The First Time is the Sweetest (8 page)

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to check your ID,” she said and the agent nodded, but she’d no sooner gotten her hands on it when Jimmy spoke, startling her.

“No need, Sabrina.”

She pulled her hand back and glanced uncertainly over her shoulder at him. Jimmy looked pale but composed as he stepped up.

“I know him, he’s legit.”
They knew each other?

Jimmy took a deep breath and held out his hand, “Long time no see, Gabriel.” The younger agent stared at Jimmy like he’d seen a ghost, then reached out to grasp Jimmy’s hand. Jimmy shook it firmly.

Sabrina looked from one to the other as they stood there, unmoving. Both men looked rattled. She frowned, wondering what was going on when Gabriel opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say a word, the crack of a gunshot split the air, and she only had enough time to think,
Crap!
when Gabriel shoved her to the ground.

“Oh for the love of God, not again,” she muttered as Jimmy dragged her into the house, chuckling at her comment.

She and Jimmy crouched on all fours, Sabrina flinching when three more shots rang out. The agents ducked in and slammed the door shut, both of them kneeling behind the thick wood. When she heard the sound of tires screeching, Agent Patrick crawled to the long window and quickly peered out, then cursed. “I couldn’t get the license.”

“Damn it,” muttered Gabriel, holstering his gun. “Is it safe to stand up?”

“Yes.” The older man heaved himself to his feet. His glasses were slightly askew, and he looked a bit like an absentminded professor, but his eyes were sharp as he flipped the safety back on his gun, asking, “Everyone okay?”

Everyone nodded and Jimmy climbed off her.
For the third or fourth time today
, Sabrina thought, snickering to herself. Gabriel’s hand appeared in front of her and she grabbed it. He hauled her to her feet before she had time to properly appreciate how warm his palm felt against hers. Jimmy stared at Gabriel, at the older agent, then shook himself out of his reverie when Sabrina turned to him.

“Are you all right, Jimmy?” she asked, wondering what the hell they were going to do now. Jimmy shook his head, in agreement or answer she didn’t know. The two agents had their folder open in front of them, Gabriel pointing to something on a piece of paper while Agent Patrick grimaced. Sabrina and Jimmy waited silently.

Sabrina admired the way Gabriel’s dark hair gleamed in the sunlight that filtered in through the foyer skylight.
That’s a face built for smiling
, she thought, suddenly feeling nervous. She looked at Gabriel and then at Jimmy, comparing the two men. Gabriel stood slightly shorter, maybe only five feet eleven inches to Jimmy’s six-one, but both carried themselves with barely contained energy.
Was this the man Jimmy fell for all those years ago?
she wondered. She could see why. There was something about him that attracted her, a sense of confidence and humor, evenly balanced. The effect was devastating.

When Gabriel finally turned toward them, and she saw how gracefully he walked, she remembered that Jimmy had decided to learn how to fight after meeting this man. Gabriel’s mouth was slightly fuller than Jimmy’s at first glance, but Jimmy’s had a little curve in his top lip that more than made up for any thinness. She flushed as she suddenly realized,
These two men have kissed!
And—
I’m not wearing any underwear!
She wanted to moan with embarrassment as she straightened her skirt, hoping that no one had noticed her lack of panties when they hit the floor.

“Jimmy,” Gabriel said, looking grim but determined. “It’s nice to see you again, although I wish the circumstances were better.”

Jimmy nodded, and she wondered what was going to happen next. Jimmy shifted his weight and as she glanced over, he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Concealing something perhaps?
she thought, oddly amused. Then the reality of the situation intruded, and she shook herself, determined to focus on the problem at hand.

“What exactly is going on?” Jimmy asked. Sabrina thought she detected a slight flush on his face but didn’t want to say anything. Jimmy looked at Gabriel, who glanced at the older agent, eyebrows raised in question. Agent Patrick nodded at the younger man.

“You know that case I went to work on all those years ago? The one with the drug cartel in New York City?” Gabriel began. Agent Patrick looked sharply at the younger man, but Gabriel ignored him. Sabrina watched Gabriel avoid the older agent’s eyes. He seemed discomfited, and then she caught his eyes skimming Jimmy’s fit body as he tried to continue his explanation. She could see Gabriel’s attraction to Jimmy, and she wondered what that meant for this situation. Was it going to be a problem? She hoped not.

