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He froze, and looked to see if she was serious. Her face was flushed with a combination of desire and embarrassment, and she wouldn’t quite meet his gaze.
“I know it’s probably not necessary at this point, but I thought—”
“You’re right. It’s not necessary.”
He tried not to smile at the disappointed look that came over her face. The nightstand that sat next to the bed held a number of important things he always wanted to have on hand. His gun was one of them. His wedding ring the other.
Gabe sat up and pulled the drawer open. Grace struggled against him in earnest now, and he held her in place with one arm as he felt around inside the drawer for what he was looking for. He pulled the silver chain out and held it up in front of her face so she’d see the wide silver band that dangled from it.
The band was plain, with no adornments, and he always wore it around his neck because it was too dangerous to wear a ring in the field. She froze in his arms, and her eyes widened in shock.
“Where’s yours?” he asked.
“I threw it away, you jerk.”
She punched him in the arm and struggled to get out of his lap once again, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Like hell you did,” he said. “Where is it, Grace? I know you still have it.”
“In the bottom compartment of my rifle case,” she finally said.
Gabe gave a crack of laughter and stood up, pulling her with him to the kitchen table where her rifle case sat.
“Stop manhandling me, Gabe. Why are you doing this?” she asked, struggling against him. “If you don’t want to get married again, it’s not a big deal.”
He picked her up and sat her down on the table, and pinned her there when she tried to push away from him. Tears glittered in her eyes along with an angry fire that would get him a right hook in the jaw if he wasn’t careful.
“I never said I didn’t want to get married again. I just said it wasn’t necessary.” He found her ring, a smaller replica of his own, also hanging from a sturdy silver chain, in the bottom compartment of her rifle case. “Because we’re still married.”
“Wha—”
“I see you’re speechless for once.” He fastened the chain around her neck and kissed her again. “I’m sorry to say it, but I shredded your divorce papers.”
She laughed and threw her arms around him in sheer joy. “I love you, Gabe. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“My pleasure, sweetheart.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
“Hey,” Ethan yelled, pounding against Gabe and Grace’s door. “I found your test subject.”
“We’ll meet you downstairs,” Gabe called back, grabbing for his pants and getting dressed quickly.
“I guess it’s back to work,” Grace said. “I want to help, Gabe. I know I disappointed the team before, but I can still do something.”
He looked at her long and hard, but she’d put her shields back in place, and he couldn’t see any hint of the vulnerability he thought he’d heard in her voice.
“I can’t make any promises,” he said.
She nodded in understanding, and he breathed a sigh of relief. They dressed quickly in black cargos and matching T-shirts, arming themselves to go one floor below just as if they were going out on a mission. Old habits were hard to break.
“You two look rested,” Jack said lazily as they entered the second floor off the main staircase.
Grace ignored Jack and went to stand over Ethan’s shoulder, and Jack and Gabe shared a silent look. She hadn’t spoken to Jack at all since she’d been rescued from Kimball. Part of her was embarrassed that he’d seen her so out of control, Gabe knew, but another part of her was hurt that he didn’t back her up when Gabe told her to leave Iran. They’d work it out eventually, but there was tension in the air. Only Ethan seemed oblivious to the fact.
Jack was straddling a chair and playing a game of solitaire on the coffee table while Logan was working in the protected area they’d set up for him so he could safely play with explosive materials. He wore clear goggles and seemed to be concentrating intently on his task, but Gabe knew he’d heard every word since they’d walked in.
“What do you have, Ethan?” Gabe asked.
