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“Really?” Flinging my arms around her shoulders, I pull Starla in for a hug. “I would love that! You’re sure you don’t mind sleeping on the air mattress that long?”
“It’s fine. You’re making it out to be a bigger deal than it is. I’ve slept on far worse, I can guarantee.” Starla smiles, her eyes twinkling warmly.
In the dim light of the evening, I’m struck by just how beautiful my friend is inside and out. Sometimes, I wonder how I got so lucky. Not only did Gabe find me when I was most in need, but he brought this kind, loving woman into my life, someone who’s effortlessly shown me what it means to fully live. To be happy with the simple things, like my sweet little house with Gabe that’s now finally complete.
15
Gabriel
The constant throbbingin my head and ribs slowly seems to fade to a dull pulse over the next several weeks. Once I’m allowed to remove the bandage covering the staples in my scalp after the first ten days, that improves slightly more. I’m more than grateful to Starla for sticking around to help out. And it’s nice to have Dallas at the house, recovering at the same time as me, making me feel slightly less useless as we struggle to do menial tasks together. If I weren’t so pissed about the attack, I might even be able to find the humor in how useless we seem to be with cracked ribs and our heads thoroughly rung like a bell.
I’ve never had to practice so much patience with my body before, starting out the first few days with barely being able to hobble down the hall without feeling lightheaded and like I need to sit down if I’m not going to fall on my face. But under Winter and Starla’s watchful eye, both Dally and I seem to be well on the path to recovery.
Maintaining the club proves a little bit more of a challenge. With a fresh crew that’s still trying to sort out the hierarchy and what being a member means, Dallas and I have to uphold a commanding appearance, which isn’t so easy when we’re both bandaged up and more covered in bruises than a couple of ripe bananas.
Then again, one strangely beneficial side to the whole thing, after my crash landing in the bar that day we were attacked, Rico and Knuckles had to rush me to the hospital so quickly that they didn’t have time to clean up the mess we left behind. So that was a bit of a crash course for the men into exactly what they might have to deal with someday, as they had to help dispose of the bodies. And I can tell we earned a modicum of respect for so vividly displaying the state we could leave a body in when the occasion called for it.
Still, the crew is new enough, I can only hope that my trust in them is well-placed. And their fear of repercussions will keep their mouths sealed about what they saw. Winter seems to be far less apt to keep the details of that day a mystery. She doesn’t press me for information right away, but by the end of the first two weeks I’m home, I can tell she’s not going to let it go. She’s hinted at the fact that she knows I’m keeping something from her, and in truth, I am. I’m grateful that Rico and the boys didn’t go blurting anything about the dead bodies while I was lying unconscious in the hospital bed.
And after the last time Winter found out I killed somebody, I’m not particularly jumping at the chance to reveal something like that to her again. But one night, after everyone else has turned in for the evening and I’m sitting propped up in bed, Winter enters from the bathroom with a troubled look on her face.
“What’s on your mind?” I ask as her eyes look into the middle distance, her fingers combing through her red locks as she makes her way toward the bed and me.
When her eyes meet mine, I can see a hint of hurt mingling with the concern in their green depths. “I haven’t wanted to bring it up while you’re still recovering…” she starts hesitantly.
“If it’s troubling you, it’s troubling me,” I reason, pulling her close to my side as she slips beneath the covers.
She’s careful with my ribs as she snuggles next to me, her body curving to match my own as her cheek rests lightly on my shoulder. Looking up into my eyes for a long moment, she studies me.
“I need you to tell me the truth,” she insists adamantly.
Shit.I don’t know where she’s going with this, but a start like that can’t be good. Not that I make a practice of lying to Winter, but we do have a history of me withholding the truth on occasion. I nod, my throat too tight to allow me to say anything.
“I know you and the boys are hiding something from me about what happened that day,” she says, her hand lightly grazing my still-tender left temple. “You mentioned something about cleaning up a mess,” she hints pointedly.
Sometimes this girl is too perceptive for her own good. Or maybe just mine. My chest constricts as nerves get the best of me.Will she reject me like she did the last time she saw me kill someone? Will she take our baby and run?In my state, I’m not sure I could catch her if I tried to follow.
“Gabe,” she whispers, her fingers lightly tracing over my split lip. “You can tell me,” she insists.
Closing my eyes, I swallow hard. “What if what I say makes you want to leave?” I ask, my heart lodged in my throat.
“Nothing you could say would make me want to leave,” she murmurs.
“You can’t know that,” I growl, the words coming out harsher than I had intended.
Winter sits up in bed to face me more directly, and immediately, I miss her warm presence at my side. “You know, for nearly forty-eight hours there, while you were lying unconscious in a hospital bed, I wasn’t sure whether you would live or die.”
Tears glisten in her eyes, making my stomach twist painfully. And when one slowly tracks down her cheek, I reach out to gently wipe it away with my thumb as I cup her jaw.
Winter leans into my palm before she continues speaking. “And all I could think as I sat by your bed was that I couldn’t do this without you.”
“Do what?” I ask.
“Life.” Her green eyes blaze fiercely as she meets mine. “I don’t want to live without you, Gabe. Not for a single day. So, whatever you have to say, whatever ‘mess’ the boys had to clean up, I don’t care. I just want you to be honest with me. We’re in this together.”
My heart feels as though it might burst with the powerful wave of emotion that washes through me. Combing my fingers into her fiery locks, I pull Winter passionately against me, crushing her full, soft lips to mine. The split in my lip protests, but I don’t care. I feel a desperate need to kiss her.
When I finally release her, we’re both gasping for air. My head starts to swim as I realize oxygen deprivation is probably not the best plan for me. Closing my eyes, I take several steadying breaths. And when I open them again, Winter’s watching me carefully.
