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When they were gone, they took a piece of me with them. I was never going to be whole again until they came back to me.
My eyes land on Gabe, who’s staring at me with a wild look in his eyes.Thatlook drives me wild. A cocky grin forms on his lips, and I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face.
He’s the man that showed me how to embrace my darkness. Not to dwell in it, but to be empowered by it. Never in a million years would I have thought I would’ve fallen for a man like Gabe. But every villain has a story and when he shared his with me, my heart had no choice but to fall.
Gabriel’s life has been consumed with pain and sorrow. If I can be the one to shed some light in the midst of the dark, then I’ll spend my life giving him that.
I’m lost in my thoughts when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out to find a text message from an unknown number.
Opening the text, I find a picture of my mother tied to a chair in what looks like a dirty, old warehouse.
I gasp in horror. My heart drops into my stomach as I throw my hand over my mouth, searching for air.
I toss my phone on the table as if it were on fire.
“What is it?” Royal says, reaching for the phone. He takes one look, curses, and tosses it down.
“He’ll never stop. I spent my whole life looking up to a monster. How was he able to hide it for so long?” Royal stands and starts pacing.
He turns to look at Gabriel as Dante picks up my phone then hands it to Lucky. They pass it around as Royal lays into Gabe.
“Why didn’t you kill him when you had the chance? He may be my blood, but for the life of me, I can’t understand why you’ve left him breathing this long,” he shouts.
Gabe pushes off the wall once again, and the smile that was on his face moments ago is now replaced with a deeply embedded frown. He doesn’t stop until he stands toe to toe with Royal.
Gabe shoves his finger into Royal’s chest and I shudder. “You want the truth, kid?” Royal nods.
“My plan was always to save him for last, but then your mom died. And believe it or not, that put a kink in my plan.” He pauses, gazing at Dante then back to Royal. “Your mom was my wife’s best friend. Yes, I wanted King to pay for what he did, but being responsible for making a kid an orphan wasn’t the plan. A kid that ran around my house when he was in diapers and played with my son. That didn’t sit right with me.” Gabriel throws his arms out wide. “I’m a monster, but I’m notthatkind of monster.”
Royal’s eyes go wide as he takes a step back. “You—you didn’t kill him because of me?” he asks, his voice laced with confusion.
“Yeah, biggest mistake of my life. Look where it got me!” Gabriel holds out his arms for Royal to see the scars lining them.
Royal grimaces, shaking his head as if he can’t believe it.
“It’s okay, Gabe. None of that matters. What matters now is finding my mom and putting King down once and for all,” I say.
King dies today.
For all that he’s put us through, I hope it’s slow and painful, and I won’t apologize for that.
My phone buzzes on the table as another text comes through. I hold my breath as I pick it up. There’s a message this time.
Unknown number: Meet me at 1269 Sycamore Drive. Thirty minutes. Come alone or she dies. Your life for hers.
Jax takes the phone out of my hand as I start to tremble. My life for my mom’s. If you would have given me that choice a few weeks ago, I would’ve taken it in a heartbeat, but things are different now. It’s not just my life on the line, it’s this baby’s life too.
“He wants to make a trade. Me for my mother,” I tell them, slinking back into my chair.
The room goes up in a roar as everyone starts shouting why that’ll never happen. They argue as I look around the room.
Maybe this is how it was always going to end. Trading one life for another.
“It’s a trap. He knows you won’t come alone,” Gabe shouts.
Walking into a trap set by King wouldn’t be my finest moment, but I can think of worse ways to go. Dying to save someone you love and care about is pretty heroic if you ask me.
I scan the room, taking in each one of them. No one wants to think of what life would be like without them, but I think the guys would be okay.
