CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Julie sat in front of Cam, knotting her hands nervously. “I didn’t know what to say,” she began.
“Start from the beginning,” Six said from behind him. “Tell Mr. Stafford what you told me.”
“He’s always quick to get angry when he’s here—Mitchell, I mean—and I know we shouldn’t speak out about him, being that he’s family and married to your sister, but he scares some of the young girls.”
“How?” Cam asked, his stomach in knots. He was sick of feeling this way, like his life was out of control and the people around him were being hurt.
“I wouldn’t say anything, but I’m on maternity leave after this Friday and I can give my notice here and now if you don’t want me back.”
There was defiance in her tone, and Cam was proud of her.
“Start from the beginning.”
By the time she left, she’d stopped crying, and Cam had said he would deal with it. He was seething and worried, and pissed that he’d missed so much.
“Get Mitchell up here,” he said.
Mitchell was in the hotel on a fact-finding task set by Sebastian—something about market share, not that Cam had agreed to any of it.
As soon as Six had left, Cam called Sophie, but yet again it went to voicemail. This time he left a long, detailed message. “Sophie, it’s Cam. I’m your brother and I love you, and I will always be here for you. Call me.”
Mitchell arrived five minutes later, his breath a little on the wheezy side, which made Cam think that Six had somehow coerced the man to come to the office.
“Six, can you wait outside?” Cam asked, and Six left, shutting the door behind him. Cam stood up and rounded the desk, leaning back on it with a sense of where Mitchell was standing.
“What’s wrong?” Mitchell asked. “Your ape was most insistent; he needs to know who I am and back off.”
“I had to make him go outside,” Cam began calmly. “Because Six wants to kill you.” He heard the gasp but didn’t give Mitchell time to talk. “You will treat my sister with respect. You are not a Stafford, you are a wannabe who will be out the door once I explain to Dad how you have insulted several of my staff and how forcing them into the locker room and pawing them counts as sexual harassment.”
“What the hell—”
“Shut. Up. I have several of my staff willing to put your advances in writing. Some already have. I will be filing them here, and you will not step foot inside my hotel again.”
“You can’t do this—”
“You see, Mitchell, actually I can.” He raised his voice. “Six, you can come back in.” The door opened. “If you could escort this man from the premises.”
“I can take myself out,” Mitchell snapped, and left. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”
The door slammed after him.
“Six, go to Sophie. Help her; tell her to come here. Don’t let Mitchell take it out on her.”
“On it.”
When Six arrived back a little after eight that evening with a tearful Sophie, Cam wondered for a moment if he’d completely fucked up. She might hate him. She might tell him he was wrong.
But all she did was hug him, and they sat on the sofa quietly for the longest time with Armageddon running in the background. When it ended and she’d cried so much it broke Cam’s heart, she simply held him close.
“I’ll take one of the rooms here,” she said, “if that’s okay.”
“Six will put you in a suite.”
“There’s no need—”
“You’re my sister and I love you. This is a family hotel.”
“Love you too, big brother.”
Cam rolled over in bed, the shrill alarm of his phone waking him from fragmented dreams in which he was being chased by Mitchell with a cleaver, not that he really knew what Mitchell looked like, but he picture a giant ogre and went with that in his dreams.
He scrambled for his cell, disoriented, and connected the call.
“What’s wrong?” he answered.
“You can have him,” a voice said. “You fucked with his head and he’s no good to me. Two million and you can have him.”
“Who is this?”
A laugh echoed down the line. “You know who it is. You have an hour.” The phone went dead, and all Cam did was reach over and press the emergency button. In less than a minute, Six was in the room and Cam was half dressed.
“What?” Six snapped. “Is it Mitchell? I should have dealt with him more than leaving him at the bus station without his wallet.”
“No, it’s not him. We need to get money; we need to save Gabriel.” He pulled on the shirt he’d discarded before bed, fumbling with the buttons, losing all control of how he usually managed to get dressed.
“Save Gabriel. What?” Hands gripped Cam’s arms, stopping him from moving. “Talk to me.”
