Within hours of Justin sewing up his shoulder, they’d gotten a less-than-pleased call from Marilyn who was demanding to know why Gabriel’s sister was calling her. Their planned trip back to the States was put on hold as they helped Nadia and Alexei relocate to Paris with their small army of bodyguards. They lingered in the city for nearly a week. Justin had argued that it was to give Gabriel a chance to heal from his long list of injuries, but he suspected that his lover was also trying to get him to spend more time with his sister and nephew.
The news of Nicolai’s death had temporarily cast a pall over Alexei, but only because he feared for his life and his mother’s. By the end of their first week in France, the boy seemed to be coming more out of his shell. He was quickly picking up the language and excitedly talking about going back to school the next year, so he could be around more kids his own age.
There had also been talk of him coming to visit Justin and Gabriel in the United States, but Gabriel was relieved that they’d not made any solid plans yet. Alexei was quickly working his way into his heart, but with Alexei came his mother. Gabriel simply wasn’t sure he wanted any Krestyanovs in his life. At least, not yet.
From France, they returned to London so that Gabriel could pack up a bit of his flat, which Justin took an absurd amount of pleasure in exploring. But before they could return to the United States, they were forced back to France to protect Nadia and Alexei, and then to Russia, the Ukraine, and Poland on a variety of clean-up jobs.
Nearly three months had passed since Nicolai’s death, and Gabriel was finally on the cusp of having his new life. They’d returned to Justin’s home in Cincinnati for just two weeks when Gabriel finally received the information he’d been waiting on. One last thing and he could shut the door on this piece of his life forever.
So, now he sat in a café in London, sipping his tea and wondering how horribly Justin was going to lose his temper when he came clean about the real reason for his trip out of the country. They’d made an agreement of no lies or secrets and Gabriel hadn’t lied to him, but he’d evaded a bit. Omitted a few key facts.
Okay, he felt like shit. They’d fight. And then they’d make up, and he was really starting to get addicted to their make-up sex.
The café door opened and Colton stepped in, glancing around the space lightly cluttered with customers. The man didn’t look too different from the person he met in Russia. His dark hair looked lighter, as if he’d had highlights added, and he’d traded in his T-shirt and jeans for a collared shirt, sweater, and slacks. A scarf was loosely looped around his neck. He looked like he was playing the part of a young professional on a coffee break from the office.
When his eyes fell on Gabriel, they widened slightly and Gabriel smiled. No, he wasn’t the person he’d been expecting. Poor Colton had thought he was meeting Justin. It had been the only way he could be sure the man would show up.
Sliding sideways through the tables, Colton slowly made his way over to Gabriel, his easygoing smile in place.
“Gabriel! It’s a surprise to see you,” he said as Gabriel rose from his chair.
Extending his hand, Gabriel held on to his smile and shook the man’s hand. “It’s good to see you too.”
“Are you and Justin in town?”
Gabriel returned to his chair while Colton sank into the one opposite him. “No, I’m in town alone. I’m just finishing up some final packing of items that I kept in a flat in this city, arranging to have them shipped to the US.”
“You’re moving…”
“In with Justin, yes,” Gabriel filled in. He could feel his smile become a little smugger. He couldn’t help himself. Justin was a fucking catch, and Gabriel woke up every damn day feeling lucky that he’d managed to snag the man.
Of course, the contents of the manila folder under his right hand also made him feel a little more justified in his smugness when it came to Colton.
“I’m sorry about the misdirection. Justin won’t be joining us. I wanted to have a chat, and I was afraid that you wouldn’t come if I simply asked.”
Colton shifted a little in his seat, his smile falling away. He glanced over at the massive window on his left a bit nervously and then back at Gabriel. “It’s hard to get away from the job. I shouldn’t have come. And—”
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long. I just have one simple message. Stay away from Justin.”
