Chapter 7

~ Gabrielle ~

Six Years Earlier

I shoved through the throngs of people crowding the school hallway and wished time would move quicker. Each day, I found myself looking forward to the time I spent with Danny on our walks. Kat had ended up in the same ballet class as me, and had even offered me a ride, but I’d declined, not wanting to lose the alone time with Danny.

Even though he was difficult to talk to under the best of circumstances, and sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get him to say anything, I still got something out of him, and from the little I’d learned, I was fascinated. Something about him drew me in. He wasn’t nice; if anything, he acted like a jerk on purpose. But there were those brief glimpses where he wasn’t hiding behind his armor and he was quite charming. When he smiled, his face lit up in such stunning contrast to the usual hardness, revealing how handsome he was when not perpetually scowling. I could tell he had a good sense of humor, but didn’t show it for some reason, choosing rather to act aloof and tough with a mammoth-sized chip on his shoulder. And despite his off-putting manner, I wanted to learn more.

But after the warning from Ms. Thomas not to hang around him after she’d spotted me walking with him after school, and then from Kat, explaining Danny had once run with the wrong crowd who might now be looking for paybacks, I decided to ask him about what I’d heard. I was unsure how to do it, however. I didn’t want to lose him as a chaperone, and the last thing I wanted was to upset one of the only people who’d treated me as a human being. How Danny could be dangerous, I didn’t understand—standoffish, yes, but not dangerous. He did carry a gun, but it wasn’t as if he’d pointed it at me or threatened me with it. In fact, it had come in good use and I was thankful he’d had it on him at the time. If what Ms. Thomas and Kat said was true, that picture didn’t mesh with the Danny I was getting to know. Not that he was open and friendly, but he didn’t appear dangerous or scary; or a walking target, for that matter.

Plus, Kat told me the garage he worked at wasn’t anywhere near the studio, so he’d lied about that in order to walk with me. While unusual, it didn’t seem like someone I needed to avoid. There seemed to be a hidden motive at play, and what exactly, I was determined to find out.

Danny waited outside the school when I emerged after the last bell. And, as with every day before, once he caught sight of me, he started walking, not bothering to give me a moment to catch up.

Just when I got up the nerves to say something, always discomfited at first by his intense silence, his hand clamped down on my arm, shocking me mute, and he pulled me closer to his side, shielding me from view with his body. I frowned and was about to ask what was going on when I noticed a car on the street slowing down as it passed. All I caught was a quick glimpse of the driver, but what I saw was an older man with wild hair surrounding a haggard face. The ancient car’s muffler rumbled, the vibrations palpable. I jerked when it backfired as the car slowed almost to a stop, and glanced at Danny for a clue about what was happening, but he kept his eyes forward as if he detected nothing out of the ordinary.

“Hey boy!” the man from the car yelled.

Danny ignored him and continued walking, the car creeping next to us.

“Don’t you fucking ignore me! I know you fucking stole my stash!”

Danny closed his eyes and steeled his jaw, the only acknowledgment of the man shouting at him, but he didn’t stop moving, pulling me along with him.

“Are you going to answer him?” I whispered.

“Ignore him.”

A chill of unease slithered through me. “Do you know him?”

I bit off a shriek when the horn on the vehicle blasted. The noise drew people to their doors, curious about the spectacle on the street in front of their houses. The man changed from short, sharp beeps to laying on it without yield. Danny finally stopped, yanking me to a halt with him.

“Go home!” he yelled.

The blaring ceased, but the man continued to glare at us. Nervousness crawled along my skin. I didn’t like the unstable look on his face.

“Go on! Get the fuck out of here!”

When the car still didn’t move, Danny cursed and let go of my arm as he stomped over to it. He leaned in the passenger side window, and while I couldn’t overhear everything, I caught “Get out of here” again, along with “You’re high.” Whatever else he said worked, and he strode back to my side, watching the vehicle amble its way down the road.

“Who was that?” I asked when the show was over.

He took a deep breath and set his icy blue eyes on me. “My father.”

“Your fath—” I snapped my mouth shut, unsure of what to say. What kind of man drove around during the day, yelling at his son for no apparent reason? And Danny said he was high. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I felt sorry for the man and Danny.

Danny, studying me, misread my reaction as disgust. “I know, I know. Your father is probably the perfect daddy with his perfect little job, and he comes home every day to his fucking perfect little family.”

Resentment shone in his eyes and bitterness colored his tone, and I jolted. Heaviness settled over me and my limbs felt like they were made of lead. “You have no idea—”

“Oh, I’m sure I do. You wouldn’t understand—”

“He’s dead. He killed himself.” I swallowed hard. Those words always ended up clogged at the back of my throat.

