Page 125 of Healed

No one answered her. Dante looked vaguely guilty. Which wasn’t helped by me pointing in his direction. This wasn’t getting put on me. I can be blamed for a lot of the mayhem around here, but I was not taking responsibility for the poor kid being forced to eat pineapple on pizza.

“You’re joking,” Gabriella said. She no longer looked green. She just looked horrified.

“Don’t look in my direction,” Rachel said. “He was a perfectly normal kid before I was dragged back here.”

“He couldn’t even talk then,” Dante snapped back.

“Yeah, and it was probably for the best,” Rachel shot back without missing a beat. “Because now look at him, out here requesting pineapple on pizza.”

“I’m done,” Gabriella announced. “Take me back to the Riders. I’ll take my chances with Nico. This is a step too far.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Dante said, pulling a cushion from the sofa and lying down on the floor, his arms under his head. “I can start the engine right now and take you. It would be my pleasure.”

“Please don’t,” Rachel yawned. “Because then that idiot best friend of yours will only try to rescue her again, and then that’s two deaths on our conscience.”

“You could always rescue me again?” I said.

“Nah, I don’t have another one of those in me. You’re on your own next time, hair buddy.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Gabriella, pack your bags, love.”

“On it.”

“Good lass,” Rachel said. “I hate to put you in this position, but if it means I can prove a point to Vienna then I’m sorry, you’ve become collateral damage.”

“That’s understandable.”

Her voice was cold and detached, but when I looked over and caught her eye, I saw she was smiling at the teasing. I gave her a small wink, loving the blush that crept over her cheeks.

I had no idea how long we’d been in the bath earlier. I was barely aware of her shaking me awake and helping me climb out. I know she was shivering as we walked to the bedroom, and she’d argued with me when I refused to get into the bed until she was in dry clothes and comfortable. She soon realised I wasn’t going to back down though. Something in my expression must have told her I’d die on my feet before I ever climbed into a bed without securing her comfort first.

She’d slipped on my underwear and one of my old t-shirts and jumped into the bed, pulling the sheets back for me and patting the empty space next to her.

I’d woken hours later to find her braiding my beard and simply staring at me, a million miles away, lost in thought. When she’d realised I’d woken, she’d given me the softest, most breathtaking smile, and the past couple of days disappeared.

“Did you get the kid settled?” Rachel asked Dante, nudging him with her foot as he started to snore.

“Yeah, she’s good,” he replied, clearing his throat. “The mum took some convincing that she was safe. Said the bloke has some family who will wonder where they’ve all gone. I’ve placed Chris and Trent outside the house to keep her calm.”

“Which house did you place her in?” I asked.

“Monster’s old place. He’s pretty much moved into the shop with Snow White now, so figured it was as good a place as any.”

“I hope to God you cleaned it first,” Rachel said.

“The fuck would I clean it for? I thought Nicole and Emma were doing their own cleaning business?”

I scoffed. “The Birds? Cleaning? Really? They couldn’t run a bath, never mind a cleaning company.”

“Didn’t you hire them?” Rachel said, frowning at me.

“No. You hired them. You said they could clean the clubhouse.”

“And you let them into your room…?”

“Well, that was my mistake because they sabotaged me!”