. The dogs probably scared him and he ran. Thought he was shooting the dog in self-defense.”

  He didn’t believe that excuse for a second, but Jess didn’t need to know that assassins were quite possibly lurking the woods that separated their two homes, looking to kill Gabriel’s houseguest as well as the homeowners. The important thing was that Jess and her family were safe. There was nothing to be gained by attacking her home. Gabriel did worry a little about someone from her family being grabbed and used for a potential swap, but there was no way for the assassin to win in that situation. It made an enemy out of Justin and Gabriel, and there was no surviving that.

  “Well, I am sorry to hear about Repeat, but I’m glad that it wasn’t Justin or Jake who got shot.”

  “True.”

  “If you’d like, I can send one of the boys over with the applesauce and tarts I’ve made for you.”

  Gabriel pursed his lips for a moment. He still didn’t want Jess or any of her family getting close to the house for a while. He didn’t want anyone caught in the potential crossfire.

  “Would you mind if I sent Justin and Jake over to pick them up? I think they could both do with a break and something to take their minds off Repeat,” Gabriel inquired. Justin was going to growl like a fucking bear when Gabriel tried to pry him away from his computer, but it was for his own good. The damn man was sinking deeper and deeper into his foul mood. And poor Jake had already been through so much. The little boy didn’t need to succumb to depression.

  “Sounds good to me. We had a new calf born a couple of nights ago. Jake would probably like to see it.”

  “I’ll send them your way in a couple of hours. Let you finish your grocery shopping.”

  “Send them over after you get them to unload your car. They’ll arrive just in time to help with mine,” she teased and Gabriel chuckled.

  With a wave, Gabriel continued down the aisle, dropping two loaves of bread into the basket. Never in all his imaginings did he picture this as his life. Shopping in a family-run grocery store in a little town and chatting with a neighbor about normal things. And waiting for him at home was the man he loved. Sure, there were some days that this life ran a little on the mundane side, but it was his life. The perfect life.

  Gabriel finished his shopping and walked out to the SUV. Out of habit, he’d parked at the back of the large lot, away from the crowds of cars, to protect his lovely black SUV from dings and dents created by careless drivers. With the remote, he unlocked the car and popped the trunk. If he was honest with himself, his body tensed, waiting for the damn thing to explode. He’d felt eyes on him since he’d left the house, but he wasn’t worried about Justin. The man had his eyes on the security guarding the house. A bird couldn’t fly across their property without him knowing it. Jake had Pete at his side. The people within the house were as safe as they could possibly be.

  He, on the other hand, was a lone, vulnerable target in the world. Taking him out would reduce the threat back at the house. Divide and conquer. The technique was thousands of years old, and it was still used because it fucking worked.

  When he reached the car, he started to quickly load up the empty trunk. The hardest part was keeping a slow and steady pace when all he wanted to do was toss the bags in there as quickly as possible. The cart was nearly empty when he heard a soft scrape of gravel on the asphalt just behind him. His only warning.

  Bent forward, Gabriel wrapped his fingers around the tire iron and carefully slid it out from where it had been tucked away. He swung around to face the man who had a knife tightly clenched in one fist, ready to bury it deep in Gabriel’s back. Gabriel smiled tightly at the look of shock that crossed his assailant’s bearded face as he slammed the rounded head of the tire iron into the man’s gut. The man doubled over on a gasp, the air exploding from his lungs.

  Gabriel used the moment to bring the iron tightly around to hit the man’s jaw. With a little flourish and a twist, he swept it low, hooking it under the man’s leg and jerking upward. The assassin went up on a small cry and then slammed down hard on his spine, giving Gabriel the chance to bring the iron down on the man’s temple, knocking him out cold.

  Around him, he could hear shouts and cries of other shoppers. He might be at the rear of the lot, but he was still in plain sight of everyone else. A shot pinged off the open trunk lid and Gabriel ducked low. Snatching up the knife his first attacker dropped, he flicked his wrist, sending the knife spinning end over end toward the shooter. The damn thing slammed handle first into the asshole’s chest. Fucking knife wasn’t properly balanced. He’d noticed it the second he picked it up, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  Gabriel ducked around the SUV, cursing the shooter, and his luck with grocery stores. This was not the first time he’d been attacked at a grocery. Of course, the last time he’d been with Justin and they’d nearly been gunned down in a drive-by. Sloppy. At least this time, the fuckers were trying a more hands-on approach.

