Page 87 of Fragile

“Nursing a hangover?” I replied.

“Well, there is that. It just so happens that he’s nursing it from a jail cell though,” Gabriel informed me dryly. The way he said it suggested his friend was no stranger to being arrested.

“Oh dear. Do you need to go and get him out or something?”

Gabriel flipped the bacon and shook his head. “No, he texted to say that Amber had agreed to pick him up.”

“Amber as in Lady Swift, the bane of his life?”

“The very one,” he replied with a smirk. Interesting.

Changing the subject I said, “Well, I imagine Trevor wanted to check I was OK after being carried off.”

Gabriel shot me a you asked for it look and I planted myself on one of the tall stools by the counter and glanced around. “Did they steal anything?” I asked. The room didn’t look out of place or anything but then Gabriel would have cleared it by now.

“Did the police dust for prints and all that stuff?” I added feeling like I’d watched too many episodes of NCIS.

Gabriel placed the bacon into two buttered rolls and then passed me one. “Yes, all that’s sorted.” He said it in such a dismissive way that part of me wondered if that had happened at all.

We sat there in silence, the elephant in the room flying around us and I just went for it.

“Why do you have a gun, Gabriel?”

He chewed, his strong jaw flexing as he finished off part of his sandwich. The cogs were spinning as to how best to answer.

“Why do you think? For protection,” he replied smoothly. Taking a drink of water. His keen eyes roamed over my face.

“But this isn’t America. Normal people don’t carry guns.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m not normal people.”

“Have you ever shot anyone?” I asked, placing my half-eaten butty down. If he said yes, I would probably eject my breakfast back onto my plate. My stomach churned as he took forever to answer.

“No.” His reply was flat and direct, his tone suggesting he answered to no one.

“You don’t think your father is involved in this do you?”

“Not directly,” he said, clearing his throat. I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me the whole truth but I didn’t want to push it.

Gabriel was watching me with a thoughtful expression that gave nothing away apart from the fact that he was thinking deeply. I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“Gabriel. What did you do to Simon?” I questioned, interrupting what he was going to say.

“You saw what I did. You were there.”

“OK then, what did Marco do to him then? You sent him up there?” The gun had put all sorts of unsavoury thoughts in my mind.

“He didn’t fucking off him if that’s what you’re worried about. Marco gave him a warning. If he ever came near you again, I’d arrange for him to have his balls fed back to him.”

I swallowed and took in a deep breath. I certainly hadn’t expected him to say that.

Gabriel shook his head, now looking mildly amused. “You should see your face. It was a warning, Leonie. That’s all. Fear is a weapon. It doesn’t mean I would have gone through with it.”

Relief pooled in the pit of my stomach.

“But he could have been involved in the break-in. To pay you back for hitting him?”

“I doubt it. Anyway, enough talking about that prick. We need to talk about us,” he began, his voice now quiet.

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