Chapter 38

SARAH

Through the thunderous pounding of her heart, Sarah could hear Gabe gnash his teeth, his eyes narrow. She could see when his own fear turned to rage, his eyes turning black with a glint that could only be described as murderous. She wanted to lock him up in the big walk-in fridge in the bakery’s kitchen so that he couldn’t get his hands on Christiano because she was sure that Gabe would rip him apart with his bare hands. And he had only seen the picture. She hadn’t had the chance to show him the text that had accompanied it.

With difficulty, she barely held the nausea at bay, her fear making her head spin. Gabe led her to a chair and made her sit down before placing a tender kiss on her forehead. She was barely aware of him taking his phone from the table, her world becoming a thick fog when he walked a few paces away, Gabe the only anchor in her chaotic thoughts.

“Seth, get to the bakery now. This shit ends ~today~.” His words were a softly growled command. Sarah normally loved it when his voice dropped into that sexy, gravelly growl he used when they were together. But she realized at that moment how privileged she was to see the softer side of Gabriel Von Ashner. She did not know this stranger standing in front of her. Sarah had no idea how controlled Gabe was with his interactions with them, how he deliberately made himself relax in their presence because she had never seen this side of Gabe. The military side. The soldier-who-didn’t-think-twice-to-eviscerate-the-bad-man side.

“Shit, Jiminy! I haven’t seen this side of you since—” Seth breathed as he walked into the bakery five minutes later. The concern in his green eyes as he looked at his friend made Sarah’s stomach tighten in a different kind of fear, her heart racing uncontrollably.

“Yeah, well, when he messed with Sarah, he had rung the doorbell to the pearly gates,” Gabe growled. “But fucking with Amelia bought him a one-way ticket to hell. And not the first-class kind.”

“Gabe—” Seth was interrupted when Gabe held up a finger to answer his phone. Sarah hadn’t even realized that Gabe had not given her own phone back.

“Mouse, I need to call in that favor.” He was quiet for a moment as he listened to ~Mouse~ say something. “I sent you an image and a phone number. I need to know the location immediately—” He frowned and looked at his phone as it beeped. “Great, thanks. I also need you to tap into any cameras in the area and keep me posted.”

He hung up and looked at Sarah. He gently cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I know where she is, and I will get her home safely. Then I’m going to end this.”

“Not without me you’re not,” Seth said softly.

“Why do you think I called you?” Gabe retorted with a cocky grin though his eyes remained murderously cold.

Sarah stared at the two men who she loved with her whole being, knowing their lives were going to be irrevocably changed because of her. The one thing she never wanted.

She heard Gabe ask Fatima to stay with Sarah for the day and watched as he spoke to Cleve before he and Seth left the bakery, shoulder-to-shoulder, and a shiver ran down her spine at the intimidating sight. Cleve led her to her car and helped her into the backseat as Fatima settled in the front. The trip to Gabe’s home was a blur, and it was only the familiarity of the trees along his street that told her where she was. The late fall morning was chilly, but the way it infiltrated her soul felt like an ice storm in January. This Halloween had just turned all kinds of horrendous to her.

GABRIEL

The image of Rah’s pale face wouldn’t leave Gabe’s mind as he walked to his truck, distracting him from his mental checklist of the tools of his trade he had in his truck. He sent the location to Seth who then called it into the station.

Having Seth at his side reminded him of the days they fought together. Seth was an imposing figure in his black uniform, his Kevlar making his shoulders even broader than they already were, but it was his face that set Gabe at ease. His handsome face was normally relaxed into a smile or a teasing grin, but at that moment, it was stark with anger, the skin pulled taut over the skin of his high cheekbones. His square jaw was tense, the muscle beating rhythmically as he ground his teeth. It was the blaze in his green eyes that would scare the living shit from anybody fucking with his family.

Gabe pulled up outside the house that was indicated on Mouse’s location, the place as run down as Gabe had expected. That was the only way Christiano could stay in a town the size of Olathe without detection. He would be surprised if the porch held his weight without sending him to the center of the earth as soon as he set foot on it. The walls were visibly warped, seeming about to cave in at a slight breeze. The yard was overgrown with weeds and rusted pieces of shit that Gabe had no interest in discerning littered the bare patches. He was scoping the place for possible booby traps, triggers, and tripwires that the ~figlio di puttana~ might have set to hurt Gabe’s teammates while they waited for Burnsley and the rest of the men.

“Why did you retire, Jiminy?” Seth’s question caught him by surprise, making him frown at his friend as his attention was diverted. Seth was still staring out the windshield, not looking at Gabe, and Gabe knew Seth had been struggling with the question for a while. And then he turned to Gabe, his eyes so dark Gabe sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re home. But you’re career military and I didn’t think you’d leave the Marines for anything, so whatever made you retire must be a motherfucking boxer. What made you retire, Gabriel?”

Gabe turned away from Seth and stared out of his window at the messed-up neighborhood around him. The dilapidated houses and overgrown yards were replaced by intense heat hazes, white walls flanking dusty streets, and desert landscaping as far as the eye could see. Children played soccer in the streets, their bare feet scuffing up enough dust to dry up his throat. He had constantly been parched in Yemen, and for the first month after he returned, it felt as though he would never get rid of the grit in his voice. Old men sat in the shade of trees or buildings, sharing their history with whoever would listen. Gabe had spent many hours sitting among them, learning their language and culture, and tolerating their teasing when he bungled his terms. He was always amazed at the way the people lived in apartment buildings that stood tall between the debris of buildings that didn’t withstand a round of airstrikes.

Seth never asked him about his time after they split, though he could see the questions swimming in his friend’s mind. It surprised him that it took Seth this long to ask that question. He had expected the deep shit to come out a lot sooner. If there was one person who would understand it would be Seth, but Gabe was reluctant to tell him what happened. He still felt the weight of that day, the day that Gabe realized he was becoming a monster. The day he gave the order to blow up a train filled with innocent women and children.