Past Will Haunt (2 page)

He wanted to be the boss.

Now, as a Special Agent, he was lucky enough to be on the cusp of deputy directorship. It was so damn close that he could taste it—and it tasted like success. All he needed was that one case to put him over the edge, to make a name for him, and to put him in the spotlight.

If he could just get a headline making assignment, it would be the big time. The Director of the FBI would hand him the key to the city, and he wouldn’t stop there. Gabe wanted to run it all before he hit forty.

He had to.

It had been his lifelong dream, and the one thing that fueled him from school to that point. That was his utopia.

And he couldn’t fail.

If he could pull this off, his father and uncle would be so proud. 

And he…well, Gabe would be on cloud nine.

Everything he’d ever wanted was right there for the taking. All he had to do was achieve this one last milestone.

But…

As of late, Gabe was finding himself distracted. It was proving harder than he thought to reach that elusive prize. Something was plaguing his mind, making him lose his focus on that massive trophy.

Honestly, it wasn’t like him.

This had never happened before in all of his life. Gabriel Rothschild was a machine, and people never expected him to go off the rails.

He was reliable.

Determined.

Stable.

Until now…

Well, it was happening, and it was out of his control. Gabe never saw this coming.

Never
.

Since taking on the role of supervisor, he saw a lot of agents cross his doorstep. Some were destined for greatness, and some were simply destined to fail.

It amused him when they mostly cringed when he said their name, ordered them into his office, or reprimanded them. Yet, there were two who weren’t afraid of him, and honestly, they were turning his black hair gray.

Elizabeth LaRue.

Olivia Spencer
.

The two newbies were making him work for it. Since getting them straight out of the academy, he had his hands full. Babysitting was the new norm, and he didn't know how to change that.

Elizabeth LaRue was beautiful, and she was the biggest handful he’d ever met. From her black curls, to her icy blue eyes, she had a propensity to ignore everything the FBI said as she did it her way.

Why did he tolerate it?

She was smart.

This woman was scary intelligent, and he could tell right away that she was going to be a force to reckon with. That’s why he had to have her on his team. The second he watched her kick some bigger agent’s ass, taunting him with that sexy southern drawl, he knew.

She was a ballbuster, and in the homicide division, you had to have guts or you’d burn out.

She’d do fine.

Now…if he could only wrangle her.

They’d had a few cases where he took her out in the field for a test drive, and she was wild. He would have passed on her if she wasn’t incredibly astute.

The woman knew how to investigate.

She was an asset, and he was thrilled to have her on his team.

That was all find and good, only she wouldn’t work without her partner. When Gabe wooed her to his team, she laid the law down.

It was LaRue and Spencer, or it wasn’t going to happen. So, he gave in and took the other woman with her.

That’s where he screwed up.

Olivia Spencer was smart too, but she was logical. She was pushy, and she didn't put up with bullshit.

They balanced nicely, but what he didn't know was he was going to be attracted to her. Maybe it was the red flame hair, or the green grass eyes, but he fell for her.

And it was making his life hell.

The two women had been a one two punch right to his solar plexus. He found himself trapped in their web. With Elizabeth LaRue, she weaseled her way into his life as a friend. She was special, and he knew it. They had a bond that he’d never had before.

It was quick.

It was strong.

It gave him a sense of peace.

Now he was screwed.

They were excellent agents, and he was a better person for having them under him, but with Olivia Spencer…he really just wanted to have her
UNDER
him.

Olivia, or Livy, as she liked to be called, was turning him inside out. She crept into his life too.

Right to his damn heart.

It was like she enjoyed poking the dragon just to get a rise. The more he told those two to behave, the more they did the exact opposite.

They were a full time job, and the more time he spent with the two of them, the deeper the pit became. He was sinking and sinking fast.

They were trouble with a capital T.

Gabe had never had so much paperwork in all his life. If Elizabeth LaRue wasn’t shooting something up, then Olivia was punching someone in the face. Between the two of them, they were nearly burning the place down. The Hoover building had survived for so many years, but the two agents were on the verge of wrecking it.

In fact, the HR department had him on speed dial, and it was driving him bat shit insane. A day didn't go by where he wasn’t notified of an infraction. Elizabeth LaRue liked speeding through the city, terrorizing the local law. The Capitol police had it out for her, and she didn't care.

Every time they pulled her over, she’d flash her badge, smile at the cop, and he’d let her off with a warning. Still, the infractions were adding up. She was a southern hell raiser, and she knew it. While she looked like a model, she acted like an escapee from lockdown.

But she wasn’t the worst of the pair. Well, not for Gabe.

Livy Spencer was one hell of a flirt, and she had no problem directing her gaze and lingering stare at him.

What could he do?

He’d blush, start thinking about sex, and then have to warn himself that he was falling down the rabbit hole.

He was screwed.

That heat didn't flush up his neck and to his face—no, of course not. It went down to parts of him that he couldn’t acknowledge.

With each innuendo, he wanted to offer it back in the worst way. Olivia Spencer made him forget that he was technically her boss.

Yeah, they were trouble.

No…he was in trouble.

