Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) (23 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Zhenya looked up
at the light knock on the bedroom door. She’d been playing with Sophie on
Gabriel’s bed while trying to ignore his scent, which clung to the very sheets
and pillows she was surrounded by. She sighed. She was honestly surprised it’d
taken this long for him to come after her. If she’d pulled the stunt with Ossie
as she had with him, she’d have found herself over the nearest flat object
having her ass warmed for being disobedient.
Well that’s because you were
wearing his collar and had already agreed to obey his every request. I should
be thanking God he hadn’t demanded more than blow-jobs on cue.
In fact they
had been such a part of their life together, it had totally surprised her when
Gabriel as her new Dom hadn’t even brought them up, let alone allowed her mouth
anywhere south of the border. And if
Nisey
was right,
he truly enjoyed them.
But perhaps he doesn’t want them from me. It
was
something
special with Sara.
So like a good little submissive, she hadn’t instigated
the act she was dying to try. She wanted to worship the part of him which gave
her such pleasure.
But after your little explosion in the living room don’t
expect that to ever happen, Zhenya.

“Zhenya?” His
voice bled through the door. “Can I come in?”

She felt like
asking him if he was able to, but bit her tongue. She’d pushed him pretty far
this morning, and had a feeling pushing any harder would end up in consequences
she wasn’t prepare to accept. “It’s your bedroom, Gabriel.” She kept her tone
even as she tickled Sophie’s toes. Giggling, her daughter kicked her legs,
having a good time, not caring about the tension, which rose inside her mother,
as Gabriel stepped inside. A quick glance assured her, he was unharmed and
looking no worse for wear than he had when she’d left the living room.
So he
and Hark didn’t come to blows. I suppose that would be considered a good thing.

“We need to
talk.” He didn’t bother moving from the open doorway, looking very stiff and
unforgiving.

“Okay.” She
waited patiently for him to begin, not about to prod a sleeping tiger.

He gripped the
doorframe with one hand. “An issue with your situation has come up. Your former
father-in-law has hired a man to kidnap Sophie and you.” His knuckles turned
white as he clenched his hand around the door jam.

“We assumed as
much, Gabriel. I’ve already discussed this with Jude and
Caelan
.
Sebastene
Sikkenga
has never been the type to get his
hands dirty by doing such a vile deed himself. He’ll find the cheapest thug he
can and send him after me - which is why I’m under lock and key in your condo
instead of my apartment.”

His lips
thinned. “Unfortunately these aren’t just some desperate junkies he found on
the street, Zhenya. The man he hired - well let’s just say the information Jude
has pulled up on him, isn’t good. He’s worse than a junkyard dog with a bone.
He won’t rest until his customer gets what he paid for…”

Suddenly feeling
tired, Zhenya picked up Sophie to cuddle her close. “And in this case it’s
Sophie he’s after.”

“Yes,
ultimately. And he’s so ruthless he won’t care what collateral damage occurs in
the process. Even if it means killing you. For Christ’s sakes, he ordered
Hark’s home to be burned to the ground just to flush you out.” Finally moving
away from the door, Gabriel sank down to the bed. The mere inches between his
hip and her thigh seemed like miles to her, the closeness from the previous
night gone. “I talked to Jude and we have a few options. The first - we could
move you to another location until we catch Cyrille
Karas
in the act; or two we can use you and Sophie as bait to draw out Cyrille which
might eventually led to
Sebastene’s
arrest. It would
probably be the best if we moved you.”

Her heart
stilled as she bit her lower lip to quell the tears building at the back of her
eyes. “So when are you moving me? Do I have time to pack up Sophie’s stuff?” Keeping
a hand on her daughter’s back, she leaned over to snag the diaper bag on the
floor. God, she was so sick of this. At that moment she wished she had a gun
because she’d have shot Sebastene directly in the face. In fact, she should’ve
asked Hark for his gun. She was angry enough at the moment to hop a plane, go
back to Greece, and take care of the issue in a permanent way. But that
wouldn’t do much good with the snake here in Chicago!

