6. Goodbye Gabriel #3
With tears shimmering in her eyes, Simone walked around the table, and kissed Gabriel on his cheek. “Let it be known, I just changed sides. I’m with G now. Thank you. That was so thoughtful.”
“I’m not leaving,” Gabriel said.
The entire table started groaning and laughing.
“He giveth and he taketh away,” Teddy said.
“Gabriel Alessandro Santini,” Elsa snapped.
“I’m just messin’ with you guys,” Gabriel said as he slid a forkful of fish into his mouth. “Cooked to perfection.”
“Thank you,” Slash said.
Gabriel had spoken the truth. He wasn’t going anywhere. Santini Euro, his wineries, and Santini Spirits would probably operate better without him. He ran them tight, Cosa Nostra the same.
In a few weeks, I’ll fly home, check on things.
While he was disappointed his brothers didn’t step up to help him take out the Russian mob, he was confident he and Angelo would get the job done.
The small talk revolved around Luciano returning to Santini International, headquartered in DC’s clothing district, then it moved to the baby.
“Did you have a gender reveal party while you were gone?” Slash asked.
“We know the sex, but we’re keeping it a secret,” Luciano replied.
The conversation was neutral because the Agitator stayed silent. After dinner, they enjoyed espressos or decaf—and for Simone an herbal tea.
When the family started cleaning up, Slash made an announcement. “G, I called you a ride. The driver will swing by your place so you can grab whatever you need.” A smile ghosted across her pretty face. “Lemme walk you out.”
Everyone stood to say their goodbyes. One by one, he hugged them.
“I’ll miss you bro,” he said to Teddy.
“You too,” he said to his cousin, Carrera.
He slapped Greystone on the back. “Have fun flying your jet.”
“We’ll sync up during our weekly video meetings, fratello,” he told Luciano.
“I’ll fly home when the baby’s born,” he said to Simone.
“Ti amo, nonna,” he said to Elsa. I love you, grandmother.
“I love you more, G,” Elsa replied. “My heart aches when you leave.”
He kissed her cheek, hugged her again before he shot his family a smile and fell in line beside Slash.
She stopped at the hall closet, threw on a jacket while he shrugged into his cashmere coat. Parked in the driveway was a black four-door sedan, the windows tinted so dark he couldn’t see inside.
“The family will come around,” Slash said.
“Things’ll calm down when I’m gone,” he replied.
“I love the mayhem too,” she said. “But we’ve got so many cases at ALPHA, I’m getting five hours sleep a night, max.”
The back window of the Mercedes-Benz S Class rolled down. Sinclair Develin shot them a smile. “Get in.”
After hugging Gabriel, Slash said, “If you need my help, I got you.” She pulled a knife from its sheath strapped to her ankle. “I got the weapon, love using it.” After securing it, she stood. “Make me right and get it done.”
He kissed her cheeks. “Love you.”
“Love you back.” She tossed him a nod. “By the way, I ran this by Sydney and she agrees with me, one hundred percent.”
He wasn’t surprised. He and Sydney had had each other’s backs for years.
Sin slid over, Gabriel ducked into the four-door luxury vehicle.
“Going through a rough patch at work?” Gabriel asked as Sin’s driver backed out the long driveway.
Sin’s eyebrows jutted up.
“I never figured you’d be doing rideshares for extra cash,” Gabriel said.
Sin laughed. “I’m bailing your ass out.”
“I could say, ‘I don’t need my ass bailed out—”’
“Or you could say ‘thank you.’”
“That depends on where we’re going.”
“Touché,” Sin said.
As the Mercedes drove out of the neighborhood, Sin said, “I had Teddy show me the video from the ambush. I recognized one of the men, a guy named Babin. He came looking for work at my children’s shelter.”
“Jesus.”
“His background check was non-existent because he’s from—”
“Russia.”
Sin nodded. “I did some digging. Babin’s a convicted Russian pedophile, an inmate from Black Dolphin Prison who escaped during transfer, went into deep hiding, emerged here.”
Sin explained that Babin moved around, never staying anywhere more than two weeks.
“I’ll call him for an off-the-books job, tell him the meeting will be off-site.” Sin’s phone rang. He glanced down. “It’s the boss.”
Sin answered, “Hey, babe.” He listened. “See you soon.” He hung up, regarded Gabriel. “There’s an abandoned warehouse in Springfield. We’ll have the meeting there.”
“We?”
“Your brothers think you left. I haven’t been on a job in a while, and I love taking out the bottom feeders.”
Gabriel extended his hand. “Thank you.”
Instead of driving him home, the sedan pulled into a parking lot. Gabriel glanced out the window at the familiar neon sign on the windowless building.
