Gabe

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “A very vigorous workout in which you’re working those leg muscles as you ride my cock.”

  Her hand that was resting against my chest slowly slid down my stomach until it was resting at the waistband of my jeans. I could feel my cock twitching, but I reined it in. We were both exhausted and needed some sleep. “Hmm. I don’t think Jillian Michaels has ever made a video of that routine.”

  “We’ll have to make our own, you know, to use in the future.”

  “Of course. We wouldn’t want to forget the correct way to do the exercise.”

  “Tomorrow,” I said as her hand cupped my dick. I pulled her hand away and up to my mouth, placing a kiss on the palm of her hand. I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re crazy, you know that? I was expecting you to be all scared and having breakdowns left and right.”

  “As I recall, I did start sobbing when we got back to my car, and I was scared when they were chasing me.”

  “Yet, you’re still joking around.”

  “Well, to be honest, that wasn’t my scariest experience.”

  “No?”

  She shook her head seriously. “No. In fact, there were two instances that were scarier and they happened right here in this town. Maybe that’s a sign.”

  “What else happened?” I asked in confusion.

  “Spiders.”

  I snorted. “You’re joking, right? Please tell me that spiders aren’t scarier than what just happened to you.”

  “Oh, I’m dead serious. Spiders are my greatest fear. In fact, when I die, I’m going to be cremated just so I won’t be residing in the dirt with nasty little critters for the rest of my non-life.”

  “Let’s not start talking about your death just yet.”

  “Too soon?” she grinned.

  “Way too fucking soon. Go take a shower.”

  “Aren’t you going to join me?”

  “Not tonight. We need to get some sleep. We’re going to have a lot to do tomorrow.”

  “You’re no fun. I thought you were a rule breaker.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You know, all your sexual exploits.”

  I nodded in understanding. “So, you think I’m a rebel because I like to watch people have sex?” An adorable blush brushed her cheeks. This woman was going to be the death of me. “I’m not really a rebel, but I’ll let you think that if it makes you feel better.”

  My hand slid across her cheek, brushing the hair off her shoulder. The weight in my chest was heavy after everything that happened to day.

  “I’m so in love with you and after what happened today, I just want to make sure you’re safe. I don’t ever want to feel that kind of terror again. I can handle people shooting at me and I can handle protecting other people, but I can’t handle losing you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

  “Good. Now go get your butt in the shower. I want to hold you.”

  She headed for the shower and I sat down on the edge of the bed, dropping my head into my hands. The truth was, I couldn’t take a shower with her because I needed a few minutes to myself. Hearing her on the phone and knowing there was nothing I could do to save her was something that I still had to come to terms with. I knew that I had done everything I could for her, but it didn’t stop my brain from telling me I had let her down.

  Things could have been so much worse. The damage to her vehicle almost made me want to puke when I saw it. I thought she was dead inside, but when I saw the open driver’s side door, I thought she had been taken. If it hadn’t been for Cazzo, I would have fallen to my knees and fallen apart. He told me not to give up. He reminded me that things aren’t always what they seem. Burg had found the footprints leading away from the car, but in the dark, they were impossible to track. I hoped and prayed that she had gotten away and when I heard her voice calling to me, I ran as hard as I could to get to her.

  The door opened and Isa walked out in a t-shirt and shorts. I pulled her into my arms and laid down with her. I held her tight and listened to her breathing as it slowed and she fell asleep. This was real. She hadn’t died. She was here in my arms and that’s how it was going to stay.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  I walked into Reed Security the next morning with Isa. She was going to sit down with a sketch artist this morning, but I wasn’t very hopeful that would lead us to the intruders. It had been weeks since Isa had seen the man outside the house and details faded the further away the timeline got.

  “Isabella, how are you today?” Sean Donnelly asked. He had been nice enough to have all interviews at Reed Security for the time being. It’s not that I didn’t trust the police department, but I had more faith in the guys here. I had worked with them and could rely on them to watch out for my woman.

  “I’m okay. My face has seen better days,” she grinned. Her face was swollen from the impact of the airbag, but she swore that it didn’t really hurt.

  “We’re all just happy that you were able to get away until someone could find you.” Sean turned to me and shook my hand. “Gabe, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take Isa with me to the conference room and start the interview. After that, she can work with the sketch artist.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?” I asked Isa.

  “No, I’ll be fine.”

  I searched her eyes for any sign that she wasn’t actually okay, but I didn’t see it. She really did look like she was fine. I shook my head slightly, baffled by this woman. She was fine after being chased down my maniacs, but I would bet anything that if I threw a spider on her, she would have nightmares for weeks.

  We parted ways and I headed for Cap’s office. “Anything new?”

  “Not a whole lot,” Cap sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “We’ve been looking all night, but we don’t have much to go on. There is one thing that’s pretty interesting.”

  Cap shuffled through some paperwork and pulled out what appeared to be paperwork on the house. I took it in my hands and looked it over. “I don’t know what I’m looking at here.”

  “Becky cross-referenced all information on owners of the house. She came up with one name that pinged on another case.”

