Page 28 of Broken

“No, I do not. They’re never going to be friends. Gabby doesn’t need them in her life either. She apologized to all involved face-to-face, and that’s all she can do. You can’t erase the past, so it is what it is. For her part, besides apologizing, she’s getting therapy. I don’t know, and she hasn’t shared, but I’m thinking she’s doing that so she can be a better person for her child. It’s definitely not something she’s doing for shit and giggles. Gabby’s responsible for the child that she’s carrying and being alone is not a good option. I aim to make her see that. The woman lives terrified of her child hearing it’s a product of rape. Does that sound like a reason for her to go halfway across the country with a newborn, no one at her back, no support at all, and a very small bank account?”

“King—”

“Does it, Nicole?” I insist on a growl.

“No,” she admits.

“It sure as hell does not. I’m going to help her. I’m going to do that in whatever form comes along because even if no one else in this fucking place can see it, I can. She’s a good woman who is struggling to not drown in the shit she’s swimming in. Who shewasis not who she is now.”

“You didn’t know her before,” she warns.

“You’re right and you’re wrong. I had to do surveillance for Ford. I saw Gabby. I was not impressed. I may have not seen the inner workings of her mind, but I saw the spoiled princess and the anger, just the same. I did not like her back then. I fucking like her now—and that’s putting it mildly. Sometimes life forcesyou to change, Nicole. It just happens and if people can’t see that, then they haven’t lived enough for darkness to touch them, and they should thank the man above for what they haven’t endured. I’m a man who grew up in it. I survived. I want Gabby to have the chance of survival, too—her and her child.”

“I’ll go help, Dani,” she murmurs.

I nod, trying to get control of my anger. Fuck, maybe it would be better for me and Gabby if I head out to Denver with her. These damn heart-to-heart talks are getting worse. You’d think these fuckers would realize I don’t have a heart left.

No matter how much I wish I did.

Chapter 14

King

“You’re late!”Gabby exclaims, as she walks out the door. I’ve barely pulled up into the driveway. I have my door open and one leg out when she comes barreling out. I lift my legs back in and close my door as she connects her seatbelt.

“In a hurry, Sunshine?”

She scrunches up her face. “I told you to quit calling me that.”

“And I told you I wasn’t going to. It fits you,” I reiterate, and it’s the God’s truth. Even the cab of this damn truck is brighter with her in it.

Today she has all the natural curls out of her hair. It’s straight as a board. The ice-blonde hair is pulled up on top of her head in a ponytail. She has some light makeup on, subtle and understated. Her ears have these cute little diamond studs in them. My eyes go down to her nails and something about my conversation with Nicole brings my mind back to the time when I used to see her having lunch with Jazz. Her clothes cost a mint back then. I’m a guy and I don’t pay much attention to that shit, but Gabby’s clothes were such that you could see the money just from staring at them. She’d have makeup on—too much, by my count. She’d be dripping in jewelry, her hair colored and curled to perfection. Then her fingernails. Theywere always professionally manicured, with different patterns and sometimes little rhinestones. Every single time I laid eyes on her, they were different. That means she had to go every day or every two days to one of those pricey salons. Back then, Gabby screamed high-maintenance pussy. She wouldn’t have been caught dead in a small hole-in-the-wall shop. The girl had champagne tastes and was used to getting them met. My gaze lingers on her neatly trimmed nails that are covered in a pale pink, and I smile. Another change that I like a lot.

“Can’t you find another name besides Sunshine?” she practically begs.

“What about pain in my ass?” I suggest with a grin.

She huffs out an annoyed breath and I’m treated with anger warming her eyes.Beautiful.“I have a name. You could just call me Gabby. It’s not something unheard of, you know.”

“I prefer Sunshine. Now, are we going to bicker back and forth all day, or are we going to go grab some food and then go shopping?”

“Food?”

“Yeah, sustenance which I need to put up with going to stores that men with big dicks should never enter.”

She gasps, then sputters out a laugh. “Did you really just inform me you have a big dick?”

“No, I merely stated the truth, which you heard,” I respond mildly.

“Then, maybe you shouldn’t go,” she says, staring at me.

“I’m going.”

“I’ve heard that Home Emporium in town has been known to make men’s dicks shrivel and hide for years. Could be a problem for you.”

“My dick isn’t afraid of shit.”

“He’s told you that, has he?”

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