“Just give him another hour to cool off and call him. I promise everything will be fine. Pretty Boy isn’t going anywhere. He patched you for fuck sakes. That’s like marriage to us you know, but more permanent.” Rock said after he made the fire and stood up.
“I know, but he could have changed his mind.” Gabi said, hoping like hell that wasn’t the case.
“Gabi, that’s not going to happen. Pretty Boy isn’t the type to get close to people, but when he does you might as well be resigned to it because shaking him off isn’t happening. He chomps down harder than a bulldog with his favorite toy. Trust me, he isn’t done with you, even if he said he was.” Rock’s look was serious as he moved away from the fireplace, standing near the couch watching her carefully as if he were waiting on her to start crying again.
Gabi wasn’t going to cry, not until she’d tried to apologize to Pretty Boy and he’d rejected her efforts. If he told her they were done then she could cry, but as she sat on the couch looking around the room she decided that she wasn’t going to let him walk away from them. They weren’t finished and this wouldn’t be where their story ended. If it was, then those assholes who’d kidnapped her all those months ago had won, and no way in hell was she allowing that.
It didn’t matter if he thought they were finished, she wasn’t allowing this fight to be the end of their relationship. Like Rock had said, he was still her old man and she was going to do everything in her power to keep him. She was done acting like a useless, damaged, human being. She had been acting like a spoiled child for the last year and a half, and Pretty Boy had let her. She didn’t know why, but he had. Hell, everyone had, but enough was enough. She was finally done feeling sorry for herself and she just prayed it wasn’t too late. She wasn’t broken, she was just a little bent, but then again, who wasn’t. Everyone had their crosses to bear and she was moving on. She was going to prove that what the Jackals had done to her didn’t matter.
She mattered, Pretty Boy mattered, but not them. Her thoughts filled her with a strength she hadn’t felt since before she’d been kidnapped. No more feeling sorry for herself. She was getting her man back. With that thought in mind she got up, thanking Rock, who looked a little leery as she walked up the stairs to get her phone. She was calling Pretty Boy and they were going to work this out, because she wasn’t accepting any other outcome.
Three days later she was still unable to get in touch with Kyle, and it was starting to piss her off that he wasn’t answering her calls. She’d tried to call him at least a dozen times and he never picked up or answered her numerous messages. Since the night when she’d cried in the front yard, she’d found her backbone and had realized that she’d been holding on to a lot of anger for the past few years. Anger about what had happened to her, and that anger had allowed her to start thinking of herself as a shattered person, a shadow of the woman she’d once been. It was all bullshit. She wasn’t shattered, and she’d already fought her way back from that edge she’d lived on the first few days after she’d been rescued. Allowing herself to act the way she’d allowed herself to act was over. She wasn’t a child, and she needed to own up to what had happened. Yeah it was horrible, and she’d never wish it on anyone, but it was over. It was over and she was stronger because of it.
She couldn’t imagine the innocent girl she’d been with a man like Pretty Boy. That girl wasn’t going to fit with him and she knew it. Who she’d been, wasn’t who she was anymore, but Kyle loved her just the way she was. Him not retuning her calls would have destroyed that girl, but she was made of sterner stuff now. She was Gabi, and she would get that shitty dickhead who called himself, her old man, to listen to her. Getting up from the couch, she went to go search for her phone to try calling him again. She went from the hallway to the kitchen where she last remembered having it and heard the doorbell ring. Gabi made a sharp left and opened the door to find Rock on her doorstep. Ever since he’d found her on the lawn he’d showed up randomly to check on her, which was kind of sweet, even if it was a little annoying.
“Hello, Rock. I’m not freaking out again so you can stop checking on me.” Gabi told him, rolling her eyes. He stood there watching her carefully for a long moment before he finally spoke.
“You hear from him yet?”
“No, Rock. He’s still ignoring my calls.” Gabi snapped as she turned from the doorway and headed towards the kitchen again, making him either leave or follow, she really didn’t care which. Finding her phone on the counter beside the fridge, she picked it up again and checked to see if Pretty Boy had decided to call her finally. She frowned at the blank screen, annoyed that he was still giving her the cold shoulder.
“I don’t like it. Ignoring you isn’t like Pretty Boy. Why don’t you try calling Log?” Rock asked.
“No, I told you yesterday I wasn’t involving Log in this. If Kyle wants to talk to me, he will call me. I am not going to beg over text.” Gabriella reached up shoving her hair back from her eyes while leaning back on the counter watching Rock. He frowned and narrowed his eyes at her assessingly. After a long moment, he finally spoke again.
“Don’t get mad, but I want to talk about that song—,” Rock began, making Gabi stand up straight watching him wearily.
“What are you talking about?” She demanded, but she had a sneaky suspicion that she already knew what he was talking about.
“The one you wrote about you and Pretty Boy—,” Rock started, his clear blue eyes watching her carefully. Interrupting him with her hands on her hips as she glared, Gabi felt her heart beating rapidly, feeling nervous about him knowing about her song.
