Page 81 of Stepson

The sirens of the ambulance nearly deafen me as they pull into the parking lot next. Both EMT workers get out and run inside the room where they begin working on Marcus. I don't care about him. I only care for Gabe.

Kurt uncuffs me before I take off running to Gabe, nearly ripping the door from its hinges. He jumps out, and I throw my arms around his neck before I kiss his face all over.

"Baby, I want to touch you. Get me out of these cuffs," Gabe says before he laughs.

"Oh, right." I spin to Kurt who’s already walking over with the keys.

“You saved our asses,” Gabe comments.

Kurt chuckles. “I’m just glad I was listening to the police radio this morning. These pricks thought they were going to get away with this shit again.” He shakes his head. “I have your mother and Maggie back at the hotel room working on Maggie’s case against Marcus while I came over here right away.”

Once Gabe is out of his cuffs, he frames my face and stares deep into my eyes.

“Are you okay?” He runs his thumb over the small cut on my lip before I nod. “I should kill him for putting his hands on you.”

I smile as my heart swells at his words. My big bad man is always trying to protect me and he’s willing to kill a cop to do just that. I love him more than words can say.

“I’m fine, baby, I just want to get out of here.”

“You two can come back to the hotel with me while I wait to hear from Biggs on their status. It looks like Marcus is going to the hospital and we won’t get immediate justice, but his time is coming.”

We walk away from the scene and get into the back of Kurt’s car as he drives us away. Part of me wants to look back but I can’tdo it, knowing that justice is coming, and I never want to see Marcus ever again.

Chapter forty-two

Gabe

As Bentley sleeps, I go next door to my mother’s room to check on things. I can’t sleep even if I try and find myself pacing back and forth. This case against my father is driving me mad not knowing what’s going on. We haven’t heard anything since we left the hotel, and all I can think about is taking him down until he sits behind bars.

“Hey sweetie,” Mom greets as I enter her room. She’s sitting at the table looking through some papers when I sit down across from her. “Can’t sleep?”

I shake my head. “Not for one second. What are you looking at there?”

Her mouth turns into a scowl as she hands me the papers. “It’s Maggie’s case against Marcus.”

Scanning over the papers, my jaw drops at what I’m reading. There is so much here my brain can't wrap itself around all of it.

"She's going after him for the death of her brother as well," Mom adds.

My eyes continue to scan over the charges. Rape, blackmail, physical and mental abuse, employer misconduct. The list literally goes on and on with detailed accounts, but I can't stand to read it any longer.

I toss the paper down on the table and sit back, blowing out a breath.

"Why did she stay around for so long? I had no idea any of this was going on."

My mom shakes her head. "You know how Marcus can be. He probably threatened Rachael and made her stay. She had no way out until now."

"Mother fucker," I growl as I slam my hand on the table. "How can one man cause so much damage to everyone's life around him?"

"He's always been power-hungry, Gabe. If he isn't in complete control, he loses it. I'm just sorry Bentley got mixed up in all of this. How did that happen anyways?"

"As you said, he has to control everything. She was mine first, ya know?" I shake my head, recalling the night I first met her and the night I lost her. "He blackmailed her boss to get her fired so she had nothing. It's obvious he did that so she would need him."

The anger for my father tightens every muscle in my body. If he wasn't already laid up in the hospital, I'd have put him there anyway. He deserves to die.

Mom sighs. "I'm so sorry, Son."

"Like, why? Why did he do this to me?"

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