Lost Souls
“My wife’s meeting with someone here,” Sin said. “I was planning on having a drink with you, but a client is waiting for me at Develin & Associates. He’s got a problem bigger than all his previous ones.” Sin shook his head. “Some people cannot stay out of trouble.”
Gabriel chuffed out a laugh. “I’m one of ‘em.”
“A public figure with a lot of power, but the man’s a train wreck. He can’t keep his dick in his pants with other women, and his wife has had it. This time, I can’t fix his problem because of who he screwed, and he needs to hear it from me.”
“When’s Babin?” Gabriel asked, bringing Sin back on point.
Sin checked his phone. “Friday night. You got New Year’s Eve plans?”
“I didn’t realize Friday was New Year’s Eve.”
“We’ll eliminate Babin, then head to a party.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Only you, Sin. Only you.”
“What can I say? I hunt down evil, then I relax with a Santini Whisky.”
Tap-tap-tap.
Evangeline.
Sin opened the back door, exited the vehicle. He kissed his wife before she slid into the car.
“Gabriel!” she said as she scooted over so Sin could get in. “How’re you doing?”
His leg hurt, but he was getting used to the constant pain.
“All good,” He kissed each of her cheeks. “You look beautiful.”
She smiled. “You’re gonna have some wild fun tonight. Hawk’s working and the place is packed.”
“I’m going in?” Gabriel asked.
“Or we can drop you at home,” Evangeline said.
The thought of him ambling around the big house didn’t do it for him. He couldn’t return to the family dinner party either.
“Sure, why the hell not,” Gabriel said.
“I don’t want you waiting in that long line,” Sin said. “Too dangerous.” He made a call. “Hawk, can you bring G in?”
“Thanks for everything,” Gabriel said. “Let me know about Friday’s meeting.”
The two men shook hands before they exited the limo.
As they made their way toward the entrance, a guy yelled, “Hey, dudes, back o’ the line, like everyone else!”
The front door of the club opened, Nicholas Hawk walked outside. Hawk co-owned Lost Souls with his wife, Addison. He also owned Hawk Security. When needed, he piloted ALPHA’s helicopter for the top-secret group.
Sin shook Hawk’s hand. “Thanks for taking care of our fugitive.”
Hawk laughed. “Anytime.”
Sin returned to his vehicle and the car drove away.
“Hey, G, good to see you,” Hawk said. “I heard you got gunned down. How’re you doing?”
“Good as new,” Gabriel replied despite the continued ache in his leg.
“Greystone said you’re heading back to Italy. I’ll miss you, brother. You turn this club on its ass every time you’re here.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Gabriel said.
“I didn’t think so,” Hawk replied before bringing Gabriel inside.
The warmth surrounded him, the rave music pulsed through him. The men made their way through the crowded club of costumed members to the bar.
After turning off the music, Hawk jumped onto the bar and whistled loudly. “When a brother comes in, we give him a special welcome! Ladies, Eli’s in the house. Who’s ready to get wild?”
A chorus of “yeses” filled the space.
“He’s mine tonight,” called out a woman dressed as a baby doll.
This is crazy.
Still on the bar, Hawk called out, “Let’s play Eli’s song, ‘Eli’s Coming’ by Three Dog Night.”
A chorus of cheers filled the room as the classic rock tune started playing through the club.
Months ago, Gabriel had slapped down the hefty membership fee, then became a regular at the popular Alexandria cosplay club.
After coming up with the name Eli—to keep his identity on the down-lo—Hawk had turned it into a “thing” every time he showed up.
He’d announce him, then play the song. In a few short months, Hawk had turned him into an in-demand celebrity at the private nightclub.
The lyrics warned women to hide their hearts from the heartache that is the whirlwind of Eli. As the song filled every corner of the room, the regulars started singing along. Someone offered him a beer, someone else slapped him on the back.
There, he was treated like a rock star, but no one knew his true identity.
Hawk started pouring beers and passing them out. A woman tugged Gabriel onto the dance floor, and a swarm of dancers gobbled him up. When the song ended, everyone applauded. Three women asked if they could buy him a drink. Rather than accept, he escaped to the bar, slid onto a stool.
Hawk dropped a napkin in front of him, set down a glass of Santini Whisky as a full-bodied woman squeezed in next to him, shot him a smile. Her short, blonde hair was tucked behind her ears, her boobs—on exhibit in a bright pink push-up bra—demanded his attention.
“Hey,” she murmured, her raspy voice catching his attention. “How’s it goin’?”
“It’s going,” Gabriel replied.
“If you wanna get rocked all night long, let mama take you for a wild ride,” said the busty stranger.
A woman slid onto the barstool on the other side of the busty blonde. When she leaned in to speak with the bartender, Gabriel got a look at her.
Adrenaline charged through him.
Last night’s hookup—dressed in a full-blown pirate costume—had joined the party.
Hello, No Name.
Tonight just got hella more interesting.