CHAPTER 12:
ANNABELLE'S POV:
Stupid Annabelle.
What was I thinking? Obviously not with my brain. But, really? Sleeping with the targets son? This isn't how I operate.
Sloppy Annabelle.
I gave too much of myself to Gabriel. Secrets. Love. Virginity. I may not have spoken the words to him, but I do love him.
Gabriel is my angel. He is everything good in this world. Unfortunately, I kill the bad things in this world. There's no place in my world for him and I don't belong in his world. My world is filled with predators, suffering, drugs, rape and murder. His world is hanging out with friends, going to the movies, eventually graduating and going to college.
College isn't in the cards for me, unless a college student gets a hit put on him for using date-rape drugs on female co-eds. Of course, I don't get hired for such small-time jobs.
It's the middle of the night and Gabriel is sleeping next to me. I brush back the hair that's fallen on his face. He's so handsome. I don't think I'll ever love any man the way I do him. Time to distance myself from the situation.
I slowly get out of bed and get dressed. I grab my things and step out onto the front porch. I call Jackson on my cell. He answers with a groggy, "Sup?"
"Come pick me up," I say softly.
"Has something happened?" he asks, alarmed.
"Not really. Come get me at the Sanchez beach house," I hang up and sit down on the steps. Well, mission accomplished. Almost. I have Xavier Sanchez's son wrapped around my finger. I can get access to the Sanchez home at any time.
It was necessary for him to fall for me. However, it was not necessary for me to fall for him. It was definitely not necessary for me to have sex with him. Although, I'm glad my first time was with someone I care about. Everything else I've told Gabriel is a lie, but my feelings aren't.
I would die for him. I would kill for him. Of course, that's not saying much, coming from me. If he knew who I really was, would he still love me? I know he probably wouldn't love me if he knew that I was sent to kill his father.
He said he loved me. No one has ever said that, besides Jackson. I know my parents loved me, though. I wish I could remember them. I wish I could remember them telling me that they loved me. I'll always remember tonight. Gabriel telling me that he loves me. He could never understand how much that means to me.
When Jackson shows up, I get in the car and don't say a word. I don't feel like talking to anyone.
"Well?" he prompts.
"Well what?" I ask belligerently, finally meeting his gaze.
"Holy crap, Annie! You didn't!" he yells at me.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I look out my window, trying to ignore him.
"You had sex with him, didn't you?" something in his voice warns me that he's angry.
I still refuse to look at him, "That's none of your business."
"I've been killing people for years, but this is the first time that I've ever wanted to murder someone," Jackson says through clenched teeth.
I whip my head around to glare at him, "Don't you ever touch Gabriel! Promise me, Jacks! Promise you won't ever hurt him!"
"Fine, fine. I won't hurt your little boyfriend," Jackson then adds, "but I will fantasize about it."
"Jackson," I warn.
"Hey, it's a big brother's job to be upset about these things. I'm just trying to give you a little normalcy here, baby sis," he teases and I can tell that he is starting to calm down.
"Besides," I tell him, "I think that if Gabriel had a big brother, he should be the one upset. Gabriel is just an innocent teenage boy. I'm the predator."
Jackson laughs, "It's not like it was his first time. I read the file too."
"Whatever, we're done talking about it," I tell him.
"One more thing, Annie. What is he going to think about you sneaking off in the middle of the night?"
GABRIEL'S POV:
I wake up with a smile on my face. Last night was awesome. Annabelle was awesome. She isn't lying next to me, so I walk around the beach house, looking for her. When I don't find her, I walk out to the beach to see if she went for a morning swim. When I don't find her out there either, I start to get worried.
In the bedroom, I find her stuff missing. What the hell? I grab my phone and call her. She doesn't answer, so I text her. "Where are you?"
I sit on the edge of the bed and wait for her to text me back. After ten minutes, I give up and take a shower. When I get out of the shower, I check my phone again. Still no text message or call back. I grab my bag and go out to my car. I need to see Anna and find out what's going on. I head towards her hotel. I send her another text, "Going to your hotel."
Finally, she texts me back, "Okay."
That's it? No explanation? As I'm driving to the hotel, I try to think about what could be wrong with Anna. It was her first time having sex, maybe she is freaking out about that. Anna seems too strong and confident to play the remorseful virgin. Is she freaked out because I told her that I love her? I thought girls were supposed to like it when a guy says that. Maybe she doesn't love me back. That can't be it, I can feel that she does. I just know it. Plus, I'm lovable as hell.
I've never been in love before. I don't think she has either. I think I just need to reassure her that we'll work through all these new feeling together. Maybe she needs reassurances that I want to be with her forever. Whatever she needs from me, I'll give it. She's too important to do anything else.
I finally reach the hotel and pull into an empty parking spot. I rush through the lobby and onto an elevator. I'm so frustrated, having to wait for the slow elevator. It stops on her floor and I knock on her door.
