Rivals and Retribution Read Free

that she’ll be worried about him. But his hope is short-lived. She sighs. “Right now?”
    “Yes.”
    She had hesitated to even get in the backseat with him and help staunch the bleeding when he’d been shot.… So why does he still want her? Why does he hold out hope?
    He repeats himself, “Yes,” and adds, “now,” for good measure wondering why, after everything, he still crawls and begs for any scrap of attention from her.
    “Wait here for me?” she asks Gareth.
    “I’m still on duty, ’Laena,” he says with a smile.
    Gabriel chokes down a growl, dabbing his cheek with his bandaged hand. ’Laena was his nickname for her first. He was her number one before Gareth was even discovered. He’d established precedents Gareth was benefitting from.
    “Guard, guard, guard,” she chuckles, rubbing her hand along his chin.
    Gabriel turns and heads toward where he’s stashed Jessie, motioning just once over his shoulder for Marlaena to follow.
    When they finally descend the steps, he leads her to an area not far from the motel.
    She glares at him, already tired of this wild goose chase. “What’s going on, Gabe? Why the secrecy?”
    One last time he clears his throat and works up his courage. “You’re way more complicated than most of the girls I’ve dated,” he admits, scrubbing a fist across his forehead. He’s already bluffing. He hasn’t dated many girls at all, so most of what pours out of his mouth next is a mix of theories and hypotheses. “Some girls like candy; some are into flowers or jewelry—but you don’t care about any of that.”
    Her hands settle on her hips, her fingers curling into tight fists. Cocking her head to watch him, he can tell she’s not sure where this is going, and she’s certain she doesn’t like it.
    “But we’re not dating, are we?”
    “We sure as hell aren’t,” she replies.
    “And it seems there’s nothing I can do to change that…” He looks at her from out of the corner of his eye, weighing things, and shifts his weight from one foot to another.
    Her mouth is working awkwardly before she even manages to get the two small words out. “I’m sorry?”
    “Yeah. Well. I don’t even know when your birthday is—you realize that? No one does. That’s how distant you are. But I’ve run with you for more than a year, so I must’ve missed it. And I think that sucks: missing birthdays. We don’t get many. We should celebrate each one.”
    “Gabriel.”
    His head snaps up, hearing his name on her lips, but the spark lighting his eyes gutters when she says, “I don’t want anything from you.”
    “I know. You’re amazingly self-sufficient. But, as you’ve pointed out, needing and wanting are different things. And I noticed something you need .”
    She blinks.
    “I’ll admit, I couldn’t get exactly what you need, but I’ve found the means to an end. This gift I’m about to give you—”
    Her nostrils flare, pulling in the surrounding scents, and her eyes pop wide open in recognition.
    The scents of horseflesh, hay, and a simple floral deodorant flood her nose.
    “—will provide you with a way to get the thing you really need.” He jogs a few yards away and drags back Jessie. He grins at the look on Marlaena’s face.
    Jessie growls, a bruise discoloring the side of her face where Gabe’s been rough, retaliating as he drags her before the girl he’s trying so desperately to impress.
    He shoves her forward, but Marlaena steps back and lets her land on her knees, Jessie’s eyes rolling at the impact.
    “So,” Gabriel asks, “do you like your present?”
    Marlaena’s eyes shift from him to the writhing girl at her feet, wheels turning inside her head. She reaches down to ruffle Jessie’s hair, grinning at the way her captive fights against her touch. “It’s perrrfect. I don’t just like it—I love it. And I know exactly what to do with it.”

 
    CHAPTER ONE
    Alexi
    I folded the morning’s newspaper and set it down on the kitchen