Detective Brad Shannon was barely recognizable in a pool of blood in the opposite corner. His head bashed in. Sebastian tore his eyes from the gruesome scene and focused on the woman he loved.
“Gabs,” Sebastian called out. “I’m here. You’re going to be alright.”
“Sebastian.” Her voice trembled. She scrambled forward, eyes widened with shock as she stared at him. “Don’t come in here. It’s Damian! He’s crazy. He didn’t die. You have to go!”
Her words were like a bomb detonating.
“Damian?” Sebastian looked back at the man, his mind struggling to comprehend how it was possible that Damian could be alive. If it was true, that changed everything. Damian was psychotic and unpredictable.
Sebastian stayed calm, gazing at Gabrielle’s beautiful face. “I’m never leaving you. That’s a promise.”
Damian’s face twisted with rage. His grip tightened on the weapon pointed at Gabrielle. His finger caressed the trigger. “Drop the gun, or I blow her fucking head off.”
Chapter55
“We heard everything. Headed to the house now.” Everett’s voice crackled over the comms in Sebastian’s ear.
“I’m inside,” Lachlan whispered into the comms. “Keep him talking until I can get a good position.”
Sebastian grunted in response, bent down, and placed his gun against the cracked tile floor.
“And the other one!” Damian demanded. “Put the other gun down and kick them over to me.”
Lifting the Glock from the shoulder holster, Sebastian placed it next to the other and kicked them. The guns slid across the floor and banged against the woodwork near Damian’s feet.
“I don’t need guns to stop you.” Sebastian clenched his fists.
Damian reached down and grabbed both weapons, then stuffed them into the back pockets of his jeans.
“You can’t stop me from being with Gabrielle. No one can,” Damian taunted as he walked over to Gabrielle. With his free hand, he yanked her up from the floor and maneuvered her body in front of his. He dragged the gun barrel along her neck, rested it against her temple, and then trailed his tongue down the side of her face.
Sebastian’s stomach churned. He wanted to charge forward, grab Damian and make him pay for what he had done. But he needed to be careful, or Gabrielle could be hurt in the process. He kept his eyes focused on Damian while his mind raced to figure out a plan.
“If you say a fucking word to him, you die,” Damian said. His grip on Gabrielle tightened. “Do you understand me? You don’t talk to him in front of me. Don’t even fucking look at him! If you do, I’ll put a bullet in your brain and kill him, too.”
Gabrielle whimpered, nodding her head as she dropped her gaze from Sebastian.
The man was smart.
Damian knew the only thing keeping Sebastian at bay was the threat to Gabrielle’s life. Sebastian had limited options as long as the gun was pointed at her head. He wouldn’t do a damn thing to risk her life.
Just then, a voice spoke over the comms in Sebastian’s ear. “I’m outside the kitchen. Rile him up so I can get a shot.” It was Lachlan. The relief that washed over Sebastian was palpable. He knew what he had to do.
Sebastian said, “You’re delusional, Damian. I’m not letting you take Gabrielle. I stopped Tony Brooks from stalking her, and I’ll stop you, too.”
Damian turned his attention back to Sebastian. “You stopped Tony Brooks? You?” He scoffed. “I saved Gabrielle from Tony Brooks. He was supposed to be my friend. He helped me after I woke up in the morgue. He helped me hide out at house in St. Killian until I was ready to reveal myself to Gabrielle. Then he started popping off about all the shit he’d done to her. A friend wouldn’t trash Gabrielle’s house with bloody goats, put snakes in her purse, and steal her private journal. He thought I’d be happy about it. Happy that he was scaring the shit out of the woman that belongs to me? And he did it for money. Hurt her for fucking money!”
Tony Brooks had been working with Damian Hester all along. He knew Damian was going to fake his death and thought targeting the object of Damian’s desire would please his former cellmate. Tony never anticipated Damian would turn on him after finding out he stalked and terrorized Gabrielle for cash. Tony likely never knew that Detective Shannon was Geppetto, the supposed incel asking for the attacks against Gabrielle. Sebastian wondered if Damian had learned of that connection. If that was why Shannon lay in a bloody heap, dead on the kitchen floor.
Damian continued, “He thought giving me Gabrielle’s wallet, and her journal would make up for what he did. He was wrong. I hunted him down in St. Xavier. Now he’s dead. I killed him for her! You’re just one of many men who thought they could come between Gabrielle and me. Detective Shannon thought he could. He wanted to use Gabrielle to get a fucking police chief job. Terrorized her for career advancement. Now he’s dead. And my brother was the worst of all. The things he said to Gabrielle sealed his fate. The only shot I had to be with Gabrielle was to take on a new identity, and my brother was the perfect cover. I couldn’t let him live. If I killed all of them, what do you think I’ll do to you?”
Damian’s hand caressed Gabrielle’s stomach, then moved lower to cover her mound.
Sebastian tensed. A rush of anger and adrenaline flooded his body. He stepped forward.
“Take your hands off her,” Sebastian growled.
“Why? She’s mine. She’ll always be mine,” Damian warned.