  “Harold Brown,” I said, reading the name that was highlighted. “Okay, he used to own the property a long time ago and then he moved into a house in town. What’s the connection?”

  “Do you recognize the address?”

  My brows furrowed as I tried to think of where this house was located. Then it dawned on me. “No shit. He owned the house that Lindsey bought.”

  “Yeah, we’ve called Ice and asked him to bring Lindsey in this morning. I don’t think she’ll be able to tell us anything, but it doesn’t hurt to talk to her.”

  “This can’t be a coincidence,” I said. “What are the chances that there’s a break-in at two properties that the same man owned at one time or another?”

  “It would be pretty unbelievable, but it still doesn’t tell us who those men were and what they were looking for. Becky’s still digging, but it’s not like there are electronic records for just anything from back then.”

  I paced the room, trying to think of what the men would be after. It could be as simple as a family heirloom. There would be no way to know if something had been passed down through the family if we couldn’t talk with a relative.

  “Are there any family members we can talk to? Maybe there was something that was passed down that someone would be looking for.”

  “As far as we can tell, there are only distant relatives. It would be a long shot if they knew anything.”

  “Still, I’d like to talk with them. Distant relatives might know if there was something priceless that was passed down through generations. Maybe it wouldn’t pan out, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “I’ll make contact. If we can get them on the phone, maybe they’ll give us an interview.”

  “Thanks.”

  Loud voices from the lobby drew our attention. I walked out of Cap’s office and saw Matteo standing a
t the front desk, arguing with the receptionist. Jackson was staring at him with annoyance. He must have been the one that had to bring him upstairs. When he saw me, he started calling me over.

  “Matteo, calm the fuck down. You don’t need to be yelling at the woman.”

  “Where’s Isa? I just heard about what happened last night. I couldn’t get ahold of her and I figured she was with you.”

  “She’s being interviewed right now by the police.”

  “I need to see her. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

  Something burned in my chest. It was a mixture of rage and jealousy. Deep down, I knew Isa loved me and didn’t want Matteo, but I hated that he even had a reason to check up on her. “She fine. I made sure of that.”

  “If you had taken care of her, she wouldn’t have even been in that accident. I thought you were some specialized protector or something.”

  “Don’t you dare insinuate that I can’t protect her.” My voice was low and deadly. There was no way in hell I was going to stand here and take shit from this fucker. The same man that cheated on his wife and threw away his marriage and the best woman I’ve ever known. “This was the first time anything had even happened. Not even Isa knew there was a problem.”

  “I’d like to talk to her myself.”

  “No.”

  “No? She shares kids with me. You can’t keep me from finding out how their mother is after she’s been in an accident.”

  A hand landed on my shoulder, firm and unyielding. I glanced to the side to see Chance standing beside me. “Let this one go,” he said quietly. “You’re not going to win this and if Isa found out, you know she’d be pissed.”

  “Hey, man.” Chance turned to Matteo. “I’m Chance. Isa’s being interviewed, but if you want to wait over there, we’ll let her know that you’re here when she’s done.”

  “Thank you.” He glared at me before turning away and walking over to the waiting area.

  Chance pulled me down the hall to an empty office and shut the door. “What the fuck are you thinking? Now’s not the time to start a pissing contest over Isa. Matteo already knows that she belongs with you. If you start a fight with him when all he wants to do is make sure Isa’s okay, she’s going to think you’re being childish. Which you are.”

  “Fuck, I’m not trying to mark her as mine or-”

  “Yes, you are. You’re pissed that he showed up. Isa’s yours and you don’t want to share her, but if you want Isa, you get the whole package and that includes him from time to time.”

  “He accused me of not protecting her.”

  “That’s because he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about. Are you that insecure in your relationship with her that you would think he actually has a chance to win her back? He’s taking a shot at you because you got her when he couldn’t hold onto her.”

  He was right and I knew it, but I didn’t want to admit that. I had to let him have this one and talk to Isa. If I tried to send him away, Isa would be pissed.

  I nodded to Chance and opened the door. Isa had just finished up her interview with the police when Matteo saw her and ran over. He grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug. It was obvious that he still loved her, and the way she held onto him said that she still felt something too. Chance’s firm grip on my shoulder was the only thing grounding me at the moment. I couldn’t stand to watch this, but I couldn’t pull away either. I needed to know for sure that there was nothing to be worried about. When she walked away with Matteo and sat down, holding his hand, the first threads of doubt started to creep in.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Isabella

  “HOW LONG ARE we staying here?” Vittoria asked as we hauled our luggage into Gabe’s house.

  “I don’t know, sweetie. I guess it depends on how long it takes to have the electric fixed.”

  Was that a good lie? It’s not like Vittoria knew anything about electricity, but there was no way I was telling her that we were staying here until my attempted murderers were caught.

  “We fay wif Gabe?”

  “Yep. This is Gabe’s house and we’re going to stay here for a while.”

  “You fay wif Gabe?” I nodded. “And Tori fay wif Gabe?”

  “Yeah, buddy. We’re all staying with Gabe.”

  “And I fay wif Gabe?”

  I nodded again. A conversation with this kid was never quick.

  “We all fay wif Gabe?”

