Healing Gabe (The Last Hangman MC #3)(52)

I take my phone and call Gabe, but it goes straight to voice mail. This is not normal. He told me to call him if anything happened and when I need him, his phone is off. I try again but get the same result. Either he’s on the phone or something has happened. I hope it’s not the latter.

“Your little friend can’t do anything for you.” The cops smirks at me through the rear view mirror.

“What do you mean?” I swallow hard, having a good idea of what that means.

“Here we are. This is gonna be good.” He laughs and drives into an empty warehouse. The door closes behind us. Everything is dark. Jenny and Nicole hold onto me and I put my arms around both of them.

One of the car doors open and the voice I was dreading the most greets us.

“Hello Viv. Told you we’d see each other again very soon.” Jared’s chuckle echoes through the empty warehouse.





CHATPER 20



Gabe

We finally make it back to the compound and I feel like I can breathe again. I try to call Viv but she’s not answering. I try not to get too nervous about it, knowing they have four men watching over them. Surely one of them would have warned us if something bad has happened?

“You alright Brother?” Aleck asks me as he hands me a beer.

“Can’t reach Viv.” I lift my chin thanking him for the beer and take a much needed long pull.

“How much do you want to bet they are face timing with Ayd and Line? They can’t be away from each other for more than five minutes.” He chuckles.

“You’re probably right. With everything going on, I can’t help but worry.”

“You really love her, don’t you?” He smirks.

“You have no idea.” I sigh.

“I do. We are not that different, we both feel like we don’t deserve love from such amazing women. I can’t imagine what must be going through your mind with all that’s happened lately, what with Jared threatening her and shit.” He sighs.

I nod. “It’s f*cking hell, it’s bringing back so many unwanted memories.”

“They make you feel though. No matter how bad they are, they are part of you and part of why you are the way you are today. As f*cked up as this is going to sound, everything happens for a reason. I know you lost her in the worst way possible, but considering who she was around, the things they must have witnessed damaged her. They were sentencing her to a life she didn’t want, at least she’s free from that nightmare.” I wanna punch him and thank him at the same time.

“I know. It’s hard to live with it when I relieve it every single night. You’re one to talk though, you were as stubborn as I f*cking am.”

“That may be so but I realized my mistake, didn’t I?” He raises his eyebrow.

“I guess so.” I chuckle softly. “I’ve always had feelings for Viv but ended up dating Annie. I only regret it because her death was my fault. I never thought at the time that Viv was interested in me so I dated Annie, it was the closest I could get to Viv. It’s f*cked up.” I sigh.

“It is, but what you need to keep in mind is that, if you and Viv were supposed to be together then even if Annie was still alive today, you two would be together. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.” He shrugs. “Just make sure Viv doesn’t know you were fantasizing about her when you were doing her sister.” He chuckles.

“Dickhead.” I can’t help but chuckle with him. “She knows, it’s been bugging her ever since we f*cked the first time. She thinks I’m with her to relive what I had with her sister. I’m trying to show her that I'm not but it’s hard. I suck at showing her how I feel.”

“Not with me, you just spilled you heart out.” He snickers.

“Try telling that to the woman you’ve been in love for years, that you never forgot about her and still are very much in love with her when she is so f*cking stubborn and doesn’t want to hear what you are saying.”

“That’s pretty much what happened with Line and I. I loved her from the beginning but I was too scared to be with her because it would have brought a lot of unwanted f*cking drama. Besides, it’s not a matter of her being stubborn, it’s a matter of you being too chicken shit to open up and tell her that you love her.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.” I glare at him.

“Glare at me all you want, it’s not going to solve your problem.”

“I’m scared that if I tell her I love her, she’ll be taken away and I’ll never see her again.” I sigh looking into his eyes.

“Annie was taken from you after you told her?”

I nod. “Worst is that when I said it to Annie, I didn’t mean it.” I sigh feeling like a total dipshit.

“Shit. I get why it scarred you, but Viv isn’t Annie. From what I’m gathering, Annie was the quiet and shy one, Viv is the spitfire that you need in your life and you’re afraid that someone is going to come after her, but guess what? If you don’t tell her, you’ll regret it. Viv is a strong woman, she’ll fight to get back to you. You know that. All you have to do is trust your woman and your gut. Don’t let her slip through your fingers. She is what you need in your life. You always make sure your friends are happy but I’ve never seen you truly happy. You need to make sure you get your happiness too.”