“That man you book with, Stefan, he called me. He wants money for Gabriel.”
Six shook him a little, and he cursed.
“We’re not paying someone for Gabriel,” Six said, his tone calm, his hold still firm.
But it wasn’t the tone that made Cam snap—it was the desperate need to do something, anything, and knowing that Six had to help him.
“Fuck’s sake, Six, we have to go—”
“Okay, calm the hell down.” Six released his grip, and Cam wobbled a little before pulling himself together and reaching for where he knew he’d put his jacket. Six beat him to it, helping to put it on.
Cam whistled for Gidget and petted her, “Stay here,” he said, talking like she would even understand that Six was with him and he was going to be okay. She nosed his hand and whined soft and low, but then Cam heard her turning circles on her bed. He couldn’t think about Gidget. He couldn’t even get his head around what they needed to do. Only in the car did he remember the money again.
“How much money can I get now?”
“It’s five a.m.,” Six snapped.
“We can transfer it—”
“Cam, enough. Let me think, okay?”
Cam subsided, feeling like everything was out of control, then abruptly knowing that Six would be the one to take the brunt of whatever was happening here.
“Thank you,” Cam murmured, scrubbing at his eyes with his fists. “I never say it, but thank you.”
“You won’t be thanking me if I kill the bastard.”
“You’re not hurting Gabriel. This isn’t his fault—”
“Jesus, Cam, I’m not hurting Gabriel.”
They drove in silence again, but the way that Six took corners felt like they were traveling at speed. What if they picked up a cop? Did they want the cops involved in this?
The car came to a sharp stop and Six opened his door. “Stay here.”
Cam wasn’t doing that. “He called me,” he said, and opened his own door, wincing as it hit something that sounded metal, probably a fire hydrant.
Six laid a hand on Cam’s arm. “But he’s dealing with me.”
There was danger in Six’s tone, and Cam knew he had to be realistic. Whatever was happening with Gabriel and this Stefan guy wouldn’t be helped by him getting in the way.
“I have the money,” he said, a little desperately.
“Cam, I know. Leave this to me.”
“He may not want to leave,” Cam murmured. “He thinks Stefan is his only choice.”
Six rested a hand on his knee, squeezed it. “Stay here and lock the doors after me.”
Cam nodded. He could do that. It was pretty much all he could do, but it was something, right?
Six left, Cam locked the car, and then all he could do was wait.
* * * * *
Gabriel shifted in the chair that Stefan had recommended he sit on. His tone had been more forceful than suggesting, but Gabriel wasn’t arguing. He hadn’t laid a hand on him, nor shown him why he’d been wrong—all he’d done was make a single phone call in his room, and then he’d come back out and sat on the sofa, staring right at Gabriel.
And all Gabriel could do was wait for the ax to fall. This was worse than Stefan punishing him and reassuring him of his place in the world. This was different. Wrong.
“You remember I took you in,” Stefan said calmly, collected and focused.
What was Gabriel supposed to say? That question had been asked so many times, and it seemed he never answered the right way. If he said a simple yes, then he wasn’t thankful enough. If he said yes and thanked Stefan, then that was too submissive and pathetic.
“I do,” he finally said, and waited for the explosion that always occurred after this trick question.
Stefan nodded. “It wasn’t enough money,” he said. “That pitiful amount you paid me wasn’t enough to pay for everything I’ve given you. A place to sleep. A career. You get that, right?”
Everything always came back to money. The PI who’d tracked him down had given him a check with the name Darren Castille on the bottom and a letter, and Stefan had taken the check and the letter. He’d never seen either again. But he knew Stefan had cashed that check somehow, because he’d told him over and over again that it hadn’t been enough.
Nothing Gabriel did was ever enough.
Why don’t you stand up to Stefan? The peace in this room, this fragile peace that could snap into violence at any moment, was a space for him to think, to pray that maybe this time the violence would be enough to end everything for him.
