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Gabriel King.
Gabriel stands at the end of Julian's driveway, looking disheveled and half-crazed. His hair is a mess, his shirt caked with dirt and sweat. Grime has settled into the lines of his face and dark circles sit deep under his wild eyes. I've never seen him like this before, and his new appearance paints him as a desperate man, capable of anything. I shudder but remain safely tucked behind Julian's protective stance.
“What do you want, Gabriel?” Julian asks, his voice harsher and deeper than I've ever heard it. It makes me tremble as the reality of the threat begins to sink in, that Gabriel might be here to hurt us.
“Just thought I'd come by for a little visit,” Gabriel hisses through a chilling grin. “We've got a few things to talk about.”
Julian doesn't move an inch as he addresses me next, his every muscle tensed and focused on Gabriel. “Natalie, go inside.”
“I'm not leaving you,” I whisper back, even as fear sends a tremor down my legs, cold and unyielding.
“Yes, she really should stay,” Gabriel interjects. Subtly, he lifts the hem of his t-shirt, revealing the handle of a pistol that's been shoved into the waist of his jeans.
Julian stiffens in front of me, a literal shield from the impending danger. My breath catches in my throat, my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
“Why are you doing this, Gabriel?” Julian asks, his voice calm despite the terror that's playing out around us.
Gabriel sneers again and utters a short, throaty chuckle. “Why does anyone do anything?”
“He's paying you,” Julian deduces immediately, his mind working quicker than mine amidst the panic. “If you needed more money, you could have talked to me about it. I would have helped you.”
Gabriel laughs again, the sound deeply unsettling. “You can't help me. You don't understand the kind of trouble I'm in. I owe some very important people a lot of money, Julian. And I'd much rather face you than them,” he explains, slowly pulling the gun from his jeans and leveling it right at Julian.
Instinctively, I clutch the back of Julian's shirt, biting my tongue so as not to scream. There's nothing I can do. Any movement—like reaching for my phone to call the police—could mean the end of everything. I press my forehead against Julian's back, hoping the contact will give him the tiniest bit of support, and hating how helpless I've become.
Slowly and carefully, Julian raises his hands in the air as if in surrender. “You don't need to do this, Gabriel. It's not too late. We can go to the police together—explain everything. I'll even speak on your behalf.”
Gabriel hesitates, the gun shaking slightly in his outstretched hand. A flicker of hope courses through me. Maybe Julian can talk him down, get him to see reason. Maybe we can all walk away from this unscathed, put all this chaos behind us.
Gritting his teeth, Gabriel's resolve hardens, and he cocks the gun. “No! There's no way they're going to let me off after this. Mason's already cracked and told them everything—his connection to me, how he planted me in your company to keep an eye on things, that he's paying me to take care of you.” He takes a step closer, and Julian inches us backward, trying to maintain the distance between us and the barrel of the gun. “I don't have a choice.”
Just then, a siren sounds in the distance, multiple sirens. The distant trees begin to light with flashes of red and blue as police cars approach. Gabriel turns his toward the sound—and Julian sees his opportunity.
Everything happens at once.
Julian lunges for the gun. The scuffle between him and Gabriel pushes me backwards and I fall to the ground, smacking the back of my head on the cement. Police cars speed onto the lawn. And a single shot rings out, echoing in my ears as darkness grips my vision, and the world goes black.
CHAPTER 34
JULIAN
The sound of a door opening behind me pulls me from my restless sleep. I sit up, the muscles of my back aching from being bent forward at a right angle all night. Natalie's hand rests in mine on the hospital bed—exactly where it's been for the past twenty-four hours.
“Good morning,” the nurse says to me as she walks around the foot of Natalie's bed toward the beeping medical equipment. “How is she doing today?”
“The same,” I answer, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. “Still out.”
The nurse gives me a reassuring smile before checking the stats on the machine. “It can take a while to wake up after a head injury like that. The good news is her vitals are still perfect. I bet it won't be too much longer now.”
My stomach churns as the memories of yesterday flash violently in my mind. More disturbing than Gabriel's attempt to harm us is the image of Natalie lying on the pavement, unconscious, a thin stream of blood trickling from above her ear. I shove the image from my mind and give Nat's hand a gentle squeeze, trying to ground myself in the present.
“And the baby?” The question burns as it comes out, my throat dry, my voice hollow.
“The doctor will be here soon to talk to you about that,” the nurse answers. “Just sit tight for a few minutes.”
Her response does nothing to ease my worry. If anything, it only scares me further that she won’t answer my question herself; it's always the doctor’s job to relay bad news.
The nurse shuffles out of the room then, leaving me alone with Natalie once more. The bandage wrapped around her head makes me nauseated, a constant reminder that I couldn't protect her despite how desperately I tried.
