Page 82 of Daddy's Obsession


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The cabin boasts only one couch and a small cot in the corner. Maybe the owner is more of a local woodsman than a snobby elite. Either way, the couch is directly in front of the fireplace, so that’s where I choose to deposit Gabriel and immediately start on getting the fire going. Thankfully, there’s enough wood piled in another corner to keep it going for a few hours.

I locate a modest first aid kit in the small bathroom adjacent to the kitchen nook. I keep it together long enough to roll Gabriel onto his stomach, pour disinfectant on his wound, stitch him up, and bandage the wound.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “It’s probably going to scar. And ruin one of your tattoos.”

“Ne t’inquiète pas,” he mumbles back.

“What?”

“I said don’t worry about it.”

“Get some sleep, Gabriel.”

“Are you going to kill me in my sleep and run off with the USB?”

I click my tongue. “I thought about it, but no. Are you going to killmein my sleep and steal the USB?”

He shakes his head, watching the flickering flames of the low fire. “No, little bird. I could never do that to you.”

“But youcouldbetray me, right?”

“Raquel, I already told you—”

“Yeah, yeah. Go to sleep. We can fight about this in the morning.”

I scour the cabin for blankets, fumbling around in the dark. I manage to find some dry towels and thin throw blankets. Not exactly a comfy goose down duvet, but it’ll do. He’s already out like a light.

I carefully drape the stockpile of blankets and towels over Gabriel, checking on his pulse. It’s weak.Reallyweak.

Picking at my fingernails, I watch him sleep. My stomach rolls. I’m afraid of going to sleep tonight. My chest burns at the thought of waking up tomorrow morning to find him dead. I know we’re at odds right now, but…

He’s all Iwant.

The realization makes me ache.

I want him. Ineedhim.

I love him.

It’s all kinds of messed up, I know, but I feel how I feel. I quietly curse the powers that be for making this so complicated. Why couldn’t we have met under normal circumstances? Fallen in love like normal lovers do? Were we really doomed from the start?

I take off my clothes and wrap myself in a couple of thin blankets as I set both of our clothing and shoes on the hearth to dry. I sit down on a thin pillow on the floor next to the couch, resting my head next to his on the cushion. I listen intently for his low, shallow breathing. If he needs me, I’ll be right here to help. He protected me, after all. We protected each other. He kept me from falling into those lasers, and I helped him kick those guards’ asses. Right now, we exist in this weird little vacuum where we’re both enemies and allies. It’s confusing and so damn impossible.

For tonight, though, I’ll concentrate on keeping him alive. I’ll worry about everything else in the morning.

I let a hand fall to my belly, an excited sort of anxiousness sweeping through me. I’m not sure if I should tell him. Hell, I was the one who took the pregnancy test and walked away with hard proof and I’m still in disbelief.

Definitely too complicated. It’s Tomorrow Raquel’s problem.

* * *

He doesn’t die on me, but he looks like he’s been run over by a hoard of at least twenty pickup trucks. Gabriel looks around slowly, rubbing his bleary eyes. Meanwhile, I’m seated on the other side of the cabin, putting as much distance between us as conceivably possible. I’m seated on a chair with my knees tucked up to my chest, my arms wrapped around my legs.

In my hand, I turn the USB over and over between my fingers.

Gabriel looks at me, then to the little black device in my hand. He says nothing. We’re in uncharted waters now, both equally lost and adrift. The air is tense and thick, but somehow fragile all the same. We stare at each other for a very long time until I finally muster up the courage to speak.

“Were you really going to let my father die?”

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