Page 107 of Entangled

Gian stayed standing on the sidewalk long after the SUV had disappeared out of sight. It was only as he headed toward the underground garage to get his own vehicle that his cell phone started ringing. Dom, he thought, or maybe Stephan. There was always too much shit for him to do, and he never got time to rest anymore.

He picked up the call without even checking the ID.

“Ciao, bonjour.”

“It’s been a while, Gian.”

Every inch of Gian turned to ice at the sound of his father-in-law’s voice.

“Gabriel,” Gian greeted as he closed in on his car. “I’d like to say it’s nice to hear from you, but we both know that would be a fucking lie.”

“Yes, well, I hear you’ve been looking for me.”

Gian slid into his car, and started it up. “You heard correctly. I like to keep an eye on men who threaten me and my men, after all. You can’t blame me for that.”

“Of course, not. Have you found your rat yet?”

“That’s not your concern.”

“So, no,” his father-in-law said rather cheerily. “As I suspected. Still too busy putting your attention and time where it neither deserves to be, or needs to be. Such a shame, Gian. I thought giving you some space and time to think might have changed your mind—especially now that the whore has had the baby. Babies change things, I thought. They make a man … see things a bit differently. It’s not as fun with a whore when you’re not just fucking her, but changing nappies and listening to a child cry for hours on end. I thought the baby would send you back to where you should be.”

Gian’s brow furrowed. “Where I should be? What in the fuck does that mean?”

“With my daughter. Where else?”

Oh, fuck that.

Gian had no idea where Gabriel was getting this nonsense, but he wasn’t even going to indulge it. “My personal life is not up for discussion today.”

“It is always up for discussion when it’s a man like you, in your position.”

“Was this ever even about a rat in my family, Gabriel?” Gian wondered out loud.

The older man chuckled. “It was. These are things you need to learn, and fast, Gian. Tell me, did Cara like the gift I sent out last week?”

All over again, ice and fire spread through Gian’s veins, threatening to send him into a rage before he even knew what happened.

“How did you get those photos?” Gian asked.

“I have ways.”

“You just signed your death warrant, Gabriel.”

He figured the man deserved a warning, at least.

“Wrong,” his father-in-law murmured. “You’ve signed hers, and the child’s. As I warned you. I would have overlooked a lot of your personal business, until you began hurting what belonged to me.”

“What?”

“I let you have Elena. You should have taken better care with her; I won’t have her crying to me over something as stupid as you. Perhaps your man will make it out alive, though. The one driving them, I mean. I hope you said goodbye.”

The phone call hung up.

Gian couldn’t get his fucking car into drive fast enough. He hit the road already breaking the goddamn speed limit, but knowing he was probably too late.

Hospitals were both horrible and amazing places. Horrible, because just the smell alone brought memories of more deaths and nights spent in worry than Gian cared to remember. Amazing, because the smell also brought along memories of lives saved and time given.

The only thing keeping him sane as he sat in a hospital room, waiting?