“Stop.” His hand,
so gentle when it had earlier been rough, surprised her. Straightening, she met
his eyes. There was something there but what it was she wasn’t sure. “I didn’t
say we were going to do that. The choice is yours. We can try to try to locate
another safe place that we can only hope
Karas
can’t
find, or we go on as planned.”

Confusion
swamped her, as she pulled her arm away from him slowly. Somehow she didn’t
think she was going to like where this conversation was headed. “Planned?”

He tugged on his
ear, confirming her suspicions. He always seem to do that when he was hiding
something bad. “Jude and Jackson think the best opportunity to catch these
asses is to allow them to try and grab Sophie at the doctor’s office. When the
office called your cell last night to confirm your appointment for her, we’re
pretty sure if they were listening and…”

“…and you want
me to put my daughter at risk to stop them?” She kept her voice even, though
every part of her was protesting the idea of allowing the men to place her
daughter in danger, especially when she’d turned her life upside down to
protect her.

He shifted.
“It’s a calculated risk. If we do this, you will be covered and protected at
all times. You will have a guard with you at all times on your trip to and from
the doctor’s office. Do you know how to drive?”

She shook her
head. “Not American cars. I drove back in Greece but it was around the resort
and small town nearby. It’s definitely not the same as driving here. Frankly,
your traffic scares me.”

He nodded. “Of
course not. Chicago traffic is a killer and with your limited experience I’m
pretty sure Sebastene or
Karas
might not be surprised
if you have an escort or take a cab. Our plan is to have Ethan drive the cab,
which will be taking you to your pediatrician’s office with Sophie.”

“What about
you?” She tried to keep her need out of her voice, but obviously failed
miserably because he patted her knee before moving back. “I’ll be following
with Jude and Jackson. We have to make it appear like you’re unprotected and
only have the cab driver as protection.”

She chewed
thoughtfully on her lower lip. “Why can’t Hark do it?”

“Well for one,
he doesn’t have a taxi license, while Ethan does. He got it when he first came
up to Chicago as part of a case. Besides more than likely
Karas
knows what Hark looks like. There’s word on the street that
Karas
is gunning for him because of the harsh beating he gave
Karas’s
men.”

“They deserved
it.” She shifted, outraged that some man was gunning for Hark for trying to
protect his home. “They burned his house down. Did they honestly think they
could do that to him without paying the consequences?”

“It doesn’t
matter, Zhenya.
Karas
is an unforgiving bastard. Jude
has heard rumors of the man doing physical harm to his clients for giving him
false information, or refusing to pay.” He pressed her palm to his mouth.
“Which is why, I don’t think hiding you is going to do anything but cause a
delay up against a man like him. I’d go for the head on approach if I were you,
but ultimately it’s your choice.”

She chewed on
her lower lip. It really wasn’t much of choice. She could continue to run with
this criminal chasing her until he finally caught her, or by some fluke Jude or
Gabriel caught him, or she could use herself and Sophie as bait to draw him
out. “So if I decide to do this. What happens next?”

“Nothing out of
the ordinary.” A soft smile crossed his full lips. “You’ll sleep in my arms
tonight, we’ll get up at three to feed Sophie, cuddle a bit, sleep…:

She flushed. “I
wasn’t asking about our sleeping arrangements tonight - and you damn well know
it, Poulanos.”

He sighed, but
seemed to relent. “Jude called in a favor at one of the local cab companies,
and Ethan is going to get the call to take you to Dr. Schneider’s office. So
he’ll pick you up outside the building in full view of everyone. I’ll walk you
down and make sure you’re both safely in the cab. Once you and Sophie are gone,
I’ll pretend to go back into the building, where Jude and Hark will be waiting
for me. We will follow in Hark’s van at a safe distance.” He sighed. “It’s
important for whoever is watching to think that you’re alone and unprotected,
other than by some nameless cabbie driver who has no vested interest in you. We
have to give him the opportunity to try and snatch you. Now it may not be
Karas
who does the actual snatching, but we’re hoping so.
If we can get ahold of him, there might be a way to prove to the district
attorney that Sebastene is very bad news and should be watched like a hawk - if
not deported.”