“How do you know anything about that?”
“Me and a few of the guys listen to you sometimes. We were walking near the lake a while back and heard you singing. You have the voice of an angel, Gabi.” Rock said, making a blush stain her cheeks as she turned to stare at the wall, trying to get her emotions under control.
“I didn’t know anyone was listening.”
“We knew that, and we respected you by not letting on that we heard you, but Gabi, yesterday you finished that song. I know you don’t realize how amazing that is, but I do. When I first heard you signing it, part of the reason it was so good was because it was so hauntingly sad and filled with pain. It still has that, but what you added yesterday means something. You know that song is about Pretty Boy, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. She knew exactly what that song meant, and she knew that she’d finally stepped out of the darkness and into the light. She wasn’t hiding any longer.
“You need to sing that song for him. If he is thinking that he’s hurting you more than you can handle, he will try to stay away. With the way he feels about you, I know that has to be why he’s ignoring you. He thinks he’s doing what’s best for you, but that song will tell him everything he needs to know about how you feel. So when he gets back in a few days you need to sing it for him.” Rock was so passionate he was tossing his hands around his eyes intensely focused as he explained to her what he thought. Gabi couldn’t help the tiny, unsure smile that curved her lips.
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You’ve been singing it for us for months. You just didn’t know it, and it’s good. Really good, Gabi. Like I think you should record it and we can sell it to the people in the city behind the wall for large sums of money kinda good.” Gabi realized when she looked at him that he was serious. He thought her song was that good and to her that was shocking.
“Just promise me that if I set something up when I’m sure he’s coming back into town, that you will sing it. I know performing it in front of people scares you, but I can promise that you have nothing to be afraid of. It would show him you mean it too if you preformed it.” Gabi’s immediate reaction was to tell him hell no, but the more she thought about it the more she realized he was right. She needed to do this in order to show him that she wasn’t just saying that she wanted to try again, but that sh
e really was all in. With a nervous sigh, she finally nodded.
“Okay, but only once Kyle’s there. He has to be there.” She muttered, feeling her stomach twist into knots at the thought of sharing such a personal part of her heart with everyone in the club. It was more than a little scary, it was terrifying.
“Excellent, I will handle all the details and talk to Bone about when Pretty Boy’s coming back and I will let you know what to do.” Rock said, grinning at her.
Why did she suddenly feel like she’d made a deal with the devil? Oh right, it was because she had made a deal with a devil, hadn’t she?
Chapter Nineteen
Pretty Boy rode his bike into the club house drive, feeling a hundred years older than he had when he’d left five days ago. He’d cut his trip short because he needed to get back here. Two hours into the run he’d dropped his satellite phone on the road and by the time he’d realized it was missing and went back for it, it was already broken. He’d cursed himself for not buttoning the pocket on his cut. He’d been upset and angry that Gabi was so willing to walk away from their relationship. If shit hadn’t hit the fan less than three hours later that night, he would’ve called her from Log’s phone, but when they’d gotten to Longville they’d found a hell of a lot more than they had bargained for. Apparently, a group of the old Headhunters MC members had decided to form their own club and set up shop in Longville. After the shit they’d discovered, he’d been glad he hadn’t brought Gabi on the run with them.
He would have had to leave Log unsecured and get her to safety because he wouldn’t have chanced something bad happening to her. The Headhunter’s leftovers were bad news and they were taking girls for a prostitution ring. As it was, Log was alone watching the group while Pretty Boy headed back here to talk to Bone and the club about what they should do. Bone had sent ten prospects Log’s way after they’d called in the report. Pretty Boy intended to wait till they arrived today before he left, but Log had looked at him yesterday morning and told him to go.
Likely because he’d been pacing and glaring at the clock for more than an hour and Log was tired of his frustration. He still felt like an asshole for leaving his friend, but the way he’d left things with Gabi had him on edge. He didn’t care what she thought about them being done after that fight the other night. He wasn’t allowing that, fuck that shit all to hell and back. She belonged to him and she might as well face that fact. Nothing she said to him was going to run him off. He had climbed off his bike and was walking up to the club house when Tank walked out of the door heading to his bike.
“He’s at Sal’s, you’ll have to go see him there.” Tank said, motioning for him to head back to his bike.
“Look, I don’t have time to go to the bar. It’s all the way over on the other side of town and I just want to go home and talk to my old lady. I haven’t seen her in six days.” Pretty Boy snarled. Unhappy that Tank wanted him to report to Bone at the bar.
“Your old ladies there too.” Tank grunted, walking past him heading to his bike.
“What the fuck do you mean my old ladies there? Why? Why is my old lady at the fucking bar without me?” Pretty Boy demanded. Anger burned through him and his eyes narrowed as he followed Tank to his bike, looking grim. His blood was pumping in his veins and he was ready to burst at the thought of Gabi’s sexy ass in one of those little pairs of shorts she loved so much in a bar. Fuck no. His old lady better not be trying to pick up another man, or he would be committing murder tonight. Not that he thought Gabi would ever trust another man, but he still didn’t like the fact that she was at the bar.