Colton’s mouth dropped open for a moment, but he covered up with a cough and a laugh. “Oh, come on, Gabriel. You don’t think—”
“It’s not what I think. It’s what I know. I know that you tried to have me killed. I don’t know if it’s a matter of money, or maybe you thought you’d have a shot at Justin once I was out of the way.”
“Killed?” He laughed, sounding incredulous. “What? Did you overhear that little warning I gave Justin about your past kills?”
“You mean that nonsense you were trying to spread about past contracts? Yes, I overhead that. Justin and I talked about that while in Russia. We both agreed that you were being ridiculous.”
Colton lost his easy smile, his face morphing into a glare while his hands fisted on the table. “I was looking out for my friend. I didn’t think you had his best interests in mind. And I still don’t.”
“If you knew about those two men by name, then you knew they were contracts. You were attempting to get Justin to lose trust in me. It didn’t work, but we both know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Gabriel paused and picked up his tea, taking a sip of the rapidly cooling liquid. He watched Colton as the man stiffened in front of him. There was a slight flush to his face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Colton snapped. “And I don’t have time for this.” He started to push to his feet, but Gabriel stopped him.
“I wouldn’t. I’m giving you one chance to walk away from this alive. Leave now and you forfeit that chance.” He carefully placed his cup back on the table. “You called me the Reaper, and I have earned that moniker as you well know. I would sit.”
Colton glared down at him for a couple of seconds before sliding into his chair. He looked as if he absolutely ached to slug Gabriel. And Gabriel had to at least admit to himself that he really wished the man would try, because he would much prefer to settle this with his fists. It was only for Justin’s sake that he was keeping this civil. Justin considered this man a friend. He cared for Colton. For that, Gabriel would keep his hands to himself…unless Colton made a move first.
“What is this about?” Colton growled.
“Betrayal.”
“What?” The word escaped him in almost breathless surprise.
“You betrayed both Justin and me to Nicolai Krestyanov. You met with him. That was how he knew when we were going to be hitting the house. It was how he knew to pull his men back.”
Colton laughed and even to Gabriel it sounded forced. “That’s ridiculous. Why would I…”
His words trailed off as Gabriel opened the file folder and pulled out a glossy, eight by ten black-and-white photo. He turned it and set it down in front of Colton. A chuckle nearly escaped Gabriel to watch the color drain from the man’s face.
“This-this doesn’t mean anything. It was part of my job to meet with Russian agents. This picture could have been taken at any time.”
“If you’ll notice, you were wearing the same clothes that you were wearing when you met with us in that garage. Even down to the oil stain that you got on the knee while we were talking that day.”
“This is…how did you…”
“An old friend who liked to keep an eye on Nicolai caught that picture.”
“This doesn’t prove…”
Gabriel wanted to laugh. Colton couldn’t even talk in complete sentences. The picture was proof that Colton had been the one to betray them to Nicolai. He had no question in his mind that his intent had been to see Gabriel killed. He didn’t know if he’d been acting on orders from the US government or if he’d been pursuing his own interests
to get Gabriel away from Justin. Or maybe he’d just been trying to make a little money. There was no doubt that Nicolai would have paid handsomely for the information that Colton would have had.
“What the hell do you want?” Colton finally said, giving up any attempts to argue. It was clear that he was caught.
“I want you to stay away from Justin. Don’t contact him. Don’t ever try to see him. I want you to forget he exists.”
“And if I don’t?” Colton asked with a smirk. “What happens? You kill me?”
Gabriel sat quietly for a moment and then took a final sip of his cool tea. Really, he needed a fresh cup. When he put the cup down, he smiled at Colton. “I will show Justin the picture.” Any color left in Colton’s face drained in the blink of an eye. No, Justin wouldn’t forgive him. With a smirk that he couldn’t stop, Gabriel grabbed his umbrella from where it had been laying across the table. “I’ll let you think on what we’ve talked about.”
