Rescuing Ellena (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Bravo Series Book 4) Read online

  “We all do,” Jake assured him.

  A new lump formed in his throat, but Gabe swallowed it down and schooled his expression. Emotions had no place in this room. Not now.

  Ellena was lying in a hospital bed this very minute, and the faster they came up with a plan of action, the faster he’d be by her side.

  “Okay.” He gave his boss and his team a nod. “Here’s what I need from you.”

  Less than four hours later, Jake and Gabe were landing R.I.S.C.’s company jet onto a private airstrip located in San Diego. The rest of the team had stayed behind in Dallas with orders from Gabe to be ready at a moment’s notice.

  From the pilot’s seat, Jake turned and faced Gabe. Concern crossed over the man’s dark blue eyes. “You sure you don’t want me to stick around?”

  Gabe shook his head and unbuckled his seatbelt. “I’ve got this. Besides, I think it’s probably best if I ease Elle into the idea of having a bodyguard before springing an entire team on her.”

  The entire flight here, Jake had tried talking Gabe into going ahead and bringing in his team. Gabe understood his boss’s concern. Anytime Walker came into the picture, shit usually hit the fan.

  Luckily, he’d talked Jake down by pointing out the fact that if Adrian Walker wanted to hurt him, the bastard would’ve taken his shot earlier. The second Gabe stepped foot inside his apartment.

  Despite his boss still not being too keen on the idea of dropping him off and flying back out, Jake agreed to do just that. Why? Because they were R.I.S.C., and the trust and respect they had for each other was thicker than blood.

  “I don’t like it, but I get it. First sign of trouble, though…”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be the first person I call.”

  “Good. In the meantime, I’ll contact Ryker. See if he’s heard any recent chatter involving Walker.”

  Jason Ryker was an agent with Homeland Security. He ran a covert team out of the Dallas branch, and was also R.I.S.C.’s handler for when they took on jobs for the agency.

  “Might give Ghost a call, too. Sometimes those guys find shit out before the suits.”

  Keane “Ghost” Bryson was the captain of one of the best Delta Force teams in existence. He and his men were as solid as they came. They’d also been invaluable assets in the rescue missions involving Nate’s, Matt’s, and Zade’s women.

  And if that right there isn’t a reason to keep Elle away from my world…

  If Gabe didn’t know any better, he’d think the men of Bravo were destined to fall in love with women in peril. Just another example of why he’d made the right choice to walk away from Elle when he did.

  “Good idea,” Jake agreed. “I’ll put feelers out with them both and let you know what I find out.”

  With a firm handshake and a nod, Gabe thanked his boss for the ride and exited the plane. He wasn’t sure when the formidable man had found the time, but the guy had even arranged for a cab to be waiting when they landed, ready to take him straight to the hospital.

  For the entire duration of the drive, Gabe’s mind was filled with a lifetime of memories. Both good and bad, they were all moments he’d shared with the woman he was about to see.

  Moments he’d never forget.

  “Sir?”

  The gravelly voice snapped Gabe’s attention back to the present. From the back seat, he met the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

  “Sorry, what?”

  The man pointed toward something outside. “I said, we’re here.”

  Gabe turned to look out his window. The sight of the large, brick building caused a familiar ache to spread painfully inside his chest.

  The last time he was here had been the beginning of the end.

  Pushing the past away, Gabe dug some cash from his wallet and paid the driver. Sliding his way out of the car, he grabbed his bag from the leather seat and shut the door.

  Huge red letters shone brightly over the hospital’s emergency entrance. After a moment’s hesitation, Gabe sucked up his pride and headed for the automatic doors.

  His Ellena was in there, somewhere. And she needed him.

  She’s not fucking yours, Dawson. Get that through your thick skull.

  The tiny voice was right, but Gabe knew it didn’t matter. He had always thought of her as his. Always would.

  Which was why he’d dropped everything to come here.

