She was quiet for a moment. “What’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know.” Whatever was going to happen wouldn’t be pretty. “I talked to Dev today. He came home early. Told him everything.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He’s ending it with her.”
A harsh laugh parted her lips. “So, if . . . Sabrina got Parker to silence me it was all over nothing? Or was it just out of anger or was it jealousy?”
He’d underestimated Sabrina. Could’ve been just out of jealousy, but it did leave the question of why would Parker risk so much for his sister?
“It . . . it didn’t even matter,” she said. “Because you told Devlin anyway. Parker did all that for nothing. He died—”
“I don’t give a fuck about him. He deserved what he got. I just wish you never had to find yourself in that situation. That you didn’t have to fight—” His damn voice cracked. He couldn’t finish.
“Gabe?”
He shook his head, still holding onto her hand. “You shouldn’t have to deal with any of this.”
“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “It’ll be okay.”
“Are you trying to comfort me?”
“I don’t know. I guess?”
Gabe shook his head in wonder. “You’re . . . I honestly don’t know what to say.”
She tried to pull her hand free, but he held on. He was never letting go. “I think you’ve already said enough.”
He deserved that.
A long moment passed as she lifted her gaze from where he held her hand. “Why are you here?”
“We need to talk. Not now.” He lowered his mouth, kissing the top of her battered hand once more, silencing her protests. “But we’re going to talk later.”
Chapter 34
Gabe stayed with Nic until she dozed off, and it took a hell of a lot out of him to leave her even at that point. But he needed to speak to his brothers.
He found them in one of the private rooms down the hall, Dev standing in the corner of the small room, arms folded across his chest. Lucian was seated on the couch. Beside him was Julia. Luckily, Troy wasn’t there. He closed the door behind him as Julia rose.
“Is she okay?” she asked, concern clear in her gaze and the set of her lips.
“She’s roughed up real bad, but she’ll be okay.” At least physically. His voice was gruff when he spoke again. “She’s resting right now.”
Lucian exhaled heavily as he leaned back on the uncomfortable couch. “Jesus.” He dragged his hands down his face as Julia sat down once more, touching his arm. “Where are Livie and Richard?”
“She doesn’t want them to see her like this,” he explained. “And we’ve got to respect that.” His gaze found Dev’s. “Agreed?”
“Agreed,” he murmured and then spoke louder. “You talked to her about Parker?”
Gabe couldn’t sit as he came to stand in the middle of the room. “I did. He went after her because of Sabrina, but that’s not all.”
“It’s not?” Lucian lowered his hands and reached over, picking up Julia’s.
“Not even fucking remotely all,” he bit out.
Dev’s gaze slid to the couch. “Perhaps Julia should—”
“No,” Lucian cut him off as he looked over his shoulder. “Julia is a part of this family, not just the good parts but also the fucked-up parts. She stays.”
Dev snapped his mouth shut and wisely kept it shut.
There was a part of Gabe that would’ve preferred that Julia didn’t hear this, but it had nothing to do with trust. “Parker insinuated that he and Sabrina had something to do with Emma’s accident.”
Lucian paled, and it seemed he was at a loss for words, but it wasn’t his reaction that shocked Gabe. It was his older brother’s reaction. Mainly because Dev never had a reaction to anything.
But he did now.
Blood drained from his face as he lurched forward a step and then seemed to catch himself, unfolding his arms. “Are you sure?” he asked in a voice that Gabe barely recognized. “What were you told?”
Gabe repeated what Nic told him. “It makes sense. Especially when you take into consideration what Sabrina said to me herself.”
“Good God,” whispered Julia.
Dev held Gabe’s gaze for a moment and then looked away, his lips pressed into a hard line. A muscle flexed in his jaw.
“We need to find Sabrina,” Gabe said.
His brother gave him a curt nod. “I will pay a visit to Stefan first and then the Harringtons’ home. No one is going to shield her from us.”
Gabe drew in a shallow breath. “She will answer for this.”
“She will do more than that.”
“You need to take the bed, Nikki. Seriously.” Rosie stood in front of an old chess table that had been converted into a coffee table.
Her friend’s apartment contained a strange assortment of things. Beaded curtains separated the living room from the bedroom. Posters of haunted places in New Orleans dotted the walls next to paintings that looked like they belonged in a museum. Human-shaped candles lined bookshelves that were nearly overflowing with true accounts of hauntings and, oddly enough, cookbooks. There were normal-looking candles sitting in front of a surprisingly large TV.
Nikki gingerly sat down on the couch. “The couch will be fine.” She tugged at the hospital wristband, sighing when the thing wouldn’t budge. What did they seal these things with? Gorilla Glue? “Thank you for picking me up.”
“If you say thank you one more time, I’ll scream.” Rosie sat beside her, concern etched into her face. She glanced at Nikki’s cell phone. “You really need to call your parents.”
“I will.” She sighed, pushing a strand of hair back from her face. “I have time. I mean, I doubt they’re going to say my name when this hits the news.”
“Hon, it’s already hit the news,” Rosie told her. “It was all over the local news this morning. Parker Harrington? That’s a big deal.”
