The phone started vibrating all over again, my eyes still refusing to leave the small, grey image of the baby developing inside me. Our baby. Doctor Lombardi had been right. I was five weeks pregnant and I had no idea whether that scared the shit out of me or made me the happiest woman alive.
"I want you to take these two times a day." Reaching for the prenatal vitamins the doctor had extended to me, I briefly closed my eyes. I still had no fucking idea how this had happened. "The calcium deficiency shouldn't be a problem, but if it causes you any discomfort, such as dizziness or headaches, please feel free to call me. I'll schedule you in for a quick checkup." I slowly nodded just as my phone started vibrating again.
There was no surprise that Gabriel was desperate to get a hold of me since I'd somehow managed to sneak out of the house without a word, but I couldn't have talked to him at the moment. I needed some time to understand how I felt about the pregnancy and I hoped to God that the road back to his parents' house was going to offer me the time I needed.
"So, signora Shaffer, I'll see you again in three weeks for another ultrasound. Like I said, I'd like to carefully observe the development of the fetus." Standing up from his seat behind the desk, doctor Lombardi extended his hand to me. "I'll also talk to doctor Mendoza from OB for you. I'm sure she'll happily accept to be your gynecologist." Standing up myself, I used my right hand to shake doctor Lombardi's extended one, while my left one fought against the urge to crumple the first picture of my baby.
"Thank you, doctor! For everything." Giving me one of the kindest smiles he was capable of, the good doctor grabbed the lapels of his white robe, pulling at them while I turned on my heels to leave.
My head was full of unwelcomed thoughts as I made my way down the hospital's hallway, my hand reaching for the now silent phone inside my pants' pocket. Deleting the four voice mails from my murderer without even listening to them, I made my way to the hospital's underground parking lot, my shaky hands fumbling with the keys to Gabriel's SUV before finally succeeding to unlock the car.
Climbing into the driver's seat, I mentally chastised myself for not considering to take somebody with me, since I wasn't so sure I was capable of driving at the moment. And then my phone started ringing again just in time to drag me out of my dazed state, my hand fumbling with the car key once more just before turning it into the ignition and driving away from the hospital without as much as checking the caller's ID. Coming to think of it, that might not have been such a great idea, after all.
$$$
The mansion was terribly quiet and surprisingly empty, every single person living there nowhere in sight. I guess that shouldn't have come as a surprise, since even Mr Shaffer's permanent house guards were apparently gone, and yet, that did nothing to stop the cold tremor that had taken over me. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.
A door screeched somewhere on the first floor, triggering a reaction in me I didn't think myself capable of. Taking the gun Gabe insisted I carried around with me everywhere out of my bag, I slowly went up the stairs, my breath shallow, my heart almost pounding out of my chest. A thin layer of cold sweat was covering my entire body, my shaky hands fighting to keep their grip on the Colt. You see? Even though I mastered the hell out of using a gun, I still feared I was not going to be capable of using it when the time came.
The sound of heavy footsteps coming from Gabriel's bedroom made me stop just outside the door for a moment, my lungs struggling to get some air past the lump in my throat. The voice also coming through the door a moment later had me on high alert, my eyes scanning the hallway for any kind of backups. Where the fuck was everybody?
"You said she would be here." My grip of the gun tightened, my teeth gritting to breaking point. What the hell was he doing here? How the fuck had he gotten past all the men both my husband and his father had on his tracks?
"I thought she would, Marco. Why would I lie to you?" The sound of breaking glass made me slightly jump backwards. And then a woman's pathetic gasps for air made me close my eyes tightly.
"I don't know, Mei. Why would you come looking for me? Why would you plot with me against your dearest Gabriel? Why would you help me get here? Why?" My breath hitched and for a moment there, I could've sworn that they'd heard me and that Marco was going to come for me, but nothing happened. Instead of that, after what seemed like forever, Mei spoke again.
"I... Want her... Dead." She sounded exhausted and out of breath and I had to strain my ears only to be able to hear her, but then Marco's harsh laugh covered her small voice, a loud thud telling me that he'd had her pinned to the wall and that only now did he let her go.
"What we do for love..." His words drifted to my ears, making me cringe, my chest tightening. To Marco I may have been nothing more than collateral damage, but to Mei, I was the woman who'd stolen the heart of the man she loved. "Well, what should I do with you now?" Swallowing hard, I realised that there was only one answer to that question. Mei had failed him and now Marco was going to kill her. And then, here I was, listening to the door and holding a freaking gun. I had the power to save the bitch who, by her own admission, wanted me dead and also did everything in her powers to get her wish to come true. Was I going to save her? Of course I was, because I was just that big of an idiot.