  For reasons he still didn’t understand, Adrian Walker had broken into his apartment for the sole purpose of telling him Elle was in danger. Less than five minutes later, the phone call came about the accident.

  If it really was an accident.

  Either way, Gabe was bound and determined to find out what the hell was going on with his estranged wife. But first things first…

  I need to make sure she’s okay.

  It was going to be hard as fuck to see her again. To see and hear her again. To not touch her.

  To not be able to hold her and tell her how much I missed her.

  How much he still loved her.

  That ship hadn’t just sailed. The fucking thing was drifting a world away, far out of his desperate reach.

  But there was still one thing Gabe could do for her—one thing he’d always do—and that was protect her. So he’d focus on doing that.

  Nothing more. Nothing less.

  Not that he really had a choice in the matter. Even if he wanted to try and mend what he’d torn apart, it was clear Elle wanted nothing to do with him.

  The papers he received two days ago were proof of that.

  With that in mind, he put on the mask he was so good at wearing, lifted the strap of his large duffle over one shoulder, and walked through the doors and straight to the patient check-in desk.

  He must not have controlled his emotions as well as he thought, however, because the young nurse sitting behind the table appeared alarmed when she spotted him.

  Wide, round eyes stared up at him from behind the glass. “M-may I help you?”

  “Ellena Dawson.”

  The woman’s eyes grew a bit rounder at his gruff tone. “I take it she’s a patient of ours?”

  No shit.

  Doing his best to stay calm and not scare the girl even more, Gabe bit back the smart-ass retort and nodded. “Dr. Dawson was brought in a few hours ago. I’m listed as her emergency contact. My name is—”

  “Gabe!”

  He swung his head around in search of whoever had just said his name. His chest tightened a bit when he spotted a familiar face.

  Wearing a pair of light blue scrubs, Jenna Shaw—an emergency room nurse and Ellena’s best friend—hurried toward him.

  “I was told you were coming.”

  “Hey, Jenna.”

  Without hesitation, the woman reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pulled him in for a tight hug.

  It felt a bit awkward given the situation, but Jenna had always been a hugger. She’d also been a friend of his, too, back when he and Elle were still together.

  “Hey, Jenna.” Gabe gave her a little squeeze before pulling away. “How is she?”

  She stepped back and dropped her arms at her sides. “Conscious, thank goodness. She took a pretty good knock to the head and her left shoulder had to be put back into place. But her vitals are stable, and she’s coherent and responsive.” The sweet nurse exhaled loudly, her concern for her friend obvious. “She was lucky.”

  “What happened?”

  “We don’t know for sure.”

  “What the hell do you mean you don’t know?” Gabe demanded as he readjusted the bag’s strap.

  Jenna crossed her arms at her chest and shrugged. “Elle doesn’t remember anything about the accident.”

  His brows rose. “Nothing?”

  She shook her head. “She remembers heading to work this morning, but the rest is a blur.”

  Muttering a curse, Gabe ran his free hand over his jaw. “Was there another car involved?”

  “It was a hit and run.” The
other woman rolled her lips inward, looking nearly as pissed as Gabe felt. “I have a friend who works for SDPD. He said the report points to someone running a stop sign, t-boning Elle’s car on the driver’s side, and then taking off. The officers who worked the accident blew it off as some punk who either had a warrant for their arrest, was drunk, or just didn’t want to stick around for the ticket.”

  He didn’t miss the underlying tone of her voice or the frustration in her green eyes.

  “You think there’s more to it.”

  With her long, red ponytail swishing from side to side, Jenna looked around as if checking to see if they had an audience. The waiting room was surprisingly sparse, but the nurse behind the desk was unabashedly staring up at them.

  Noticing this, Jenna grabbed his elbow and led them both away. “Come on.” Her long legs moved quickly. “We can talk on the way up to her room.”

  More than ready to see with his own eyes that Ellena was in fact okay, Gabe followed the woman without argument.

