Page 54 of Buying Angel

Hudson pressed a kiss into my temple and spoke. “It’s really okay, Gaby. Why don’t we all go into my office, and we can speak there?”

Hudson placed his hand on my back, guided me into his office, and sat me down on the sofa, sitting down next to me. Viktor and Nico walked in together and sat down in the armchairs opposite us both.

“Why don’t you explain to Gaby why you are here, Viktor?”

Viktor gave Hudson a smile before starting to speak. “Thank you. As I said, Miss Quinn, I apologize for my actions last time I was here. I was seriously misinformed about what had occurred between you and Vincent. From my point of view, I thought that you had run off with money that was meant for my associate, Mikhail Orlov. Nico and Hudson here have corrected me on that, and I now understand the truth.”

I started to feel a little more comfortable with how the conversation was going. The fact that Viktor was willing to apologize to me said a lot about him as a man.

“I appreciate your apology and accept it, Mr. Kozlov.”

“Please call me Viktor.”

“Thank you, Viktor. And you may call me Gaby.” I finally managed to smile at this intimidating man sat in front of me.

I had always found Russian men menacing. I guessed it was the abruptness of their language and accent. However, Viktor seemed to be quite the opposite as he sat there in front of me. Almost warm and welcoming.

He returned my smile and continued to speak. “Now that I have made my apologies, on to the next reason I came to see you all. Vincent. He was told by Mikhail that you were not in New York, and therefore, he still owed him the money. He obviously didn’t take that well. Unfortunately, though, it also caused him to disappear. No one has seen him for the past two weeks, and he hasn’t even been to the office. I have my men across the country looking out for him. Please do not worry, Gaby. We will find him, and I will deal with him accordingly. A man like that doesn’t deserve to grace this earth, and I will make him pay for what he did to you.”

I remembered that Hudson had told Nico and Viktor everything the last time that Viktor was here. I started to feel embarrassed by the fact that a complete stranger knew what Vincent had put me through and the intimate nature of the situation.

Nico gave me a smile as he spoke, obviously understanding my embarrassment. “You know that Hud had to tell us everything, Rosa. We needed to know the whole situation to understand the lies Vincent was telling. I have already said how sorry I am, and I promise it will never happen to you again.”

I could feel the tears forming again as I remembered the three precious lives that I had lost over the years. Three lives that would never see the light of day, be loved and cherished as they should have been. I felt Hudson’s arm come around my body as I closed my eyes, trying to forget the pain that I was still feeling over my loss. I felt someone take my hand in theirs and looked down, assuming it to be Nico’s. I was taken aback when I saw Viktor kneeling in front of me.

“Gabriella, I promise you that Vincent will pay for what he has done. You may not know me, but I am sure you have heard my reputation. I have already reprimanded my men for what they may have done to you in the past, whether consensual or not. That is not how we treat women. It’s not how I expect any man to treat a woman, and I will not allow them to do it again to anyone else. As for Vincent? Well, as I said, he doesn’t deserve to walk this earth, and I will make sure that when I am finished with him, he doesn’t.”

It still didn’t help the fact that now we didn’t know where Vincent was, although I suspected that Viktor’s reach was far wider than Nico’s. I just had to hope that if anyone could find him, it would be Viktor. He lifted my hand and pressed a gentle kiss to it before getting up and sitting back down next to Nico.

“There is one last thing I wanted to let you know before I take my leave. I wanted to compensate you for the pain and suffering that my men may have caused you. However, I did think that could be taken the wrong way, that I was paying you for services rendered, so to speak. If you will allow me, I would like to make a contribution in your name to a number of charities for women who have been in your situation and need help. I would rather my money be put to a good cause than remind you of what you have been through every time you look at your balance. Would you please allow me to do that?”

I couldn’t believe what I was listening to. Could everything I had heard about this man over the years have been a lie? He was supposed to be ruthless and mistreat everyone he met. However, he seemed to be the exact opposite toward me. I could see a look of recognition come over his face, as if he realized exactly what I was thinking.

“Not many people get to see this side of me, Gabriella, so I would ask you keep it to yourself. I am indeed everything you have heard about me. However, I treat people how they deserve to be treated, so I do have a soft side. It’s just that not many people in my circle get to see it. You, however, always will.”

I gave him a smile. “Thank you, Viktor. I would rather you give your money to help others. I have all I need right here. I also apologize if any of my actions have caused you problems. It wasn’t my intent. I just had to get away from Vincent in any way possible.”

I felt Hudson squeeze me slightly. I knew they hated me saying and thinking it was my fault, but in some respects, it was. If it hadn’t been for me, none of these people would have gotten involved in my mess.

Viktor shook his head. “I’m not going to lecture you because I am sure these two have already. None of this is your fault, and we have chosen to involve ourselves in it. Now, I will take my leave. I will keep Nico updated on my search and let you know when we have found Vincent. You, my dear, just enjoy the life you now have. But, if either of them hurt you, reach out to me and I will deal with them myself.”

I smiled at him and chuckled a little at the look of horror that came over Hudson’s face as I got up to say my goodbyes to Viktor. From a man who had scared the life out of me when I first met him, I now felt as though I had yet another person fighting in my corner if I needed it. He held out his hand, but I didn’t take it. I walked up to him and placed my arms around him in an embrace, which he promptly returned.

“Thank you, Viktor. I’m sorry that I panicked slightly when you came in earlier, but after our last meeting, I hope you don’t blame me. I appreciate your apology and thank you for looking out for me. However, I don’t think you have any worries with these two.” I lowered my voice slightly, but loud enough for Nico and Hudson to be able to hear. “You’d better leave me your number just in case, though.”

The roar of laughter that came from Viktor’s mouth took us all by surprise, but we couldn’t help but join in with him. He said his goodbyes to us all, and Nico walked out of the office with him.

I finally felt as though things were going my way. However, the doubt of whether Vincent was truly gone from our lives still remained. Something told me that we would be seeing him again in the future. I just hoped that when the time came, we would all be ready for it.

Epilogue

GINO

IT HAD BEEN SO difficult watching Nico get so close to Hudson. I had known about their relationship long before he told me. It was obvious to me because I could see all the signs of what I had been feeling for Nico when he looked at Hudson.

At first, I hadn’t realized that Nico had feelings toward men, so I had hidden my own feelings from him. When I realized that he was at least bisexual, if not gay, it was too late. Too late to tell him how much I loved him and that I had wanted to be with him for most of my adult life. Too late to say that I didn’t want to see him as a brother, but as a lover to spend the rest of my life with.

I had known I was bisexual since I was eighteen, but like most people I knew, had hidden the side of me that had feelings for men because it was frowned upon within the family. That was until Nico moved in with Hudson. If that wasn’t bad enough, they had now found the woman of their dreams, and she would appear in any man’s dreams. She was the epitome of beauty. An amazing, curvaceous body with gorgeous long, curly auburn hair and eyes that could captivate you at just a slight glance.

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