Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“Anyone going with them?” Halo asked, looking at Gabriel before looking back at Scorpion. I tightened my hold on my boy, already ready to open my mouth and tell them all fuck no.
Scorpion shook his head. “If we want Alejandro’s help, we do it his way. And his way is no one with them. Tango is more than capable of taking care of Gabriel by himself. Remember that.”
I inclined my head to Halo when he looked at me with worried eyes. “We’ll be fine, brother,” I promised him.
He sighed. “Don’t like it, but alright,” he grunted, letting it go.
Didn’t care if he liked it. Gabriel was my boy to take care of.
Scorpion slammed his gavel on the table. I gripped Gabriel’s chin and lifted his head from my shoulder. He pouted at me, his brows furrowing. “I need to pack when we get upstairs. Can you handle laying on the bed if I give you something of mine to cuddle with?”
He ran his eyes over my face for a moment before nodding his head. I pressed a kiss to his forehead and stood from my chair. With one arm braced under his ass and the other around his back, I carried him out of the chapel and up the stairs to our apartment.
Our ruined apartment.
Gabriel whined when he saw the state of our room, tears springing to his eyes. I stroked my hand over his hair as I made my way over to our bed. “It’s going to be fixed, baby. I promise,” I assured him. “And when it is fixed, you can paint it whatever color you want, okay? We’ll even buy all new furniture.”
His bottom lip trembled, breaking my fucking heart. Sniffling, he nodded at me. I crouched and gently set him on the mattress. Then, because I didn’t want to leave his side without having something of mine for him to cuddle with as I promised, I shrugged my cut off and tugged my shirt over my head, handing it to him.
He smiled then and curled up on his side, burying his face in my shirt. After covering him with the blanket, I walked over to our shared closet, stepping past the pile of vomit on the floor. Sighing, I made my way into the bathroom, getting what I needed to clean it off the floor. My phone rang as I was throwing everything in the trash and yanking my gloves off.
“Alejandro,” I greeted when I answered.
“Call me on a burner.”
He ended the call immediately after. Sighing, I walked into the bedroom and grabbed my burner off the nightstand. I put his number in and called him back. He answered on the first ring.
“Get a pen and paper,” he told me. Silently, I grabbed a notebook and pen out of my nightstand drawer, bending over it. He rattled off an address, and I quickly scribbled it down. “This place is off the grid. The drive up to the cabin is treacherous, so be careful. Do not take a phone. No technology at all. When it’s safe for Gabriel to come home, I’ll come up and get both of you myself. I advise you to get with Scorpion and use his computer to get directions since his shit is heavily protected.”
“Will do. And uh, I guess I should say thanks.”
Alejandro snorted, no doubt amused by how uncomfortable I now was. “Just keep that boy safe.”
With that, he ended the call. I set my burner down and walked over to the closet, snatching down a duffel bag. After filling it with clothes for me and Gabriel, I put a few books inside to help keep Gabriel occupied since I knew this trip was going to be pretty boring for him. Then, I snatched a clean shirt out of the dresser and tugged it over my head.
When I looked over at Gabriel, he was almost asleep, his eyes fluttering open and closed. I walked over to the bed and shrugged on my cut before crouching in front of him, reaching out to run my fingertips over his cheek. He sighed and pressed his face into my hand, making my heart squeeze. “I need to go downstairs. I know you’re sleepy. Can I take you to Halo’s room?”
He nodded and reached for me, my shirt still clutched in his fist. I lifted him from the bed, cradling him against my chest, and strode out of our destroyed room. Halo was coming up the stairs as I entered the hallway.
“Can he sleep in your room?” I asked Halo.
Halo nodded. “Yeah. Of course. Everything good?”
I nodded. “Just need to see Scorpion about something, and Gabriel is crashing.”
Halo pushed open the door to his apartment. I strode over to the bed and gently laid Gabriel down. I tugged his shoes off and then covered him up. After pressing a kiss to his cheek, I ran my hand over his hair. “If you need me, you come find me. You hear?”