of super-tight security were suddenly dawning on her. She hated being hovered over constantly.
“I’ll be back in a flash,” Gabe whispered to her as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Rest until I get back. Okay?”
“Okay,” she replied. Now that he mentioned it, she was feeling sleepy. Dead tired, in fact.
The door closed behind Gabe as he joined the gorgeous brunette. “Who was the pretty one?” she asked her guard.
“Agent Delaney. FBI. Her credentials were legit. Nobody gets in here without us checking them out, ma’am.”
FBI, huh? Must be one of the agents on Melinda Grayson’s case. His ex-wife’s rescue must have been the reason Gabe turned around and went back to town earlier. Had he been out looking for her before? She asked the guard drowsily, “Did Gabe know I took off from my mother’s house?”
“Yes, ma’am. He was the first person we called when you didn’t go straight back to your place.”
Mystery solved. Embarrassed that her guards knew so much about her and Gabe, she subsided. A thread of jealousy tangled into a messy little knot in her stomach. It was clear that Melinda and Gabe still shared a strong connection despite how long they’d been divorced.
More devastated than she cared to admit, Willa rolled gingerly onto her side and pulled the covers up over her ear. Thank goodness she hadn’t gotten a chance to blurt out a declaration of undying love to him earlier. She would’ve looked like a complete idiot.
It wasn’t her place to give Gabe an ultimatum. The ex-wife or her. Besides, it looked like he’d already chosen. Melinda Grayson snapped her fingers, and Gabe still jumped for her.
Chapter 17
Gabe had just about had it with Melinda and her bizarre antics. The whole clinging, crying, I’m-so-weak-and-in-need-of-saving female act from her was wearing very thin with him.
Willa could cry and cling to him and even call him her knight in shining armor, and it made him feel like a conquering hero. He knew without question that underneath her soft exterior was a brave, strong woman. And yet, she still needed him and was willing to depend on him. Unlike Melinda, who’d never needed anyone in her life and scorned any female who did “need a man.”
Willa had faced down the disapproval and outright condemnation of literally everyone she knew with quiet grace over the past week. She’d stood up to her attacker, James Ward, at great personal cost, and she’d stepped into her father’s shoes without batting an eyelash.
Melinda was frankly just being mean. The good news was it appeared that Agent Delaney was on to his ex’s tactics. She blandly ignored Melinda’s tears and pleas that it was all too upsetting to think about, and pushed her relentlessly for details. Melinda might have finally met her match. Although truth be told, he’d stack Willa up against Melinda any day and bet on Willa to win.
Willa’s strength was quiet. Unassuming. Deep within her. It wasn’t something she needed to put on display, and she had no need to prove she was tougher than everyone else. Unlike Melinda, who apparently felt an overwhelming need to bully everyone around her. Funny how he’d never perceived it as bullying before, but that was ultimately what it was. Thank goodness Willa had come along to make him see his ex’s true colors. Who knew how long it would have been, if ever, before he would have caught on to Melinda without Willa’s shining example.
Funny how he thought he’d been running around rescuing Willa, when all along, she’d been rescuing him.
Finally, an exasperated Agent Delaney left Melinda’s room. On cue, Melinda’s waterworks and hand wringing stopped cold.
“Better now?” Gabe asked drily. He felt bad as soon as the sarcasm left his mouth. The woman had been kidnapped and traumatized. She had a right to be messed up. Just because he’d rather be with someone else was no reason to be nasty with her.
She answered stiffly, “The local police will be here in the morning to question me. I need you to be here for that.”
Insecurity and Melinda Grayson went together like hot sparks and dynamite. What in the hell was going on with her? “What’s the deal, Melinda? Why all the theatrics with the authorities?”
“Like they’re going to take me seriously any other way?”
“Since when doesn’t everyone take you seriously?” he snorted.
She threw him a rare, startled look. It dissolved into a thoughtful expression, and he took advantage of her distraction to say, “I have to go.”
“Where are