Standing, Gabriel grabbed the jacket he had placed on the back of his chair, leaving behind the folder and picture. As he started to walk past Colton, the man reached out and grabbed his arm. “You haven’t shown this to him? Haven’t told him?”
“No. Out of respect for any feelings of friendship and fraternity he has for you. What you do going forward determines whether I keep this one secret from him.” He gave a little tug and Colton released his arm, allowing Gabriel to walk out of the café.
Stepping onto the sidewalk, Gabriel dragged in a deep breath and pulled on his jacket. A little ball of anger and hatred still burned in his stomach. He wanted to march back in there and beat the man to death. His betrayal had nearly cost him his life, nearly cost Justin’s life. That alone was reason enough to put a fucking bullet in the man’s head.
But Justin saw him as a friend. Justin trusted him. Gabriel wasn’t going to act rashly and kill him. He didn’t want to look back and wonder if he’d done it out of jealousy and insecurity. He also didn’t want to hurt Justin with the truth.
Sighing, he started down the sidewalk. He would return to his flat and get a little more packing done. He had told the truth. He was in town to finish up some packing and send a few more things to Justin’s house. All his stuff would probably need to be placed in storage, but at least it would be in the same country that he was now calling home.
The sun was peeking out between the clouds and he turned his face up toward the warm light. The meeting was over. The ball was in Colton’s court. He fully expected the man to disappear from their lives.
A gunshot rang out, splitting the late-morning quiet. Glass shattered and screams rang out. Gabriel ducked down and twisted back to look in the direction of the shot to see who or what had been the target. His every instinct shouted at him to run for cover. A sniper had found a perch. His heart skipped a beat to find that the front window of the café he’d been sitting in with Colton was broken. People were gathered around the opening…exactly where their table was.
Gabriel turned back in the direction he’d been headed in and continued down the street. He had two guesses as to what happened. One of them was really fucking bad, and it had him slowing up his steps to his former apartment.
The entire walk to his place the same thought repeated through his head. Fuck. I really hope that shooter isn’t who I think it is.
As he stepped into his flat, he slid off his jacket, his shoulder twinging and catching only a little now. The damn wound had healed but now liked to cause him pain when the weather was cool and damp. He stopped in the middle of tossing the jacket over the back of a chair. In the center of the coffee table lay a copy of the same picture he had just handed over to Colton.
Fuck.
Footsteps on the hall floor had him spinning around, pulling the knife he had tucked up his sleeve, but he stopped to see Justin standing in the hallway, drying his hands on a dish towel he’d taken from the kitchen. He did not look happy.
“Do you want to go first or shall I?” Justin grumbled.
Gabriel sighed, tucking his knife away. “I was only trying to protect you.”
“Protect me?” he repeated, sounding as if he thought Gabriel had lost his mind. “He tried to have you killed. He betrayed us! You met with him alone today, and he could have killed you.”
“I think you’re underestimating exactly how hard I am to kill,” Gabriel joked, but it didn’t lighten Justin’s expression.
Justin threw the towel on the floor and stomped over to Gabriel, getting in his face. “We said no more secrets.”
“So says the man who still hasn’t told me his real name!” Gabriel shouted back. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes for a second, reining in his temper. Now was not the time to bring up that little tidbit. Yes, they had agreed to no more secrets, but they were still slowly working through Justin’s extensive backlog of secrets.
“You’re right,” he said in a low, even voice. “We agreed no more secrets, and I broke that agreement. I thought protecting your feelings made it justified. Colton is—was your friend. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“And you thought it was okay to hide that he’d betrayed us to your father, knowing that his intent was to have you killed?” His voice was a little calmer and Gabriel opened his eyes to find that his expression was pained and sad.
“He was your friend.”
Justin placed both of his hands on Gabriel’s cheeks, cradling his face. “And you’re my heart. You win every time.”
“I love you.”
Justin shook his head, but Gabriel could already see the tension and anger draining from his shoulders.
