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I hold up my hand cutting off his reply.
“Don’t. Don’t give me your bullshit excuse.” He looks away once again, but I chase his gaze with my head. “You want to talk about not being good enough? Imagine fighting your own thoughts to stay alive when you get a positive pregnancy test. Every day I battle depression and my old desires. But I do it for him. I will do anything for my son. I don’t get to be a coward and run.”
He looks back at me when I call him a coward. His eyes narrow but I don’t care. I was once afraid of Gabriel. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe him to be as dangerous as he was on our first encounter. However, he no longer scares me.
“Summer.” Just from the way he says my name I know that he won’t change his mind.
I get it. I see the fear in his eyes. It’s the same fear I saw in mine the day that test was positive. I see the same fear every time I look in the mirror and question if I’m strong enough to keep my shit from damaging my son. It crossed my mind to tuck my tail and run. However, I didn’t. But I won’t fault him for running. My only concern now is the little boy that looks just like the man sitting across from me.
Shaking my head I reply, “Just go, Gabriel. We’re good. Gabe and I don’t need you.”
I wait for him to get up and leave but he doesn’t budge. Instead, he remains in his seat, breathing in that labored way from before. Finally, after a few minutes, he stands and starts to walk off.
“Gabriel.” He stops at the sound of me calling his name, glancing over his shoulder.
“Let this be the last time you show up at anymore of my dates.”
The vein in his neck throbs, his eyes narrow, but he turns and walks away. I let out the breath I was holding.
I feel as if I faced an insurmountable obstacle and came out on top. For the first time since he sat down, my heart has gone back to its regular pace.
The waiter comes over to the table to bring our check.
“Excuse me,” I say getting his attention. “My date went to the bathroom, and he’s been in there for a while. Do you mind going in and checking on him.”
The waiter gives me a sympathetic look. I’m sure he thinks Andrew has run out on me. However, he dips his chin before walking toward the bathroom.
I gather my purse, already aware that the night is pretty much over. That is proven correct when the waiter comes back out with a panicked look on his face demanding another waiter to call 911.
Spending half the night at the hospital was not how I thought the night was going to end. But I’m lucky, because when it comes to Gabriel, it could’ve been worse.
chapter Twenty
Too Late
Beast
I should be on a plane right now. Timothy Smith is in France on vacation. I was supposed to be on a flight two hours ago. However, I’m here, in the back yard playing with my son.
“Hulk, throw the ball.” Little Gabe says, handing me the football over the fence in his back yard.
Behind Summer’s house there is a wrought iron fence that circles her property. The fence comes up to my knees. Giving just enough security so that Gabe can play in the backyard without supervision. In addition to the iron fence, are two rows of evergreen trees that give privacy from the busy road behind her property. It also allows me to hide.
I toss the ball Gabe gave me back into his yard. He runs to go get it. We played the same game yesterday. That’s when he told me about Summer’s date. I had all intentions of killing the man in that bathroom. However, a small voice of reason told me not to. It took every piece of restraint Priest taught me to leave him alive.
Gabe hands me the ball back and I toss it again. I think I’m playing fetch with my son.
His laughter as he goes to get the ball has me clutching my hand into a tight fist. The sound of it has my heart beating faster. It’s the same feeling I got when I first saw Summer.
“Gabe and I don’t need you.” Her words from last night come back to me. The anger and hurt in her eyes as she looked at me once again caused a tightness in my chest.
I wish I was like my brothers. I wish I could be normal and didn’t have this gnawing need to cause destruction. The beast inside of me has to be fed. I can’t subject Summer and Gabe to that. We don’t work. No matter how much I wish we could.
“Then why are you here?” Mother reprimands in my head. “You should be out hunting. Not here with the boy. You will tarnish him.”
Placing my hands to my head I try to push her words out. However, those last four words continue to echo in my brain.
“Get out,” I growl. Finally, my thoughts were silent. I open my eyes and look down into terrified hazel ones.
