Page 132 of Gabriel
I arched my brow. “I suggest you remove your hand, Luis… before I do.”
He smirked, utterly unfazed. “Must be the personality that got Gabriel. Definitely not manners.”
That had me pausing.
“You know Gabriel?” I asked slowly.
“Better than you do,” he said simply. “I’m his right-hand man.”
“Hmm.” I crossed my arms. “Weird. He never mentioned you.”
His lips twitched, just shy of a smirk. “I know about you. You don’t know about me. What does that sound like?”
“Like a minor inconvenience I could bury in the woods,” I replied sweetly.
Luis chuckled under his breath. “You’ve got claws. I can see why he likes you. But I’m still not convinced you’re not going to set him on fire by accident.”
“You’re really charming. You give all the mob wives this treatment?”
“No, just the ones who blind my best friend.”
His words hit hard. I didn’t let it show. I’d done enough crying in hospital bathrooms this week.
“He’s alive,” I said flatly. “You’re welcome.”
He gave a tight nod. “Yeah. And I’m grateful, but it doesn’t mean I like the price tag.”
“Gabriel made his choices.”
“Sure. But don’t pretend like your family didn’t nudge him toward the cliff.”
“Your metaphors are giving me a headache.”
“Your family has been givingmea headache.”
A silence stretched between us, filled with the hum of traffic, the faint blare of a siren blocks away, and the buzz of fluorescent lights spilling from the hospital entrance. People passed by, giving us a wide berth, maybe sensing the threat in the air.
“Look,” I said finally. “I get it. You’re protective. So am I.”
“Tell me, Amara. What happens if he doesn’t regain his sight?” Luis asked, voice cooler now. Less accusation, more calculation. “You still gonna play wife when he can’t see you?”
“I don’t care if he never sees me again,” I snapped. “He sees me better than anyone ever has. Sight or no sight, we’re in this together.”
Luis studied me like he was still trying to find the trapdoor, my weak spot, in my words. But I didn’t have any left to give.
Finally, he pushed off the column. “Good answer.”
“Shocked you, didn’t I?”
“A little,” he admitted. “I was expecting more siren, less substance.”
“You’ll learn not to underestimate me.”
He gave me a long, dry look. “Just make sure you don’t underestimate Gabriel. He’ll always choose loyalty over love. If you make him pick… Well, just don’t make him pick.”
The words were gentle. Almost too gentle.
“I’d never make him pick,” I said quietly. “He already did.”
