Page 35 of Gabbriello Deluca

“Are you going to give that information to the police so they can investigate?” Layla asked.

“One thing I’ve learned over the years is that you can’t trust cops to get things done. It’s not their fault, but they have to go through all the legalities and red tape. I find things move faster if I handle it my way.”

“But that’s taking the law into your own hands, and that can prove to be very dangerous.”

Gabbriello smirked as he averted her gaze and scanned the room, planning his next words carefully.

“There is always going to be danger when you are trying to build your business. People who don’t have it will try to kill you to get it and sometimes you have to do things to protect what’s yours. I don’t shy away from danger because it’s a part of my life. In my line of work, I create an atmosphere for people to have fun. The club, the hotel, all of it is just a way for people to feel good. Drinking, smoking, partying, having sex, people are too worried about their nine-to-five jobs that they forget how to live. I create a space or two where people can feel glamorous and forget about tomorrow, even if it’s just for one night.”

Layla thought back on the previous night when she realized that was what happened to her. She was so caught up in the glamour and the expensive wine that she was not thinking about her job, her dead cousin, or the fact that she was hanging out with a criminal. She was living her life and taking what she wanted. Layla tried to think of the consequences of her actions, but the only one that popped into her mind was potentially getting fired. Even though she put years into the Bureau, she has never felt as happy as she did when she was spending time with Gabbriello. Can he really be that bad of a guy? Layla thought.

Gabbriello’s gaze shifts to the outside window and Layla noticed an abrupt change in his facial expression. His eyebrows pressed together as his jaw clenched. Layla looked out the window and saw two men in dark leather jackets approaching the entrance. Gabbriello’s hand motioned toward his ribcage and, with a slight relaxation in his body language, Layla knew he had the assurance of a gun behind his jacket. Layla turned around and noticed two more suspicious looking men sitting in a booth across the diner bar near an old jukebox. One of the men in the booth made eye contact with Layla and he immediately looked away.

“Don’t be scared,” Gabbriello whispered as he moved closer to her, giving the appearance of an intimate moment. “But this might get ugly.”

Layla reached out her hand and lightly touched his. “Do you know what ‘watch my six’ means? It’s a military term.”

Gabbriello stared back at her with his mysterious eyes, knowing that she was exposing more of her identity to him. Without a word, he nodded.

“I’ve got yours, if you’ve got mine.” Layla’s gaze was unwavering as she pulled back her flannel shirt slightly revealing her Glock 43. “There are two more guys over in the corner at ten o’clock.” She brushed her hand over his face as she pretended to whisper something so that he could turn his head to see the men she was referring to.

He glanced to his left and saw them.

“There’s another one working as a cook behind the counter. I thought he looked familiar when we walked in and now I remembered him from a photo. This is going to get bad. Our best bet is to go through the back. There must be an exit through the kitchen. The fire department requires it. When they start firing, everyone here will get down and hopefully the kitchen staff will leave through the back when they hear the shots,” she said as a matter of fact, like she had been in this situation before.

Without hesitation, Gabbriello pulled out his phone to call Andrew. “Hey, meet us at the back of the restaurant now.” He said in a hushed tone. “We’re going to need a quick getaway.” He disconnected the call and gave Layla’s hand a tight squeeze. “We’re going to make it out of this.”

“I never doubted it,” Layla said with a slight smile.

“Are you ready?” Gabbriello said as he leaned in and gave her a small kiss that barely brushed her lips.

Layla nodded, and they both stood to their feet as the two guys enter the restaurant. Gabbriello and Layla stared at the two men walking in and suddenly, the men drew their guns and began firing at them. Gabbriello and Layla pulled out their weapons and fired back. Layla spun around and fired at the cook, who also had a weapon aim at them. With two bullets, Layla hit the chef and he went down. The few innocent patrons screamed as they ducked under their tables. Gabbriello and Layla continued to fire as they moved back-to-back towards the kitchen. With a weapon in each hand, Gabbriello fired at the two men in the corner. Layla fired a bullet at the man standing in the doorway and before she got another shot off, her gun clicks signaling an empty magazine.

“Go, go!” Gabbriello yelled at Layla as he continued to fire. They made their way through the kitchen. Ahead of them, they spotted a silver door with a sign on the front reading, emergency exit.

“Faster!” Gabbriello said as he continued to fire.

She pushed through the door and prayed that there were no guns pointing at her on the other side of it. When the door swung opened, she noticed two men dead on the ground and Andrew standing by an opened car door with his guns drawn. They both jumped in the back. His driver slammed the door shut, rounded the car, and jumped into the driver’s seat.

“Andrew, get us the fuck out of here!” Gabbriello yelled.

He accelerated on the gas, and they sped away. They both let out a sigh of relief and attempted to slow the pace of their racing hearts.

Layla gave Gabbriello a hard stare. “So, you want to tell me who the fuck those men were and why they’re trying to kill you?!”

Gabbriello stared back angrily. “You want to tell me why you have those guns and use them like the military trained you? Some school teacher,” he scoffed. He gripped her face so that she had to look at him. “Layla, choose your words carefully, because your life may depend on it.”

“Fine,” she said as she pulled her face out of his hold and turned away.

He glanced over and saw her pull something out of her pocket.

“I was in the army.” She flashed her badge. “And now I’m in the FBI.”

Gabbriello clenched his jaw. “You fucking lied to me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Most of your life is built on a lie,” Layla yelled. “You’re a fucking criminal. You don’t think I know about your past. I know everything. You’re involved in organized crime. Prostitution, murders, human trafficking, drugs, weapons, you do it all.”

Gabbriello glared at her and in a calm voice, he replied. “I don’t do human trafficking. I hate that shit, all the women that work for me do so willingly and I pay them well. Those guys that tried to kill us belong to Big Daddy Balotelli. He owns the Big Deal Casino. It’s a small casino in the far Northeast. He’s the one that traffics women and children. I would rather die than be a part of that shit.” He didn’t know why, but it was important to him for her to know that he had standards and lines that he didn’t cross. “And for the record, I never lied to you.”

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