They were also damn fine Feds, but they liked to break the rules, and he didn't know what to do with that. Was he supposed to yell at them, or give them free rein as they closed the cases?

They were damn good at their job.

They were damn good at breaking the rules.

Yeah, he had his answer. He had to stop them before someone got hurt.

Literally.

Already, the higher ups had told him to get them under control, and it was now his job to mold them into model Feds.

Yeah, that wasn’t likely going to happen. They were Frick and Frack, joined at the hip, and never going to change their ways. He could tell. If Gabe thought it was going to be easy, he had another thing coming.

One way or another, he had to have order, or his tidy world would spin out of control.

Yet, that’s how he felt every day when he saw her.

Not Elizabeth.

Olivia.

She lit him aflame. It was totally inappropriate, and he knew it. While his brain said one thing, his lower anatomy had a mind of its own.

As the potential deputy director, he had to keep his hands off the underlings. If word got out that he had the hots for the one agent, he’d have to lose that position. It would be pulled from his reach, never to come back.

Well, he couldn’t let that happen.

He’d die.

Gabe was all about the law, and he was all about the FBI. It was the perfect marriage, and he liked it that way. Law and order were paramount, and they acted as the foundation of his life. They kept him focused on the goal, and not the solitude of his life.

He liked stability.

He loved order.

He craved power.

Now he had to deal with something threatening his quiet life. Unfortunately, he couldn’t deny it anymore.

He was crazy about Livy.

He couldn’t help it. That’s why he was racing for his life, and to beat back the sexual demons. If he didn't run every morning, he’d spend every day trying to get into her pants. It was hard enough working around her and her truly spectacular ass.

Her breasts.

Her full, sexy lips…

Shit!

There she was again, wrecking his control. This is why he was running like someone was chasing him.

Someone was.

Livy Spencer was a fear he couldn’t vanquish. Every day at work, he was forced to see her at her desk. He’d been a fool to take them on, and he’d been an idiot to place their desks right outside his office.

From the glass window, he could watch her. Livy, when she’d laugh, was stunning. The way she’d pull her red hair back, all the while her eyes dancing with laughter…

It leveled him.

Truth be told, women never had this control over him. Gabe was a stone when it came to the opposite sex. The few women he did date had told him he was cold.

It was the truth.

He couldn’t separate from work and play. He was icy chill in the field, and in the love department too.

He wasn’t lovable.

Maybe that’s why his mother left.

He wasn’t capable of getting attached. Then again, maybe that wasn’t true. He loved Elizabeth—like the sister he never had. It had to be him.

Inside, he had to be broken. What kind of person loved work more?

Not a sane one.

Gabe was flawed. He didn't love, he didn't risk, and he certainly didn't fall for some wild, out of control woman.

Only, this one small agent had managed to destroy that all with a few short weeks of working outside his door. She leveled him, and he didn't know what to do about it.

So, he ran.

And ran.

And ran.

It burned off the sexual tension, lessening the hold it had on his libido. The more miles he logged, the better off he was. It was like he was putting a gap between them.

Now he was safe. Livy couldn’t get to him.

Or that’s what he told himself.

As he raced through the running trails, not far from where he lived, he only hoped that he could burn off some of the lust. It wasn’t easy. Gabe’s whole body was fraught with tension. As he lay in bed, he could imagine her touch, the way she’d taste, and the feel of her body against his.

He was dying to partake in that forbidden fruit. If he didn't find a way to satiate that need, he was going to do something stupid.

He knew it.

What he wanted more than anything was to act on his impulse and share some clandestine hookup with his agent.

Mentally, he chastised himself for thinking it.

Physically, he punished himself even more. One more lap through the park would beat it out of him. Gabe couldn’t go home until he pushed back that wave of need.

He had to reinforce that dam.

As he rounded the bend, he hit the straightaway. Before he could even get halfway up the hill, he saw motion to his right. There was someone stretching out.

It was a woman—a really hot woman with a truly spectacular ass. Maybe if he found a replacement for the woman he really wanted, he could keep his body in check.

So, he went with it.

As he focused on this woman’s truly amazing curves, they seemed familiar. He couldn’t place them. Just as he got closer, he didn't see the bench beside the running trail. As he raced past her, his running shoe clipped it.

And Gabe went down.

Hard.

It momentarily stunned him, knocking him senseless.

Before he could recover, something else stole his breath. The sexy woman, who had been stretching, was now standing above him, and he was horrified.

She was staring down at him with nothing but concern. Those green eyes were the same ones he’d been trying to forget. What were the chances?

Well, shit
.

It was the woman he was running from, and here she was. What the hell was his problem? Gabe knew that he had terrible luck.

Crap!

“Gabriel, are you okay?” she asked, trying not to laugh her ass off. She was pretty sure what took the large man out. As she was stretching, she saw him coming. He was wearing his FBI running shorts, and a really sweaty t-shirt.

Livy wanted to see him whip it off as he continued his run. That was her biggest fantasy.

God!

She’d pay good money to see that happen.

There was something about the stiff, ridged boss man. Maybe it was those troubled green eyes, or the way he pushed his hands through his hair in frustration.