Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) (16 page)

Hark came
rushing down the stairs with Sophie crying in the cradle of his arm.
Immediately his ardor died a swift death. What the hell had the man done?

“What’s wrong?”
Zhenya pulled free of his embrace, and rushed to Hark’s side.

“You need to go
with him.” Hark’s eyes were dark with anger and something else. Before she
could identify what it was, there was a loud shattering sound from upstairs.
Shoving the baby bag and purse that Gabriel hadn’t noticed him carrying at her,
he gently placed Sophie in Zhenya’s arms. “They found you. Go with him, while I
hold them off.”

“Who found her?”

Zhenya turned
pale. “Sebastene.” She pulled Sophia closer, before grabbing Hark by his
shoulder. “Don’t you do anything stupid,
Harkahome
,
do you understand me?” Her threat held a watery tone as if she was holding the
tears back. “I’ll find the biggest,
baddest
Dom I can
find and have him work your ass over if you let yourself get hurt, do you
understand me?”

A smile that
Gabriel hadn’t seen since before his sister died crossed Hark’s face. “I’ll be careful,
little one. Now take Sophie and go with him. He’ll take you someplace safe.” He
glanced at Gabriel. “Take care of her, or you’ll be answering to me, Poulanos.”
The scent of smoke drifted down the stairs and Hark cursed. “Those son of
bitches!”

Then he sprinted
back up the stairs leaving Gabriel with a sobbing woman and a crying babe.
Slipping back into the role of protector was surprisingly easy. Taking the bag
and the purse from Zhenya, he firmly guided her out of the house towards his
vehicle while ignoring the shouting coming from upstairs.

“Come on, we
have to go. Hark is a big boy and can take care of himself.” Gabriel spoke
softly.

Her eyes
glittered angrily as she jerked her arm out of his hand. “As if you care about
what happens to him!”

He gritted his
teeth. “I may not get along with him, but I don’t wish him dead, Zhenya. Now
get your ass in the truck before I decide to paddle it right here and now.”

Her lip
trembled. “I don’t have Sophie’s car seat.” When she moved towards the garage,
he grabbed her arm.

“I have one.” He
yanked open the back door of the SUV, showing her the brand new seat he’d
pulled out of his storage unit near Olivia’s, before heading up to Zion. He’d
come prepared. “Now get in before what little lead time Hark has given us is
gone.” He cursed loudly as he spotted two men dressed in black coming around
the side of the house. “Now, dammit.” He gave her a gentle shove and slammed
the door shut, before climbing into the driver’s seat. Throwing it in reverse,
he backed out of the drive as the splattering sound of bullets ripped through
the air. Glancing back in his rear view mirror, the last thing he saw was the
top of his sister’s house in flames, two men firing at them still, and an
avenging Hark appearing in the doorway behind the men, before engaging them.
Personally he was glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of Hark’s fury, as he
reached for his cell phone and hit the emergency call button.

“This is 911,
what is your emergency?”

“I need to
report a fire and gunshots fired at….” As he rattled off his sister’s address,
he was vastly aware of the soft crying from both Sophie and Zhenya behind him.

Chapter Sixteen

Zhenya didn
’t say much as Gabriel pulled into the underground garage, while
she nursed her daughter in the backseat. The tears she’d shed after leaving
Hark behind had dried up when Sophia began screaming. Not only could her
daughter feel her mother’s tension but she was also hungry.
 
So she’d dried her eyes, and made cooing
noises hoping to calm her daughter, as Gabriel spoke briskly on his cell with
first the police, then to Jude or
Caelan
. She wasn’t
entirely sure, since he never addressed the person by name, but the content of
their conversation led her to believe it was one of the two men.
 
Now however, he was entirely focused on the
attendant. Whispering soothing words to Sophie as her daughter tugged hungrily
on her nipple, she felt the vehicle pull through the checkpoint.
 
Moments later in a designated slot, he pulled
to a stop.

“We’re here.”
 
Gabriel put
the SUV in park and turned around in his seat to address her. “Is she okay?
When she started screaming, I thought maybe she’d gotten hurt…”

“She’s fine, just hungry.”
 
She didn’t bother to look up. After her earlier response to him, she
wasn’t going to push her luck.
 
She was
going to need to keep her distance from him, or she’d end up doing something
like falling into bed with him. Not that it would be the end of the world, but
she’d definitely have regrets when the passion was over, and he realized she
wasn’t his beloved Sara.

“Okay.”
 
He seemed at a
loss for words, because the silence between them returned to the same
uncomfortable proportions it had been before they’d stopped. The strident sound
of his phone going off broke the tension. He twisted back forward.
“Poulanos.”
 
There was a pause. “Great.
I’ll let her know.”
 
There was a pause.
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. Thanks,
Caelan
.
 