  Police sirens could be heard in the distance. Either the police station was close to the grocery or his neighbors were really on the ball about calling in attacks. The response was just frighteningly fast. The sounds of the sirens didn’t deter his shooter. More bullets hammered the side of the SUV and Gabriel swore. He loved this SUV. He loved even more that the damn thing didn’t have bullet holes in it. And now he was going to have to deal with the cops. Fucking fantastic.

  The shooting stopped and Gabriel leaned out to peek around the vehicle to see where his attacker was. Unfortunately, the bastard had rushed the SUV. His fist came down before Gabriel could react, crashing into his jaw and thumping his head into the side of the car. He managed to get his arm up before the attacker could hit him a second time. His vision was slightly blurred, his brain fuzzy from the impact. He was operating purely on survival instincts and rage. Ducking the next blow, he brought the tire iron still clenched in his right hand up between the assassin’s legs.

  The man’s scream sent a chill down his spine, and Gabriel almost felt bad for crushing his dick and balls. Almost. He went down hard, curling into a fetal position as he clutched his battered genitals. Gabriel pushed to his feet, rubbing his jaw with his left hand and blinking to clear his head. He was so damn tempted to bring the iron down on the other man’s head, but he could already hear the squeal of cop tires as they sped into the parking lot.

  Sighing loudly, he dropped the tire iron and stepped away from the men on the ground. People started to gather closer now that the violence had stopped, but they were also determined to get a good seat for the rest of the action. Gabriel was willing to bet that this was the most action this little town had seen in years.

  He glanced over at the contents of the SUV and sighed again. He’d picked up ice cream for Justin and Jake. That was going to be melted by the time he got home.

  Great. Just fucking great.

  Chapter 14

  Justin was prowling the house when Gabriel finally pulled down the long driveway nearly three hours later. Jess had stopped by more than an hour ago with the story of the attack on Gabriel and their frozen food. The sight of Justin’s favorite moose tracks ice cream only seemed to twist the knife in his chest all the more. The sweet woman had seen Gabriel getting grilled in the parking lot and immediately shoved her way into the investigation, making sure Gabriel was okay and grabbing his perishables.

  It didn’t matter how many times she’d reassured Justin that Gabriel was just fine and wouldn’t need to go to the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to take a deep breath until he saw Gabriel for himself.

  “Really? I can’t even let you go to the grocery?” Justin snapped the second Gabriel walked through the door from the garage.

  Gabriel smirked at him.
“You could at least help carry the last of the food in while you shout at me.”

  “There’s more? How much did you buy?” He followed Gabriel out to the SUV and frowned when he saw only four more bags in the back of the vehicle. Gabriel could have easily brought them in with his other load. Why did he—

  Strong arms turned him around and he was pulled in against Gabriel’s chest. His breath left him in a relieved oof and he held him so freaking tight.

  “I’m safe,” Gabriel murmured in his ear. “I took a weak-ass punch to the jaw and banged my head against the car. That is the freaking worst of it. One guy likely has a serious concussion and some broken ribs. The other guy—”

  Justin jerked away from him enough that he could look him in the face. “There were two?”

  “The other guy…I think I might have broken his dick. Definitely never reproducing.” Justin’s eyes grew wide in his face and Gabriel smiled. “Tire iron.”

  Justin could only shake his head and pull Gabriel in for another tight hug. After what happened to Repeat, he didn’t want to think of Gabriel being hurt. Needed this man more than he needed air. Gabriel hugged him back, snuggling close. His lover felt happy to just stand there in the dark garage and be held for as long as Justin needed. This man knew him so freaking well, it was wonderful and a little scary. He was even impressed that he had the presence of mind to pull him aside to the garage so they could have a private moment.

  “Did you tell Jake or Devlin about my little encounter yet?” Gabriel asked.

  Justin reluctantly released Gabriel and grabbed up the last four bags while Gabriel shut the tailgate. “They popped out while Jess was dropping off the groceries and overheard. I got the feeling she might have been censoring with Jake there.”

  “Doubtful. It was all over fast and definitely not as flashy as our last grocery encounter.”