Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

GABE

I give her a wide grin, because she may not see the irony of it, but it’s something I can’t get out of my mind. The minute we pull in at the cabin, I step out and open the passenger door. “Get out, or I’ll carry you.”

Her eyes go wide. “What? Now the real Gabe show’s his face? Not so polite or gentlemanly anymore? Who were those men chasing us? What did you do?”

“Get out of the car, Callie. On your own or I’ll make good on my threat.”

She steps foot on the ground but winces as she moves her arms. I’d bet money she bruised a rib pretty good, but when I go to pick her up, she slinks back and gives me a glare. “Don’t you dare even think about putting your arms around me.”

My eyes narrow and I point to the cabin. “After you.”

She follows Chet up the sidewalk, onto the porch, and into a large vestibule with a closet that’s open and full of boots and all kinds of gear. I watch as she takes it all in and her eyes widen as she absorbs the enormity of the other rooms that sprawl out in different directions from here. “Check on that helicopter, will you, Chet? I’ll get Callie settled in until we know if more are coming out of the woods.”

Callie listens intently, and this time she doesn’t argue when I point to the stairs. “Up this way.”

Instead, she gives me a curt nod, walking with me up a short flight of steps, and then another bank until we reach the second floor. “You can use the guest room. You’ll find everything you need, bathroom and all. I’ll give you ten minutes and then I’m coming back and we’re going to talk and clear the air.”

Her smoky eyes flare. “I have nothing to say to you. I don’t spend time with men like you, people who destroy lives just to line their own pockets. You don’t give a damn about this town, or the people in it. You call yourself a friend to Blake, Dawson, and Grady? You are no kind of friend, mister.”

“I give a damn, all the time, I give a damn.”

She wipes a tear. “You prey on the misfortune of others. People in Doon’s Creek will lose everything without a steel mill to infuse money into this town. My family relocated because of the mill.”

My jaw locks tight. “The steel mill will go in as planned. Whether the investors think the project is too steep or not, the terms of the negotiations are up to me entirely.” No matter what the investors or my brothers think.

Her eyes narrow. “Crime family money?”

Callie already knows more than she should. She’s either trustworthy or not. “No, my personal money.”

She swallows. “When did you decide to do all that? You haven’t even been to the steel mill site yet.”

“I don’t need to see the site but of course all the investors and the company heads think I do. I came here to get away, and think about how to negotiate what I’m proposing. Another group of investors is interested in the project if they like the location. I own the land. It’s being donated to the project.”

Her eyes grow wide. “When did you decide that? Before or after you met me? Tell me the truth, Gabe.”

“The steel mill was always going in. It was just a matter of how, and who would fund it. Long before I met you. The how, that’s changed a little bit. Like I said, I do give a damn, but you definitely would have changed my mind if not.”

She gives me that pretty little smile that I’ve come to love, the one I’ve let into my heart and causes my chest to tighten in fear. Hopefully, no one knows about her. They were just coming for me. There’s no way they can know about her, not this quick. We weren’t even out in public except in a group. That causes my angst to subside. But still, they are after me. That truck didn’t come out of nowhere. Still, the helicopter will keep any others out there at bay. We’re safe here, for as long as we stay.

I stroke her cheek. “The minute you were in danger, the decisions about everything were made. I knew I wasn’t leaving you or this town again until the people are taken care of and you are by my side. I’ll give Linda a call and have her meet with them today on her own. If they like it, I’ll meet with them another day.”

“You move pretty quick, city boy. I’m not leaving this town.”

I grin and open my arms wide, gesturing around us. “Fine, we’ll live here. Either way you are going to be mine.”

A tear slips down her cheek, and she swipes at it to keep her mascara from running. “When did you decide that?”

I smirk. “You were going to be mine from the moment you looked at me with those smoky blue eyes, baby.” My hand cradles her neck and I use it to draw her to me, breathing in her essence, knowing that I never plan to let her go. “If you’ve heard all the rumors, you know I always take what’s mine, Callie.”