Page 86 of Untamed Protector

He turns to me. “Gabriel, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything, but I hoped you could stop her before she did something reckless. I spent hours hoping it wasn’t really her who did this.”

Anita gives us a smug look, then turns to her father. “Stop humiliating yourself, Dad. What the hell? And you,” she says, looking at Lexi with a cold, glassy stare. “You should cut the drama, country girl. You’re the one who caused all this chaos. Stubborn little thing. You were like a dog with a bone. By the way, I hope you saved that puppy. You’ve got a bleeding heart, so I’m sure you did.”

She pauses for a few seconds, then looks at Lexi again. “You’re the reason my idiot shot Gabriel. He did it to get you away from him.” She then turns to me. “Forgive me, handsome. You’re my all-time favorite bodyguard. Nobody really meant to kill you… we just needed you down for a bit while they took Lexi out of your house. Vargas has an amazing aim. You were safe, trust me.”

Anita kicks back in her chair and looks around at everyone in the room. She loves all the attention. I have to stop this circus. I take Lexi back to the couch and gesture for Damien to grab Vargas.

“Okay, the show’s over. I’m going to hand him over to the police. And we’ll get a warrant for your arrest, Anita. You’ll be staying with us until a judge issues it. Say whatever you want. I can’t stop you, but we all know how this is going to end. With you behind bars.”

Anita stands up and walks over to Vargas, unfazed by Damien’s words. “Oh, baby. If only you hadn’t been so obsessed with that car.” She takes his chin in her hands. Vargas raises his cuffed hands and grabs her thin wrist. “It was my gift to you, baby. How could I get rid of it?”

Anita bows her head and turns to us. “You know, he still behaves like a poor kid. I should’ve seen this coming. He couldn’t let go of that car.”

Damien reaches over, pulls her aside, and lifts Vargas from his chair. Anita shrieks in protest, then turns on Peter, her voice laced with venom. “Do something useful for once in your pathetic life.”

“Gabriel, please don’t,” Peter says. “Just listen to what they have to offer. For my sake, please. I need this. You owe me this.”

“I owe you a lot, Peter,” I reply. “But I won’t be part of any illegal activities to repay you. Anita’s going to be turned in, too.”

Peter whimpers and goes over to her. “Why, Anita? Why create all this mess? What was it you were missing? And why get mixed up with this… person?” he asks in a husky voice.

“Love, Dad. That’s what I missed. This… person is the only man who loves and accepts me for who I am. Yeah, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s respected by his men, dedicated, hardworking, and he loves me no matter what. What makes you better than him? You’ve got some nerve to lecture me, Dad. After you killed your wife because she wanted to sell the business she inherited and enjoy a peaceful retirement with you?”

“It was an accident, Anita. You know it was.”

“No, it wasn’t. You pushed her down the stairs. I saw the whole thing. She wanted you to sell everything and be together. She wanted more time with you and with us. But you were high on power and money. It was her money, and she had the right to do what she wanted with it.”

“I did everything for you and Lucas. I wanted to make up for you losing her. You grew up with everything you needed.”

“I had nothing! You treated me like a weak woman, just like you did my mother. You gave your moron of a son a position in your company. He couldn’t care less. All he wants to do is go sailing. That’s it. I wanted to be your partner and take over from you. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve made a lot of money with my handsome Vargas. So much money that I can buy your precious company and then sell it for scraps until the dust settles on your dream and your work. Maybe then you’ll feel what I felt.”

“There’s no excuse for violence and breaking the law. Stop it, Anita. We don’t care, and it won’t do you any good,” Damien cuts in.

“Oh, really?” she replies defiantly. “You think you’re better than us? Some great men you are, huh? Let’s see. Gabriel’s emotionally crippled, hiding behind his rules, when he couldn’t even admit to a child that he failed the only person in his life who stood by him.”

“How do you know?” I let out a loud bellow.

“Eda. She’s involved with a corrupt cop. It wasn’t hard to find out.” She pauses, grins, then continues, turning to Dominic. “And you? Pretending to be a social butterfly, when in fact you’re haunted by that one moment of helplessness, unable to sleep, replaying it in your head over and over.”

Dominic raises an eyebrow and cringes. Anita continues. “If you’re wondering how I know, it’s your sister. She’s way too gullible, thinking everyone’s her friend. Well, I suppose that will make her life easier.”

She then turns to Damien. “And you, cowboy, sleeping with a gun under your pillow, knowing damn well that once you give up your badge, you’re dead. You’ll be a shell of a man without it. Don’t ask me how I know because my answer gets Vargas his immunity.”

Damien ignores her, looks at his phone, then turns to me. “I just got the warrant for her, too. We can hand both of them over.”

“Seriously, even after everything we’ve proven we know, you still don’t want a deal? Your loss, then.”

“Here’s the thing, Anita. We don’t trust you or your lover boy. It was a brilliant performance, but let’s call it a day.”

Damien pulls out a set of handcuffs and walks over to Anita. He grabs her from her seat and pulls her hands behind her back. Peter collapses onto a chair, groaning. Vargas, held by Mike, starts screaming like a lunatic, “Get your hands off her! It’s all my fault! I did it all!”

Anita nods at him, and he stops. God, the way she controls him… She allows herself to be cuffed, takes a couple of steps pushed by Damien toward the exit, and then stops to talk to Lexi, who stands next to me, looking completely drained by the whole debacle.

“And you, country girl, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, walking carelessly as if it was your own damn street. It would’ve been better if you had died then. You could’ve prevented this whole mess. But this stupid, kind-hearted idiot just had to call the ambulance after we left you there.”

“I told you, baby. An accident is statute-barred, but murder never is. And I was right,” Vargas growls.

“No, you weren’t. See, this is why I have to do the thinking for both of us.”

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