Free Gabe (The Love Family Series Book 7) by Kate Allenton

needs a time-out. Avery and I will go in and get Gabe. We’re trained.”
    “What do you think I am…chopped liver?” Cole asked.
    “You aren’t the one with the badge,” Declan argued.
    “It has to be me,” Lucy said, knowing the feelings she had for Gabe. They gripped her tight. She was falling for Gabe, and there was no way she could live with herself if any of his family, including him, got hurt in the process. I’m going to have to figure a way to get out of the house and find them. I’ll go and offer myself. That’s the only way.
    Landon turned toward her and held her gaze.
    “Don’t tell me you can read thoughts,” she said.
    “Emotions,” he answered. “You’re going to do this no matter what we say.” His eyes searched her. “I can feel the love and determination mixed with desperation pouring from you.”
    Lucy’s cheeks heated, but she refused to look away. Love? Had she come to love Gabe in the short amount of time she’d known him? Was it possible? She shoved the thought away to process later, if she survived.
    “For cripes sake, Alexis, just lightning bolt Warren’s ass and sink the whole damn boat. Gabe knows how to swim.” Declan tossed his arms up.
    “I can’t,” she answered, turning the attention from Lucy to her. “If I hit the boat, it’s likely it’s going to blow, and then there’s Gabe to worry about. If he’s too close, I’m afraid I might hurt him.” Her lips twisted into a smile. “But you know what I can do?” She wiggled her brows. “I can beach them to make sure they don’t leave.” She moved quickly to the map and pointed to where they’d drawn the black X. “Yeah… that could buy us some time.”
    “He’ll want to keep Gabe alive to use as a hostage,” Cole said, crossing his arm over his chest to rest his elbow on. He rubbed his chin. “Gabe is the only leverage he’s got. He’ll keep him alive.”
    “How do you know?” Lucy asked, moving to the map.
    “Because that’s what I’d do,” he answered quickly.
    “He’ll just look for another way off the island.”
    “He’ll be hard-pressed to find one if I have all the boats moved from the marina,” Declan said, moving closer to the map. “The marina is the only docking place on the north side of the island, and I doubt he’d risk stealing a car to ride through town with everyone on the lookout for him. He’ll go back to the marina and look for a boat to steal.”
    “Are you sure he won’t go inland to the caves?”
    “Oh God, no,” Lucy was quick to answer. “Too much wildlife.”
    “Okay.” Cole moved to the map and pointed. “We’ll position someone here and here as lookouts to give us Gabe’s status.” He pointed to two points on the shoreline. “We’ll push them to the dock, and I’ll be standing by with my sniper rifle.”
    “I’ll be there,” she said. “I can distract him. He won’t expect me, and that will throw him off his game.”
    Avery rested her arm on Lucy’s shoulders. “I like the way she thinks. A little diversion could go a long way.”
    “And if that doesn’t do the trick, I’m sure I can throw a few bolts that will scare the shit out of him,” Alexis added.
    “And if he has a gun?” Jackson asked. “What then? Gabe will kill us if we let the asshole shoot Lucy.”
    “If he shoots me, then the gun won’t be at Gabe’s head. You take the shot.” She looked up at Cole, trying to hide the fear in her eyes. “Once he turns the gun on me, I don’t care if he fires on me. You take the shot.”
    Lucy turned to Declan. “I will give my life for him, and you know what I’m saying is true. We go, and I’ll offer myself in exchange for him. If he takes the bait, then you do whatever you need to, just make sure he doesn’t leave the island with me. I’d rather die at your hands than his.”
    “No one is dying.” Jackson said and took a step in her direction.
    She took an immediate step back. There was no way in hell he was going to touch