“I thought you were undercover?” Jimmy asked. Sabrina looked back and forth trying to figure out what was going on, sensing more subtle undercurrents as Gabriel nodded.

“Until three months ago I was. I was shot, but luckily I was wearing a vest,” he explained quickly, seeing Jimmy frown in concern. “All I had was some severe bruising. A new drug dealer took a major dislike to me but didn’t know I had a vest on. He shot me. The others thought I’d died, too, and left me on the street. It was a mess, frankly.” He sighed, running his left hand over his right, where Sabrina noticed a small scar on his thumb. “I wasn’t supposed to come out of the operation so soon. I was getting good information and feeding it to the FBI, which helped curtail some of the drug money and merchandise moving through the northeast.” He shook his head as the older agent huffed.

Sabrina guessed that Gabriel wasn’t supposed to explain this much, but she was willing to bet the younger agent could care less about what he was “supposed” to do. He sent a sharp glance at the older man, and she smiled to herself as she felt her body respond to Gabriel’s determination.
He is rather sexy
, she thought. She didn’t expect that, since most of the people who worked for the FBI had a reputation for being stiff and conservative. Sabrina had always had a thing for guys who bucked the establishment, and was positively delighted with Gabriel’s streak of independence. She absently bit her lower lip, thinking about Gabriel and Jimmy and what they might have looked like kissing when suddenly Gabriel’s eyes met hers, then slid down to her mouth. To her astonishment, his eyes darkened and she glanced quickly at Jimmy. Unfortunately he seemed just as mesmerized by her mouth as Gabriel.
Good lord!
she thought, blushing.

Gabriel smiled, and Sabrina knew he could see the color in her face. She looked down, suddenly bashful. Jimmy remained silent and she sneaked a look at him to find him staring at Gabriel, a sense of affectionate wariness evident in the way he stood there listening. It was almost as though his body was fighting with itself, wanting to move toward Gabriel but holding back at the same time. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her body’s reaction. For some reason, she found Gabriel and Jimmy’s complicated reactions to each other appealing rather than dismaying. She watched Gabriel shake his head slightly as he continued his explanation.

“Last week, the only informant we’ve got left undercover received some new information about a gripe the main dealer had. You could say he’d become obsessed.”

“What kind of gripe?” Sabrina asked, hoping to distract herself from the attraction she couldn’t seem to control. Having two gorgeous men staring at her made her feel doubly self-conscious.

“Well, apparently, the dealer’s girlfriend left him, taking their young daughter. He’d been abusing the woman, but since their daughter learned to walk and talk, he’d begun hitting the little girl, too, and that made the mother finally see she couldn’t stay. A lawyer who does a lot of charity work helped her get a restraining order. When that didn’t stop the abuse, the lawyer contacted the FBI and helped get her into a safe-house in return for her statement regarding the illegal activities of the dealer’s gang.”

Sabrina felt a trickle of fear at this explanation. She had the sinking sensation she knew where this was going. Jimmy looked at her, and she saw the knowledge on his face, too.

“It was my dad, right?” she asked and the agent nodded. Jimmy sighed and ran his left hand over his hair in a familiar gesture of frustration, mussing it even more. The way he messed with his hair amused Sabrina despite the seriousness of their situation.

“Yeah, it was Jonathan Birch. He has a long history of doing this kind of work, and the FBI has helped him and his clients in the past. Except now it seems this dealer wants to make your dad pay, and since the dealer is fairly high up in the organization, he has the money and means to do it. We have reason to believe that he wants you dead.”

Sabrina gasped at this bald statement. Jimmy put his arm around her, hugging her reassuringly. “What about Jimmy?” she asked. “He’s staying here this summer.”

“The dealer thinks he’s still in Afghanistan,” Gabriel replied, eyeing Jimmy as he stood with his arm around Sabrina. She wondered what he was thinking. She could tell he was concerned about the case, but he kept sending her looks as though he knew something more was at stake here. She wondered if Gabriel could tell she and Jimmy had been kissing and more, then remembered her lack of underwear with a pang of embarrassment. Gabriel grimaced, and she felt herself frown.

“I’ve been back for six months,” Jimmy said, and Sabrina nodded.

