Page 142 of Every Broken Piece
I deflate. It’s not in my or Tess’s best interest to engage in a pissing match with the O’Malley’s.
“You ever love someone so much you can’t breathe without them?” I ask.
Something moves across his face. Regret, sorrow, anger. “Yeah. I have.”
“I need her back like I need my next breath.”
He nods as he stares out the windshield, his mind somewhere else. Those tattooed hands clench on his thighs, then spread wide.
“We’ll get her back, Gabe. Because I like you and I don’t like my men going rogue.”
He opens the car door and throws a leg out. “But first we eat.”
Chapter sixty-three
Tess
“Uh, boss. You might want to come look at this.”
I’m jerked out of a light doze by Colin’s strangled voice. He’s the man at the front window and he’s staring through, his finger twitching closer to the gun’s trigger.
Carters on his back on the floor, hands behind his head. From the slant of the sun, it’s late morning and we’re still hours from our meeting with Gabe. Despite my bravado telling Carter to just shoot me, I’ve tried not to get my hopes up that Gabe will save me. I can’t help but think he hates me for what happened to Pax. Yet a part of me still hopes and it’s the hope that hurts the worst.
It would be so much easier if there was no hope. If I knew this was the end and just accepted my fate, but my treacherous heart refuses to release that four letter word. I guess hope really does spring eternal.
Carter lifts his head. “What is it?” He’s been more grumpy than usual after talking to Gabe. Probably because Gabe told him to pound salt when he asked for a million dollars.
I would’ve told him to pound salt too.
“I think...” Colin leans closer to the window and squints. “Oh, shit.” His face loses all color and he backs slowly away from the window.
I try to push up from the chair just a little to see what he sees but I’m still sitting too low.
“Just fucking tell me,” Carter grumbles. He stands and strides to the window, stopping cold when he sees what Colin saw.
“Fuck,” he whispers. Then, “FUCK!”
He whips around and marches toward me, his eyes wild with fear. The cold metal of the gun presses against my temple and I stiffen.
His hands are shaking. Shaking hands holding a gun against my head can’t be good. I squeeze my eyes shut because no matter how hardass I thought I was when I begged him to kill me, I truly don’t want to die.
The front door slams open, causing me to jump and my eyes to fly open. Loud, slow, steps echo through the cavernous house. My heart catches the rhythm and beats in tune to the impending doom heading my way. I can’t move my head because of the gun pressed to it, but I move my eyes to try to get a glimpse of what hell just walked in that door.
Colin’s frozen by the window. I swear I hear him whimper. The other man whose name I never learned, slides to his right, nervous eyes darting to the back door.
The footsteps slow and suddenly I don’t want to see what new demon is about to enter the picture. I lower my eyes to stare at the floor.
I should have told him I loved him.
Another step and shiny, black dress shoes stop just inches from my dirty sneakers that still have red dust on them from my hike with Gabe.
“Carter.” The voice belonging to the dress shoes is so deep and so cold I think maybe hell itself opened up and spit this man out. “Put the gun down.”
Behind me Carter’s breathing is erratic and shallow. The gun trembles against my temple causing me to wince.
My gaze roams up long legs encased in dark gray dress pants, slim hips, a wide chest and even wider shoulders until I lock gazes with cold, emotionless gray eyes. This man is possibly the biggest man I’ve ever seen. Rainbow colored tattoos crawl up his neck and down his fingers.
Those impassive eyes move behind me to land on Carter. “Give me the gun,” he says.
