Page 15 of Salvation

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That was intense.I knew when I opened the door and saw Luke standing there that things were going to get messy.

I wasn’t asleep when he knocked on the front door. I had been watching Hope sleep. Her white-blonde hair was spread out over the black satin of the pillowcase and her face was completely relaxed in sleep. Her mouth was slightly parted, and the black satin sheet was draped lightly over her naked body. I could see the curves of her legs and hip under the thin sheet through the moonlight.

When I heard the knock, I slid from bed and grabbed my pants from the floor. I never put them into the hamper. After sliding them on, I quickly went downstairs to see who was at my door in the middle of the night.

I figured it would be one of my men with news. Late night visits are not uncommon in my life. But instead, when I looked through the peephole, it was Luke. At first I was surprised. He’s rarely come to my home. In fact, in the years since I purchased it, early in my booming entrepreneurship, I can count the number of times he’s graced my doorstep on one hand.

My first thought was he was looking for Hope, who was asleep in my bed. But once I opened the door, I could see his face was all business. He immediately asked me where I’d been this morning. I, of course, evaded him and just said I was attending to business. He grunted and walked straight in.

I was so surprised, I just let him. He went to the living room and threw his jacket over a chair back and ran his hands through his hair. His holster was still on his hip and his badge was on a chain around his neck. He looked every bit the part of a detective on a mission.

Crossing my arms and staring him down, I calmly asked him, “Can I help you, Detective?”

Glaring at me, he asked curtly, “Where is Mrs. Mascareni, Gabrial? A funny thing happened earlier today.

“A body was dumped in the middle of the street this afternoon. It seems that someone we’ve been watching for a long time, Eli Mascareni...” He paused as if awaiting a response. My face never moved, though I felt my eye twitch slightly. He shrugged at my lack of reaction and continued, “Word on the street is that he owes you a great deal of money, and that he, and his wife, were using more product than they were selling.

“Anyhow… Eli was shot once in the heart earlier today and dumped in the street…Right in front of his house. Now, it’s common knowledge that he sells for you, and also, that he owes you money.

“The chatter is that he’s been hitting and pimping out his Mrs. to try to make some of that money back… Now, I know you and I know the way you operate, and you don’t like that. You may provide the drugs, but you don’t use them, and you don’t tolerate men abusing women…

“Everyone else thinks maybe you killed her… but not me. No. I think you whisked her away someplace. My guess is she’s hidden off somewhere detoxing and/or starting a new life… a life that I’m almost positive that you will fund.

“So, am I right, Gabrial? Where is she?”

Things continue this way with his asking questions and my denying, or evading, them when to deny would be a lie. I pride myself on never lying to people, especially someone like Luke.

Yes. He’s a cop and he’s trying to put me away, but he’s also a good man. He’s strong and fierce and has integrity. I know that people have offered him bribes over the years… offered to pay him handsomely to look the other way, or to lose evidence, yet, he has never wavered. His conviction is strong. He’s a good cop, and yes, a good man.

I respect him and I even love him. After all, we were friends growing up. But eventually we parted ways. I went one way and he veered toward the other.

Somehow through it all, Hope is always in the middle of the two of us.

I saw his face when I called out to her. He had no idea she was here. His face was tortured… for a brief second, he faltered, but then he regained his composure and his reaction to seeing her fresh from my bed was hidden.

He snapped at her though. That was not something I was going to stand for. He hurt her. That is something I will not tolerate.

His exit has left Hope and me in a quiet room. Her hand is over her mouth and her face is covered with deep hurt. He walked out and ignored her when she called out to him.

The pang in my chest as she did so was not pleasant.

I know that she’s involved with Luke. She was involved with Luke before I was ever in the picture. Luke and Hope were my steadfast friends as a child. Hope saved me that day, but Luke was always there… always a constant. His caring nature and goodwill are a mirror of Hope’s. They were always the two who wanted to see the best in everyone. They always wanted to give people a chance.

They gave me a chance when my life was lonely and bleak; they provided friendship and love.

I knew that Luke loved Hope. At first, I just banked my feelings for her. But as we all grew, and those feelings blossomed, I realized ignoring them was futile. I’d date girls… I’d screw girls… but Hope was always the girl I wanted. The one I yearned for. She was the only person I cared about, the only person I loved… other than Luke. But my love for Luke was far different than my deep, resounding, anguished love for Hope.

And I easily saw that Luke yearned for her in the same way. I don’t know how it happened, but we ended up both in love with the same girl and now… we’re in love with the same woman. Only, the clincher is, she loves us both, too.

I’m Gabrial DeLucca. I do not share. Everything I have is mine… mine.

But not Hope… Hope is not solely mine. Her body is mine. I know that she responds to me as if our bodies are two pieces of the same whole, but her heart… her heart is split.

Half mine… and half Luke’s.

And neither of us has the power to capture the entire thing… so begrudgingly, we share it.

We share her.

Two men who don’t share and with any other woman would simply wash our hands and walk away.

We share the one woman that completes us. Because at the end of the day… half of Hope’s heart sustains us over not having her love at all.

She’s still standing in my living room looking as if she’s about to completely break down… because Luke just walked out on her… in my house… where she just left my bed.

Unable to stop it, I find myself asking, “Hope, are you alright?”

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