Page 86 of Fragile

Tiptoeing into my room so as not to alarm her, I put the safety catch on the gun then placed it on the bedside table and covered it with books.

Moving over to the wardrobe, I then slid it back. What the fuck, it was empty. It was only the sound of a little sob that I glanced downwards to see Leonie scrunched into a ball at the bottom of the space.

The pain I felt at her suffering was like how I imagined taking a bullet.

I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she jumped, “Leonie, it’s me. Gabe, it’s all OK. You’re safe.”

She was shaking and I coaxed her out of the foetal shape she was in and then lifted her bride style into my arms. She buried her head against my shoulder.

“I was so scared that something would happen to you,” she sobbed as I placed her on my bed.

“It’s fine. Just a break-in, nothing to worry about,” I lied. “Marco is here and I’m going to check things out now they’ve gone. You go to sleep. You can sleep here or I can carry you to your room?”

She snuggled back against the covers. “No, I want to stay here,” she whispered dreamily. Now half asleep. “Are the police on their way?”

Closing my eyes, I did the best thing and lied through my teeth as why wouldn’t I call the police. Because my father is mixed up with some shitty people, that’s why. I knew Leonie had googled us but she didn’t know the half of it. “Yes,” I said. “The police are on their way.”

I left her alone and went to find Marco, he had secured the apartment. Whoever had broken in was a pro as they had reprogrammed the doors, so no forced entry. It annoyed the fuck out of me. It had been so easy for them to get to me and they had chosen to attack on Marco’s night off so they must have been watching the apartment.

I thought about calling my father to find out if he knew anything about it. Motherfuckers. To think of Leonie being at risk again kept digging into my skull.

As far as I could establish, they hadn’t taken anything but what the fuck were they looking for?

Marco came back to say that the tamper alarm had triggered his phone and he’d come as soon as he could but of course, I had the fucking car downstairs, which, to add insult to injury was now wearing a clamp, so Marco said.

As I started to dump the papers back into the box, I wondered if they’d been looking for paperwork, of what I had no clue. And then I realised my laptop was missing. So, they did want information. What the actual fuck. I knew then that I needed to speak with my Garrett. What shit had he gotten me into?

When I returned to my room, Leonie was fast asleep and I drew the covers further up her body. I noticed she wore my tee and the beast in me roared again. Mine.

I didn’t realise it was possible to care for one woman so much, but I did.

A ton of emotions plagued my thoughts as I sat on the chair beneath my window, staring at her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful and young. Breakable.

After the shit that went down tonight, if I truly cared for her, I had to do the right thing.

I knew that I couldn’t let her go. But I had to put this thing between us on hold, for a while, at least until I knew what the fuck was going on.

I necked the rest of the scotch I had brought to my room, welcoming the burning feeling the liquid caused at the back of my throat.

After a few more minutes of processing my decision, I undressed and slid into bed next to the girl who had taken my heart.

Protecting Leonie was my last thought.

Leonie

I didn’t have class that morning which was a good thing considering I slept so late. Gabriel hadn’t woken me and I was relieved as I needed it. To think that someone had broken in last night made me feel sick to my stomach.

Spying Gabriel’s large fluffy robe on the chair, I pushed my arms into it and followed my nose, the smell of bacon was divine.

The sleep had done me good but I was still reeling from last night, especially the part where Gabriel pulled the gun out. I wasn’t stupid, there was something he wasn’t telling me. Was he more involved with his father’s types of clients than he was letting on? I had no idea. It was a terrifying thought but not one big enough to make my feelings for him disappear.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?” Gabriel questioned as I rounded the corner rubbing my eyes. He was standing grilling bacon. “You’ve just missed that guy Trevor, he turned up with the bag you left at the club,” he stated, pointing toward where it sat by coats.

“You mean the bag we left at the club?” I corrected with a slight smile. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“So, he beat Max to it then?”

Gabriel snorted. “He certainly did. Maxi is, what can I say, unavailable.”

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