Dropping my bag onto the floor, no longer frightened by the fact that the one man I feared the most was going to hear me, I pushed the door open, forcing my hands to remain steady as I aimed the Colt at the back of Marco's head. Because I was going for a quick death indeed. I couldn't afford to take any risks on this.
The man slowly turned around, facing me, the huge smile he was sporting, making me swallow hard. That wasn't the smile of a man whose death was near.
"Ms Groves, just the person I wanted to see. Or do you go by Mrs Shaffer now?" A cold chill went down my spine, making a brand new sheen of sweat cover my trembling limbs. "Are you gonna use that?" A desperate sound finally went past the lump in my throat, my own two eyes widening in surprise at the unexpected reaction of my body. "I didn't think so either." Taking a cautious step forward, the man gave me a triumfant smile. "That's not a toy, judge. You might wanna drop it before you do something you'll regret." A surge of adrenaline finally gave me my voice back, my hands flexing on the gun.
"The only thing I regret is not poking your eye out for good." Swallowing hard, as if to maintain his composure, Marco took another step towards me.
"You came close enough, do trust me. Now, if you're gonna pull that damned trigger, you better pull it now, because the moment I get my hands on you, I'm finally gonna finish what I started." My mouth went dry, Gabriel's words coming back to mind. Never point the gun at someone unless you're going to shoot that person down. It was the time I took his fucking advice. It should've been easy enough, especially considering who the person standing at the other end of my Colt was. Marco deserved to die, and I'd spent too much of my time planning my revenge on him to just let him live now.
So, holding my breath and forcing my hands to remain steady, I finally did what had to be done. I pulled the trigger, preparing myself for the deafening sound of the bullet leaving the barrel of my gun. That sound never came, an empty, sickening clicking sound replacing it though. My barrel was empty.
Marco's distant, unamused laugh made me snap my head up to look at the man prepared to launch at me, his entire body tense, the look on his face murderous. And then it happened. In one large stride he was standing right in front of me, his eyes scanning my face, his lips forming a superior smirk.
"I must admit that I'm surprised. I didn't think you would have the balls to pull the trigger on me." His thumb stroked my cheek, making me pull back a little in an attempt to escape his touch. He laughed, that laugh of his giving me chills. "You shouldn't have done that, judge! Now I'm starting to take it personal." The cold metal of his gun touched the sensitive skin of my neck, tears for the baby inside of me who wasn't even going to be given the chance to live burning the back of my eyes. "Any last requests?" His hot breath fanned against my neck and I couldn't help but think that the last thing I was ever going to feel was disgust for the man who was going to kill me.
"I have one. Let my wife go!" My murderer's voice was laced with pure rage, my eyes immediately snapping open. Marco had turned around to look at the man pointing a Colt -very similar to mine- at him. This time, I could smell the fear coming from him, the entire situation reminding me of the last time Gabriel had a gun pointed at his enemy. I thanked God that I didn't also have a gun pointed at my back again.
"Now, I'm afraid I can't do that. Killing you wouldn't even come close to giving me the satisfaction killing her in front of you is going to give me." My breath hitched the moment Marco pointed his gun at me again, Gabriel's face morphing into a mask of fury and pain. He couldn't shoot the man as long as I was also in the picture, that much I knew. The risks of shooting me by mistake were too high. "I may consider killing you afterwards though. I can't let you come looking for revenge, now can I?" My husband's jaw was tight, his knuckles white from the fierce grip he had on his gun.
"Just let her go, Marco, and I promise you, I'll let you walk away. Touch a hair on her head and I'll make sure you die in agonizing pain." One of the Italian man's hands reached out and grabbed my upper arm in a vice grip, his gun back to my neck, his mouth to my ear.
"Now, darling, I think your husband fails to understand what a war means. He started this the moment he took my wife's life and I'm gonna end it by taking yours in return. Fair enough, wouldn't you say?" I didn't have time to give him an answer though, the bullet fired by my murderer scraping my cheek on its way to Marco's hand. I bit back a scream as the gun pointed at me hit the ground and thanked God the moment I realised Marco hadn't gotten the chance to pull the safety.
And then I was pushed forward just like that, stumbling over my own two feet and hitting the ground, face first. A sharp pain erupted in my lower stomach, my hand covering my mouth before another scream broke past my lips. I needed to stay silent and find a way to end this once and for all.
