Gabriel's Heart [The Men of Treasure Cove 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (20 page)

The doors opened, and he looked left and then right, spying Travis coming out of a room. Walking toward him, he didn’t make a sound.

“Dude, where in the hell have you been?” Travis whispered angrily, meeting him halfway.

“How is she?”

“Alive. Jeff has been trying to get a hold of you. The hospital needed your signature for the surgery. Where did you go off to?”

“I needed some air.”

“Some air? Your wife lay bleeding to death, and you needed some air.”

“She’s not my wife.”

“What the hell are you talkin’ about? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Annie is gonna be fine. Hell, the doc’s even managed to—”

“I don’t need to hear anymore. Just hearing that she will be fine is enough.”

Just then, Conner, Orin, and Alexander walked out of the room.

Gabriel stiffened and braced himself for what was about to happen.

“You son of a bitch!” Alexander shouted and charged him, hitting him square in the stomach. Together they fell to the hard cold floor as Alexander began to pummel him.

Gabriel just lay there, allowing the sharp jabs and painful punches wash over him. He deserved everything and so much more. He also wanted to hit something, someone. It took Travis and Orin to pull his brother off of him, and for some perverse reason, Gabriel wished they had let him finish. He deserved everything and more.

“You got a lot of nerve showing up here.”

“I just came to make sure she was still alive.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you, fucker!”

“I need to see her.”

“Fuck no! You did enough already.”

“Alex, let him pass,” Jeff said loud enough to grab everyone’s attention. Gabriel looked up and saw his best friend leaning against the door. Walking slowly toward him, he could hear Alexander’s growl of hatred. As he reached the door, Jeff halted him and whispered, “Say what you need to say, and then stay the fuck away from her.”

Nodding, he watched as Jeff stepped aside and let him pass. He reached the open door, and for the first time in his life, his nerves took over. His breathing sped, his heart raced, and he could feel sweat beading on his forehead.

Taking a deep breath, he entered her room and found her curled up on the bed, covered in a soft white blanket, looking more innocent than he had ever seen. Her face was thinner and pale, her eyes hollow and dark. Her once-vibrant hair was dull and lacked the brilliant shine it once held. Her pale skin looked sickly and gray. This was not the Antoinette he remembered. Gone was the light, the passionate young woman. Now a broken and soulless woman lay silently before him.

Moving closer, he could see the tear tracks on her cheeks, and everything in him fell apart. Falling to his knees before her, he took her hand in his and silently begged for forgiveness. He begged her to forgive him for not fighting harder, not being there for her when she was hurting, and mostly for not having the courage to give her what she needed.

He was a cad, a selfish bastard who never gave himself to anyone. He didn’t deserve her grace and goodness. He seemed destined to destroy the goodness within her. Why she loved him, he would never understand. Looking at the woman before him, he didn’t want to know nor did he care. All that mattered was that he had systematically eradicated every ounce of love she had ever felt for him, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

“Gabriel?” Her sweet voice penetrated the walls of his mind. He looked into the eyes of a destroyed soul. He had done that to her. Gone was the laugher, love, the life force that was once Antoinette. What remained was hatred and despair.

“I’m here, little bird,” he said, not knowing anything else to say.

“Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he whispered, getting to his feet.

“I’m okay. You can go now.”

“I…”

“
Leave
!” she shouted, bringing Jeff and Alexander into the room.

“Gabriel?” Jeff said, walking up behind him. Gabriel stood and turned to his friend. The anguish on Jeff’s face was visible and even though Jeff felt for him, Gabriel knew he wouldn’t say anything. He was her brother. His loyalties belonged to her, not him.

He saw that Alexander didn’t waste time as he scooped a crying Antoinette into his arms, consoling her. He knew then that his brother would never leave her sight. Alexander loved her, and Antoinette loved him. They would be happy together. They both deserved some happiness in all of this chaos.

There were too many emotions running through him, and he could not think. His heart wanted her, his head screamed at him, his body betrayed him, and his soul bled for her.

There in that small hospital room, Gabriel did what none of them ever thought he would do. Never one to let his feelings show, always strong, never losing his self control, he prided himself on his ability to withstand the emotional state of one’s being, Gabriel walked back to the love of his life and begged.

Dropping to his knees before her, he shocked them all. “I am not a nice person, Antoinette. I never have been. I know you don’t understand why I did what I did, and there is no way I can really explain it. Just know that I did it not only for you but also for the town itself. I never meant to hurt you, but I needed you to see what was truly deeply within me. I never deserved your love. I have done nothing to deserve your approval or affection. Your grace and elegance always shined so brightly, for a small moment in time, you allowed me to step into your warmth, and I will always cherish those moments. All my life I prayed for a love that would entwine my heart and soul, and that I would endeavor to deserve her. When granted that wish, I destroyed it as I do everything else in my life, and for that, I will be eternally sorry.

“And to you, Alexander, I always wanted a brother. When presented with the opportunity to have one, I destroyed your life. I know there is nothing I can say for you to forgive me. Just know that I have loved you. I always have. I pray that you both find the joy that you deserve. Be kind to her, brother, because whoever has the pleasure of Antoinette’s love should cherish it every day, for they will never truly understand its depths.”

Getting to his feet, he headed toward the door. He stopped. He knew he shouldn’t have looked back, but he did, and the tears running down their faces would haunt him until the day he died. “Forgive me.”

