Free Renegade by Rochelle Alers Page B

child, a son, last Christmas.
    “When do you plan to tell Mom and Dad?”
    “Next weekend. I’m planning to fly down to Florida see them on Friday.”
    Gabriel glanced at his watch. It was only minutes before midnight. “I hope you know you’re spending the night here.”
    She nodded. “I don’t think I could make it back to Boston without falling asleep behind the wheel.”
    “Did you bring luggage?”
    “I have an overnight bag in the trunk of the car.”
    “Go upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll bring your bag up.”
    Alexandra stared lovingly at her older brother. “Thank you, Gabe.”
    “For what?”
    “For being you.”
    He cradled her to his chest, kissing her cheek. “Love you, Sis.”
    “Love you back, Bro.”
    The house was silent by the time Gabriel slipped into bed—alone. Two women slept under his roof: his sister and a woman who had intrigued him from the first time he saw her.
    A wry smile curved his mouth as he folded his arms under his head. His sister was pregnant!
    Alexandra had found love with a man she’d planned to share her life with, and he wondered if he would ever share that experience with a woman.
    Turning over, he stared at the blackness of the sky through the glass on the French doors. He had thought his life complete. He had his music, a house built to his specifications, and enough money to last him several lifetimes. His life was full, yet it was empty. And after spending several hours with Summer, he had come to the realization that it was not the
things
that would make him whole, but a someone.
    She unknowingly had become that someone.

Six
    Summer skipped down the staircase in her jogging gear. She had awakened feeling more refreshed than she had in months. After leaving her bed, she drew back the drapes, opened the French doors, and inhaled a lungful of tangy salt-filled air. She’d stood on the deck, watching the sky brighten with the dawn of a new day before she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower.
    The aromatic smell of brewing coffee and the strains of soft music playing greeted her as she stepped off the last stair. Making her way to the kitchen she stopped, her jaw dropping, when she saw Gabriel sitting at the kitchen table sharing a cup of coffee with a dark-haired woman. His unbound damp hair hung down his back like satin ribbons.
    Her gaze met those of the woman’s and when she smiled, Summer knew she was Gabriel’s sister. Both had gold-brown eyes and a dimpled smile.
    Alexandra lifted an eyebrow at her brother. “Shame on you, brother,” she said softly in Spanish. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”
    Gabriel jumped up, his chair crashing to the floor in a loud clatter. He stared at Summer, looking her over seductively as if he had never seen her before. Shestood under the arched entrance dressed in a gray sweatshirt, matching pants and running shoes. Her hair, secured in a single braid, fell over one shoulder. He picked up the chair without taking his gaze off her.
    “I’m not his girlfriend. We are colleagues,” Summer said in a quiet voice.
    Gabriel blinked once, coming out of his trance. “You understand Spanish?”
    “Yes.” And she had to thank her parents for that. They had perfected the language after having lived in Peru for several years. Having the facility to speak more than one language had become an asset when she had submitted her application to the DEA.
    Walking into the kitchen, she extended her hand. “I’m Summer Montgomery.”
    Rising to her feet, Alexandra leaned over the table and shook Summer’s hand. “Alexandra Cole. “Your
colleague’s
sister.”
    Gabriel pulled out a chair at the table for Summer. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
    She sat down, taking in everything about him in one sweeping glance. He’d showered, but hadn’t shaved, and the stubble on his chin and jaw made him appear dark and dangerous. The white T-shirt stretched over a broad chest failed to disguise his toned