Carefully standing up, I did my best to pull myself together and understand what I was looking at. My husband was currently fighting to keep his grip of Marco's neck while the man sent his elbow into his stomach repeatedly, his face turning blue by the second. The moment Gabriel's eyes found me, I could see the worry written all over his face and silently cursed. He was going to get himself killed if he couldn't keep his head in the game and I couldn't live with knowing that I had been the cause of that.
So, struggling to stand up, I tried to locate the spot where Marco's gun had landed and found it a few feet away from me, just next to where my murderer was now lying on the ground, Marco's large frame threateningly looming over him. My heart started pounding in time with the fists the man sent into Gabe's face, my husband's jaw bruised, his lower lip bleeding. I felt like fucking crying, panic flooding me, my limbs quickly turning into jell-o.
Forcing my body into action, I jumped forward, landing onto my knees and feeling something wet and sticky dribble down my leg. Knowing fully well that I didn't have the time to asses my condition, I decided to ignore the cut I'd obviously gotten during my fall and reached out for the gun, only to have my hand gripped tightly and twisted painfully. Looking down at my wrist, I felt another wave of nausea take over me the moment Marco's hand -covered in my husband's blood- came into my line of sight.
But then, just as unexpectadly as it had appeared, his hand released mine, his entire body rolling to the ground, Gabriel's hands holding him down, his legs straddling his hips.
"Run, dea! Now!" His muffled words had no effect on me, my mind refusing to process them, my left hand reaching for Marco's gun once more, since my right one was a mess of what appeared to be some broken bones. "Julia, listen to me..." He was cut off by Marco's sudden jerk, the man's legs quickly wrapping around my murderer's waist and pushing him down.
My actions became automatic, my good hand making quick work of checking the barrel of Marco's Glock to make sure the gun was loaded, before taking off the safety and doing everything in my powers to stand up. Fighting the urge to look at my husband -knowing fully well that I couldn't afford to get distracted- I kept my eyes on my target, Marco's quick dodges from my murderer's punches making it hard for me to aim my gun at him.
My lips slightly pursed in frustration the moment another one of Gabriel's punches missed its target. My husband was the ultimate fucking killer. I'd seen him beat the crap out of men who were much larger than Marco and I'd seen him torture more people than I would've liked to. So why the fuck couldn't he just keep the man still for a second so that I could fucking shoot him?
I had to watch the sick psycho duck away from three more punches before Gabriel's fist finally caught him square in the jaw again, Marco's head falling back and bumping against the floor on a low curse. And that's when everything started going in slow motion for me. Waiting for my murderer to move just slightly away from the man lying beneath him, I pointed my gun just bellow Marco's ribcage and pulled the damned trigger before I could change my mind.
A wheezing sound went past his lips as my bullet reached its target, blood splattering my murderer's handsome face, his shocked, horrified expression pulling at my heart.
"What have you done?" His whisper almost passed unnoticed, my mind reeling from the dozens of questions I wanted to throw at him. What the hell did he mean by that? What was I supposed to do? Just stand there and watch them fight to death?
"I..." Words got stuck behind the huge lump in my throat, my feet caving in the moment realisation finally hit me. I'd killed a man.
"Dea, it's fine. It's fine." His arms were wrapped around me in no time at all, my entire body melting into his. He was the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. "It's fine, Julia. It's ok." But it wasn't. It wasn't supposed to be so easy for me to just choose to kill a person -no matter how vindictive and insane that person was. "Where the fuck have you been, Julia? I tried to call you. I... You shouldn't have been here. You shouldn't have had to pull the trigger. You shouldn't have been in danger. I should've kept you safe." His words were a mere whisper, his hoarse voice making me look up at him. Gabriel was watching me closely, his hazel eyes wide with worry and so much love that it almost took my breath away. He loved me. He'd saved my life so many times already. It was about time I started saving his too.
"You're no fucking saint, Gabriel, and obviously, neither am I. I've never said I was." My murderer gritted his teeth, his eyes hooded, his face giving nothing away. "I'm also not made of glass, so you don't always have to keep me safe. You've killed for me and now I've killed for us. So if this is about me going to hell, then so be it. I wouldn't wanna go to Heaven without you anyway." The look in his eyes said so much more than words ever could. We didn't need to go to Heaven. We only needed each other. And now, I'd just bought a one way ticket to hell and I was going there with my murderer. "Now, we have forever." His lips sealed mine in a savage, mind numbing kiss, my good hand taking its rightful place at the back of his head.