Her stomach twisted. “But they didn’t say my name, right?”
“No. Bizarrely, they were speculating it was a domestic situation between him and a woman he was seeing.”
“God.” She leaned back in hopes it took the weight off her ribs. “I just don’t want my parents to freak out.”
“They’re going to freak out. Not trying to stress you out, but their daughter was almost murdered and looks like she went toe-to-toe in a cage match.”
Nikki flinched. “That’s not helping.”
“I know it’s not, but it’s not like you’re going to take a nap and wake up looking like nothing happened. Your parents are going to be upset when they realize you’ve waited this long to see them.”
She knew this. “I’ll call them in a little bit.”
“Okay.” Rosie rose, walking to where the curtains were letting the morning light stream in from the glass doors of the balcony. Nikki’s phone rang just then. From where she sat, she saw who it was and Rosie guessed it. “Is that Gabe?”
“Yeah,” she whispered. That was the third time Gabe had called. “I texted him and told him I was coming here.”
“But he wanted you to go home with him?” She closed the curtains, and the room darkened.
When Gabe had finally left her side in the early morning hours to check in with his brothers, Nikki had put her escape plan in motion. Luck had finally been on her side. Rosie answered her call and she was released from the hospital all before Gabe returned.
“He did, but that wouldn’t be the smartest decision.” Nikki smoothed her hand over her knees, concentrating on taking deep breaths.
“I’m sure he took all of that into consideration when he made the offer.”
Nikki couldn’t help but think about how he’d held her hand, kissing it. The way his eyes had appeared damp and how he’d been so reluctant to leave her side. He’d said they needed to talk, but she knew that whatever he was feeling or thinking was greatly skewed by what just happened.
“It do
esn’t matter.” She closed her one good eye. “I just want to sleep. Okay?”
“All right. I’ll leave it alone if you get your ass in my bed and sleep there.” When Nikki opened her mouth to protest, Rosie lifted a hand. “I’m already awake and if you sleep out here, you’re not going to get any rest. I’m also not a shitty friend. You’re taking the bed. So get up and get your ass in there.”
A weak smile tugged at her lips. “You’re not a shitty friend.” Pushing herself up, she ignored the spike of pain. “I’ll get in bed.”
And that’s what she did. Not only that, she was able to change into a pair of sleep shorts and a loose tee shirt that fit well enough to be comfortable. At this point, she’d wear anything to not be in the clothing she was in.
She didn’t want to see the leggings or shirt ever again, and Rosie apparently sensed that because as Nikki got comfortable, she removed the clothes from the bedroom.
It took a while for her to settle in, finally giving up and lying prone on her back. The room was so quiet she wondered if Rosie was still in the apartment. The silence, though, it dragged on her nerves, and when she closed her eyes, she heard Parker’s ragged breathing, she felt him on her, and she saw those shocked eyes.
Nikki pressed her lips together, ignoring the ache it caused. Emotion crawled up her throat. Tears burned the back of her eyes. She didn’t want to cry. Besides the fact it was going to sting the hell out of her swollen eye, she feared that if she started she wouldn’t stop. Not anytime soon. Too much had happened. Too much and she didn’t know how she was going to deal with this.
With any of this.
“Are you sure her friend lives here?” Dev asked as they walked up metal stairs to a second-floor apartment over what appeared to be a voodoo shop. “Or a priestess ready to raise the dead?”
Gabe ignored the comment. “You didn’t have to come.”
“Yes, I do.” Dev adjusted the black sunglasses he was wearing. “Nikki got hurt because of my relationship with Sabrina.”
The responsibility fell on both of them. Gabe should’ve said something about Sabrina earlier, and Dev should’ve shut that shit down with her years ago.
None of that mattered at that point.
Gabe stopped in front of the door that had what appeared to be some kind of wooden Celtic cross hanging from it. The craftsmanship caught his eye, but that was weird as shit, so whatever.
He hoped this was the right place. It had taken some investigating, requiring him to call Bev, because he knew Nic was friends with her daughter. It was Bree who told him where Rosie lived.
He knocked on the door while Dev joined him on the landing. A second later the door inched open. Jackpot. It had to be Rosie since she fit Bree’s description to a tee. She peeked out, her hair held back with a purple scarf with . . . skulls all over it?
Yep, they were skulls.
“Figured you’d find your way here.” She looked over his shoulder and frowned. “Surprised to see that one here.”
Dev stepped to the side. “Excuse me?”
The woman ignored him. “You here for Nikki?”
“Yes. You going to let me in?”
She blocked the door. “Depends. Are you finally going to do right by my friend?”
“Who is this woman?” Dev demanded.
“First name Nonya, last name Your Business,” she snapped, her gaze not leaving Gabe’s face.
Despite everything, Gabe was fighting a laugh. “I’m going to try to.”
“Trying isn’t good enough, bud. Not anymore,” Rosie shot back, surprising Gabe. “You trying is pretty much like me trying not to eat the last cupcake in the fridge. It’s not real successful.”
“Okay. I’m going to do right by her. That’s why I’m here,” Gabe said again. “You going to let me in?”