  When the first of the two elevators opened, a couple with a young child who’d been waiting stepped inside. Gabe started to get on but stopped when Jenna pulled on his arm.

  She shook her head. “We’ll take the next one.”

  Seeing that there was more than enough room for them all to fit, he looked back at Jenna questioningly.

  “Trust me, the conversation we need to have should be a private one.”

  Jenna had worked in the Naval Medical Center’s emergency room for as long as he’d known her. She was smart, funny, and had been there for Ellena when he couldn’t be.

  When you should’ve been.

  Ignoring the direction in which his thoughts seemed hell-bent on traveling, Gabe listened to the woman and waited.

  Her insisted privacy did nothing to ease the massive ball of worry settling in his gut. But Gabe knew she must have her reasons for wanting to wait to discuss whatever was going on with Ellena.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the second elevator opened. He released the breath he’d been holding when he saw there was no one else waiting.

  Thank fuck.

  The minute the doors closed, Gabe turned to Jenna.

  “Okay, talk.”

  Despite her obvious need to share, a slight trepidation seeped into her suddenly unsure gaze. “Elle’s gonna kill me if she finds out I told you any of this, so you can’t let on that you know.”

  The fuck? “Know what?”

  “I’m serious, Gabe.” Jenna crossed her arms tightly at her chest. Determination replaced her brief uncertainty as she stared up at him. “The only reason I’m sharing this with you is because I’m really worried about her.”

  His stomach fell, and his brow furrowed. “But you just said she was going to be okay.”

  “I’m not talking about what happened.” Jenna shook her head. “I mean, I guess I am, but…” Trailing off, she bit her bottom lip as if she were contemplating some big, important decision. “Promise you won’t tell her I told you?”

  Hanging on by a thread, Gabe drew in a slow, deep breath and prayed for patience. He let it out slowly as he tried to not bite the well-meaning woman’s head off. “Jenna, just tell me what you know.”

  After a second’s worth of hesitation, his wife’s friend blurted out, “I think someone’s after Elle.” She licked her lips and added, “And, after what happened today, I’m pretty sure they’re trying to kill her.”

  Smacking his palm against the elevator’s emergency stop button, he brought the moving cart to an abrupt halt. Despite Walker’s ominous warning, Jenna’s words sent an entirely new rush of fear coursing through his system.

  Not wanting to add to Jenna’s obvious concern, Gabe kept what he knew to himself and calmly asked, “What makes you say that?”

  Jenna’s knowing eyes studied his. “You don’t seem surprised. Am I right? Is someone really after Elle.”

  His refusal to neither confirm nor deny was all the answer his wife’s intelligent friend needed.

  “Damnit!” Jenna huffed out a breath. The tips of her ponytail flung from side to side as she shook her head with frustration. “I knew I should’ve called you sooner.”

  Okay, so that did shock him. “Why me?”

  “Um…hellooo.” She looked up at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You’re a freaking SEAL.”

  “Former SEAL.”

  “Whatever.” Jenna waived his clarifying words away. “All that alpha male hero stuff is engrained in guys like you forever. Which is why your stubborn wife should have called you the first time someone tried to hurt her. But you know Elle. No matter how hard I tried to get her to call you, she wouldn’t—”

  “First time?” Gabe exclaimed loudly. Placing his hands on his hips, he frowned. “Has something like this happened before?”

  “Not like this. I mean, it’s the first time she’s actually gotten hurt, but it’s not the first accident Elle’s had. Not that I believe for a second either incident was an accident. Although she refuses to—”

  “Jenna!” Gabe’s voice boomed inside the confined space. He waited until he was sure she’d finished rambling, then in a quiet, gentler tone said, “Take a breath and tell me what the fuck’s been going on with my wife.”

  Despite his angry outburst, Jenna didn’t so much as flinch. Unlike most women he came across, she’d never been intimidated by his size or gruffness.

  It was probably why she and Elle got along so well. They were both strong, confident women who didn’t take shit from anyone.

  They were also both stubborn as hell.

