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He arched a brow at me. “What about you?”
I sighed, glancing toward the door. “I need to keep watch.” His brow furrowed in concern. I stroked my fingers down his cheek. “Don’t worry about me, you hear? I’m used to this. I’ll rest once we finally get somewhere we can lay low for a while.”
Whenever the fuck that would be.
He nodded, giving in, knowing better than to argue with me when it came to his safety. “Okay.” Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to my palm, making tingles rush through my veins. “I love you.”
I stroked my thumb over his bottom lip. “I love you, too, boy.”
18
Tango
We only had two hours before the sun began to set, and I was hoping like fuck we would make it to Ricardo’s before darkness settled over us. We were in the middle of nowhere, trekking through the woods while following the road. Snow was beginning to fall, and my breath was visible in the air in front of me with every labored breath I took.
Gabriel had long ago gotten tired, his legs sore and wobbly, so he was on my back, clinging to me, his gloved fingers curled into my jacket to hang on so he wouldn’t accidentally choke me. He’d offered to try walking again numerous times, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to do it. He needed rest. And despite how tired I was getting as well, I would still do everything I could to take care of him.
I glanced down at the map in my hands again. We couldn’t be far. The turn-off for his place should be around here somewhere. And knowing Ricardo, it was going to be a hidden drive. It was just how he operated.
“Are we there yet?” Gabriel mumbled, his warm breath fanning the skin of my neck. A shiver raced down my spine at the stark contrast of his warm breath and the fucking freezing air.
“I think so,” I told him, hoping I wasn’t wrong. My legs were sore as fuck and so was my back. I was going to be feeling this for days. I wasn’t young anymore, and my body was no longer used to this kind of shit after being out of the military for so long.
A mailbox caught my eye, and I made my way to it, barely making out the numbers written on the side: one-four-seven-zero. Fuck, yes. I turned and made my way up the drive, heading up the mountains. My muscles screamed in protest, but I pushed onward. I didn’t have the option to rest. My boy was out in the open. He was an easy target right now, even if I was headed away from the asphalt behind us.
Almost a whole goddamn thirty minutes later, we were met with a steel gate and a fence with live wire at the top. I crouched and gently set Gabriel on the ground. He looked up at me as I pressed the button on the fence post, which no doubt let Ricardo know he had visitors.
Doubted it got used very often though, which meant he might come out armed.
“Are you sure it’s safe here?” Gabriel asked, eyeing the fence with trepidation.
I nodded. “He’s probably one of the only people I’d trust with your life,” I told him honestly. I didn’t even trust my brothers that much, though I did trust them a hell of a lot. Ricardo was the one who’d protected me when Donald got blown to smithereens and my brain went offline. He’d gotten me out of there.
He was the only reason I was standing here alive today, able to protect this precious boy of mine. I owed him so much for that.
The front door of the cabin opened, and Ricardo stepped outside, a gun in his hand, a ball cap resting on his head, shielding his eyes. He didn’t look to have changed much over the years. He was still thick with muscle, still clean-shaven. And judging by the no hair peaking out from beneath his ball cap, he still shaved his head.
“Burne?” he asked incredulously when he got closer, tucking his gun away. He quickened his steps, eating the distance between us in mere seconds. “What the fuck are you doing here, brother?”
I sighed. “We need help.”
He glanced at Gabriel before nodding and unlocking his gate. I lifted Gabriel against my chest and carried him through the open gate, waiting for Ricardo to close it before I followed him into the cabin. “Need to get him warm, fed, and hydrated,” I told Ricardo as I gently set Gabriel on the hardwood floor in front of the fire. Kneeling, I began to unfasten Gabriel’s jacket while he worked on slipping off his gloves, a small whine ripping from his throat as he struggled to get his cold fingers to cooperate.
“Here,” Ricardo grunted, passing over a couple of bottles of water. “I have some stew from earlier left over. I’ll heat you both up a couple of bowls.”
“Wanna shower,” Gabriel murmured, his voice small. He was beginning to regress now that we were somewhere safe. Shit. It was a goddamn miracle he hadn’t done so sooner. His brain was immediately going offline to protect himself.
I cupped his cheek. “In the morning,” I told him gently. “You need food, water, and sleep more than you need to be clean right now, okay, baby?”
He nodded, but a small pout remained on his lips. I got him out of his jacket, and Ricardo draped a blanket around Gabriel. I cracked open one of the bottles, holding it to Gabriel’s lips as he greedily gulped the water down. I fed him spoonfuls of the stew Ricardo gave me until he complained he was full, the whine in his voice ratcheting a little higher. I helped him drink more water before looking up at Ricardo.
“Bed?”
Gabriel made a noise of protest and shook his head, his curls bouncing around his face. “Fire.”
I ran my hand over his curls, arching a brow at Ricardo. He nodded, watching us with something unreadable glimmering in his dark eyes. “He can sleep there,” Ricardo assured me. “Let me grab some pillows and a couple of comforters.”
Gabriel clasped my face in his hands, his eyes sleepy, his cheeks flushed from the warmth of the fire. “You stay?”