He wanted to say goodbye to Cam, though, and maybe watch one more film with him and eat all his chips. Because Cam meant something to a broken man. Not that Gabriel deserved it.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, because that was what Stefan expected whenever money came up.
“You should sign over your savings to me. That will make us even.”
Gabriel’s insides knotted. The money he’d saved was to pay back Darren Castille the blood money he’d been given. And he was so close to having it all. “No,” he said, and tried to make himself smaller in the chair.
Stefan half rose to his feet, temper in every line of him, then he subsided back onto the sofa, and he was smiling.
“I’ll take it anyway,” he said. “What are you going to do to stop me?” He laughed at his own statement, like it was some huge joke.
“That isn’t even my money,” Gabriel said, aware he was pushing this too hard. Why was Stefan just sitting there? Why didn’t he beat Gabriel, or hurt him in some other way? He could handle the pain, but he didn’t know how to handle this weird face-off. Was this just another way to mess with him? Something new that Gabriel hadn’t had time to build a mental wall against?
“Doesn’t matter,” Stefan said, and examined his nails. “I have the bank of Cameron Stafford ready to bankroll you.”
Cam’s name made his spiraling thoughts come to a grinding halt.
“What?”
Stefan casually looked at his watch. “He’ll be here soon. Two million for your sorry ass, and there will be more where that came from.”
“Leave Cam alone,” Gabriel said softly, a low warning that made him feel sick to the stomach. Stefan couldn’t touch Cam.
“I’m not touching Cam,” Stefan said with a grin. “I just need to hurt you.”
“That won’t work, he doesn’t care about me.”
“You’re wrong, Angel, he thinks something of you,” Stefan said. “He’s a rich man who can pay for your used ass for a very long time.”
“No,” Gabriel said, and he pushed himself shakily to his feet. “Leave. Him. Alone.”
Stefan stood as well, and a grin split his face. “What are you going to do to stop me?”
Gabriel clenched his fists and took an unsteady step forward. “No,” he said.
“What will you do? Hit me?” Stefan laughed. He was a big man, strong, and Gabriel was nothing against him, but he was close to losing it.
The thought of Stefan hurting Cam, taking money from him, was wrong.
It was all fucking wrong.
There was a knock on the door, and Stefan’s grin expanded even more. “Showtime,” he said.
He crossed to the door, but as soon as he’d opened it, the door flew in forcefully, knocking him to the floor.
Six stood there, cold focus in his eyes, and he glanced briefly at Gabriel. Then he picked up a floored Stefan and pinned him by his neck to the wall, his feet dangling. Stefan was scrambling to pull Six off, but he’d finally met someone bigger and stronger than him.
“You have belongings here?” Six asked, and Gabriel realized he was talking to him. “Snap out of it, Gabriel. You have stuff you need to collect?”
“Yes, I…”
“Get them.”
Stefan made a choking sound, but Six didn’t move, even when Stefan’s foot connected with his knee. He just moved to pin him bodily.
“Gabriel, get your fucking stuff.”
Gabriel did as he was told, going to his room, looking wildly at what he had. Nothing.
He had nothing. No photos, no books, no clothes that he wanted. Nothing.
He came back out. Stefan was quieter, still pinned, his eyes closed.
“Cam is downstairs. Get to the car and wait for me.”
Gabriel sidled past Stefan, who opened his eyes and stared right at him. “I’ll kill you,” he spluttered, but Six pushed him harder, and this time his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Get. To. The. Car.”
“Are you killing him?” Gabriel asked, and he couldn’t believe those words had left his mouth. What was he asking? It was like another man was inside his head.
“Do time for a piece of shit like him? We’ll see. Now go.”
Gabriel scrambled out of the room, down the stairs, and burst out onto the early morning street, coming face to face with Cam leaning on the hood of a large SUV that had been parked haphazardly up on the sidewalk.
“Cam,” Gabriel murmured. The shock of what he was seeing, of what had just happened, was too much. He stepped back and turned on his heel. He didn’t know where he was going to go, but Six would look out for Cam.