  I laughed slightly and nodded again.

  “But Daddy no here.”

  “Nope, Daddy is at his apartment.”

  “Daddy no fay here.”

  “That’s right. How about we go put your stuff away?” I said, trying to redirect the conversation before he started listing other people that weren’t here. We entered the room that Gabe told me would be for the kids and set down the luggage. Gabe was outside unloading all the stuff and we were hauling it in. Well, we were supposed to be, but with Enzo chattering away, Gabe would most likely have it all in here before we got back to the front door.

  “How do you like your room, bud?” As I predicted, Gabe came walking into the room, loaded down with luggage for Enzo and Vittoria.

  “I think I packed too much stuff.”

  Gabe walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his body. “Not at all. I like you and the kids in my house. I may never let you go back home.”

  “That’s just silly, Gabe. We’ve only been together a few months.”

  “Do you remember what I told you when we first started dating?”

  “Yeah, but…” I stared up into his eyes. He looked serious and maybe a little unsure that I really understood him. “You were really serious?” He nodded. “I mean, I guess I knew you were, but…”

  “But what?”

  “I guess I kind of assumed that you would rethink things after we had been together for a while. I mean, being a bachelor is a lot different from having an insta-family.”

  “I meant it then and I mean it now. I’m telling you, I fell in love with your family almost instantly. I’m not one to shy away from something I want. If I hadn’t felt that connection with you, I would have never gone back to your house after seeing you at the grocery store. I would have told you that we had a good time, but that was all it would ever be. I don’t beat around the bush.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say to that. To me, it just seemed like it was too soon. My divorce would be official in just a few weeks, but that didn’t mean that I wanted to jump right into living with someone else.

  “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.” I hated that his face fell just a little when I told him that. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I also wanted to be sure that I was ready emotionally. “I just don’t want to do anything that could…I’m just getting a divorce,” I stuttered.

  He nodded slightly and took a step back. It felt wrong for him to not be wrapped around me. “It’s fine. I’m not trying to pressure you. With everything that happened yesterday, I just want you to stay. The thought of losing you…”

  “You’re not going to lose me, but I can’t move in here just because yesterday was scary. I have to be ready for that. It’s a big step in our relationship.”

  “I know. I won’t bring it up again.”

  He turned and walked out of the room before I could tell him that I did want him to ask me again someday. I hoped to God that I hadn’t just ruined things between us, but I couldn’t give him what he wanted yet.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  The kids were asleep and Gabe was on a call with his boss. There was really nothing for me to do here. I felt a little uneasy being in his house, mostly because he had such high hopes that I wouldn’t leave. I didn’t want to do anything now that might make him think I was changing my mind.

  I got ready for bed and went through my nightly routine. When I came out, I looked at Gabe’s bed and sighed. There was no way I would be able to sleep with his sheets such a mess. I couldn’t actually remember the last time that
he hadn’t stayed at my house. Pulling the comforter and top sheet off the bed, I tucked in the fitted sheet, making sure it was smooth with no wrinkles.

  “What are you doing?” Gabe asked as he walked into the room. “Wrinkle issues?”

  “Yeah, and the top sheet wasn’t tucked in, so I’m remaking the bed the right way.”

  “Is it wrong to have the top sheet hanging out?”

  “Yes, haven’t you ever done hospital corners?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t like it. It makes my feet feel restrained. That’s why I don’t tuck it in.”

  I straightened from the bed and look at him curiously. “But I always sleep like that at my house. You’ve never said anything.”

  “That’s because it’s your house. This is mine and I don’t like the sheet tucked in.” If I wasn’t mistaken, there was just a tiny hint of irritation in his voice. Maybe it was just the past two days or what had happened earlier, but I had the feeling I should tread lightly for now.

  “You’re right. I’ll leave it untucked.”

  I pulled the top sheet back on the bed as Gabe got undressed. It took all my willpower not to tuck in that damn sheet, but I didn’t. When the comforter was in place, I sank down into the bed, sighing from the immense comfort. When Gabe got in, he pulled me into his arms. Maybe I was overthinking things. Maybe Gabe wasn’t upset at all.

  I woke in the middle of the night, but I couldn’t figure out what was bothering me. I shifted around in bed and that’s when I felt it. Gabe had pulled the top sheet and it was all twisted at the foot of the bed. This was why it needed to be tucked in. Who slept this way?

  I got out of bed and very gently lifted the comforter so I didn’t wake him. I did my best to straighten out the sheet and then got back in. It wasn’t right. I could still feel the sheet not sitting just right on the bed. I tried to ignore it. I tossed and turned, but I couldn’t get comfortable. I was never going to get back to sleep now.

  I got up before the sun came up, grouchy and tired. I had laid in bed, trying not to fume about the fact that I couldn’t even sleep in bed the way I wanted to. I was single. I should be able to finally sleep in a bed without worrying about someone else’s comfort. But I wasn’t technically single. I was in a relationship and I loved Gabe, but this was the kind of thing that made me think I wasn’t ready for more. After being with Matteo for years and trying to please him, I wanted to be my own person and do things the way I wanted to. I wanted to rule over my own goddamn bed.