Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,5

“I’m so happy you two are back together. And the baby…I still can’t believe you’re pregnant.”

“Me, either.” Ellena’s smile came through the phone. “Now, back to this move…”

“Temporary move.”

“Temporary or not, if you’re going to take a job in Texas, why not come to Dallas? I can talk to the medical director where I work. I’m sure they could use the help, too, and—”

“Who’s taking a job in Texas?” Gabe’s deep, rumbling voice joined the conversation.

“Jenna,” Elle answered her husband, who’d apparently just entered whatever room she was in. “Here, I’ll put her on speaker.”

“Hey, Jen,” Gabe greeted her. “How’s it going?”

“I’m good. You?”

“Good. Busy.”

Picking up on the man’s tone, Jenna asked, “How many coats have you done so far?”

“Just got back from the store with color number four.”

Jenna chuckled. Poor Gabe had been painting the small nursery for a week because Ellena kept changing her mind on which shade of pink she wanted.

“I know for a fact that Ellena appreciates all the hard work you’re doing to make the nursery look perfect for when the baby comes.”

“She’d better,” the burly man grumbled. “But this is it. I don’t care if it turns out looking like Madonna’s kinky playroom, I’m not painting it again.”

Jenna snorted. “Madonna’s kinky playroom?”

“I’m sure it’ll look fine, honey,” Ellena assured her husband.

“It better ’cause I’ve inhaled enough paint fumes to make a damn tweaker feel jumpy.” After both women laughed, Gabe said, “So, Jen…what’s this about you coming to Texas?”

“She took a job with a nursing agency,” Ellena answered for her.

“It’s a travel nursing gig,” Jenna added. “It’s only for twelve weeks, and then I’ll be back in San Diego.”

“Sounds good. Where in Texas will you be working?”

“Gulfside Harbor.”

Ellena spoke up again, her question directed at her husband. “Didn’t you tell me once that Gulfside Harbor was dangerous?”

“Can be.” Gabe’s voice had turned serious. “It has some decent areas, but it’s definitely not the safest city in Texas.”

Great. Now he was going to be on her ass.

Almost afraid to hear the answer, Jenna asked the man, “What’s wrong with Gulfside Harbor?”

The name sounded so calm. So peaceful. And the pictures she’d seen while Googling had looked quite pleasant.

“It’s close to the border, which makes it vulnerable. There’s a huge market for theft there, so you’ll want to keep your purse close. I wouldn’t take anything valuable with you, and if you go anywhere other than the hospital where you’ll be working and the hotel where you’ll be staying, you need to have someone else with you. Preferably a man.”

The man’s big-brother routine had one of her brows rising. Unable to resist, she challenged the alpha male by asking him, “Are you suggesting I can’t take care of myself? Because I’ve been taking self-defense classes.” She’d signed up for them the day after the mugging. “In fact, I could probably kick your ass.”

She couldn’t. The man was a giant. Still, it was fun to pretend she was strong enough to take the big guy down.

“You could try,” Gabe chuckled. “And I didn’t mean to imply—”

“I’m kidding, Gabe.” Jenna let him off the hook too easily. “I know my limits, and I don’t have a death wish. Trust me, I’ve experienced enough violence and crime to fill a lifetime.” And then some. “I’m just going to go there, keep my head down, do my job, and come home.”

“I still don’t like it,” Ellena piped back in. “Gabe, couldn’t you assign one of the guys to go with her? You know, be her bodyguard or whatever?”

After leaving the Navy, Gabe had joined R.I.S.C., a private, black-ops security company. The acronym stood for Rescue, Intel, Security, and Capture, which pretty much summed up the types of services the company offered.

There were two teams: Alpha and Bravo. Gabe was the Bravo Team leader and had spearheaded the rescue mission that ultimately saved Ellena’s life a few months back.

The guy and his teammates definitely knew their stuff, but Jenna wasn’t about to ask any of them to tag along as her shadow while she took care of the sick and injured.

“I don’t need a bodyguard, Elle,” she told her friend firmly. “Seriously, you guys are making this out to be a much bigger deal than it is.”

“But—”

“She’s right, sweetheart,” Gabe cut his wife’s words off. “Jenna’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”

“I can?” Jenna asked suspiciously.

“She can?” Ellena’s surprised voice parroted her through the phone.

“Of course, she can,” Gabe stood by his statement. Clearly speaking to Ellena, Jenna