“She’s with Rock. Don’t know, but we were supposed to be there twenty minutes ago. You’re late so let’s get a move on it.” Tank muttered, kicking his bike into gear.
Pretty Boy watched the other man pull out of the drive without waiting on him. Climbing onto his bike he followed, angry that Tank could be such an asshole when he wanted to be.
Gabi’s hands felt sweaty and her chest was tight as she paced back and forth in the back of Sal’s bar. Katie sat a few feet away trying to talk her down from the ledge, so to speak. It wasn’t going well. She felt like the contents of her stomach were rolling around like they were trying to escape. Damn, why had she agreed to do this again? Oh right, to convince her man that she was ready to stop acting like a child. Taking another deep breath, she tried again to calm herself without success.
“Gabi, you’re going to make yourself sick if you don’t calm the hell down.” Katie said.
“It’s easier said than done. I’ve never sang in front of anyone before. Well, I guess a few of the prospects and Rock have listened to me. This song is very personal, Katie.” Gabi muttered, running her hand over her rioting stomach.
“I know hon, but stressing yourself out isn’t helping.”
“Leave her alone Katie, she’ll be fine,” Molly said as she entered the room. “Bone says he got a text from Tank and they’re on the way here. Should take about five minutes, which will be just enough time to get you up on stage.”
“Super.” Gabi said, eyeing the rear exit, wondering if anyone would notice if she slipped out and disappeared. A few days ago, when Rock had convinced her to do this, she hadn’t realized she would be preforming in front of half the Red Devils MC for fucks sake.
“You’ve got this. Your voice is amazing, Gabi.” Rock grunted from where he sat in the corner on a couch. His voice startled Gabriella a little because she’d thought he was sleeping.
“Right. Okay, let’s get this show on the road then before I decide to bolt.” Gabriella said, rubbing her sweaty palms on her jeans trying to calm down. Katie jumped up from her seat and grabbed her arm dragging her toward the stage entrance a few feet away. Gabi felt like her insides where shaking apart she was so nervous as Katie led her to the edge of the stage. She looked out at the microphone sitting alone on the stage with a spot light casting a glinting glow around it as she heard an announcer calling out her name. People were cheering and clapping while letting out wolf whistles and cat calls. She knew all the commotion was the Red Devils trying to make this easier on her, but it wasn’t helping.
She closed her eyes and counted to five trying to slow down her quick breathing. Gabi felt Katie squeeze her arm as she whispered, “Go get your man, sweetie. You can do this.”
Gabriella wasn’t so sure about that, and as she walked out onto the stage she felt like she was going to pass out at any moment. The bright lights aimed at the stage almost blinded her as she walked up to the microphone. She raised her hands adjusting the mic a little so that it was in the right position, ignoring the way it squealed a little. Her mind was racing, and she glanced towards Katie who was standing in the darkened back room giving her a thumbs up signal.
Shit, she was really doing this.
“Um—hello everyone. I’m Gabi.” She stuttered into the mic, noting that her hands were shaking as she folded them together. Everyone in the audience went wild yelling and clapping. Her eyes were finally adjusting to the lights and she was starting to be able to make out the people at the tables closest to the stage.
“You’ve got this, Gabi.” a male voice yelled. It might have been Rock, but she wasn’t sure. It was now or never, she supposed as the music Rock had found for her started to play, she took a deep breath and began to sing:
My heart was open, my soul was pure
Then the devil dragged me down
Down, down into the fire
And the Darkness poured into my soul
Filling me up, shattering me whole
I lay down in the broken glass that’s now my home
Utterly ruined, fighting for my soul
Reaching out for freedom
Never finding peace
Always searching for the light
But darkness is all I see
She could see that people were watching her with awe as her voice grew stronger, belting out the song that meant so much to her. She watched as the room shifted and suddenl
y Pretty Boy was standing in front of the stage looking up at her. His eyes blazed with something she’d never seen. Something that made her heart take flight as she continued to sing, only now she was singing to him and he knew it.
My heart was open, my soul was pure
Then the devil dragged me down
Down, down into the fire
And the Darkness poured into my soul
Filling me up, shattering me whole
Then you walked in, holding me up
Saving my soul
Now My heart is open, my soul is pure
The devil can’t drag me down
Down, down into the fire
Cause your filling me up, making me whole.
I lay down no longer broken
Reaching out for you, finding peace
Filled with your light
You’re all I see
My heart is open, my soul is pure
The devil can drag me down
Down, down into the fire
Cause your filling me up, making me whole.
As the last note of her song faded she felt an almost audible breath from the crowd as she watched Pretty Boy jump up onto the stage, coming towards her with a possessive look in his eyes she’d never seen before. It should’ve frightened her, but somehow it didn’t. He stopped a foot from her and before she could say anything he was scooping her up into his arms, carrying her off the stage. Gabi gasped and clung to his shoulders as the crowd behind them went wild.
Healing Gabriella (Red Devils MC Book 8) Page 14