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They were giving her a choice, but she couldn’t allow Gabriel another chance to deceive her. Roman and Connor both lied for a living. Dax maybe not as much, but to navigate military politics, he’d probably told a fib or two. And Gabriel . . . Don’t get her started. The whole lot of them were excellent at getting exactly what they wanted. She was too straightforward to play this game. She said exactly what she meant. There was no way she could play games with these men and expect to come out on top.
“I’ll take my chances alone.” She turned to leave.
At some point, Connor had worked his way behind her and now blocked the exit.
“Get out of my way.” She was done being intimidated. And honestly, Connor was leaner than Gabriel. If she could incapacitate him, she doubted Connor would be any harder to take down.
“Connor, don’t hurt her.” Gabriel held up a hand, his face and voice projecting calm, as if he placated a wild animal.
Connor’s face was perfectly bland. “So you want me to let her go?”
She really didn’t like the look on his face. Instinct told her to take a step back, but she had already proven that she had terrible instincts. “Get out of my way. I’m not staying here. If you want to detain me, you’ll have a fight.”
His smile wasn’t pretty. “It won’t be much of a fight.”
A prickle of fear snaked up her spine.
“My father was a cop. He taught me how to defend myself.” Adrenaline pumped through her system. She had to stay confident. After all, she sparred regularly with the Crawford building’s guards. They’d learned very quickly that if they went easy on her, she handed them their asses. After she’d taken out a couple of the big ones, they’d treated her like an equal.
“He didn’t teach you how to fight me.”
“Connor, buddy. Be gentle.” Gabriel sounded downright worried.
She was done playing. Hell, she was done altogether. Most men just talked a good game, and she was no longer in the mood to chat.
Everly pivoted to walk around Connor. When he reached for her arm, she would twist it out of his grasp, then she’d either go for his solar plexus or aim a little lower and make him wish he hadn’t been born a man.
Unfortunately, Connor didn’t reach for her arm. Before she could even take another breath, he hooked his arm around her neck and braced his free hand against her temple. She tried to figure out what he was doing, but that didn’t give her a spare second to fight.
“I think you need a time out,” Connor rumbled. “Nighty-night.”
Damn it. He meant to perform a sleeper choke hold. Everly squirmed and fought, but he was too strong, holding her immobile as he pressed on her jugular, stopping the flow of blood to her brain. Her vision blurred. The folder slid from her hand, all her dirty secrets on the floor for everyone to see.
“Let her go!” Gabriel dashed in front of her, concern swimming all over his face.
“She’s all yours, buddy.”
Gabriel caught her in his strong, secure arms. Then the world blinked out.
• • •
You nearly fucking killed her. You didn’t have to do that,” Gabe gritted out as he settled Everly onto the sofa.
She looked so pale as she lay there unmoving. Jesus, maybe he should call a doctor. Then kill his friend.
“She’s fine.” Connor waved him off. “Do you know how often I use that move? I haven’t killed anyone yet.”
“Yes, you’re an expert because the analysis you do is so deadly,” Gabe shot back. He was tired of Connor pretending he sat behind a desk all day.
Connor shrugged, obviously unwilling to explain further. “Danger is everywhere these days. And she really was going to walk out. Do you know what the press would have done with her? They could help her fuck you seven ways from Sunday if she chose to play the woman scorned. All she’d need is one national interview where she implies that you killed Mad in a jealous fit, and you’d find yourself indicted by a grand jury and being held without bail.”
“Connor is right. He had to stop her,” Roman seconded.
Dax grinned down at him. “Well, I’m glad Connor was there because after what she did to you, Gabe, I think I’ll avoid pissing her off. That was one mean move she pulled. You’re lucky she didn’t try to take your balls.”
“The day is still young,” Gabe replied with mock enthusiasm.
But once the silence fell, a thousand thoughts crowded his head. If Connor hadn’t stopped her, she would have gone. Would she have ever given him a chance to explain? Had he really touched her for the last time? Everything inside him rebelled at that thought. He’d never been denied much in his life, especially a woman. Gabe hated to think that his luck had run out when it finally counted.
Swallowing, he knelt beside her and brushed a lock of reddish-blond hair from her face. Despite her pert nose and stubborn chin, she looked so fragile. Gabe knew that appearances could be deceiving. Her anger certainly hadn’t been a delicate thing.
“How long until she’s conscious?” he asked Connor.
“She’ll be awake and fighting you in a couple of minutes. Be prepared.”
Roman paced, raking a hand through his hair. “That doesn’t give us much time to decide our next move. How the hell are we going to keep her here?”
“Lock her up.” Connor pointed to the floor above them. “The third bedroom is small. The window is sealed shut so she can’t do anything stupid. There’s one way in and one way out, and it happens to lock solely from the outside.”
Gabe stared at him. “Do I even want to know why?”
“No. You do not.”
Dax shook his head. “We can’t lock her up.”
“Sure I can,” Connor replied.
“We are not going to put her into some sort of prison.” Gabe wouldn’t give Everly another reason to hate him. “I’ll talk to her when she wakes up, make her see reason. She has to understand that I requested that report before I knew who she was. And what I said to Sara upset Everly, but she’ll calm down once I explain my logic.”
Everly’s eyes fluttered open. “Wha . . . what happened?”
Maybe whatever Connor had done to her had induced short-term memory loss. Gabe sat on the edge of the sofa beside her and cupped her cheek. “Hey, baby. How are you feeling?”
She sat up and shoved his hand away, then surged to her feet. He moved in to balance her in case she hadn’t quite recovered. She let him hold her arms in a steadying grip for a moment, but the minute she seemed stable, she jerked away.
“Everly, please let me help you.”
She shook her head, her strawberry waves brushing her shoulders decisively. “You’ve ‘helped’ me enough, Bond. Now I’m feeling like a walking, talking bitch on wheels. I think the police would be interested to know that your friend almost killed me.”
Gabe winced. Obviously, the short-term amnesia had been wishful thinking. She remembered everything.
“Why doesn’t anyone have faith in me?” Connor asked no one in particular.
“I have faith that you’re an asshole,” Everly muttered. She strode to the other side of the room with a pissed-off glare that nearly dropped him.
“How’s your head? Your vision?” Gabe asked, easing closer. “Do you need a doctor?”
She held up a hand to stop him.
“Don’t pretend you give a shit. I read enough of that report to know you don’t. Now someone said something about a back way out of this place. A friend is
