Mag-log inGabriel's POV I was already inside the car before I realized I might have made the single greatest mistake of my life. Erica had tried to stop me, to warn me, but I couldn't just sit there. I couldn't wait for Scott or the police. The terrifying calm in Mr. Miller’s final statement on the phone....it wasn't a bluff. I had lied to Erica, telling her I needed to use the bathroom, only to sneak down the back fire exit and walk right into the trap."Your phone," the heavy set guard sitting beside me barked, holding out a scarred palm.I handed it over without a fight. The second it was out of my hands, another man leaned in from the front seat, pulling a thick black cloth over my head and tying a rope tightly around my wrists.A few agonizing hours later, the car finally ground to a sudden halt. Every muscle in my body was stiff and aching. Rough hands grabbed my shoulders, yanked off the blindfold, and shoved me out of the vehicle.The cold evening air hit my face, and a sudden, crippl
Gabriel's POV "So what do we do now?" I asked, looking across the polished surface of the table."Well, with the evidence we've got, we’re just going to send it all to the police," Erica said, leaning over a thick stack of printed documents. "We have more than enough to convict Mr. Miller."I nodded, resting my chin in my hand as I watched them. We were all seated around the long dining table, scheming on how to finally send Derek's murderous father to prison. They had been working on this for a week....well, them, obviously. I had just been locked up in this cage because Derek was so paranoid his father was going to send someone to finish me off."Where exactly is Derek again?" Erica asked, scanning the room."I’m not sure," I sighed, tapping my fingers against the wood. "I barely see him anymore. He just comes in, drops off food or checks on me, and then vanishes again.""Scott, I hope he’s still sticking to the main plan," Erica said, turning her head toward Scott, who was typing
Derek's POV "Hello?" I answered, my voice tired. "Derek, your men won't let us in," Erica snapped over the line. "Oh fuck, sorry about that. I am coming downstairs now." I cut the call and stood up from the mattress, heading toward the bedroom door. Before I could reach the handle, Gabriel rushed up behind me, his fingers desperately catching the tip of my shirt. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen red. "Derek, I am coming with you," he demanded, his voice thick with unspent tears. "Hey... have you been crying?" I turned around, reaching out to wrap him gently in my arms, but the moment my skin touched his, he flinched hard. "Let me go!" He aggressively yanked himself out of my embrace. "What have I done this time, Gabe?" I asked, throwing my hands up in genuine frustration. He paused for a second, his brown eyes glaring up at me with pure heat. "What haven’t you done? That should be the right question!" Gabriel barked, pointing a sharp finger right in my face. "You
Erica's POV I slumped onto my couch, my brain working overtime trying to digest or prepare itself for whatever storm was coming next. "Hey, Erica?" Mike called out, leaning forward in the chair beside me. "Yeah?" I answered without looking up. "What's our role in all of this?" he asked, rubbing his palms together nervously. "I mean... Derek is going on a full-blown war with his own father. We are basically just nobodies here..." "Are you scared?" I asked, turning my head to look him dead in the eye. "Well, a little! Isn't Mr. Miller one of the most powerful men in this whole city?" I straightened my spine, sitting bolt upright. "Mr. Miller killed his own wife. He partnered with Gabriel's twisted mother and had Gabriel kidnapped and tortured... Should I keep listing out his sins for you, or do you get the picture?" "I know, I know..." Mike sighed, holding up his hands defensively. "It's just... girl, we are here on full scholarships. If anything goes wrong, Derek and Gabriel h
Gabriel's POV I let out a low, ragged moan, my head thrown back against the mattress as Derek's large hands gripped my thighs, pinning me down. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire, overwhelmed by the intense, suffocating heat of him finally having me back. Nine months of absolute darkness erased in a wave of raw, possessive desperation. "Derek...." I gasped out, my fingers clawing helplessly into the bedsheets. He leaned down, his mouth brushing against my ear, hot and heavy. "You're mine, Gabe," he growled, his voice thick and dripping with a wild, dark energy. "Don't you ever fucking leave me again." "I won't..." My voice trailed off into a breathy gasp as he slammed back into me, relentless and brutal, the sound of skin against skin echoing in the quiet room. Before I could even catch my breath, he hooked his hands under my thighs, pulling me up as I instinctively wrapped my legs tight around his waist. He hauled me off the bed, backing me up until my spine slammed i
Gabriel's POV Erica and Mike were making the kind of noise in my hospital room I wish I could expel them out for. I stared at Derek, who was still sitting right by my side like a devoted husband who almost lost his wife to the hands of death. His eyes never really left me, tracking every tiny breath I took. "So what did I miss?" I asked, propping myself up against the stiff pillows. "Well, for starters... Derek here has gone into religious psychosis." Erica laughed, nudging Mike as they both mocked him. "Urghh, tell me about it," I muttered, glaring at Derek. He didn't even talk back at them. He just sat there, clutching those ridiculous wooden and silver beads, completely cussed out. But could I really blame him? He almost lost the one he loved to the hands of death. I watched his thumb nervously track over a smooth wooden bead, his jaw tight. Yeah, as soon as I got discharged... I would need to build my man back brick by brick. "Wait, where's Scott?" I asked, looking around t
Gabriel's POV The air in the room was thick, smelling like expensive cologne and the kind of raw, sweaty musk that made me want to gag. I stood there, my hand still trembling on the doorknob, watching the person I had loved for five years untangle himself from a nightmare. "Gabriel, wait. I ca
Gabriel's POV The ride back to campus was the loudest silence I have ever sat through. Derek didn’t say a word, his knuckles white on the steering wheel of that red sports car, while I sat in the passenger seat trying not to choke on the taste of him. My throat felt raw, like I had swallowed a
Gabriel's POV "Wow isn't this wonderful, this was all predestined by God," my mum chuckled, breaking the deafening silence in the grand dining. I sat stiffly, my eyes glued to Derek's plate. He was sitting across me, this was definitely not the reaction I was expecting. His head was buried in hi
Gabriel's POV "Is that me, Gabriel? What the fuck? I knew you were weird, but I didn't know you were a fucking pervert." The voice cut through the silence of the art hall like a jagged blade. I didn't even have to look up. My blood had turned to ice instantly, my heart hammered a painful rhy







