Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno #1)(166)

A moment later, a pleasant-looking Asian gentleman walked up to them.

“Richard,” he said, extending his hand.

Richard sprang to his feet, shaking his friend’s hand. “Stephen, I’d like to introduce you to Julia Mitchell. She’s a friend of the family. Julia, this is Dr. Ling.”

Stephen nodded and directed a nurse to help Julia to an examination room. He followed shortly thereafter, assuring Richard that he would treat her as if she were his own daughter.

Knowing that Julia was in good hands, Richard decided to walk to the cafeteria to join his son. As he entered the hallway, he could hear Gabriel arguing with Tom Mitchell. Loudly.

“I think I’m a better judge of character than you are.” Tom was in Gabriel’s face, trying to physically intimidate him, but Gabriel met him toe to toe.

“Well, clearly you aren’t, Mr. Mitchell, or I wouldn’t have had to drag that animal out of your house before he raped your daughter in her own f**king bedroom.”

“Gentlemen, this is a hospital. Take it outside.” Richard was stern as he walked toward them.

Tom acknowledged his friend briefly then turned back to Gabriel.

“I’m glad Julia is okay. And if you rescued her, then I owe you. But I just got a phone call from a police officer telling me that you beat the shit out of Senator Talbot’s son. How do I know you didn’t start the whole thing? You’re the drug addict!”

“I’ll take a drug test.” Gabriel’s eyes flashed. “I have nothing to hide.

Instead of worrying about the senator’s son, don’t you think you should be a little more concerned about your daughter? Protecting Julianne was your job. Your job as a father. And you’ve been doing a lousy f**king job of it her whole life. Christ, Tom. How could you have sent her back to live with her mother when she was a little girl?”

Tom clenched his fists so hard he nearly burst the blood vessels in his hands. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, so you need to shut the hell up. You’ve got some nerve lecturing me about my daughter. You’re just a cokehead with a history of violence. I don’t want you anywhere near her, or I’ll have you arrested.”

“I don’t know what I’m talking about? Come on, Tom, get your head out of your ass! I’m talking about all those men traipsing in and out of the apartment in St. Louis, f**king your ex-wife in front of your little girl. And you did absolutely nothing. In fact, you finally rescue her before she becomes another statistic for child molestation, and then you send her back. Why?

Was she a delinquent nine-year-old? Was she too needy? Or were you too busy being volunteer fire chief!”

Tom looked at Gabriel with an expression of utter hatred. It took all of his self-control to keep from either punching Gabriel’s lights out or grabbing his hunting rifle from his truck and shooting him. But he wasn’t about to do either around the corner from a waiting room full of witnesses. Instead, he swore at Gabriel a few more times and stomped over to the Admissions desk to make arrangements to pay for Julia’s hospital bill.

By the time she returned on crutches, Tom had calmed himself. He stood by the door of the emergency room with his hands in his pockets, swimming in guilt.

Gabriel walked to Julia immediately, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw her bandaged ankle. “Are you all right?”

“It isn’t broken. Thank you, Gabriel. I don’t know what I would have…”

Julia swallowed her words as tears fell down her face for the first time that evening.

Gabriel put his arm around her shoulder and tenderly kissed her forehead.

Tom watched the exchange between his daughter and the violent but valiant cokehead and walked over to Richard. The two friends spoke for a minute before they shook hands.

“Jules? Do you want to come home? Richard says you’re welcome to stay at his place if you’d rather.” Tom shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

“I can’t go home.” Julia pulled away from Gabriel and hugged her father with one arm. He immediately teared up and whispered an apology in her ear before walking out of the hospital.

Richard bade the couple good-bye, leaving Julia to dry her tears.

Gabriel turned to her immediately. “We can pick up your prescrip-tions on the way back to Richard’s. I’m sure Rachel has clothes that you can borrow, or I can lend you something. Unless you’d rather go home and pack your suitcase.”

“I can’t go back there,” she whimpered, curling in on herself.

“You won’t have to.”

“What about him?”

“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. The police have already picked him up.”

Julia looked into his eyes and almost lost herself in the warmth and concern that radiated from them.

“I love you, Gabriel.”

At first he didn’t react to her statement, he simply stood there as if he hadn’t heard. Then his expression softened. He drew her into his side, crutches and all, and kissed her cheek, saying not a word.

Chapter 28

After dinner, Scott had dropped by a friend’s house for a visit. When he arrived home, he was shocked to discover two police cruisers in the driveway. Officer Jamie Roberts was interviewing Julia in the living room, while Officer Ron Quinn was interviewing Gabriel in the dining room.

Richard had already been questioned.