as she slammed the door shut and locked it with barely working fingers. Anger sparked in her chest when she saw the alarm pad. It was smashed, damaged so badly it most definitely needed replacing.
Going to the phone, her hand hovered. Who could she call? Nika? She wasn’t answering. Gabriel? She’d been told to stay away. Why? What did that guy mean about Gabriel not being who she thought he was?
As her feet began to burn, the sting of the cuts belatedly registering, she lifted one foot to swipe away the glass, then did the same with the other, hissing when a jagged shard that was embedded in her heel cut into her palm. She swore like a sailor as she pulled it out to drop it on the floor, then screamed and swung around when a fist pounded on the door.
“Eva! Open up!”
Peace invaded her at the sound of that deep voice. Not giving a shit why, she pushed her hair out of her eyes and rushed to fling the door open. When she saw him, she gave up on the day and threw herself into the safety of Gabriel’s waiting arms.
† † †
The fear on Eva’s pale face, coupled with the smear of blood on her forehead, went through Gabriel like a bullet. With one quick scan, he took in the trashed alarm, broken window, glass littering the floor. His lip curled up in a feral snarl when he saw two crisp Benjamins among the mess.
“What the fuck happened,” he demanded as he scooped her up and moved into the house, closing the door behind them.
“A m-m-man b-broke in.”
She pressed her face into his neck, seeking solace as rage consumed him. Aimed at himself because he hadn’t been there to protect this woman who was his responsibility.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I got you,” he murmured into her hair. “Tell me he didn’t hurt you.”
When she shook her head, he closed his eyes in relief then just held her, running his hand up and down her back in soothing strokes, the pads of his fingers skipping through each ridge in her spine. Even though he loathed, fucking loathed, the tremors he could feel slowly fading from her body, truth was, he wanted to strangle her slender neck and comfort her at the same time for leaving the office without telling him.
After that fierce look she’d leveled at him before disappearing into the restroom, he’d waited only a few minutes before checking on her. When he found her missing, he and Quan had tracked her with the GPS they’d installed on her car before she’d arrived home from New York. Thank God he’d had the foresight to, again, invade her privacy with that little piece of technology.
“Where is the blood coming from?”
“I stepped on a piece of g-glass. Sorry. I…I’m kind of freaking out.”
“Don’t apologize,” he ordered as he saw blood dripping off the fingers of her left hand. He crunched over the debris and quickly moved down the hall.
After bashing the light switch on the kitchen wall, he brought her to the counter next to the sink. The sight of her bleeding was doing something to him. Something unexpected and more vicious than he could handle.
“Towels.”
She pointed to a drawer behind him and he pulled it open to snatch up some white terry cloth. After tearing one in half, he efficiently cleaned and wrapped her dripping palm. “Keep that elevated,” he ordered, reaching for her feet. He checked for shards and, finding none, cleaned and bandaged them as well.
Detesting the silence, he gritted his teeth and glanced up to see her staring at him. Unsurprisingly, she’d pulled herself together and now appeared calm yet wary. He brought his hand up to her reddened cheek and bit back a dirty curse when she winced and ducked away from his touch.
“I will kill whoever did this to you,” he vowed. “I will kill him with my bare hands. I promise you.”
The softening of her expression was interrupted by her gripping his forearm, her nails stinging as they dug in while she crowded into him. He understood her reaction had nothing to do with his pledge but was caused by the sound of the front door opening. He flicked the snap with the bottom of his shoe to free the pistol on his ankle.
“He’s back,” Eva whispered, just before Quan appeared in the kitchen doorway. Her pent-up sigh was followed by a quietly relieved, “Shiiit.”
Quan met Gabriel’s gaze and sadly shook his head,