“How did you get a copy of the picture?”
Justin smirked at him. “Grunt sent it to me. The old bastard made it out alive and knew what kind of a dumbass you are. Probably sent it to me because he thought you’d try to do something stupid on your own.”
“I’m sorry about Colton.”
“You should be sorry that you arranged it this way,” Justin growled before quickly kissing him. “This way I had to do it fucking quickly with a damn rifle. It was kinder than the asshole deserved, and not as subtle as I would have preferred.”
Gabriel smiled, kissing Justin again. He wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling their bodies close together. “And what would have been the preferred way to take care of a dear friend?”
A wide, wicked grin spread across Justin’s face and did wonderful things to Gabriel’s cock. “Well, I do have that friend down in Kentucky with the gator farm. Maybe we could have introduced Colton to some of his hungry critters.”
“You are an evil man,” Gabriel said with a chuckle.
Justin kissed him again, his hands sliding from his face and along his chest to squeeze his ass. “And you fucking love me for it.”
Epilogue
Gabriel stretched his legs out, putting them up in the chair opposite him, seriously contemplating going into the bedroom to locate a pair of Justin’s sweat pants with the elastic band. He might make fun of the other man’s comfortable lounge pants, but right then, they sounded like heaven considering how his stomach was complaining about the constraints of the jeans he was wearing.
But getting the pants meant getting up, and he definitely didn’t want to stand.
On the other hand, finding the pants meant that he could see if there was enough left of the cassoulet for a second helping.
Dear God, Justin’s cassoulet was worth dying for. Or at least worth walking to the kitchen for a second helping.
The wind swept across the backyard, and he folded his arms across his chest. It really was too cold outside for dinner on the deck, but Justin had insisted. He said that it was the first night of “normal life,” and he’d always imagined having dinner just like that first night together as a cornerstone of their new “normal life” together. Gabriel was willing to argue that Justin’s definition of normal didn’t match how the rest of the world defined the word, but he also struggled to ever tell the man no. Particularly when he cook
ed such amazing meals.
“Thank God we don’t cook like that all the time.” Justin groaned next to him. He patted the food baby that was creating a little bump in his usually flat stomach. “You’d stop loving me for my looks.”
Gabriel smirked at Justin. “I was just wondering if your gray sweat pants were clean so I could squeeze in a second serving.”
Justin rubbed his hands together like he was hatching an evil plot. “You know I love you in sweat pants.”
“You’re so weird.”
Justin shook his head. “Nope. Elastic band. Easier to get in your pants.”
Gabriel dropped his head back and groaned. “I can’t move. Roll me over and have your way with me. Just don’t expect me to move.”
“Wow, G Love. The fire has gone out of this relationship much faster than I expected.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes on the man while fighting a laugh. He’d show Justin fire. Later. It would have to be much, much later.
“What do you expect?” Gabriel said in a near grumble. “First the wonderful duck pâté and pork sausage tapas. Then the cassoulet with the French bread. I can’t move. It’s like you’re plotting some evil scheme and just making sure that I can’t move or think—fuck! Justin, what are you planning?”
Justin’s mouth dropped open and he placed a hand to his chest in false surprise and affront. “Me? Never! I would never scheme anything against you.”
“Bullshit!”
“We’re just relaxing here after dinner, enjoying a couple of beers and the sunset—”
Beyond the open sliding glass door, the doorbell echoed through the house. Justin made a little squeak of excitement that Gabriel was sure he’d never heard before.
Justin jumped to his feet and started for the house. When Gabriel lowered his feet to follow, Justin stopped and pointed at his chest. “Don’t move a muscle. Just stay right there.”
“But—”
“No! Stay!”
When Gabriel put his feet up into the chair, Justin darted into the house with Gabriel’s low chuckle following behind him. That was fine with him. Other than a chill in the air from the wind, he was comfortable and didn’t want to move.
The Exit Strategy Bundle Page 46