Page 76 of The Pretty Psycho

I could only nod, before a familiar voice boomed behind us, making me turn away from Adrian.

"So this is where the party is," Gabriela said, grinning at me. "You sounded worried,bella, but here he is, alive and well."

"Yeah, well," I chuckled, "I panicked."

"Hmm." Her dark eyes searched mine and then moved to Adrian who stood behind me. "You look like you were about to cry." She crossed the short distance between us, surpassingYolanda and stopped right in front of me. "Did you fucking make her cry?" she bit out, looking at Adrian.

There was something violent, something deranged about Gabriela Barone. She looked like a lady, like a fucking model, if I was being completely honest, but whenever I spoke with her I could see her for what she truly was. She reminded me of me, before Adrian and all these fucked-up emotions that were making a mess out of me.

She played the role of a bubbly, happy girl way too well, but there was a wolf hiding behind that sheep's skin, and the look she directed at Adrian told me she felt more protective of me than him.

"No, he didn't do anything."

"Why are you looking at me that way?" he asked. "The two of us obviously have to work on our issues, but I didn’t make her cry.”

"He didn't," I added when her eyes moved to me. "I'm sorry I panicked," I said, sort of hating myself right now. I should've thought this through instead of calling her.

"Nonsense." She smiled. "You can call me any time and I'll come. You wouldn't have called me if it wasn't important." No, I wouldn't have. "Besides." She looked at Ethan who was standing somewhere behind Adrian. "Something tells me we didn't cross all this way for nothing. Ethan," she said, smirking before moving away from Adrian and me and toward the man in question.

I turned around, observing their interaction, and I didn't miss the way Ethan rolled his eyes the moment they landed on her. Something told me that Gabriela wasn't the most popular girl among their group, but she also didn't seem to give a fuck.

I felt Adrian's gaze on me, but I couldn't look at him. It was all cool and dandy, us kissing and apologizing, but I couldn't expect for things to just miraculously go back to how they usedto be. We had to have a serious talk, and if we just jumped back into the way things were, nothing would ever change.

I had to trust him with my heart. Saying “I love you” was not just a magic recipe for a healthy relationship, and if I wanted us to succeed, and I definitely did, then I had to tell him everything. I had to tell him my fears so that he could understand why I behaved in such a way.

He was right—it couldn't be only one person doing all the work. The other one had to give something as well.

In this case, both of us made mistakes and even though it was hard admitting they were created by us, it was important we understood where we went wrong.

"Come on," Adrian said, wrapping his fingers around my elbow. "Let's join them. Ethan might get tempted to kill her if she continues talking for longer than necessary, and I kind of like her."

"I like her too," I murmured, letting him lead me. Yolanda quickly caught up with us, falling into step with me. I looked up at her, seeing her already looking at me with anare you okay?expression on her face.

I smiled, and while I wasn’t fully okay, I would be. We would get there. Right now we had more important things to worry about, and going over my relationship with Adrian wasn't one of them.

"So," I could hear Gabriela clearly now, "tell me about these assholes that are hiding in the warehouse."

"How many are there?"

"Do we have to do this with her?" Ethan asked Adrian, completely ignoring her.

We were standing right next to Gabriela now and I could see her eyebrow arching and that venomous expression crossing over her face. Ethan was standing one moment, but in the next, she had her hand wrapped around his throat, while her longnails dug into his skin as his eyes bulged out, looking at her with an anger that matched her own. His hand landed on her wrist, trying to peel her off, but there was no moving her without scratching himself.

"I'm going to ask this one more time, Ethan darling, and I really hope you're going to answer. As it is, I am hungry, pissed off, and I haven't had a proper night of sleep in months. So." She laughed darkly. "How many fuckfaces are waiting for us inside that warehouse and what are the specifics, because knowing you, you're already well aware of every entry and exit point, so why don't you share it with class?"

I looked at Adrian, my eyes wide, contemplating between helping Ethan and letting her do her thing, but Adrian simply shook his head, fisting his hands but letting her do whatever the fuck she wanted. I wouldn't want to mess with her either, if I was being completely honest, and I was sure I could take her on.

But where I fought because I had to, because I was trained for this, Gabriela loved it. There was something vicious in her eyes that told me she loved seeing Ethan completely at her mercy, seeing what she was capable of.

I moved toward them just as she released Ethan, stepping away from him, while the man in question rubbed his throat, throwing daggers at her.

"So?" she asked, not missing a beat. "Are you going to share with us the information we all so desperately need or are you still going to pretend you don't want to go in there and destroy the fuckers that dared to mess with us?" Venom dripped from her words, and if I wasn't on her side, if she wasn't fighting with us, I would be afraid. I understood why they called her the Black Widow. I understood why they feared her, because she didn't care.

Gabriela Barone simply did not care, and I wondered if she wanted to cleanse the world from those that dared to attackher and those she accepted in her inner circle or because she just didn't care about anything anymore. For all her bravado, for all her smiles and all those words she said, there was something missing in those dark eyes—life. Life was missing. The willingness to fight because she wanted to survive.

Gabriela fought because she wanted to die and that scared me more than The Schatten and Adrian's father.

I felt Adrian coming closer to me just before he wrapped his arm around my middle, centering me without even knowing it. He was my reason, my solace, my happily ever after, and I just hoped Gabriela would find someone like that. I hoped she would find her reason.

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