“It doesn’t matter, the organization is fond of violence. The injury Jonathan Birch dealt this dealer by helping the woman escape plays right into that philosophy, establishing a reason to hurt you. It gives them an excuse to establish a stronger sense of control over their new territory. And the longer the dealer can drag it out, the better, because that would cause the most amount of pain. And in fact, from his point of view, it would be great to hurt you, Sabrina. You’re young, female, and vulnerable, and it would be a larger blow to your dad because of his inability to protect you.” Sabrina huffed in disgust, and Gabriel smiled briefly before continuing. “He waited until your dad went out of the country. He wanted to make it impossible for your dad to help you. That’s why we’re here.”

“What do you mean?” Sabrina asked.

“The FBI wants one of us to stay with you as protection. My partner will be working out of the Newark office while I stay with you here, if that’s acceptable.”

“What’s the dealer’s name?” Sabrina asked, morbidly curious. Jimmy eyed her sharply.

“John Miltos,” Gabriel replied, looking at her sympathetically.

She sighed. “Jimmy?” She hoped he would have some advice on this. Her instincts were telling her it would be a good idea to have someone around in this situation, but she wasn’t sure she felt comfortable with a stranger staying in the house.
Except, he isn’t a stranger, not really
. Jimmy knew him. He’d once known the man well enough to believe he loved him. She worried about it, wondering how the three of them would manage to get along, but then she remembered how Gabriel had looked at her. It was just a glance and quickly suppressed, but she saw the attraction there. Then she thought of how he’d looked at Jimmy, and a spark of heat flashed through her body. She wanted this. Oh boy, did she want this.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Jimmy said after a moment, rubbing his hand up and down her arm, but she could feel him shaking, just the tiniest bit. She didn’t believe for one second that he was nervous about the drug dealer. As he shifted his weight, she remembered what they’d been doing before the doorbell interrupted them. She imagined doing it again, perhaps with Gabriel. That, more than anything else, decided her. She wanted to see where this would go and didn’t care if what she imagined could happen was nothing but fantasy. And too, it would probably be a good idea to have more than one man here who knew something about fighting and protection because she certainly didn’t know how to defend herself.

“Okay,” Sabrina said simply. Jimmy nodded as Gabriel smiled.

Agent Patrick spoke for the first time. “I’m going to go get your bag from the car, Oliver, and I’ll do a quick perimeter check while I’m out there, though I doubt there’s any more danger. They rarely stick around after one of these drive-bys.”

For a moment, she thought Gabriel frowned, but then he nodded in agreement.
What’s bothering him?
she wondered as Agent Patrick unlocked the door and strode outside, every inch the confident FBI agent. Once he’d left, the three of them stood alone in the hall for the first time. No one spoke for a long moment. Were the men nervous too? Sabrina wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t stand the quiet anymore.

“Does my dad know about this?” she asked, trying to break the tension between the two men. It didn’t feel hostile, but it made her uncomfortable. She hoped Gabriel didn’t regret the offer to stay.

“Not yet.” Gabriel relaxed a fraction. “I planned on calling him in a bit—I don’t want him coming home. There’s nothing he can do to protect you, and it’s likely that Miltos will simply wait until he leaves again before attacking you.” He rolled his head, obviously trying to loosen his muscles. Sabrina thought he looked slightly more relaxed now that the other agent was gone. She saw him eyeing Jimmy, his face almost smoothing into a smile.

“So, in a sense, you want to use me as bait.” Sabrina felt a trickle of apprehension.

“Yeah,” Gabriel sighed. “That’s putting it badly, but yeah, pretty much. That’s also why I need to stay here, try and keep things as safe as possible without raising any suspicion. I can always say that I’m an old friend of Jimmy’s come for a visit.” Gabriel looked at Jimmy, and Sabrina suddenly knew he still felt something for Jimmy. Then Gabriel looked at her and she trembled at the look of concern she saw on his face, mixed in with the attraction for Jimmy he couldn’t quite hide. Or was it attraction for her? His eyes quickly skimmed her body, and Sabrina swallowed, feeling uncertain until Gabriel smiled. She could tell he was a good man from the kindness evident in his expression and when she glanced at Jimmy, she found him staring at Gabriel. She knew Jimmy was remembering his brief affair with the other man. Gabriel shifted uncomfortably for a moment; then his eyes met Jimmy’s.