And then the door slammed open, both me and Gabriel reluctantly pulling away from the kiss, my murderer's arm secured around my waist. Mathew's gun was the first thing I saw as my husband's best friend hurried into the room, Tom following suit. Their deadly presence made me feel more at ease with the fact that I'd just killed another human being, the thought that I was surrounded by men who killed people for a living making me feel oddly relieved.
"Is he?..." Gabriel asked as Mathew's tall frame bent down next to the psycho who'd just tried to kill both me and the love of my life, his hand reaching out and searching for Marco's pulse. My chest tightened the moment he shook his head at us. "Good. Take him to the Pit. I promised him agonizing pain." Struggling to swallow the lump in my throat, I forced the words out knowing fully well that, given the opportunity again, that woman was going to have me killed.
"She brought him here." The warm hazel in my murderer's eyes turned into hateful black the moment he caught sight of the woman crouching behind the open door. The poor, frightened being looking down, towards her feet, was nothing like the Mei I knew, her straight, black hair a disheveled mess, her makeup all smudged.
It only took Gabriel a moment to reach her, his large hand -the same hand he'd kept on my waist a moment earlier- going to her chin and bringing her face up to his. The woman paled even more, if that was even possible, her own two shaky hands cupping my husband's wrist, her eyes silently pleading with him.
"Gabriel, he said he only wanted her. I would've never brought him here if I thought he was ever going to hurt you." Her panicked, high pitched voice made my head hurt, my hands going to apply some pressure to my temples in an attempt to alleviate the pain. I was barely aware of Tom picking Marco up by his feet and dragging him out of the room the moment my murderer's free hand grabbed both of Mei's, pushing her away from him.
"She's my fucking life, Mei. You've helped a man come in here and try to take my fucking life away from me." Suddenly standing up, my murderer briefly glanced at the trail of blood Marco had left behind before looking back down at his protege. "My debt to you has been paid. I release you of your protege bond. From this day on..." A deafening shriek cut him off, my ears ringing from the terrible noise. And then I saw the state Mei was into, her small hands desperately clutching at my husband's clothes.
"Gabriel, you can't do this to me. I have nobody else but you. You know that." I could see the way his jaw tensed briefly before his walls went up again, the calm facade taking over the annoyed expression.
"You should've thought about that before almost taking everything I've ever cared about away from me, Mei." And then, just like the business man he was, my husband simply regained his train of thought from where Mei had interrupted him. "From this day on, I'm dead to you and you are dead to me. If you ever use the information you own against us, we will find you. If you ever plot against us, we will find you. If you ever try to get back at us in any way that may harm the people I care about, I will find you." A brief pause followed his words, the room perfectly quiet until he spoke again. "And you know what will happen when we'll find you."
Turning on his heels, my murderer had already started to walk away from the angry, heart broken woman the moment her eyes lit up with deep hatred aimed at me. I was probably the only one seeing it coming -or perhaps only the fastest one to see it coming- but when she launched at me, I was prepared to stand up to her. My fisted hand shot out just as her claw-like scarlet nails tried to bite into the skin of my neck, another strangling session obviously on her mind. So, I like to think that's why the sound of her cracking nose gave me such a thrill.
My hand hurt like a bitch the moment the woman stumbled back and I had to give it a little shake before looking down at Mei's bloody face. She must have screamed at some point during her fall, her hands currently covering both her mouth and nose, the look on her face, one of pure shock and frustration. And, well, truth to be told, the looks on both my murderer and his wingman's faces matched hers to perfection.
"Are you ok?" I had no idea when Gabriel had moved, but he was now standing right beside me, his arm wrapped back around my waist, his hand caressing my stomach. And that somehow reminded me that I hadn't yet told him I was pregnant.
"I'm fine." My voice was small and rather tired, my murderer's grip of me slightly tightening.
"Um, judge?" I looked up just in time to see Mathew's worried expression as he looked down at my feet. My blues followed his eyes, the sight I found there leaving me temporarily speechless. A trail of blood went down the inner length of my right leg, a few drops lazily dripping to the small pool of blood already tainting Gabriel's perfectly polished floor.
A feeling of loss and despair took over me as my feet caved in, my husband's hold of me, the only thing that was keeping me standing. I knew what that blood was from. I could feel it -the void inside of me making me bite back a scream.