  Glancing toward the emergency button, she raised a brow before looking back at him. “You know, that won’t keep us locked in here forever.”

  “Then I guess you’d better talk fast.”

  Jenna smiled wide. “God, I’ve missed you. I know Elle’s going to kill me for this, but she probably won’t tell you herself, and I really think it’s something you need to know—”

  “Jenna,” Gabe warned, his patience damn close to becoming non-existent.

  “Okay, here it is. A couple weeks ago Elle called and asked me to meet her for lunch. When I got to the restaurant, I could tell right away that something was off. When I asked her what was up, she told me she felt like someone had been following her. Like they were watching her from a distance or something.”

  Two fucking weeks ago.

  Jesus.

  Gabe kept his expression the same and said, “Go on.”

  “By the end of lunch, Elle had convinced herself it was nothing more than stress-induced paranoia. Or something like that. Whatever shrinky term she used, I wasn’t buying it. Then two days ago, she was riding her bike on the Old Mill trail. Which by the way, I told her not to do alone anymore. You remember that place, right? Anyway, she was riding along like she always does when her tire blew out.”

  “Was she hurt?”

  “No, but only because she got really lucky.”

  “Lucky how?”

  She frowned. “It happened right before the bridge, Gabe.”

  Gabe did remember the trail. He and Elle had ridden it together several times back in the day. He also remembered the bridge Jenna was referring to.

  It was the only one on the long, gravel path. A hundred feet below it was a shallow, rocky creek bed. If Elle had fallen over the drop-off near the bridge’s edge…

  Sonofabitch.

  “Thankfully, Elle managed to keep control of the bike long enough to get herself to the railing,” Jenna continued. “Otherwise, she would’ve gone off the edge of the trail and fallen down that steep-ass embankment to the creek below.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair and thought a moment. “Okay, I’ll agree she was damn lucky, but bikes blow tires all the time, Jenna.”

  “They do.” The petite redhead agreed. “Lord knows I’ve had my fair share of flats over the years. The thing is, this was different than any other ruined tires I’ve seen in the past.”

  “H
ow so?”

  “Elle called me after she got home. She tried to play it off, but I could tell she was still a little shaky. I stopped by her place to make sure she really was okay.” Jenna licked her lips nervously. “I looked at the bike, Gabe. The tube inside had clearly blown out, but there was a small, almost perfect hole in the sidewall. The edges of it looked melted, like something hot had punctured it.

  Small hole. Melted edges…

  His heart slammed hard against his ribs. “You think someone took a shot at Elle?”

  Jenna gave a slight shrug, but he could see the answer behind her emerald eyes. “I don’t know what to think. But you know Elle better than anyone. She’s one of the most cautious women out there, and in a few days’ time she’s had two ‘accidents’.” The woman made air quotes. “And either one could’ve easily been fatal.”

  When he didn’t immediately respond, Elle’s friend tilted her head as if to study him a moment. “Is that why you came so quickly? Did you already know someone was after her?

  Shit. The last thing he needed was for Jenna to worry even more than she already was. That happened, and she was bound to say something to Elle before he had the chance to explain what was going on.

  Not that I even know what the hell is going on.

  But he would and soon. No one fucked with his woman and got away with it.

  She’s not…

  “I got a call saying my wife was in a fucking car wreck,” he interrupted his own pointless thought. “The nurse said Elle was hurt, and she’d been taken to the hospital. That’s why I’m here.”

  Jenna’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.

  “What?” Gabe asked, confused by her reaction to his gruffness.

  “You called her your wife.”

  “We’re still technically married, Jenna.” He blew her comment off.

  “Only because you don’t have the balls to sign the papers,” she unabashedly called him out on his bullshit.

  Another similarity the woman had with his…with Ellena.

  “And”—she added with a knowing expression—“there’s never been anything technical between the two of you, and you know it.”

  Well fuck. “She uh…” Gabe cleared his throat. “She told you she filed for divorce?”