13. Paybacks are Hell #3
He made three calls, confirming two and canceling one. “Please keep the donation,” he said to the one he canceled.
When he hung up, she laid a searing kiss on him. “You’re treating me like a queen.”
“Every single day,” he replied. “Are you ready to have fun before I strip you bare and have my dirty way with you?”
“Well, if I’d known sex was on the table, I might’ve skipped the museums.” Then, she shot him a smile. “We can have it all.”
“Or we can get down to business right here, right now.”
Teddy walked in, closing the door behind him. “Dessert?”
They flicked their gazes from him to each other.
“I’ll have mine later,” she replied.
“Oh, you’re coming back?” Teddy asked.
“No, we’re not,” Gabriel said. “The salon is ten minutes from being filled with customers.”
“What are you talking about?” Teddy asked.
“I took over the room for two hours, that’s it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Theodore, if you’d looked at the reservation book, you would have seen that and not had a meltdown. Where’s my check?”
“It’s on the house.”
“No handouts.” Gabriel pulled out his credit card. “I got Angelo too.”
Teddy slid the card into the portable payment terminal. When settling up, Gabriel included a generous tip for his brother.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Teddy handed Gabriel his card. “Thanks.”
“Appreciate you, Theodore,” Gabriel said.
“This restaurant is special,” Halston said. “Thank you so much for dinner, both of you.”
With a smile, Teddy said, “Yeah, this is a special place. I love it here.”
“Teddy, stay with Barbi while I talk to Angelo about surveilling Donskoy,” Gabriel said.
Halston pushed off his lap. Gabriel stood, dropped a light kiss on her lips.
“Why don’t I drive Barbi around front?” Teddy suggested.
Gabriel tossed him the key fob to his truck, winked goodbye to Halston, and left. He made his way into the dining room, packed with customers. A few regulars recognized him from when he was GM, so he paused to say hello.
Angelo sat alone in the owner’s booth. Gabriel slid in. “Teddy said you had company.”
“A woman stopped by for a drink,” Angelo said.
“Did you get her number?”
“No. She said she was from outa town.”
Gabriel gave him Pavel Donskoy’s Arlington address before they pushed out of the booth.
“Thanks for dinner,” Angelo said. “You always pay. You know, I got money.”
“I know,” Gabriel said with a smile. “I pay you well.”
“Where are you headed?”
“I’m taking Barbi to a museum.”
“For real? I’ve known you my whole life, you don’t do museums.” He smiled. “Look at you doing more nice things for her.”
The men made their way through the packed restaurant, the conversations coming together in a symphony of voices. Outside, Teddy had parked at the curb, twenty feet from the entrance, Halston beside him in the passenger seat.
Angelo stopped on the sidewalk. “I’ll start at Donskoy’s, see if he’s there. You want me to do anything else?”
“I need to know if he lives alone.”
A masked person ran toward them from the parking lot. When he got within twenty feet, he raised his arm.
“Gun!” Gabriel shouted as he yanked his weapon from its holster.
Angelo shoved Gabriel to the ground.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Angelo staggered back before dropping. Gabriel took aim, but a car drove past, cutting him off from the shooter.
Teddy bolted from the truck, but the person had vanished into the parking lot. “I’m going after him!”
“No!” Gabriel rushed to Angelo and pulled him into his arms. “Jesus, Angelo, don’t you fucking leave me.”
Gasping for breath, Angelo peered up at him. “Where am I… hit?”
Gabriel saw the blood spreading from his chest. “You’re gonna be good. Stay with me. Breathe with me.” Gabriel applied pressure as Teddy and Halston raced over.
“Ambulance?” Halston asked.
“Do we need to take him to the Black Site?” Teddy blurted as customers in the parking lot rushed over.
“Please, Father, not this man,” Gabriel whispered. “Not Angelo.”
Gabriel heard frantic voices, but his entire focus was on his friend, dying in his arms. Angelo was hit twice in the chest at point-black range. “Sei la mia famiglia, mio fratello.” You’re my family, my brother.
Angelo’s lips moved, but no words. Gabriel hugged his friend as he took his last breath.
Then, stillness.
Emotion constricted Gabriel’s throat, his chest tightened, his heart shredded. The agony swirled through him, overtaking every fiber of his being. He was surrounded by urgent chatter, someone screamed, but he couldn’t focus on anything—anyone—but his friend—his fratello—lifeless in his arms.
“Riposa in pace, Angelo. Vai con Dio,” Gabriel whispered. Be at peace, Angelo. Go with God.
“G, I’m here.” Teddy’s voice cut through the night. “Gabriel, look at me.”
Gabriel looked toward the familiar sound in a sea of garbled conversations.
“He’s gone,” Gabriel murmured, peering back down at Angelo. The light, the energy, everything that made Angelo Angelo was no more. Replaced by the emptiness of his lifeless body.
Halston was directing people away. Tara, the restaurant floor manager, rushed outside.
“Keep everyone in,” Teddy hollered at her.
Tara’s gaze met Gabriel’s, then she saw him clutching Angelo. Fear flashed in her eyes before she retreated inside, pulling the front door closed behind her.
“That motherfucker’s in the parking lot.” Gabriel’s thoughts were a jumbled mess. “I gotta go after him.”
“No, G, the gunman took off,” Teddy said. “I’ll check surveillance.”
Halston knelt beside him, placed a soft hand on his. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“I can’t let him go.” As Gabriel closed Angelo’s eyes, he vowed revenge. “La troverò e la annienterò. Non mi vedrà arrivare, ma sentirà la mia ira.” I will find him and I will annihilate him. He won't see me coming, but he will feel my wrath.
“Ti aiuterò,” Halston whispered. I will help you.
Gabriel regarded her. “My world is too dangerous for you.”
“I don’t think he was trying to kill Angelo,” Halston whispered. “Those bullets were meant for you.”