Page 4 of Gabe

“We’ll never be free until Russo and his entire empire falls. The FBI is cracking down harder on the Mariano family. Several of their warehouses have been raided and a few of their important allies have recently been arrested. This is our chance to make a definitive move against the man who killed our parents.”

On the floor, Newt finally woke up. Blue eyes peeked out from under orange bangs and looked around with a puzzled expression.

“What’s going on?” he asked me. Even though he was confused, he at least picked up on enough of the tension around us to realize that he should keep his voice to a whisper.

I also whispered back. “Sibling quarrel. I think it’ll be over soon.”

Sebastian no longer looked as angry as he had before. Now he was just resigned and sad. “Russo will never be stopped so long as he’s got people within the FBI. Even getting him arrested wasn’t enough. Nothing but death will ever stop that man.”

Damien’s answering smile was as sharp as the knife he probably had hidden away in his clothing somewhere. “That’s why we need to take care of it ourselves. The FBI is just a distraction. I’ve got Mason and a few other people helping me, but I need to go back so we can keep pressing our advantage while we have it.”

For a moment, Sebastian’s dark gaze flicked in his brother’s direction, but then immediately returned to his vigil of the wall. “Whatever. Don’t know why you’re bothering to tell me all this. You’re going to do what you want anyway.”

Sighing again, Damien grit his teeth like he was chewing on whatever he wanted to say, before turning to leave the room. He was almost out the door when Gabe grabbed his arm.

“Don’t leave it like this.”

Damien removed the other man’s hand from his arm, but he stopped to listen to what Gabe had to say.

“What do you mean? Leave what like this?”

“Your brother. Don’t leave with bad feelings between you. There’s no guarantee when you’ll see each other again.”

It was the most I’d ever heard Gabe say at one time, and almost distracted me from the true meaning of his words.

When Damien left, there was no guarantee the brothers would ever see each other again.

With that painful reminder of our situation, Damien had no choice but to try and speak with his brother one more time. He stepped up beside the bed again, this time keeping his voice calm and choosing his words with care.

“Sebastian, I promise we will be free of that monster someday, but that freedom won’t come unless we find a way to take it for ourselves. For now, I need to leave, but I will come back. I always have, and I always will.”

Sebastian’s gaze hardened, like he was trying to hold onto his anger, but it didn’t last. His face crumpled, and even though he was lying down, I could see the defeated slump to his shoulders.

“Yeah. I get it. Go save the day. I’ll stay out of your way like a good little cripple.”

“Hey, you aren’t crippled.” Damien raised his fist like he meant to punch Sebastian in the shoulder. It was a familiar show of affection I’d seen the brothers exchange before, but right now even such a simple gesture could be disastrous.

Newt and I both jumped up, ready to pull the man away before he could accidentally cause his brother more harm, but Gabe beat us to it. He grabbed Damien’s wrist and forcibly lowered the man’s fist with a shake of his head.

A look of sorrow twisted Damien’s face when he realized his mistake.

Sebastian scoffed. “Not crippled? Right. Say that once I can walk again.”

Standing tall and straightening his shoulders, Damien tugged the cuffs of his jacket back into place. “I will.”

Sebastian scowled, but Damien only smiled.

“I’ll say it again once you can walk.” He looked over toward Newt and me. “With such a dedicated crew taking care of you, how can you expect anything other than a full recovery?”

Sebastian followed his brother’s gaze, and his eyes softened the moment they landed on Newt.

I was happy for my friend. He deserved to have someone who looked at him with such obvious love, even if they hadn’t said the words yet.

However, jealousy also gnawed at my heart. No one had ever looked at me that way. Not even my parents. They hadn’t been abusive or neglectful, but they hadn’t been very demonstrative in their affection either. A quiet nod or a quick word was usually all I got from them, and even that had stopped when I chose my college major.

Apparently physical therapist wasn’t a glamorous enough career for them to acknowledge. They still seemed to think that this was some sort of weird hobby, and that I was just wasting time before eventually starting a real career.

This was not the time for such negative emotions. So, like usual, I folded them up and tucked them away in a far corner of my mind where they would remain forgotten.

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