Nobody said a word as he left the room and walked down the long white hallway. Stepping into the elevator, his thoughts assailed him. Quietly passing worried patrons, he reached the sliding doors that lead out to that torrential rain outside. As the rain pelted his face, Gabriel realized that he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

He was retreating again. Running from what he truly wanted. His whole life, he never faced the reality of any situation. When a relationship was not going the way he wanted, he left. He never bothered to stay and change the outcome, to fight for what he wanted. Life was messy. He knew that. Nothing was ever black and white. If he wanted Alexander and Antoinette, he was going to have to stay and make it work.

He loved Antoinette and Alexander, and like before, he just left because he was not in control.

“What the hell am I doing?” he said, and just as he was about to walk back into the hospital, something hit him on the head hard. Staggering to keep standing upright, he didn’t feel the strong hand grab him, until it was too late. His last thought was of the love of his life and his brother, both of whom lay upstairs with broken hearts that only he could heal.

* * * *

Uncertain about how much time had passed, Gabriel found himself lying on a bed with his legs cuffed to the rails, his hands chained to the walls, and his eyes covered with a ball gag in his mouth.

He seethed.

He had met and dealt with some unsavory people in his life, but when he got his hands on the motherfucker who accosted him, he was going to pull the bastard apart with his bare hands. He didn’t have time for this shit. He needed to get back to Antoinette and Alexander. He had to make everything right.

In that one moment of clarity outside the hospital, he had realized that nothing else mattered but them. They were his sole reason for living, and without them, his life was meaningless. He didn’t care about the town or its residents. He cared and loved one woman and his brother, and he needed to find a way to get them back. He knew he had fucked up royally. That much was for sure, but he was determined to right the wrong, just as soon as he got himself out of this mess.

Never in his life had he ever been treated so deplorably. Who the hell did they think they were? Did they not know who they were dealing with? he thought, laying there upon the bed.

He did not know how long he had laid in this dark, drafty room, but enough was enough.

The last thing he remembered before being accosted outside the hospital was the torrential downpour. He had forgotten his umbrella, but none of that mattered because he was about to return to them and beg for forgiveness for his stupidity. He never expected them to forgive him. He wouldn’t blame them if they had him arrested. He behaved abominably toward Antoinette and treated Alexander with indifference. It shocked him that no one called security and had him thrown out the moment he walked into her room.

Lost in his own personal misery, he wasn’t watching where he was going as some thug hit him from behind, and then everything went black after that.

When he woke, he found himself blindfolded and cuffed riding in a car. Of course, he demanded to whoever accosted him that they release him immediately. The resounding silence was deafening. All he knew was that the car ride was long. When the vehicle stopped, they ushered him out of the car and made him walk up some steps then threw him into another seat.

Before he could utter a word, they strapped him in as he heard the familiar roaring of a jet engine. Soon he was in the air, flying to god knew where.

Still nobody talked.

By the time the plane landed, he had no clue of time, let alone where they had taken him. Locked into what he knew was the world’s shittiest hellhole, he waited. He was biding his time, because eventually he knew he would get free, and when he did, all hell was going to break loose.

Planning every torturous detail, he heard the door creak open. He heard the footfalls of more than one person. Since the sounds were too heavy for a female, it was an easy deduction. He felt them removing his binds, and when the last cuff fell away, he waited no longer, ripping off his blindfold, jumped to his feet, and rounded on his captors and stopped dead in his tracks. “What the bloody hell?”

“Hi, boss!” the twins, Justice and Quinton, said in unison.

Gabriel was furious. It was one thing to be kidnapped and held captive by some unknown asshole, but it was altogether different when it was someone he knew and trusted. What the fuck were they thinking? He didn’t bother asking because he knew the real mastermind behind this escapade, and when he got his hands on the large oaf, he was going to kick his black ass!

He didn’t say a word when Justice and Quinton motioned for him to follow them. Gabriel figured he would follow along just enough to get his hands on Matthias. He knew the twins weren’t smart enough to come up with such an elaborate plan. They were just the pawns, but Gabriel wanted the mastermind.

He sat silently in the backseat while those two idiots up front talked about nothing of importance. It didn’t take a genius to realize where they were taking him, but nothing in this world could have prepared him for when he walked into his private office at the club and saw
her
.

Janie Hicks sat in his large leather office chair, smiling at him, surrounded by Emma Quinn, Lilly McDaniel, and Charlotte Brooks.

Matthias, his brother Alexander, Matthew Jenkins, and Margaret Hicks stood over by the bar, talking quietly and going over documents, but it was the look upon the woman at his desk that had him frozen. Gabriel knew this was not some social call. Walking slowly toward the ladies, he dared not say a single word, for the look on their faces was anything but welcoming.

“So the prodigal asshat returns.” Charlotte grinned.

“Charlotte, curb it,” Janie said, looking at her sister. As she brought her attention back to him, Gabriel knew not to speak. Waiting for her to begin, Gabriel wondered just how long it would be before his life ended.

“Good afternoon, Gabriel. I hope you are well?” she asked coolly.

Gabriel had been in several unsavory situations in his life, and through them all, he thought clearly and prided himself on his ability to think before speaking and do what was necessary to survive. At this moment, he had the uneasy feeling that nothing he could say would prevent these four women from ripping his balls from his body and feeding them to Peaches the pig.

He was a dead man standing.

“Aw, look, Gabriel is speechless. I find that refreshing, don’t you, Emma?” Janie smiled, never taking her eyes off of him.

Gulping, he dared not blink.

“I find it funny, especially for a man who is so good with his words. Not that he used that knowledge recently,” Emma said.