Page 76 of Broken

I am right here in the cab of my truck, holding my woman’s hand, but then again,I am not.Dragon was right. Fuck me, he was right. My Beth is wasting away. Carlos can barely look at me—something he and Torch share, by the way. I’ve been so lost in the darkness that my family is fading away and I wasn’t even aware of it.Fuck me.

“I need younotto be an asshole with Gabby. She needs us. Do not make it impossible for her to have us.”

“I will not allow her to whore herself out to a man that is too hard, too old, and fucking her to get over his wife,” I answer. My voice is cold and monotone. That’s because I’m holding onto my anger. If I had gotten my head out of my ass—to quote a term Dragon used over and over while dragging me outside to take the fucking water hose to me like it was a shower—I would have had my daughter home safe and not in another damn mess. Fucking water was cold as ice and I’m pretty sure that my balls are still frozen. It’s a fuck of a way to sober up, but it did the job. It might not have worked completely, but seeing my Beth staring at me from the front door of my house—holding onto Torch like if shedidn’t, the wind would carry her away—did. Dragon said she’s lost weight. He didn’t tell me my woman was skin and bones. I could fucking see her ribs. I doubt she’s had one full meal since we lost our son—and again, that’s on me. The fact my daughter is somehow tied up with another of Dragon’s sons? That’s on me too. Not to mention the small tidbit that my hijo can’t even look at me. Yeah, I’ve fucked up every way I could. My Diego would be kicking my ass right now.Fuck, I wish he could be here kicking my ass.

“Skull?” Beth whispers. Hell, even her voice is weak. I did that.I. Did. That.

“I won’t lose our daughter. She needs us. I’ll make sure she knows she has us.”

“Our first grandchild,” she whispers.

Motherfucker.

“Yeah,” I choke out, my chest feeling so tight I’m surprised I’m still breathing.

“You going to be okay?” she asks in a way that I know she’s worrying I’ll slip back into the darkness.

I can’t let her know that the darkness is always close. It lives inside of me. I always feel it. I got my Beth back years ago—after years of believing she was dead. When I got her back, there was so much shit between us that I’m not sure how we made it through to the other side. Still, I knew then—and still know now—that she had changed. She seemed tough enough to give me hell—which she did. Yet, that hid the fact that she was fucking delicate in a way she had never been before we were torn apart. If it hadn’t been for Katie being at her side all those years ago, my Beth would have never survived. To this day, she lives in fear of losing me. I knew it. I saw the shadows in her eyes, held her through her nightmares. I know my woman has gone through life afraid. I am the man who continuously beats that back for her. Hell, I’ve dedicated my life to nurturing her, taking careof her, and making sure that she’s safe. Then, the moment she needed me the most, I let her down.No more.I won’t slack on that job any longer—for her or my children. Diego wouldn’t want that, because he took care of his mamá, too. He knew what I did, and he went out of his way to support her. Most men would have found it wrong to have to hold up a woman who was, at times, lost or weak. To me, it was my privilege and a chance to fix something that life broke deep inside her. I let her down and that kills me.I refuse to do it again.

That includes mending fences with my daughter and bringing her home. I won’t let her be chewed up and spit out again by one of the West boys. I know the shit my daughter pulled. I was disappointed in her, but Carlos pulled me aside after Diego’s funeral and spoke with me about the fucking crap Dom shoveled at my daughter. Diego had a buddy who was a member of Dragon’s crew. So, he was in the know enough to enlighten Diego. Told him to help Gabby pull herself together, because he liked her. None of what Dom did justified the fucked-up mess Gabby instigated. Still, I can see how my daughter was broken enough to try to hold on to the only boy she’d ever loved. The fault rests on my shoulders yet again. If I’d been a better father—knew what was happening—I could have stepped in. I didn’t, and that’s on me. I can this time, though, and that’sexactlywhat I’m going to do.

“It’s going to be okay, Beth,” I assure her—while hoping like hell I’m right.

“Okay,” she whispers. I can tell she doesn’t believe me. I didn’t expect her to. Beth used to have all the faith in the world in me. She’s lost that, and it is more than understandable. I’m going to earn it back, though. Somehow, I will.

“It will. We’ll get our daughter back and we’ll bring her and our grandchild home. I’ll get back to making sure I’m here foryou and for our kids. It’s what our Diego would expect from me, and that’s the man I’m going to be.”

“He would,” she agrees with a soft breath, the words full of unshed tears. “Diego was his father’s son. He’d expect you to shield Gabby and Carlos.”

And his mother.I don’t tell her that, but it’s true just the same. As I turn onto the road that the GPS says I need to take to get to Gabby’s rental, I squeeze Beth’s hand. I’ll find a way to make this right with Gabby. I can’t lose her, too.

I can’t.

Chapter 36

Gabby

“King,”I whimpered.

We’re on the bed. King had moved a huge ass mirror in there and leaned it up against the wall. He did all of this while I was in the shower. I have no idea where he got the floor-length mirror. I have a feeling he went back to the home goods store without me—which is seriously uncool. Ilovethat store. I understand it, though. I’ve been having some aches and pains. It’s not contractions, but itisseriously uncomfortable. There are days I feel like I can’t breathe. My delivery date is a few weeks out and my doctor tells me that first pregnancies tend to go past the due date. With every day that passes, I get anxious—not to mention seriously tired of being so freaking huge. I’m starting to feel like my stomach is going to explode at any moment. I made the mistake—or maybe ingenious idea—of telling King how fat and disgusting I felt. His solution was to make love to me in front of a mirror. At first, it freaked me out. I can’t lie. Still, King is King. He took me out of my mind to the point all I could do was enjoy the pleasure that he gave me.And that man knows how to work my body.

Now, King’s sitting on the bed facing the mirror. I’m sitting on him, my back to his front, his cock buried deep inside of me,my hips rocking just enough to feel his cock flex inside of me. King has one hand on my hip, his fingers biting into my skin in a way that I love. His other hand is currently over mine and buried between my legs as our fingers slide against my clit, working me.

“My woman is so fucking spectacular,” he groans against my ear, his teeth biting into the lobe. Shivers of pleasure slide through my body, somehow making my skin feel even more alive.

“Baby, I’m getting close,” I gasp.

“From top,” he breathes, placing a kiss on my neck, “to toe. You’re fucking gorgeous.”

“King, I’m going to blow,” I warn, my voice barely recognizable even to my own ears.

“No, you won’t. You’re my good girl. You’re going to hold on for me, Gabriella. Right?”

Gabriella.God, I love it when he uses my full name. He makes it sound like a vow—maybe even a prayer. I can hear his love in that one word. I haven’t told him, I don’t really know how to, but when he says my name like that, any doubt I have fades away. Never in my life have I had that. I completely trust King. That trust is absolute and after being hurt by Dom, hurting myself, being raped, and then cut to pieces by my father, it’s a feeling I never thought I’d experience.

“I’m your…” I have to stop talking to suck in air because his hand moves from my hip up to my breast.

“Fucking love your breasts, Sunshine. They’re so fucking perfect. It sucks, but I’m going to envy of our kid when he gets to suck on these pretty nipples anytime she or he wants, and I have to wait until night when I get my woman in our bed.”

---