And do me a favor, apologize to Olivia for
me, will you? I acted like an ass earlier at the club.”
 
A low chuckle rumbled free of him.
 
“Now come on, she won’t hit you. You’re like
her brother. If I show my face at the club, she’s liable to take that crop of
hers to me.”
 
He sighed. “Fine. I’ll take
my lashing. I didn’t realize you were such a coward, you Irish prick.”
  

Intrigued about the one sided conversation, she waited for him
to explain what they were going to do.
 
But even more, she was curious about what had happened between him and
Olivia. It was obvious by his clothing he’d been to the club.
 
While he disconnected the call, she tucked
herself back into her nursing bra, before blurting out the first thing that
came to her mind. “Tell me what?”

He twisted back around as she straightened her top. “Hark just
called in. He’s fine, Zhenya. I wish I could say his house was as well, but
unfortunately it didn’t survive the attack.
 
According to the Zion’s fire department it’s a total loss. The bastards
not only threw a smoke canister through an upstairs window to lure you out,
they also decided to shove a Molotov cocktail down through a basement window
well. By the time Hark got back inside and then downstairs the basement was
totally engulfed.”
 

“Oh, no.”
 
Tears filled
her eyes at the thought of the destruction of Hark’s beautiful workshop, which
had been housed in the basement. “He lost all his tools, his art.” She wiped at
the offending tears. “Dammit, why can’t Sebastene leave me alone?”

Gabriel’s expression softened with either understanding or pity
- she wasn’t sure. “You’re not at fault.
 
He is. You’ve every right to protect your daughter from him, so don’t
for a second blame yourself. In fact if I hear you doing it again, I’ll warm
your bottom for sure. Do you understand?”
 

Her eyes widened at the forceful tone. “I…yes. I understand. No
blaming myself.”

He gave a sharp nod of his head, as if he were satisfied with
her answer.
 
“Good. Now what we’re going
to do settle you upstairs in my condo, and while I hate to say it, you’re
gonna
be under house arrest until we either have Sebastene
in custody or he’s left the country.”
 

Her shoulders slumped. “Is that necessary? Even at Hark’s I was
allowed to go to the store with him, and he was planning on bringing me back in
later this week for Sophie’s three month physical and a recheck on her ears.
She had an ear infection last week.” Tucking Sophia into her seat, she fumbled
with the unfamiliar latches on the base of the car seat.
 
The sway of the S.U.V. when Gabriel exited
warned her, before he opened the door and with a quick flip of the wrist
managed to unlatch the infant carrier from its base.
 
From the floor, he grabbed a dark knapsack
she hadn’t noticed earlier and slung it over one shoulder.
 

When he lifted Sophia, carrier and all out of the vehicle,
Zhenya slid across the seat to follow.
 
Hooking the baby bag and her purse over one shoulder, she allowed him to
guide her towards the elevator with a hand at the base of her back.

“Which is probably how
Sebastene’s
goons found you in the first place.” He picked up their conversation with ease.
“Did you happen to use your credit card or anything while staying with
Hark?”
  

She shook her head. “ No, Hark always paid for everything. He
told me I could pay him back after this was over.”
 

Escorting her inside the metal box, he pressed the button for
the sixth floor.
 
“So you used cash or
Hark’s card the entire time? Smart man.”
 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
 
Her lungs filled with his cologne and she
tried not to stare at him, but in the close confines every breath she took was
filled with his scent and the aroma of his leather pants.
 
He’d obviously been at the club and the dark
bag hanging from his shoulder made her heart race as she speculated at its
contents.
 
She couldn’t be a hundred
percent sure it was his toy bag, but the thought it might be had her
imagination running wild, and her long neglected libido stirring. “So you were
at the club earlier tonight?”
 

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Yes.”

When he didn’t continue but turned his attention back to the
doors, her face heated.
 
Great, I haven’t even made it into his condo
yet and I’ve already overstepped my boundaries.
 
So she closed her mouth and wisely said
nothing more.
 
When the elevator slowed
to a stop, she was more than ready to leave its tight confines.
  

As the doors parted, she moved to escape the close space, but
was drawn up short by the arm he threw in front of her.
 
She opened her mouth to protest, but he just
shook his head in warning.
 

“Let me check the hall first.
 
Didn’t what just happened at Hark’s mean anything?” The harsh warning
tone was all it took to have her freezing in place, her back stiffening as
anger rushed through her.
 

* * * *

Gabriel knew he was more than
likely coming off as an ass with his over-protectiveness, particularly when her
back stiffened up at his abrupt order but he couldn
’t risk something happening, especially after what had occurred
at Hark’s home. He’d never been as scared in his life as he had been when he
realized the intruders were actually shooting at a defenseless woman and child.

“And how the hell would they know that I’m at your place? You
said no one followed us.”
 
