Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Monica
I’m honestly bummed to be back in Mountain Springs.
I could feel the tension and stress beginning to weigh on me as we drove down the mountain from Gabriel’s cabin. The week in the mountains was idyllic. Peaceful. The escape that I needed. Heading back to the real world means I have to acknowledge all the chaos in my life. I have to be a grown-up and not ignore my problems. Fuck that noise. I want to go back to the mountains and unplug from everything except Gabriel. And Gabriel’s cock. And his tongue, too.
“You okay?” Gabriel asks as he turns onto his street. His hand has taken up residence on my thigh, and I swear it’s like his handprint is tattooed there now. I feel empty when he’s not touching me.
I sigh and take a moment before answering. “Yes and no.”
“How so?” he asks .
“I feel slightly torn. I want to get to the bottom of this, but I also just want to ignore it and act like my family doesn’t exist. They’ve acted like I haven’t existed for the last fifteen years, so what’s the difference?” I explain.
“It may not be them pulling the strings, querida . They may have no idea you’ve been targeted,” Gabriel tells me. He pulls into his garage and turns off the car before turning to me. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”
I look at him and say a quick prayer in my head that he’s right. His unwavering confidence needs to rub off on me because I’m nowhere near as steadfast in my expectations. Half my life was enwrapped in mafia life, and I know how easily things can change. Piss off the wrong person, and you’re dead. Look at what happened to the man I was supposed to marry.
“I need to run to the office and grab some files. Do you want to come with me?” Gabriel asks after we’ve unloaded the car. I shake my head. I’m looking forward to a nice long shower and curling up with a book. Gabriel gives me a quick but steamy kiss, promises to bring home my favorite Mexican for dinner, and heads out the door.
I take a look around the first floor of the condo and can’t help but notice how the space has changed in just a few short weeks. What once was a barren and white space with no personality has morphed into a hybrid Monica and Gabriel home. It showcases my personality and taste with Gabriel’s clean lines and masculine furniture. It’s the perfect epitome of our relationship. Seeing our personalities mixed together makes me happier than I’ve ever been.
I immediately hightail it upstairs to the master bathroom. Gabriel’s shower is my happy place. Probably partially due to all the sex we’ve had in there, but also just because it’s an amazing space where I almost feel my worries and stresses being washed away.
After an incredibly long shower where I pruned significantly, a text from Gabriel tells me he’s been pulled into a couple of showings with a new realtor and won’t be home until after dinner. Grabbing a quick plate of cheese and crackers, I sit down at my laptop and open Instagram. Chase got me following several Indie authors who self-published books through Amazon. I’m suddenly wondering if I could do it. Could I write and self-publish a book? How hard could it be? I go down the rabbit hole of information, researching different writing programs, editing apps, and how to publish. I’ve always wondered if I could write a suspenseful thriller with a happily ever after. I’m not sure I could write the smutty things Chase reads, but I think writing could be a great outlet.
By the time Gabriel comes home, I have an outline mapped out for a twenty-something woman who finds out she was given up for adoption at birth by a mafia princess. She gets pulled back into the family once her biological mom is murdered. While not anywhere close to my story, there are enough coincidences. Hell, Mark Twain was famous for uttering the phrase ‘write what you know.’ I’m definitely not branching too far out of my wheelhouse for a debut book.
“Sorry I’m late, querida , but I brought queso,” Gabriel calls as he walks into the house.
“Then you’re immediately forgiven,” I shout back as I close my laptop and put it on the table beside me. I’ll tell Gabriel all about this at some point. But not today. I want to write a little and see if I feel comfortable sharing this new venture with him.
I’m not embarrassed to write; I know Gabriel will support me wholeheartedly. I just want to stew on this new idea for a bit. Make sure it’s something I really want to do.
As we sit down to eat, I feel the tension emanating in waves off Gabriel.
“Are you okay?” I say, my mouth full of chips and queso. I’m sure I look incredibly attractive, but I haven’t eaten most of the day. I got so focused on researching how to self-publish that I forgot to eat.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay,” Gabriel answers, but he’s not meeting my eyes. In fact, his entire body is turned away from me. Instead, his focus appears to be on the floor beneath my feet.
“I don’t appreciate being lied to, Gabriel. You’re clearly not okay.”
He looks at me and sighs. “Fine. I talked to Liam this afternoon.”
I can feel my blood pressure rising. I subconsciously begin tapping my fingers together, which I’ve noticed is a weird tic I’ve recently started to display. “What did Liam say?”
Gabriel reaches over and gently places his hand over mine, effectively stopping the nervous tic. “He said Nicolas wasn’t fully working for the Bianchi family. He was working with another family.”
“What family?” I ask. “Can I talk to Nicolas? Maybe he’ll be more honest with me?”
“I’m sorry, querida . You can’t. Someone shot him. He’s dead.”
I stare at Gabriel in disbelief. “What?”
“His body was found in Fountain Creek near downtown.”
