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

silent.
    Damn. He’d been right. His family was here, and if he had to guess, orchestrating everything. Gabe kept walking. Instead of searching for a weapon on the ground, he kept his eyes peeled to see what he’d find next. A quarter mile up the beach, he spotted Avery in a quick glance. She winked before falling back out of sight.
    Warren had no idea what he was walking into, but Gabe sure did. He grinned the rest of the way toward the marina as he pulled against the ropes again.
    “You know, you can’t just walk me into the marina with my hands tied. People are going to ask questions, and they’ll realize who you are. You haven’t thought this all out yet, have you?”
    His questions earned him another shove in the back with the barrel of the gun. They rounded the shoreline and turned to walk up into the empty parking lot. It was devoid of cars, trailers, and surprisingly, there were no boats in the water. The only person who stood in the center of the lot was the last person who he’d expected.
    Lucy stood in the middle of the parking lot with a gun pointed in their direction. Did she even know how to shoot?
    Gabe clenched his fist as Warren pressed the gun to his head and yanked him harder in her direction.
    “I guess you aren’t a coward,” he growled.
    “Let him go,” she called back. “I’m willing to make a trade as long as you let him go unharmed.”
    “Like hell,” Gabe yelled back.
    “Shut up. You don’t get a say in this,” Warren growled in Gabe’s ear. “I’m going to kill him first so you can watch, wife .”
    Cole has him in his sight , Lucy yelled in her mind for Gabe to hear, and Gabe did. His eyes held hers, and he could see the fear and determination. Lucy let the gun spin from her finger before gently settling it on the ground. “Let him go and take me.”
    The pressure from the gun lifted from his skin, and Gabe’s heart stopped beating the second that Warren turned the gun on her.
    “No,” Gabe screamed, butting him with his head and jolting forward just as Warren’s gun went off. Lucy fell to the ground at the same time Warren did. Gabe’s family rushed from their hiding spots, and all Gabe could think about was getting to Lucy.
    He ran with his hands still tied behind his back and slid down to his knees. Her eyes were closed. A bullet hole had torn through her shirt, yet there was no blood. “Lucy.” He turned to holler over his shoulder. “Get these damn things off me.”
    Within seconds, he was free from his binds, and he yanked her shirt open to find a bulletproof vest beneath. Gabe was a stranger to the emotions that clogged his throat when he realized she was wearing a bulletproof vest. His heart started beating again as he pulled her into his lap. “Lucy, baby, wake up.”
    Sirens wailed in the background, getting louder by the minute.
    “She might have hit her head,” Alexis said, kneeling by them. She tried to feel the back of Lucy’s head. She pulled her fingers back, and they were coated in blood.
    Lucy’s eyes slid open and she looked up at Gabe. She smiled only seconds before her eyes shut again and her head lolled. The ambulance pulled up and the paramedics took Lucy from his hold and put her on a stretcher.
    “Whose idea was the bulletproof vest?” he asked as Declan followed them to the ambulance.
    “You can thank Flynn’s premonitions for that.” He patted Gabe on the back. “He also warned us that she’s going to require two stitches and that she’ll wake up within thirty minutes.”
    Gabe smiled and stepped up into the ambulance. “Tell him thanks.”
    Declan went to shut the door but paused. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that he also said the wedding is going to be beautiful, and when you move into your new house make sure you have a fence. You’re going to need it for puppies and toddlers.”
    Gabe’s eyes widened as Declan closed the door.
    Gabe rode with Lucy to the hospital and refused to leave her side when they took her into