the area where his heart was still thumping from the force of his climax. She lowered her face and feathered her lips there.
“Gabby?”
A sigh escaped her. “It unsettles me how you can still read me after all these years. And I’m not talking about the way Kelso reads me as his partner.” Her eyes returned to his which were getting heavy after the relief of having her home, not to mention the mind-blowing sex that followed. “Hey.” She shook him. “I’m about to have a profound conversation with you and you’re dozing off.”
“All ears, Angel.” His grin widened, but his lids were like lead. He was too relaxed.
A biting pinch dug at his ribs. “Yow.” His eyes popped open. “What was that for?”
“Thank you,” she said simply and touched her lips to his before pushing back to get off the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“Showering off the smell of the bar.”
He folded his arms under his head. “Thought we were having a life-altering conversation.”
She rolled her eyes at him before showing him her delectable ass as she headed into the bathroom.
“Hurry back,” he mumbled, looking down at his semi-erect cock before his vision blurred.
Later, the heavenly scent of lemon and vanilla mixed with eau-de-Gabby assailed his nostrils and a warm body slipped into bed beside him.
“Took you long enough.” He breathed in her hair and she snuggled into him.
“You staying here?” she asked.
His arms tightened around her. “You betcha.”
She was silent and he squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry about Theo. He gave us his blessing.”
“Dec …”
“Sleep, babe.”
“Okay.”
The next morning, Gabby woke up bright and early and put on her uniform. After the memorial service at the church where the mayor and other city officials gave speeches honoring the life of the captain, a procession of LAPD blue marched through the streets of downtown LA. Flanked by her sons, Vanessa stood strong even as the bagpipes played the haunting tune of “Going Home.”
Gabby stood with her brothers and sisters in blue.
The honor guard rendered the 21-gun salute and Captain Frank Mitchell was laid to rest.
21
Two weeks later
“Cut!”
That ended “Take Three Fight with the Moon Beast.”
Theo’s character, Billy Mayhem, had broken out of a stranglehold that the Moon Beast had on him. In this case, it was a six-five stunt man who would later be CGI-ed onto the scene.
Applause erupted from the ecstatic film crew. It was supposed to be one of the most complex scenes on the penultimate episode that would set up the finale. Theo refused a stunt double and Declan couldn’t be prouder.
His son practiced hard with him and Levi in perfecting the scene of a blind teen faced with the most dangerous life form he’d encountered since the series began.
And yes, references to the Karate Kid were mentioned given they blindfolded Theo to teach him how to use his senses to give credibility to his character.
Was it perfect?
No, but with careful choreography with the Moon Beast stuntman, Declan knew by the third take that Theo was going to ace it.
“Our boy did good,” Levi declared beside him.
Declan flashed him a proud grin. “More than good. Spectacular.”
“Reckon Gabby’s gonna quit reaming our ass?” Levi’s mouth pulled into a self-deprecating smile.
He gave a shake of his head. “Hope so.”
The blindfolded fight didn’t go over well with Gabby—she all but fumed and growled at them when she found out. But after being outnumbered three-to-one, she acquiesced.
The first time it was mentioned to her, she dragged Declan into their bedroom and they had their first parenting fight.
“I thought he was going with the blind gun fight,” she growled.
“Theo wasn’t feeling it.”
“Whose idea was it for hand-to-hand?”
“Theo’s.”
Gabby’s brow lifted.
Declan coughed. “I might have said it was doable.”
“He’s coming off a concussion.”
“So are you and yet you went chasing after a perp the other day.” Declan was holding his tongue then, not wanting her to know that the risks she took with her job rattled him, but he couldn’t stop blurting it out now.
“We’re not talking about me.”
“Right. You think our son is gonna fly with that double standard?”
“It’s not the same. I’ve had years of training.” She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Why are you not seeing this?”
That irritated him. “Are you saying I’d knowingly put our son in danger?”
“Stop twisting my words!”
His jaw clenched. “Not at all. It’s either that, or you think I’m a clueless backwoods hick who wouldn’t know dynamite from his dick.”
Gabby’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t mean you’re an idiot either.”