Page 130 of Gabriel's Salvation

Chapter Forty-Three

Gabe

“What do you want?” I snap, as I see Marko enter the office. He knows that he’s not supposed to be here, not during business hours. And after spending the last hour arguing with some useless twat who can't even do a basic debt collecting job correctly, I have no patience left for whatever Marko wants from me. We despise each other at the best of times.

“Well?” I snap again when he doesn't answer me rightaway.

“John said you might need a hand. That someone needs to be taught a lesson,” he replies, with a fake air of respect.

“Actually, yeah I do.” I nod, for once grateful to see his ugly face. I'll send him instead. I'm in no mood for this shit, not tonight. It’s been an awful day, and all I wanna do is go see Riley and fuck my frustration away.

“What do you need?” he asks, a glint of mischief and mayhem flashing across his face.

“McBride. That asshole owes us close to ten thousand, but he seems to have forgotten to pay his last three installments. I sent the new guys, Luke and Sam, to give him a warning yesterday, but they seem to think a few slashed tires were enough incentive. So, of course, there was no money when we tried to collect today. Think it's time to send in the big guns.”

“Oh goodie, I have a new baseball bat that's just begging for some action.”

“Fists only,” I snap back. He fucking knows how I roll - weapons are for pussies. “If you can't win a fair fight, you shouldn’t be in the fight at all.”

“What the fuck? John never cares…”

“Well I'm not goddamn John, and I do care, so either fight fairly or I'll get one of the other guys to go. Do you fucking understand me?” I growl as I lose my temper further.

“Fine,” Marko says through gritted teeth, “let me grab one of the other guys and the three of us will go together.”

I reach for my phone, ready to call Phoenix or Michael, when I spot a bunch of messages from Riley.

17:30

Hey babe, are you finishing work soon? Wanna meet for coffee? I'm near your work.

18:00

I've gone home, but message me when you're done. Maybe we could go for a drive or something.

18:20

Why aren't you replying? I'm home alone, Harper has gone out and my parents are at dinner. I'm bored and extremely horny. Come quick!

18:22

Or do I have to find someone else to help me instead?

I can't help but smirk at my spoiled little brat and imagine the frustrated pout on her face as she sent that last message.

“You calling the guys or what?” Marko barks, breaking me out of my happy thoughts and instead making me think about bashing his fucking head against the wall.

I call Phoenix and tell him they all need to come over, knowing that they won't be long as they are probably at Saints’ Bar, around the corner. As expected, he arrives less than ten minutes later followed by both Michael and Deeno.

“Here's the address. I expect a call when it's done,” I instruct as I scribble down the location and hand it to Phoenix.

“You're not coming?” Phoenix questions.

“No, I got somewhere to be,” I say, careful not to give anything else away.

“What the fuck is more important than this? You're just gonna leave us? This is like the fifth time you have disappeared off on us!” Marko complains as he bangs his fist on the table.

I reach out and grab him by the scruff of his collar. “What I do and where I go has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with you!” I growl before releasing him with enough of a shove that it causes him to stumble.

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