Page 39 of This Thing of Ours

“I’m happy,” she stated simply.

“And so long as he keeps you that way, I’ll be happy, too.”

She chuckled even though with the look on Nico’s face she couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not. Knowing her brother, he probably wasn’t.

“Go pack a bag. Enough for a few days. You’re staying with me.”

She looked up at Marco in surprise.

He answered her unasked question. “It’s not safe for you here.”

Then Gabby had a scary thought and quickly turned back to Nico. “What about you guys? Are Olivia and Angelica safe?”

“I’ve already had them picked up and men are sweeping the house. We’ll stay in a hotel for a few days to be on the safe side.”

Her mind at ease, she said, “Okay, let me go grab some stuff.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Well, if anything could light a fire under her ass, that would be it.

Chapter Fifteen

It wasn’t untilthey’d been on the freeway for a while and passed Cheyenne exit that Gabby realized Marco lived on the north side of town. She didn’t know why she assumed he lived closer to the family. Maybe because he was always around?

Marco got off at the next exit, took a left, and after a few minutes, pulled into a condo complex. Although the building was old, it was well maintained, and actually, one of the nicer buildings they’d passed.

“I didn’t realize you lived so far away.” Hearing her voice, Fred poked his head through the front seats, and Gabby absentmindedly gave him a scratch behind the ears before telling him to go lay down.

Marco directed a small smirk her direction. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a shithole neighborhood, but I want to stay close to my nonna. She has a house a few blocks away I can’t get her to move from.”

He clicked a remote on the visor, and they idled while waiting for the garage door to open.

She didn’t know much about his family other than what he’d shared with her about his parents and that he had a sister who lived in New York. “So, you see your grandma often?”

“As often as I can.” He swung into the garage and put the car in park. “My dad might have been a shit while I was growing up, but she always tried to do right by my sister and me.” He unclicked his seat belt and popped the trunk with a button under the dash.

“She’s your dad’s mom?”

“Yep.” He got out of the car, and she followed suit, opening the back door and grabbing Fred’s leash before meeting him at the back of the car. She reached for her bag, but he got to it first.

“Do you have any aunts or uncles?”

“Not on my dad’s side, and if I do on my mom’s, I don’t know about them.”

Gabby came from such a large family, she couldn’t imagine any way different, even if she did sometimes take them for granted. It also explained why he took loyalty to hismadefamily so seriously.

Slamming the trunk, he took her hand and led her to a door that opened into a small enclosed patio between the garage and the condo that was filled with potted plants and a small wooden table and chairs. Setting her bag down, he pushed a button on the wall to close the garage door.

“Come on. There’s not much to see, but I’ll give you a tour,” he said, dipping to pick her bag back up.

Gabby unclipped Fred’s leash to let him roam free.

Marco was right, the place was small, but it felt cozy rather than cramped. They’d come in through the patio sliding door that entered directly into the living room where a sectional couch, coffee table, and entertainment center filled all the available space. To the left, a kitchen could be clearly seen, with a breakfast bar the only thing dividing the room. A set of stairs lead up to a fully visible loft.

Marco pulled her that direction. “I only have the one bedroom, but I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Gabby eyed the bed. It was probably the biggest thing in the whole condo. “There’s plenty of room. I don’t mind sharing.”

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