"Julia? What's wrong?" My mouth was dry, my throat closing in on me. No word went past the lump in my throat and that was when I felt Gabriel's body go rigid against mine, his fingers flexing against my skin. "Mathew, make sure she's gone by the time we're back." Briefly motioning in Mei's direction, my husband quickly bent down to pick me up in his arms. I was no light weight, I knew that, but right then, I couldn't care less. I was incapable of walking myself. "Also make sure my mother's girls clean up this mess. Oxygen bleach, of course. I'm taking the Lexus." And with that, my husband carried me out of our bedroom and into the hallway, my body limp, my mind completely numb.
"What about Marco?" Mathew asked, his quiet steps following us down the hallway. It's actually funny how a man of his size could be so graceful.
"Try to keep him alive until I'm back." Gabriel mumbled, his purposeful stride not faltering one bit. "I'd like the honor to end his life myself." And with a quick nod of his head, Mathew opened the front door for us, my husband stepping out into the simmering heat of sunny Italy.
$$$
I woke up with a jolt, the image of my bullet going through Marco's body haunting my dreams. And then, there was also the fear for the baby who might or might not have still been inside of me. The tests' results were not back yet by the time I'd fallen asleep.
"The memory will fade away and the bad dreams will go too after a while." Gabriel whispered, his body lying next to mine, my head resting against his chest. He was wearing a slightly crinkled, yet clean white shirt, his collar unbuttoned, his sleeves rolled up. I wondered idly when he had the time to change his clothes, but then realised that it had probably happened in the car, before even reaching the hospital. My husband always thought of everything.
"Has doctor Lombardi?..." I couldn't finish asking my question, my murderer's chest rising with his deep breath.
"Not yet. You've only been asleep for like ten minutes." Swallowing hard, I slowly nodded my head. If the good doctor was to bring bad news, I thanked God none of us had to face them alone.
"I need to tell you something." Shaking his head, Gabriel placed his finger onto my lips, silencing me.
"I know you're pregnant, dea." Now, that took my breath away.
"Well, you can't know that. I might not..." It was his sudden movement that shut my mouth, his hands gripping my face and making me look up at him.
"Don't you dare say that, dea. Everything is gonna be fine." And I believed him. With all my heart. So the moment his mouth covered mine, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to pretend that everything was just the way it was supposed to be. That was until the door opened and doctor Lombardi stepped into the room, anyway. The man seemed tired and quite honestly sad as fuck and I inwardly cringed, preparing myself for what was to come.
With my husband's hand pressed to the small of my back, I straightened my stance, taking a deep, steeling breath. And then, the good doctor spoke and my fences crumbled.
"Well, you certainly are an interesting case, Mrs Shaffer. The good news, the baby is fine for now. You were very close to losing the pregnancy, I'll give you that, but fortunately enough, you haven't." My mouth opened and then closed several times before I finally managed to get a small, relieved sigh past my lips. Tension soon left Gabriel's body too, his barely audible exhale caressing the skin of my neck. "The bad news now... I'm afraid Mrs Shaffer can no longer be subjected to any kind of effort. And yes, Mr Shaffer, that includes sex, for at least three weeks from now." I could feel my husband's frustration rising in me too, my hands fisting at my sides. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some explaining to do since I had to use the lab for the last three hours for apparently no reason. Your hand should also be fine when we take the cast off, but we'll see that when we get there. Now, I'll see you in another three weeks for a consultation. Please, try to make it three weeks without having to come back here this time."
The moment doctor Lombardi left the room, something suddenly hit me. Something I should've realised sooner.
"How did you know I was pregnant?" Gabriel's body froze to the spot, his hands slowly spinning me around to look at him, the guilt on his face undeniable.
"Right after you got out of hospital back in California, I talked to a specialist who told me that the only chance for you to get pregnant was trying for it as soon as possible. I just... I hoped it would happen. And then it did. And my mother knew. She just saw it in you and shared her beliefs with me." That was when something else hit me.
"That's why you wanted me to get some tests done. Why you asked your mother to take me to the hospital." My husband slowly nodded his head.
"I wanted to know for sure. I wanted a baby with the woman I loved -a family. And I do love you, Julia! So much..." And I loved him too. I wanted a family with him too. So I told him that in the best way I could.
"Take me home, Mr Shaffer!" The loving smile he gave me lit up his entire face and that's when I finally realised it. I was the luckiest woman alive. I was going to spend my entire life with the man who'd changed everything for me. The man who was my God and who considered me his Goddess. The father of my child.