Page 76 of Dark Truths

She looks up at me, and I glance down at her with a sly smile. “What? He’ll be fine. Although he may wake up with a hell of a headache.”

“Dimitri,” Gabriella reprimands, but I catch the small smile on her lips before she looks away.

At the car, I go to pick her up and she promptly smacks my hand away. When I try again, she gives me an exasperated look but finally relents to my help. Once she’s buckled in, with the blanket over her lap, I push the wheelchair toward the bushes and jog around the car to the driver’s side.

“Are you one of those people who doesn’t return the cart to the store or even to the corral?” she asks me as I pull out of the hospital parking lot.

“It’s not a shopping cart,” I say back without actually answering her question.

Gabriella sighs, but then settles back in her seat as the city flies by. After a minute of peaceful silence, she asks, “So, where are we going?”

“My home.”

I feel her eyes studying my profile and I resist looking at her.

“Your apartment?” She’s never been to my place in the city because of the Bratva constantly watching, and I’m not about to take her there now.

“No. My home outside of the city.”

“I didn’t know you had a place outside of the city.” She sounds surprised and a little hurt that she didn’t.

I glance at her and take her hand across the console. “No one does.”

“Oh,” she says, my answer soothing her briefly hurt feelings. “Okay then.”

Gabriella remains silent for the rest of the drive, but I can sense her growing excitement as we venture further away from the city, while my own anxiety intensifies. I’m looking forward to showing her the cabin, but I’m worried about what she’ll do when I finally reveal the truth. Will she run? Will she lash out? Will she hate me?

When I turn off the road, only my headlights illuminate the dark road that leads to my house. I’m still not feeling any better, but there’s no going back now. Whatever happens is up to Gabriella. She will literally hold my future in her hands after tonight. The motion sensors pick up my car and the soft lights blink on, highlighting my cabin.?

Gabriella leans forward to stare out the windshield. “Wow. I can’t wait to see the house in the daylight. I bet it’s beautiful.”

“It is,” I agree absently as I pull into the drive.

It’s nearing the witching hour by the time I park and help her out of the car. I’d like to get her inside and settled before throwing a gallon of gasoline on us and striking the match.

Gabriella enters behind me as I disarm the security system. When I turn around to face her, I find her spinning in a circle in the living room, her mouth open in awe and her eyes sparkling in the dim light.?

“This place is incredible, Dimitri,” she admits, her attention bouncing from the furniture to the decor.?

I’ve imagined bringing her here for so long, my mind playing multiple scenarios of her reactions. All of them fail compared to the real deal. She looks so natural standing here in my living room. Like she's always meant to be here.

“Why have you never brought me here before?”

I shrug, unable to think of an answer that isn’t terrible, so I settle for the truth. “I rarely come up here myself.”

“So why did you need to bring me here to tell me whatever it is you’ve been hiding?” she asks, her voice hesitating for a moment. “This isn’t like one of those…I’ll have to kill you if I tell you kind of things, is it?”

I approach her, pleased when she doesn’t back down, but instead stands her ground and raises her face to peer up at me when I stop right in front of her. Lifting my hand, I caress her face before I brush my fingers along her hair, pushing it back behind her ear. All the while she stays still, her eyes wide with innocence, oblivious to the catastrophic consequences that will unfold when the truth finally is revealed.

“Gabriella, I need to tell you the truth about me.”

“Okay."?

“I just want you to know that it changes nothing about how I feel for you.”

“You’re scaring me, Dimitri.”

I step closer and press my lips to her forehead as I whisper, “Please forgive me, angel.”

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