She answers it immediately, with a blank look on her face. I grab her face and kiss her passionately. When I pull back to look in her face again, it's not so blank anymore. That's more like it.
Despite the aggressive kiss, my tone is gentle when I ask, "Why did you leave?"
She pulls away from me, obviously trying to gain her composure. And her stoicism. I'm not going to let her. I shut the hotel room door and walk to where she is standing, staring out the balcony window. I grab her shoulders and spin her around to face me again. "Gabriel, what are you doing?"
"Tell me what's wrong," I demand.
"Why would you think that something was wrong?" she asks innocently.
"Hmm, I don't know," I begin sarcastically, "Could it be that when I woke up this morning, you were nowhere to be found?"
"So?" she asks.
I inhale deeply and exhale before answering, "What are you so scared of, Anna?"
She scowls, "I'm not scared of anything!"
"Why didn't you tell me that you love me too?" I ask.
"You don't love me, Gabriel. You don't really even know me," she has the saddest look on her face.
I carefully place my hands on either side of her face. I feel like I'll scare her away if I don't tread carefully. I can't figure out what's wrong with her, "Anna, I do know you. I love you."
She pushes my hands away, "No. You don't. Gabriel, there are things about me that you don't know. Things from my past. Things in my present."
"I don't care about any of that. I don't care about anything that you view as bad about yourself. I love you, Anna. No. Matter. What."
"I'd like to believe that . . ." Anna says, looking unsure.
"Believe it. Anna, why don't you tell me what you think is so horrible? It might make you feel better," I suggest.
She instantly gets a guarded look in her eyes, "No. Never. It's not anything that you could possibly understand."
I realize my mistake and backtrack, "That's okay, baby. You don't have to tell me anything, if you don't want to. Just know that I love you and I know you love me too."
Anna turns away from me and walks to her bedroom door. She's running away from me and our feelings for each other. I go after her and grab her arm, spinning her around, "You can't run away from it, Anna."
She yanks her arm out of my grasp, "I can do whatever I want."
I grab her around the waist and pick her up off of the floor. I drop her down on the bed and press my lower body down on hers, "I love you and I want you to tell me the truth, that you love me too."
She does a move that I've never seen before and flips me onto my back, "I don't love you."
I jump on her again and press my whole body weight down on her, pinning her forearms under mine. I bring my lips practically down to hers and whisper, "I love you, Anna, and I know you love me too. Please tell me the truth."
Her eyes start to water and she starts blinking rapidly. She's trying to hold back her tears and, even though I don't really understand why she's crying, it pains me to see it. "You don't understand," she whispers.
"I don't need to understand anything. I just need to hear it," I whisper back.
She closes her eyes and the tears fall down her face, "I love you, Gabriel." Jeez, she says it like she's confessing to murder. I know how to make her feel better.
She's wearing a skirt, so I slip my hand under it and start pulling down her panties. Her eyes fly open, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to make you feel much better," I tell her and throw her panties on the floor.
She doesn't say anything as I run my hand back up her thigh and slip my fingers inside of her. She just moans. Once I have her on the verge of climaxing, I pull my fingers out and remove her clothes. I don't even bother with mine, I just unzip my jeans and push into her. Now it's my turn to moan. She feels so good. After she climaxes, she says, "Love you forever, Gabriel."
I kiss her and tell her, "Love you too, baby." I don't want it to end, but a few minutes later, I climax also. Afterwards, I pull her into my arms and hold her until she falls asleep. I kiss her forehead and gently get out of bed to go to the bathroom.
On my way back from the bathroom, I see a picture on the dresser. I walk over to get a closer look. It's of a baby girl and toddler boy. They must be related to Anna, because they both look kind of like her, with similar coloring. I'm curious because Anna doesn't ever mention her family. Her parents are living at the same hotel and I've never even seen them. She never mentions any other family at all. Maybe they are cousins of hers.
I flip the picture over and on the back is written two names, with ages, and a date.
Jackson Antoine Blanc, age 3
Annabelle Claire Blanc, age 1
The date is from over fifteen years ago. Anna's last name is Walker. Who are these kids? They must mean something to her, for her to keep a picture of them. Another mystery. I put the picture back down on the dresser and lay in bed with Anna, pulling her back into my arms.
ANNABELLE'S POV:
I wake up to the sound of my phone vibrating on the nightstand. Gabriel is wrapped around me from behind, sleeping and snoring lightly. I quietly reach for my phone and slip out of bed. I go out on the balcony and shut the sliding door behind me. By this time, the call has gone to voicemail. It was Simon. I call him back.
"Annabelle," he answers.
"Yes?" I reply
"I just received information that Xavier Sanchez is already back in town. Finish it tonight," Simon says.
"Consider it done," I tell him and hang up.
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