“Alright,” she
slowly nodded her head. “I’ll do it. I want this to be over. I want my old life
back at
Caelan’s
, and if it means I need to put
myself outside like an unattended picnic basket to tempt Yogi Bear, then that’s
what I’ll do.” She looked down at Sophie who was sucking on her fist, her
little eyes closed. She stood and tucked her into the Pack & Play, before
turning back to face Gabriel who had joined her at by the mobile crib. “Just
make sure nothing happens to my baby, okay? She’s your namesake, Gabriel, and
I’m leaving her in your capable hands if something happens to me.”

“Nothing is going to happen to you,
louloúdi
mou.
Whether you’re mad at me or not, I take care of my
submissives
.
I’ve already failed once with Sara, I won’t make the same mistake with you.” He
kept his eyes on her. “Just as I was attempting to do earlier. I over-reacted
when I saw you fling yourself at Hark, and I’m not too big of a man to admit
that. He had a loaded gun on him, and I was unaware you and he had overcome
this hurdle shortly after you moved in with him….”

While her heart leapt at hearing his
apology, she wanted to make sure he realized that no matter his reasoning, she
wasn’t going to let him treat her like she was worthless. She’d come too far to
offer that kind of submission anymore. “I can understand your concern, but you
could’ve handled the situation better. You were already tense from having Hark
inside your home, you took the easiest avenue of release and snapped at me
because you honestly didn’t think I would snap back.” Her lips twisted into a
parody of a smile. “I’m not the same submissive I was before I had Sophie. Coming
to America has taught me a lot of things - and the first being that the right
man will realize my submission isn’t weakness, nor am I the poor little woman
who needs to be protected at every turn. Regardless of what it seems like at
the moment.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she
shushed him by placing her fingers over his lips. “But I’m also smart enough to
know when I need help, and at this moment I do need it. But there will come a
time when things go back to normal, and I will once more want a say on what
happens in my life, not just blindly follow my Master’s lead.” When she
finished her piece, it felt as if a large weight had been lifted off her chest.

“Are you done?” The silky tone should’ve
warned her, but she was still floating on a cloud of self-righteousness.

“I’ve said my piece, Gabriel…”

“Good.” He didn’t wait for her finish,
before he pulled her into his arms, his mouth slanting across hers, his tongue
forging deep inside to taste every bit of her. Her gasp of surprise was muffled
by his lips, even as her arms climbed up and over his shoulders to find
something to cling to, while he kissed her senseless. It was the last thing
she’d been expecting. His hand buried itself in her hair as he continued to
pillage the soft recesses of her mouth. She was gasping and little shocks of
pleasure were sparking off her individual nerve endings when he finally lifted
his head, allowing her to breathe once more.

“What was that for…?” She whispered
before slumping forward onto his chest, as he lightly slapped one hand against
the swell of her hip. The slight sting did nothing to deter her, instead it
sent another wave of sparks along her extremities.

He smirked, rubbing the sting away. “Because
I can?” He leaned in until his nose almost brushed hers. “Or perhaps because I
know feeling the burn of my palm will only heighten your sensations later, when
I take my naughty little sub back into my playroom.”

Her breath caught at the memories his
words invoked. “And what makes you think I’m willing to follow you back in
there - after everything that happened earlier?”

“Because you want to receive what I have
to offer nearly as much as I need to give it to you.” He nuzzled her ear. “And
I have a big bowl of steamy hot water and an old fashioned barber’s mug and
sable brush with your name on it.”