Chapter 4: GABRIEL

There was a time I felt bad about pulling the wool over my stepdad's eyes, but it was for the greater good, so I've learned to live with those feelings. He still sees me as the businessman he'd trained me to be, whereas dad, who had been keeping track of his only son over the years, seemed to know some of what I really am. I'm still not sure how. But the fact that he'd gotten that much told me that his words of missing me, his only son, were true.

When he'd called me up that last time it was the first I'd known of him knowing me so well. He even knew a little about my special forces training and some of the stuff I'd done for the agency before going out on my own. And so he'd asked me to look into some shady shit that was going on in his backyard unbeknownst to the others here.

The little hiccup today, though monumental to the two women now sitting huddled together, was the least of it if what dad suspected is true and is probably the reason he got sidetracked and didn't deal with this Sam fuck on his own sooner.

Not to me, though. As far as I'm concerned, there's no point in trying to fix the big picture before you seal up the cracks. It's the fucking cracks that can bring a strong building tumbling down, given enough time. As far as I can see, the old man had either grown soft in his old age, or he wasn't very good at investigating major crimes. Especially when he thinks the law is involved and on the wrong side of things.

"What do you plan to do now?" There was no response coming from behind me, so I turned to look at them over my shoulder again.

"Beg your pardon?" Again it was the mother who answered. I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen anything this frail back in the city.

I have nothing against weak women, women who choose to be soft in their approach to life, but that's not what she is. She's just fucking beaten, probably been beaten down all her life in this hell. I should've buried that fuck outback somewhere instead of letting him go.

I did a good job of reining in my anger in front of the two women, though, and didn't give anything away by so much as a flicker of my lids. "Now that your tormentor is gone, what plans do you have?" The older woman looked around the room at a loss, as if the words that came out of my mouth were foreign. Then she looked at me as if I should have the answers.

My eyes fell on the girl who had yet to say a word. I almost raised my hand to my chest to rub the sudden ache I felt there, and though I didn't give anything away about my inner thoughts, in my mind, I was asking myself just what the fuck was going on with me.

I've had compassion for others before, sure, but not to this extent, not to the point where I felt physically ill when looking at someone who'd suffered at the hands of another. There was something more going on here for sure, but I needed time to get to the bottom of it.

I'm known for being meticulous in all aspects of my life. Before I take a woman to my bed, I have to dig deep into her past unless I want to wake up with a gun in my face. My enemies are known for their red sleeve pussy traps, so I don't take chances with my life or my dick. It's one of the things about me that drive my enemies mad—them; and all those hopeful females who wish to jump into my bed.

I let my eyes glance over the young beauty before looking away again. "I see you have no answer. The money I took from him won't last very long, it's not a pittance, but it's not enough for the two of you to live on for any sustainable amount of time. So I'm asking, what plans have you made for your future?" Again, radio silence.

"Do you go to school?" I looked at the daughter full-on now, forced myself to. "What was your name again?" She lifted her eyes and lowered them just as quickly as a blush formed on her cheeks. That odd feeling hit me in the chest again, and I looked back out the window. Running scared! Not fucking now, Gabriel.

"Silla." Her voice made shit worst. Soft melodic sweet! I felt that shit send tingles down my spine.

"Like the old Korean kingdom?" She looked at me like I had two heads, and I found my first smile of the day. "Later! So tell me, Silla, do you go to school, do you have a job?"

I don't know why the question should make her tear up and look away again, but I knew this shit that was going on with my heart needed to sit this one the fuck out and give me a break. Her tears did something strange to me. Not quite like seeing mom hurt and me going postal, but it was up there.

Again it was the mother who spoke. "She got accepted to a very good school, but Sam refused to let her go. So she went down to the community college on her own and signed up, and he found out." She stopped talking and swallowed miserably.

"And?" I was amazed at my patience with the two women. So far, I've had none with the bunch of deadbeats my old man seemed to have surrounded himself with. It was lucky for me that I'd had the presence of mind to bring my team with me when I decided to step in and do the old man this last favor because there's no way I was gonna trust my life in the hands of these assholes.

"Well, he went down there and tore the place up some, then he beat her to within an inch of her life…"

"Why did he do that? What was the reason for him not wanting her to go to school?" Breathe Gabriel!

"Well, he was going to sell her to one of the…"

"Come again?" My hackles rose, and I wished that I hadn't been so hasty in letting him go. My senses went on high alert for a whole other reason now too. Had I inadvertently released the man I was looking for? His crime against the two women had pissed me off to the point that I'd lost my shit and banished him in anger. Nonetheless, there are ways to fix this. First, I need to know more.

"Who? Who was he going to sell her to?" My voice didn't change, didn't go up an octave, and there was no inflection. Nothing at all to give away the black rage that started in my gut and made its way to my fists. I wanted to pound something. Hard, fast and deadly!

I didn't care that my reaction was way over the top—just the thought of what her words implied made me see red. I stayed standing in the window, but in my mind, I was already out hunting down the asshole who thought he could buy her.

"Billy!" The mother gave the name, but it was the daughter who shook in disgust and rubbed her arms as if suddenly cold.

"Which, Billy? The Billy that's out there?" I pointed my thumb over my shoulder.

The woman nodded as the daughter kept staring down at her hands in her lap. She was clutching them so hard they were beginning to turn white. "Give me a second." I left the room without waiting for a response.