“Gabriel? Wait.”
He turned back and saw that Cam had moved away from the car, his hand out in front of him like he expected to feel Gabriel there.
“I have to go.”
“What happened?” Cam asked, and took a step toward him, knocking into the fire hydrant on the corner. He stumbled a little, but righted himself immediately. “Are you okay?”
“Six is talking to Stefan.” He didn’t know how else to explain what was happening inside that apartment. Was Six going to kill Stefan? Would Gabriel’s life end with that of the man who’d shaped him? Tears came unbidden to him, rolling down his cheeks, and he couldn’t believe he was standing there in the middle of the fucking street bawling like a baby.
Cam moved closer, and Gabriel was frozen in place.
“Come here,” Cam said—not an order, just a plea.
Gabriel took a step closer to Cam, then stopped. “I have to go,” he said.
“Okay,” Cam said, and nodded. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
Where was he going to go? He had his savings, but he wanted them to repay the awful debt that Stefan had made him take on. He didn’t want blood money from his time at the Bar Five. He wanted nothing from his childhood.
Except his mom.
“I really want my mom,” he said.
“We can take you anywhere,” Cam said immediately.
“Mom’s gone. She died when I was a kid. You can’t give me my mom.”
“How can I help you? I can take you to the hotel?”
“No.”
“Legacy, then.”
Legacy would take him in for a while so he could get his bearings, and he knew that the place was close to the ranch where Darren worked. He could take out all his money, pay Darren, maybe get some sleep before he fell to the ground and slept right here.
“Legacy,” he agreed.
The door to the building slammed open and Six came out. He wasn’t covered in blood, he didn’t seem in a hurry, and he didn’t say a thing about what had happened.
“We’re taking Gabriel to Legacy Ranch,” Cam said. Seemed like he wasn’t questioning Six about what had happened either. Like maybe he didn’t care what Six had done to Stefan.
“Is he dead?” Gabriel asked. Half of Gabriel wanted Stefan dead so he’d be free. The other half was ashamed of feeling that way. Stefan had saved him from the streets.
He saved me.
And now Six and Cam have saved me.
Why can’t I save myself?
“No, I didn’t kill him. Get in the damn car.”
The journey to Legacy Ranch took enough time for Gabriel to think about everything that had happened. The pain and the fear and the self-loathing. By the time they reached the place he hoped he could call home for at least a couple of days, it was eight a.m. and the light was too bright on his tired eyes. Six pulled up at the end of the road and stayed in the car. Only Cam and Gabriel got out, and the door to the ranch house opened, Kyle standing in the doorway with Jason at his side.
“You know where I am,” Cam said, and held out his right hand. “When you’re ready, you know how to reach me.”
“Why would you want that?” He couldn’t help asking the question. Why would this strong man want someone who was as broken and twisted as Gabriel?
In answer, Cam moved into his space, sliding his hands up Gabriel’s arms and finally cradling his face. Gabriel was frozen in place. He couldn’t even breathe. His chest felt tight. And then Cam did the unthinkable. He pressed a soft kiss to Gabriel’s lips, then slanted his mouth to deepen the kiss. Taken by surprise, Gabriel reciprocated. He’d never tasted anything like this, never felt the connection in a simple kiss.
And then Cam stepped back. “I’ll visit. You don’t need to see me, but I want to know you’re okay.”
“I’m not staying here that long.”
Cam kissed him again, right on the tip of his nose and then each eye before resting his lips on Gabriel’s again, then he moved away.
“You know where I am,” he said.
Gabriel watched him get into the car, and then as Six backed up the drive, until all that was left of them was a trail of dust. He rubbed at his chest. He wanted Cam to come back, wanted selfishly to have another kiss, to depend on Cam to fix this, to have Six next to him all the time to stop anyone hurting him.
But he wasn’t worth that kind of love.
So he walked to Kyle, who extended a hand, which Gabriel shook.
“We have your room ready,” Kyle said.
And completely mortified, Gabriel followed him in.