She appeared to think it over and then she stepped back, opening the door. “She’s in the bedroom.”
Gabe walked in. “Thank you.”
“Don’t make me regret this,” she said, voice low. “Because you will not like it if I regret this.”
He smiled then, unable to help himself. “I won’t.”
“Good.”
Gabe stepped around the somewhat scary woman when he heard Dev ask, “Is that really a beaded curtain?”
“You got a problem with that?” she fired back. “Are they not up to your taste or class?”
“I’m pretty sure that most people over the age of twelve find them to be tasteless.”
“Behave,” he said to Dev, leaving him in the room with Nikki’s friend.
He parted the beads and stepped into the dark room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but he found her lying in the center of the bed.
When he got back to the hospital room and saw that she was gone, he was caught between wanting to curse and laugh. If she was putting effort into doing exactly the opposite of what he wanted, then that was a good sign.
Walking over to the bed, he sat down. Even in the darkness of the room, he could see that the bruises looked worse than before. His jaw locked down as he reached out, carefully catching a strand of her hair. He brushed it back from her face.
“Nikki,” he said.
Her brows knitted and then her right eye opened. She focused on him, and he saw the sleep clearing from her face.
“Good morning.” He smiled.
She stared at him for a moment. “Where is Rosie?”
“Out in the living room.”
“How did you . . . find me?”
“Took a little investigating,” he replied. “You didn’t think I’d come looking for you when I saw that you left? When you didn’t answer my calls?”
“I thought . . .” She looked away. “I figured you’d give me some space.”
“That’s not what you need right now.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I do,” he replied, and saw her shoulders tense. “Sometimes giving space isn’t always the right thing to do. And what you need right now is me to be there for you. I’m here.”
“I’m not Emma.”
“I know that.”
She exhaled heavily. “I know you feel guilty and you’re probably thinking all these things, but none of it’s real, you know? None of it’s going to be there a week or a month from now, so can we please not do this?”
“Like I said before, we need to talk and right now is not a good time for that, but I’ll tell you this. You have no idea what I’m thinking or if it’s real,” he said, placing his hand on the other side of her legs. “All I know is that I fucked up with you. I should’ve told you about William and I sure as hell shouldn’t have said the things I did. I know damn well you’d be amazing with him. You would accept him. He’d accept you. I spent the last couple of days regretting the hell out of that, wondering if I could fix this, wondering if I was even worth it. But seeing you in that hospital bed—seeing you now? Knowing you could’ve died, and here I was, once again, waiting on third and fourth chances to appear without me working for them while paying attention to stupid shit. I realized none of that mattered when it came to you and me. None of it.”
Nikki didn’t move. He wondered if she was even breathing.
“I’m here because there’s no other place I should be. I’m here because you need me,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “And I’m here because I realized something before you were hurt.”
“What?” she whispered.
“That’s something we’ll discuss later, okay? Right now, I just want to get you home and I just want to hold you so that I know without a doubt you’re okay—that you’re going to be okay.”
She didn’t respond and then her face crumpled. “Oh, God.”
“Sweetheart.” He shifted closer, reaching for her.
She tried to sit up as she pressed her hands over her face. Everything about the way she moved, the way she tried to hide her tears fucking slaughtered him.
Gabe reacted. He climbed right into the bed with her, gathe
ring her up in his arms as carefully as he could without hurting her. But then, the way her shoulders shook with sobs, he doubted she could feel him.
But he was there.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as she pressed into his chest, her fingers opening and closing around nothing but air. He held her, trying to soothe her with words that didn’t make much sense. Then he just held her, letting her get it all out, because that was the best thing for her. It had to be.
At some point, he was aware of Rosie checking in on them, but she didn’t say anything and she left, leaving them alone.
He didn’t know how much time passed before the sobs slowed and the raw sounds ended. She sniffled as she drew back, putting a little bit of space between them. “Sorry.” Her voice sounded worse than before. “I didn’t mean to cry all over you.”
“It’s okay.” He kept his arms around her, his hold loose. “I make a good tissue.”
Her laugh was shaky. “It just . . . hit me all at once.”
“Understandable.”
She carefully wiped at her eyes. “You really . . . you really want me to come back to your house?”
“I do, and we should probably leave soon, if you’re up for it,” Gabe said, letting himself grin just then. “Dev is in the other room with your friend.”
“What?” She looked thunderstruck. “You left Rosie with him?”
He bit back a grin. “I don’t think you need to worry about your friend. I’m more worried for Dev.”
She leaned over, peering toward the beaded curtains. “That’s not good.”
“Probably not,” he agreed. “Come home with me, Nikki. Let me be there for you. Let me start to fix this.”
Nikki’s gaze drifted back to him, and for a moment he feared she would say no, and then he was going to beg. He was also prepared to pick her up and carry her out of there.
“Okay,” she said, slipping free from his hold “All right.”
Chapter 35
Gabe watched Richard step out into the living area, leaving his daughter inside his bedroom with her mother. The man looked like he’d aged about a decade between the time he’d gone into the room and now. Gabe felt like that himself. The last twenty-four hours hadn’t been easy.
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