Page 80 of Forever Mine

Gabriel reaches over and grabs my hand tightly. We are all thinking the same thing.

“I’m next, aren’t I?” I say clearly.

No one speaks, and I know the answer.

“We have to figure out why I’m a loose end here. Why were these people after me in the first place?” I ask. “Should I go into hiding? Am I safe here?”

“We’re going to keep you safe, Mon. I promise.” Liam stares at me with unwavering confidence gleaming in his eyes, but I’m wary of his self-assuredness. He can’t promise this. Neither can Gabriel.

“You can’t promise that, Liam. I love that you think you can, but nothing is promised,” I say quietly. Gabriel grabs me and puts me in his lap, his arms tightening around me.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety,anjinho. I can’t promise anything, but rest assured, I won’t stop until you are free from this. If anything happens to you, I won’t… I can’t …” Gabriel trails off as he leans his forehead against mine. “Você é minha alma gêmea.”

You are my soulmate.

“Você é minha alma gêmea,” I repeat. I hear his quick intake of breath as his eyes meet mine.

“Do you know what I said?” he asks, and I nod. He’s said it a couple times, and I finally figured it out a few days ago.

“What does that mean?” Liam asks, but Gabriel’s eyes never leave mine.

“It’s between me and myquerida,” he says quietly. He clears his throat before returning his focus to Liam and Matt. “What are our next steps?”

“Well, Matt and I were talking. First, we’d like to completely sweep your condo, Gabriel, and ensure no cameras or listening devices are present. Then we’ll set up some of our own to ensure we keep a close eye on things. I have a house in the mountains you can use for a few days while we get everything set up,” Liam explains.

“I have a cabin we can go to,” Gabriel says.

“Really?” I ask.

“Yeah. I haven’t been up there for a few months. So it’ll be good to go unwind and recharge,” Gabriel says. I couldn’t agree more. I love the mountains.

“Do y’all think someone new will come after me?” I ask Liam and Matt. They exchange a look before nodding. “Fuck. How much is the surveillance going to cost me?”

“It will cost you nothing,” Gabriel growls, but Liam puts up his hand before I can offer a retort.

“It will cost both of you nothing,” he assures me. “Gabriel, before you get all alpha on me about protecting your woman, you should know that I’m doing this because she’s the sister I never had, and I’d do anything to help her out, but also because I’m fucking loaded so I can afford to pay whatever it takes. Matt is working freelance on this with me since he’s taking a new position with MSPD that won’t offer nearly as much overtime as he’s getting now. He wants to pad his savings account. So this is a mutually beneficial agreement for all of us.”

I chuckle, and all three men look at me like I’m crazy. “What? Can’t I laugh at Liam describing himself as being ‘fucking loaded’? Come on, that’s funny.”

“Well, it’s the truth. What good is money if I can’t spend it on the people I love? Not like it’s gonna help me in the future when I die. I don’t expect my wife and kids to pad my casket with benjamins,” he says wryly. I throw back my head in laughter.

“Thank you for making me laugh, Liam. I needed it,” I say, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. “Matt, did I hear Liam correctly that you’re taking a new job?”

“Yeah, Mountain Springs School District has added a school resource officer position at the elementary school. I’ll still be a police officer, but it’ll be solely at the school. It’s partially a job to help kids become comfortable with officers, but also just for protection. When Liv was attacked at the school a couple of years ago, it really made the district admin panic. I’m looking forward to more set hours and hanging with the kids all day,” Matt explains.

“Wow,” I comment. “I forgot about Liv getting attacked by that guy. Twice.”

“Dickwad,” Liam mutters under his breath.

“He’s dead, right?” I blurt out.

“Yeah. He’s dead. Got what was coming to him, in my opinion,” Liam says. It puts things into perspective for me. Olivia went through hell getting to her happily ever after. Seeing Liam as happy as he is, seeing their family now? It gives me so much hope. I look over at Gabriel and see him smiling softly at me.

“Matt and I will go back to his office and schedule a security team to sweep the house. Can you be gone this weekend?” Liam asks as he and Matt stand up.

Gabriel looks at me, and I shrug. I’m basically just following him around right now. My calendar is empty. He looks back at Liam and nods.

“We’ll keep you updated, crazy girl, okay?” Liam says as he ruffles my hair. “Love you, sis.”

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