Healing Gabe (The Last Hangman MC #3)
Muriel Garcia
For my Mom,
for always being there for me and
always supporting me.
I love you.
PROLOGUE
Gabe
October 16th, 2014
Luck has never been on my side. My parents were suddenly taken away from my sister Nicole and me fourteen years ago; she was barely eight, I just eighteen. I had to fight tooth and nail to keep us together and with the help of a very kind lawyer, I became her legal guardian. I put my life on hold for her, making sure she grew up loved, grounded and happy and I don't regret a second of it. She’s turned out to be such a beautiful yet incredibly frustrating young woman. She likes to remind me often that she’s just a female version of me, but I can’t be that annoying. We love to mess with each other; it’s what keeps us sane. I might not be the most understanding older brother but it’s not something I can help, I need to protect her and keep her safe. I would be lost without her and she deserves the best in life, no matter the cost.
I was so preoccupied by my duty to Nicole, making sure she was raised exactly how my parents would have wanted, that I didn’t exactly focus on me. I have only dated one woman and it ended disastrously. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve f*cked women. A lot of them, without a care about how I treated them, I was more of a ‘hit it and quit it’ kind of guy, I couldn’t let them get close. Nicole needed me and she was the only girl I could ever truly care for.
That all changed when I met her. In such a short amount of time she became my world but as quickly as she came into my life she was taken away from me. To this day, twelve years later, I still have nightmares which only get more vivid each time. It makes no f*cking sense to me. It seems like my subconscious wants to torture me.
Meeting her rocked my world. One night I was a normal guy, trying make ends meet, taking care of my sister, the next, I was propelled into a world I never ever imagined being a part of and became a member of a motorcycle club.
Recently, I’ve been experiencing an uneasy feeling that things aren’t going to stay as steady as they have been. I can handle anything happening to me, but to Nicole? No. Fucking. Way.
It doesn’t help that Nicole has been off to college for a couple of months now, so I can’t keep a close eye on her myself but luckily I have one of our guys from another charter watching over her. I need to make sure she is okay at all times, especially after everything that happened to Ayden and Charline. I’m not willing to risk anything happening to her. She’s my life.
You would think that I would have thought twice before joining The Last Hangman MC knowing I was raising my baby sister, who needed constant love, attention, support and protection, but because of one f*cking mistake I had to join them.
Here is my mistake...
******
11 Years Ago
I turned twenty-one last week and didn’t bother going out to celebrate it. I didn’t have the heart to leave Nicole alone on that day. We did have fun but now I need some adult fun.
I’ve called a babysitter to watch over Nicole tonight. I love my sister to death but I need a night to myself. For the past three years, I've been doing all I can possibly do to make sure she has everything she needs. I’ve completely put my life on hold and I'm at the point where I desperately need a break. Don’t get me wrong, I will always do what I can to make her happy, but there’s only so much a guy can take.
In order to be able to raise her I’ve been working non-stop at a local garage, trying to make enough money to pay the bills, keep a roof over our heads, keep her fed and get her whatever she may need or want, but it's just not enough. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to take care of an eight year old girl? The fact that I can't say no to her does not help in the slightest.
We come from a modest family and my parents never imagined they would both leave us so early, so they didn’t think of setting up a fund for us. I’m not blaming them but being thrown into the adult world when all you want to do is spend time with your friends and party is tough, I had to adapt fairly quickly. It was harder on Nicole than it was on me. She was just a kid when it happened. She needs her parents to grow up and help her through life and the changes a woman’s body will go through along the years.
Over the years, I've had girls, women, come over purely to f*ck whilst she’s been asleep. I know, I'm irresponsible for bringing unknown women into our house and I paid the price when one of those f*cking bitches stole some of our stuff. I had to explain to Nicole why the necklace our Mom left her was missing. I have never felt more like shit than I did then seeing the look of pure heartbreak on her face.
Tonight, instead of bringing someone in, I'm going out to play and it's gonna get messy.
I park my pickup truck in the parking lot of a bar and make my way to the entrance. I don't know what I'm looking for tonight. A couple of drinks? A good f*ck? A good fight? Any of those will do, all of them would be even better. I have so much pent up rage that I need to let it out somehow.
I sit at the bar and order a beer and a shot of bourbon. I down the shot and revel in the feeling of the amber liquid burning my throat. I bring the bottle to my lips when someone taps me on the shoulder. At first, I think it's one of those drunk f*cks I saw when I entered wanting to pick a fight but when I turn around, I see this curvy bombshell smirking at me.