“And he was obviously murdered?” I ask.
“Yeah, querida . It was obviously a murder. Someone is sending a message.”
I’m quiet for a few minutes as my mind whirls with possibilities. Who wanted to send a message? A message to Nicolas, or a message for me? Was his own family behind this or the one he’s working with?
“Baby, breathe. I need you to breathe. Look at me, anjinho . Deep breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth,” Gabriel says. Jesus. I can barely see him; he’s so blurry right now. Why is he blurry? Fuck, his voice sounds like we’re in a tunnel. What the fuck is happening? “Breathe in and out. I’ve got you. You’re safe, Monica. I promise you’re safe, querida . Focus on my voice.”
I close my eyes and feel hot tears cascade down my cheeks as I focus on his voice and my own heartbeat, which is suspiciously loud. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gabriel could hear it too. After a few more moments of deep breaths, I finally feel a little more composed.
“What was that?” I whisper, my voice shaking with emotion.
“I think it was a panic attack, querida . It’s okay. You were bound to have one at one point or another. I’m just glad I was here to help you,” Gabriel answers quietly.
I look at him to see pain and compassion written across his face. He looks composed, but the tense jaw and bulging vein in his neck tells me otherwise. As he reaches behind his head to clasp his neck, I notice his fingers tremble ever so slightly.
“What family was he working with?” I ask. I feel like I already know. For some reason, knowing Marcus is dead, I know exactly which family is responsible.
“The Angelino family.”
“I fucking knew it,” I seethe.
“How do you know the family?”
“The guy I was promised to marry was a captain in that family. Joseph Angelino. He’s the guy my dad shot point blank right in front of me.”
“Holy shit.”
“How did Marcus get roped into this? Shit. I mean Nicolas.”
“Evidently, he was pissed that his family wasn’t promoting him, so he branched out alone. Became friends with one of the Angelino kids, and a plan was formed to find you and bring you back to Dallas. They wanted you to suffer for Joseph’s death, and Nicolas would get a captain position within the Angelino family.”
“I don’t understand, though. We hooked up for months.” I don’t miss Gabriel wincing at the mention of my previous sex life. Oh well. I highly doubt he’s been an angel this whole time, so he has no right to judge. A girl has needs.
“What’s your question exactly?”
“If his job was to bring me back to Dallas, why didn’t he do it earlier?”
“Our only guess is that he actually fell for you and really struggled with how to get the position he wanted and keep the girl.”
“Seriously? What the fuck?” I shout. I jump from the table and begin pacing through Gabriel’s kitchen. “This is so fucked up. He screwed with me for months, Gabriel. Months! Then the aggression and lying started. What about when you caught him out with that other girl? What was his intention with her?”
“Not sure, querida . All I know is what Liam has found out so far. I’m sure more will come to light soon.”
“I just can’t believe this. I knew he wasn’t that smart, but to start working with another mafia family? Jesus, Gabriel. He was a dead man walking well before he came after me.”
“I know,” Gabriel replies quietly. He doesn’t try to stop my pacing or pacify me in any way. He lets me work through this as I need.
“What the hell am I supposed to do in the meantime? A mafia family is out for blood, for my blood, for something I was completely not responsible for when I was seventeen. I can’t even contact my own damn family to ask for protection. What am I supposed to do?” I shout. I collapse against Gabriel, and he pulls me into his tight embrace.
“We’re working on that, querida . Matt and Liam are figuring out a plan. ”
“Gabriel, I’m scared. I’m finally happy. I feel like I have a purpose, I finally have a love worth celebrating, and now I’ve got a psycho mafia family after me? This is bullshit!” I cry against his chest.
“I know, baby. I know. I swear on my life I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe, querida. Você é minha alma gêmea. Você é o mundo para mim .” You are my soulmate. You are my world. I raise my head to stare up at Gabriel, and the intensity in his eyes steals my breath. “ Eu te amo com tudo que eu tenho .” I love you with everything I have. Holy shit, this man.
“I love you too, tesoro .”
He bends down to kiss me softly. “Let’s finish dinner, then we can watch a movie and relax in bed.”
I look at him warily. “Are we watching a movie in bed, or is a movie going to play in the background while you do other things to me?”
Gabriel chuckles. “Let me rephrase. Let’s finish dinner, then we can listen to a movie and relax in bed.”
“I support this plan.”
“Then get to eating, querida ,” Gabriel says as he slaps my ass.
I gasp as a warm surge of intense pleasure flows through my body. Spanking? Well then. That’s a new one. I look over my shoulder coyly as Gabriel gives me a wicked grin.
“You gonna spank me again if I don’t listen, Daddy?” I ask quietly while pouting my lips.
“Fucking hell, woman. You are so fucking perfect for me,” Gabriel murmurs as he adjusts his quickly hardening cock in his pants. “Hurry up and eat so I can eat you.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Jesus Christ.”
Oh, I’m sure I’ll be calling to him too this evening, if Gabriel has anything to say about it.