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Walking into the kitchen, I open the refrigerator and spy the fruit salad my sister made and brought to me yesterday. Setting it on the counter I eye the fruit for a moment, knowing what I really want is ice cream. Giving into the temptation I place the fruit salad back in the refrigerator and grab the mint chocolate chip out of the freezer. With my ice cream and spoon in hand, I pass by the kitchen window and spot Austin sitting on the front porch.
Gabriel has designated Austin my bodyguard. The guys still haven’t found the person who was harassing me. Having Austin around so much feels a little like déjà vu. He was a constant in mine and Bella’s lives not too long ago. And here he is again, playing guard and chauffeur. I’m not allowed to go anywhere without him or one of the other guys with me.
Gabriel stayed home with me the first week I was back. He hates leaving me, but work calls. He has clients that he couldn’t put off for too long. Plus I kind of needed the break. I love the man, but he treats me as if I’m made of glass. The first couple of days he was fawning over me were great, but a girl can only take so much. I’ve also noticed the Gabriel I get is totally opposite to the Gabriel everyone else gets. With me he’s this sweet, loving, gentle giant. With everyone else he’s broody, asshole Gabriel.
It’s like Jekyll and Hyde.
All the guys are completely unfazed by his gruff attitude. Before when my sister first started seeing Logan and we were staying at the clubhouse so much, I never really paid much attention as to how Gabriel was with everyone. I was always so caught up in how sweet he was with me. That and I spent more time alone in my room instead of socializing. I’m an introvert. I’m most comfortable being alone or around the people I’m closest to.
In the past couple weeks, Gabriel has opened up to me about his past. I was shocked at how forth coming he’s been. He’s told me about growing up in Cuba. Being forced by his father to leave his country and his family. My heart broke for him when he told me about his father’s death. To be left parentless and homeless at the age of sixteen. I can’t begin to imagine the things he had to go through on a daily basis in order to survive. He held me that night as I cried for him and the awful events he’s endured. For the young boy who had lost so much. I blamed the pregnancy hormones for my emotional meltdown.
Gabriel’s sister Leyna has been a daily visitor as well. We have grown close in such a short time. I feel like I’ve known her my whole life. I tried convincing her to move in with her brother and I instead of staying at the clubhouse, but she refused. She said that Gabriel and I needed this time for ourselves. That due to Gabe’s stupidity we missed out on so much and now was our time. Leyna was the one who told me about Santino. She didn’t know her brother had not divulged that bit of information yet. Later that same day after Gabriel got home from work, I confronted him. I asked him why he hadn’t told me. His response was he didn’t want to upset me. After my breakdown about his childhood, he figured I’d heard enough. He said he was going to tell me eventually, just not now. He also said my getting upset was not good for the baby.
Grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around my body I step out onto the porch. Reid, who’s replacing Austin for the rest of the day, is sitting on the steps with his back against the rail smoking a cigarette. When he notices me, he quickly drops it to the ground snubbing it out with his boot. Even though we are outside and the smoke is nowhere near me, Gabriel forbids anyone to light up within fifty feet of me.
I roll my eyes, "You didn’t have to do that. Gabriel’s not here to bust your balls."
"Nah, it’s all good. Gonna respect my brother whether he’s here or not."
I nod in response. I get it.
"So, what’s on the agenda for today?" he asks.
"Well, I was thinking about taking Gabriel some lunch. Then maybe swinging by the garage to see my sister."
"Alright. You want me to drive?"
"No. I think I feel like driving myself today. Just give me thirty minutes. I need to send out a couple emails and whip up some lunch, then I’ll be ready," I tell him standing up from my chair.
"You got it, sweetheart. I’m going to shoot Gabriel a text letting him know we’ll be there soon."
Back inside I toss my forgotten ice cream back into the freezer, then make my way up the stairs to the bedroom to change. Pulling off my pajama pants I swap them for a pair of fleece leggings. They are warm and fit over my expanding belly. Bella bought me several pairs for Christmas.
Gabriel and I celebrated our first Christmas and New Year’s in our new house. It was empty. All we had was a king size mattress on the floor in front of the fireplace and a Christmas tree. Christmas Eve dinner was pizza. It was perfect. The next day everyone went to the clubhouse for dinner. I fell back in sync with Bella and Lisa, helping them cook. This Christmas was the best I had ever had.
And for our first Valentine’s, I wasn’t expecting anything, because…well this is Gabriel we’re talking about. I definitely didn’t see him as a hearts and flowers type of man and I was right, he’s not. Instead, he got me an abundance supply of Peanut Butter Cups and books. Books signed by some of my favorite authors. He confessed he had some help from Bella. It’s was the best gift I had ever received. My man sure knows how to woo me.
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After slipping on my boots and pulling on my coat, I head back downstairs and find Reid standing by the front door with his hands in his pockets waiting on me.
"You ready? I have your truck warmed up for ya."
Stopping at the end of the stairs, I eye him with a grin. I know it was Gabriel that told him to do that.
"Yeah, I’m ready." With my purse slung over my shoulder, I follow him out the door to my truck.
"I’ll be right behind you," he hollers over his shoulder on the way to his own car.
I keep my speed a little under the limit because I’ve only been driving for a year and half, the snow and ice still make me nervous. I’m five miles from King’s Ink when I am descending a steep hill. I go to apply my brakes and realize they are not working.
"What the hell!" I pump the brakes again only to have them press all the way to the floor board. Panic takes a hold of me and I feel my heart in my throat. "Oh god! What do I do!" I scream out to no one. Before I know it. my speed has reached fifty MPH. My hands are shaking so bad, I can hardly steer.
Looking in my rear-view mirror I don’t see Reid behind me. Glancing to my left I see his truck right beside me, with his window down. I can tell he’s screaming at me by the movement of his lips, but I can’t hear anything past the beating of my own heart.
With tears clouding my vision all I can think is that this is it. I’m going to crash. I’m going to die. My baby is going to die.
My thoughts are flooding my brain as my truck hits a patch of ice. I can no longer control the wheel. I feel my seat belt lock tight as my truck jerks violently to the right before it flips on its side, and I begin to roll. All I hear is the sound of screeching tires and crunching metal mixed with my screams right before my head collides with the window.