The anger plunged from his face replaced by shock. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Life sucks, you know?”

He let out a breath. “Don’t I?” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m an asshole. Forget I said anything, okay?”

He started to walk away, but I put a hand on his arm to stop him. It was now or never. “Why are you doing this?”

He glanced down at where my hand rested before raising his gaze back to mine. “What?”

I fought through the rising panic, his hard expression making me uncomfortable, and I almost told him to forget it, but I didn’t. If I wanted answers, I needed to push through. “This. Walking with me every day.”

“Because I said I would help you out.” He frowned. “If you don’t want me to, just say so.”

“No, it isn’t that. You told me you worked by the studio on Parks, not five miles in the opposite direction.”

All expression fell from his face. “I said it was on Parks, not right next door. What does it matter anyway? What a way to make someone feel fucking appreciated.”

His retreat, always his immediate reaction, frustrated me and I lost it, not caring if I made him mad. “I don’t understand you. Why are you doing something nice, but want me to believe you’re a jerk? You act like you’re put out, but you’re the one who offered! What do you want from me?”

“What do I want from you?” He ran his hand through his hair and scoffed. “What the fuck do I want from you?” he murmured. He paced around before spinning back to face me, his hands jammed in his pocket. “What do I want from you? Gabrielle, you have no idea how much I fucking want from you.”

I gasped and my heart rate tripled. “What?”

He took a step toward me. “Since the first second you walked into that classroom, all scared and nervous, I haven’t been able to get you out of my fucking head. You’re all up there and no matter what I do, you won’t get out and it’s driving me nuts.”

I shook my head in denial, unable to process what his words meant. No way would I have ever guessed he was interested in me when he acted as if I was a piece of lint, stubbornly refusing to come off his sweatshirt.

He smirked at my apparent disbelief. “Now, I know you’re thinking I must be crazy because there is no way a guy like me and a girl like you could ever like each other, let alone get along, and believe me, I’ve told myself that a million times. We’re not just opposites; we’re like motherfucking polar opposites.”

“No. No, that’s not what I’m thinking.”

“No?” One dark brow rose. “What are you thinking then?”

“Wouldn’t it have just been easier to ask me out?” I braved, even though my heart threatened to pound out of my chest.

Danny grinned and let out a huff of laughter before turning serious again. His throat moved as he swallowed, and one hand reached out to cup my face. My eyes fluttered at the contact, but opened again when he closed the distance between us. His intensity deepened the blue of his eyes and they bore down on me when he rested his forehead against mine, and I melted. “You don’t want to get messed up with someone like me. I’m bad news for you. Please believe me when I say this.”

“Isn’t that for me to decide?”

He moved in to nuzzle his nose close to my neck and inhaled. “You smell amazing, G.” His voice was a low rumble against my sensitive skin.

I jerked my head back so I could see his face. “G?”

He chuckled, and his breath warmed my cheek. “You don’t like the nickname? I’ve got others—G Girl, Double G, GE.”

“GE?”

“Yeah, like the light bulb.” His gaze deepened. “You’re the only brightness in this bullshit life of mine.”

I sucked in a shaky breath. How could he make a corny nickname after a light bulb sound romantic? Somehow, he had, sweeping me away with his sweet words. I searched for signs he was pulling one over on me, but his expression remained serious with no hint of amusement. Instead, he looked uncertain as he waited, anxious for my response.

His lips were so close that I wet mine, aching for him to lean in and kiss me, wrapping his arms around me as he held me tight against his long, hard body, but he stood his ground, unmoving. My skin flushed from my scalp to my toes, and my whole body tingled, every nerve on high alert. My lungs tightened, making it difficult to take a deep breath.

“I had no idea.”

“I didn’t want you to.” He stepped back and let his hands drop from my face, holding mine in each of his. “So, what do you say, G? Do you want to go against your better judgment and go out with a guy like me?”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “I say it’s about time you asked.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “I have one condition. Don’t let anyone else try to tell you anything about us.”

I raised my brows. “Even you?”

He chuckled and shrugged. “I’ll only tell you the truth, G. You have to decide if you can handle it or not. Simple as that.”

I studied him. “Okay. Then I have one condition as well.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Stop making assumptions about me and what I’m thinking. And I get to call you Danny,” I added quickly. “I guess that’s two conditions.”

He nodded his head before reaching out to trail his fingers along my jawline. “Sure, G. It’s a date then?”

I leaned into his hand, feeling as if I was glowing from the inside out, and smiled. “It’s a date.”