Tainted Legacy (YA Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

Honorable
? idtew RomaGabe nearly choked out a mirthless laugh but managed to stuff it back down. He glanced at Ava instead.

Big mistake.

She was studying him with open curiosity while at the same time looking at him with respect. He wondered what she would think if she knew the truth. Not that she could ever know the truth. But she sure wouldn’t be looking at him the way she was now.

The thought made him so uncomfortable he put the car in reverse, wanting to get away from that look on Ava’s face but only able to get away from the monstrous house.

***

“You only
wish
you’d let me win!” Ava goaded.

“If you want to live in a fantasy world, where you think you’re better than me, go right ahead,” Gabe teased back.

They were walking back to the car which was a few blocks away from the boardwalk where they’d spent hours. The shops had all closed down and they’d taken a stroll along the river’s edge. Now it was getting close to Ava’s curfew and he needed to get her home.

“Oh, I don’t just
think
I’m better than you, I
know
I am!” Ava said with a laugh.

Ava was talking about darts but Gabe thought she could be talking about a million other things. Then he gave himself a mental lashing. Since when did he think that way?

If he’d been paying attention to his surroundings, and not his mental ramblings, he might’ve noticed the mugger before he snatched Ava off the sidewalk. He lugged her into the alley like she was nothing more than a ragdoll while he managed to get a knife up to her neck.

“Give me your wallet or I’ll slit her throat,” he growled at Gabe who was right on their heels.

Gabe had been angry before. More times than most. But in that moment he felt a fury so blinding he could have gladly killed the offender without blinking.

“Gabe?” Ava whimpered. She was trying to hold her voice steady but Gabe could see her trembling. Her eyes were locked on his. He could hear her breathing in frightened, ragged gasps. Her terror crashed into him with the force of a tsunami. It only ignited his fury.

“It’s okay,” he told her. “You’re going to be just fine. Right?” he asked the perpetrator. “She’s going to be just fine. Because you’re going to let her go or I will break your neck.” It was a command, pure and simple.

“Give me your wallet and you can have the girl,” he ground out.

Gabe dug his wallet out and tossed it near the man’s feet.

“Let her go,” he commanded as he lunged forward.

The mugger tugged Ava’s purse from her arm as he tossed her aside. She stumbled but didn’t fall as she gracelessly collided with a brick building.

Gabe barreled into the attacker as he was releasing Ava. Faster than she could turn around, they were on the ground, rolling through the loose gravel that topped the tar. Rolling and punching as they fought.

Gabe was able to gain command of the scuffle in no time. While the assailant was on the ground, Ava got in a few good kicks while carefully avoiding Gabe.

With a violent shout, the man managed to shove Gabe off as he rolled away from him. He stumbled to his feet, taking off at a run.

“Are you okay?” Ava asked Gabe as he debated taking off after the guy.

“I’m fine. Are you—,” he stopped. “You’re shaking.” 

Ava nodded and before he could stop her, she stumbled into his arms, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist. He gave her back an awkward pat as he tried to figure out what to do next. Despite the unprecedented way she clung to him, he had no real desire to peel her off.

In fact, he had the opposite desire. He found himself wrapping his arms around her, enjoying how her body felt as he pressed it tightly to his. She placed her head on his shoulder and tightened her own grip. There was no escaping her enticing scent now and Gabe finally decided he needed to move away.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked when she had calmed down a bit. He gently moved her back from him to assess her for injuries. “You’re bleeding,” he told her.

She swiped her fingers across her neck, smearing them with blood. “It doesn’t really hurt,” she said as she grabbed her forgotten purse off the ground.

Gabe retrieved his wallet as Ava dug out a tissue and her compact. She flipped it open to assess her injuries.

“It’s fine. It’s just a little knick. I’ve done worse to myself shaving.” She paused and her expression ramped up from shock into outright anger. “Actually, it’s not fine. What was that guy thinking?!”

“He was thinking he was going to take our money,” Gabe told her, not quite sure what she was asking.

“He had a knife at my neck!” Ava said in disbelief. “He actually had a knife at my neck and he
cut
me! He could’ve killed me!ld’ve d me!l

Gabe watched her warily. He knew Ava had every right to be upset but he didn’t have a clue what to do with an upset female. He was terrified she’d start to cry and he’d have to…well, he didn’t even know what he’d have to do. He’d never been in this sort of situation before. At least not one where he couldn’t just walk away the moment he got bored.

Ava didn’t burst into tears. Instead, she let loose with the most intriguing, eloquent, vibrant cascade of cuss words Gabe had ever had the pleasure of hearing. They flowed from those lovely
full lips of hers with the beautiful, powerful audacity of a big hair band lead singer letting loose on a ballad.

He was stunned. He was awed. He was…more than a little bit turned on. Ava was standing with her fists ground into her slender hips. Her heeled boots making her legs look insanely long. Her hair had come loose and was framing her face in a sexy, tousled sort of way. Her eyes glittered with anger and her cheeks were rosy with fury. She looked…unbelievably hot.

He needed to stop staring.

“Huh,” he managed as he struggled for a coherent thought. “Are you allowed to do that?”

“What?” Ava asked as she sliced her eyes to him. “Allowed to do what?”

“Swear like that? Isn’t it against your religion or something?”

Her chest was still heaving in righteous indignation. “You show me where, exactly, it states in the Ten Commandments that cussing is a sin,” she hotly retorted. “You will never hear me take the Lord’s name in vain. But nowhere does it say I can’t call that creep a lousy, cowardly, lame-ass
bastard
!”

Gabe realized then that he found Ava more than tolerable. He actually
liked
her.

“That guy had a knife to my throat and you’re going to chastise me for swearing?!” she asked in disbelief. She raised her hand to her neck again, swiping the tissue across it once more. Frantically, she began to pat herself down.

“No! Oh my gosh!” The past indignation had leaked out of her voice leaving behind a frantic whisper that consisted of a string of, “
Nononono-s
,” in its wake.

“What’s wrong?” Gabe asked feeling oddly alarmed. Was she hurt worse than they’d thought? Was she just realizing it now that the adrenaline rush was fading?

“My necklace! It’s gone! Oh my gosh!” she cried again as she wheeled around to scan the sidewalk. “It’s gone!”

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She dug a mini flashlight out of her purse and started searching the area in little, well-lit sweeps. Gabe walked next to her, helping her look. He was nearly as frantic as she was but for an entirely different reason.

“I’m really sorry it’s gone. But can’t you just get a new one?” he asked after they decided it was just not going to be found.

“No, it was special. I should’ve just let him have my purse,” she moaned.

“Why? Was it expensive or something? An original piece?”

“No. I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think so. I have no idea! It was just special to me!” she told him, dangerously close to sobbing. “My grandpa was an Army Chaplain in Vietnam. It belonged to him but he gave it to my grandma when he went over. She wore it all through the war. She gave it to me before she passed away. I’ve never taken it off.”

She scrubbed her hands across her forehead, taking deep breaths.  Gabe was suddenly terrified she was going to pass out from shock.

Or a broken heart.

“If it wasn’t one of a kind can’t you just look for a new one? At a pawn shop or antique store? The internet?” he suggested.

“Gabe! It had
sentimental
value! You can’t buy that!” she said, looking shocked at the suggestion.

“Can’t you get one just like it and pretend or something?” he asked, trying again.

She looked at him like he’d just sprouted horns. He was surprisingly displeased with how that made him feel.

“No,” she said softly, “I can’t just pretend. Hasn’t anyone ever given you something you treasure? Your mom? Your dad?” He looked at her blankly. “No one?” she asked in mild disbelief.