Chapter 50
Gabriella
Life at the compound seemed to settle. Not because I was miraculously recovered—I certainly wasn’t.
In fact, I was now in daily discussions with Doctor Ashleigh, the club therapist. Nightmares about Nico and my mother had me waking numerous times a night.
Sometimes sobbing, sometimes screaming, and sometimes feeling such a profound sense of loss that my body almost went into shock.
Each and every time, Vienna gathered me into his arms and soothed me back into a calm space. I didn’t always go back to sleep, but he adjusted his schedule, staying up with me through the long nights, following my lead and letting me come to terms with things in my own way.
But for the most part, life continued. Just like Rachel had said it would. Because that’s what life did. There were no second chances or do-overs. Life was coming whether we were ready for it or not, and I didn’t want it to pass me by any longer than it already had.
I wasn’t the same girl that I had been when my dad was alive. I wasn’t the same woman I had been with Nico. Hell, I wasn’t even the same woman who arrived at the Devil’s compound, expecting to be rescued and ending up doing the rescuing in return.
I was something different. Something unique and wholly me. I wasn’t perfect—far from it—but I was learning how to manage the bad days and cherish the good ones.
The week passed by and I was barely even aware of the time.
Nico hadn’t been seen since the incident in the shop.
The Devils hadn’t given up looking, but every day he kept his distance the threat of him seemed to lessen.
Doctor Ashleigh told me that there would always be threats in this world—Nico, or other enemies—and encouraged me to take some self-defence classes.
Little did she know I was a pro already. My dad had encouraged me to do kickboxing when I was younger, and I was a double black belt before he died and Nico made me give it up. My skills were rusty, but it was nothing a quick practice with Dante and Vienna didn’t sort out.
I knew there were things Vienna was keeping from me.
I’d heard him whispering outside my door numerous times.
I’d seen him receive text messages and his face darken.
I knew if I was to ask, he would tell me.
But I figured he was staying silent for my own good so I trusted that if it was anything serious, he would let me know.
Besides, I already knew what Nico was capable of, so I could fill in the blanks for myself.
Vienna had admitted that Nico was more strategic than they were first aware.
He kept leaving breadcrumbs for them, only for the trail to go cold.
There were reported sightings, daily phone calls saying he had been spotted, and yet whenever someone from the club arrived, there was nothing to be found.
And all the signs pointed to Nico being a monster that was unravelling. We knew he would strike again, but life slowly returned to normal, and he no longer occupied our entire days.
We still received messages from him, and they were becoming more and more incoherent. But every time he left a message outside the compound just reinforced in my mind that I was safe here. That he could not penetrate the walls of this place.
And that helped make him less scary.
It helped me cope.
My days were spent at the garage, and Tools and I had found a balance that seemed to work for us—the balance being he gave me my work, car related work, and kept his mouth shut about anything else.
Vienna had watched over me for a few days, taking over the office and annoying Imogen and Gemma, who were balancing the books. But eventually, he went away too, happy that I was making progress.
If I wasn’t at the garage, I was making myself busy doing other things.
I joined Heather at the nursery again, and we took the kids on long walks around the compound.
Or I spent time with Steph, laughing my ass off as she harassed customers into buying way more than they came in for.
Or I was with Rachel, basically being her shadow as she reigned over the place in the way only she could.
And my nights were spent with Vienna.
He had long since given up the pretence of giving me space and had all but moved into my room with me.
We stayed up late drinking with his brothers in the bar.
We spent quiet evenings in my room, and we even tried baking together—only because for some bizarre reason Vienna had told Rachel that we were going to make Axel’s second birthday cake.
Rachel had doubted him, and it was now his personal mission to prove her wrong.
A mission he was failing, considering the only type of baking we had ever done together included papers and a lighter, but we had fun whilst we tried.
And even more fun cleaning each other up.
Life was good.
God, that felt weird to say.
There was a time when I’d been certain I’d never be able to say those words again.
Even now, cuddled up to a sleeping Vienna, my head on his chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, it all felt strange.
I sometimes wanted to pinch myself, to give myself a jolt of pain to remind myself that I was here. That this was real. That it was mine.
It was far from perfect, but I had managed to carve out my own little slice of happiness in a world that could be often ugly and cruel.
And that was something worth cherishing.