Page 63 of Redemption
I laughed again, the sound lighter than it had been in a long time. Gabriel’s arms wrapped around me, his embrace warm and secure.
“You’re different, Sophia. Different from any woman I’ve ever known.”
“Maybe I just seem different because to you, normal is different.”
He shook his head, his expression serious. “No, that’s not it. There’s something about you that makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.”
His words sent a warm flutter through my chest, but the anxiety gnawed at the edges of my thoughts.
“Tell me about your family,” I asked, wanting to know more about the people I would be facing.
Gabriel’s expression softened as he began to speak. “I have two sisters, Caroline and Isabelle, and you know Damien. My father’s a force to be reckoned with, but my sisters... Caroline is quiet, loves to read, and always notices things others miss. Isabelle is the wild one, full of energy, always pushing boundaries.” He paused, a fond smile playing on his lips. “Damien can talk his way into or out of anything; he thinks he’s a charmer, but he’s terrible with keeping women. Damien is very protective, like me.”
“And your father?” I asked hesitantly.
Gabriel’s eyes darkened slightly. “He’s a man of few words unless you’re alone with him, but when he speaks, you listen. Hecommands respect without ever having to raise his voice—well, that’s how it used to be before he started deteriorating. He raises his voice now to compensate. But still, you’ll feel his presence before you even see him. Meeting him will be… an experience.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and was about to ask more when Gabriel cut me off.
“I can tell you’ve been up all night. Get some sleep, you have nothing to worry about, trust me.”
I smiled weakly as he tucked stray hair behind my ear and leaned in for a kiss.
“I’ll watch over you, get a few hours of sleep.”
I nodded, then laid down, sinking into the comfort of the soft bed.
“Hey, I pushed up the schedule. The jet’s landing at noon.”
My eyes flicked open. Damien stood in the bedroom doorway, shirtless, a towel wrapped around his waist. I couldn’t help but notice his chest and biceps were peppered with countless small scars, He looked at me like I was rude for noticing, then disappeared down the hall.
The little comfort I’d started to feel evaporated instantly. “Noon? We’re leaving at noon?” I echoed, trying to keep the rising panic out of my voice.
Gabriel nodded, running a hand through his hair as he climbed out of bed. “Yeah, looks that way. Let’s get up.”
Packing only took a couple of minutes for me. I only had the essentials—clothes, documents, paintbrushes, and a few keepsakes. Gabriel loaded everything into the trunk of his car, which, to my surprise, was where I thought the engine was. But I was too preoccupied to question it.
The mostly empty two-lane highway stretched out in front of us, long and empty under the clear sky. The coastline to our left and a wide-open grassy plain to our right. Gabriel seemed to be at ease with himself, but I couldn’t shake the tension coiled in my stomach.
“Gabriel,” I found myself saying, finally feeling ready to talk about Henry.
“Mm?” he responded, his thumb absentmindedly tapping the steering wheel.
Before I could continue, Damien pulled up alongside us, his car in the wrong lane of traffic. My heart leaped into my throat as I turned to Gabriel, realizing what the mischievous glint in his eyes meant as he revved the engine.
“Don’t. Gabriel, don’t even think about it,” I warned, but my words were drowned out by the sudden roar of the engine as he floored it, the car surging forward at a terrifying speed.
My heart pounded as the world blurred around us. The wind whipped past, and the car’s roar filled my ears.
“Gabriel!” I screamed, my voice barely audible over the engine.
He laughed, his hand squeezing my thigh as if that could calm me. “Relax, Sophia,” he called out over the noise. “I’ve got this.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the crash that seemed inevitable. But just as quickly as it started, it was over. Gabriel eased off the gas, the car slowing down to a more manageable speed, as if nothing had happened.
I opened my eyes, the fear quickly morphing into anger. “What the hell was that? You could’ve killed us!”
He shrugged, his grin unapologetic. “That was nothing.”