She crossed
her arms over her chest, her lower lip sticking out slightly as she glared up
at him.
 
“I’m sorry your vehicle got shot
up, but we left the attackers behind. There’s no way they could track us here,
right?”

He scowled at her. “No - not right. How about the fact they
could’ve gotten my license plate number? It’d be easy enough for them to run it
through the D.M.V. - in fact I’d be surprised if they didn’t.”

She paled and he wanted to curse his own stupidity. He didn’t
want to scare her, but she had to listen to him, to take precautions and obey
orders or there was a very real chance that either she or the baby would end up
being taken.
 

“They could?”
 

Sighing, he glanced into the hall before pulling her out of the
elevator. “If I had a plate on the front of the Suburban, they could. Lucky for
you the deer I hit last week when I drove out to Glen Ellyn took out the front
plate, and I haven’t made it down to the Loop’s Secretary of State’s office to
order a replacement.
 
Hopefully our
attackers were too busy dealing with Hark to actually catch a glimpse of my
rear plate. ”
 

He could read the relief in her expression as he stopped in
front of his door.
 
On this level there
were only two condos.
 
He noticed how she
looked over at the other door. “It’s empty at the moment – Mrs.
Siems
moved out last month to live in a retirement
community in Arizona.”
  
Unlocking the
door, he pushed it open, allowing her into the apartment.
 

Following her in, he idly wondered what she thought of it, as
she stood in the middle of the living room.
 
Gone were the
fru-fru
throws and pillows Sara
had used to cover the gorgeous leather of his couch, recliner, and love
seat.
 
The dried flowers and shells Sara
had loved to grace his mantle with had been replaced by a pair of ivory candles
flanking a small battery operated waterfall. The same one, which had been there
before she’d moved in with him.

As Zhenya wandered over to the mantle to dip her fingers in the
still water, he found himself watching for her reaction. Would she like the
tinkle of water flowing over the rounded stones, or would she be like Sara and
claim it only made her want to pee, instead of soothing her as it had him.
 
When he’d placed it back on the mantle last
week it’d been bittersweet, but he was ready to move on. He couldn’t live as
half a man anymore.

So he’d carefully packed away Sara’s things into several boxes
to give to her parents. Other than the few things he hadn’t been able to let go
of, he’d stripped his place of everything Sara had brought in.
 
He was damned if he was
gonna
let Linus and Regina Kempton accuse him of stealing. So last week when he’d
visited Sara’s grave in Glen Ellyn, he’d made a brief stop at her folks’ place.
Just long enough to drop of the boxes and
once more be accused of killing their daughter.
Remembering the ugly
confrontation left a bitter taste in his mouth.
 

Putting the memory on the back burner, he set Sophie’s seat on
the couch after deactivating his security alarm.
 
Freeing the baby from the seat, he lifted her
to his shoulder, taking in her smell of baby powder and
Dreft
laundry soap.
 
Pressing up with little
fists Sophia tried to hold her head up, but like all babies of her age, ended
up wobbling so badly he had to cup her small head so she didn’t inadvertently
hit her pretty little nose or face on his chin.
 

“Whoa there, peanut.”
   
At the sound of his voice, her dark gray eyes, so similar to her
mother’s focused on him, and she gave him a drool-filled smile. Right at that
moment, Gabriel Poulanos, the man who’d sworn he’d never let another human
close again, fell in love.

“Would you mind if I turned it on?”
 
Zhenya’s voice broke the connection between
him and Sophia, as both of their heads turned towards Sophia’s mother.
 
When she gestured to the fountain, he
realized what she wanted.

“Of course not.
 
Go ahead.
I find it quite soothing when I’m stressed. We’ll be right back. I want to
show, Miss Sophie here, the kitchen. Cradling Sophie close, he moved down the
hall toward the kitchen.
 
“Would you like
something to drink, Zhenya?
 
Water, soda
or perhaps something a bit stronger?”

“Water will be fine, Mast…I mean Gabriel.”
 
She turned away and flicked the switch on the
fountain. It gurgled to life

“Then water it is.”
 
He
pushed aside his need to hear the word ‘master’ from her lips once again, and
took Sophia down the hall with him.
 
As
he passed the closed door on the right he inwardly groaned. The idea of tucking
little Sophie into bed and then tucking something entirely different into her
mother had him hurrying past his playroom.
 
In his rush to protect Zhenya and Sophie, he hadn’t thought at all about
their sleeping arrangements once he got her inside his home.
 
With his office for work occupying one
bedroom and his playroom the other, it left only one bed in the entire house -
his.
 
His cock hardened at the idea of
having the woman he’d been lusting after for so long in his bed and arms. The
situation was torture and it was going to get worse.
 
She’s
going to fuckin’ kill me when she finds out - especially when I tell her she
isn’t sleeping alone.