My head jerks back. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“That other club that was supposed to host the fights. Who do you think made sure it got raided?” There’s pride in his hellish eyes.
“Holy shit.” This comes from Q, who stands to my right. “No fucking way.”
“Y’all been playing checkers while I’ve been playing chess,” Moses says, his Creole accent growing thicker. “Long game, Gabe. It’s all about the long game.”
And suddenly, he shoves Scarlett toward me. I move before I even have a chance to think about it, catching her in my arms.
There’s a whoosh of air behind us as Moses slips out the door. Security is yelling around us, running toward the exit, but I sink to my knees with Scarlett in my arms.
Someone bangs on the door. “He’s locked it from the outside. Fuck.”
I block out their voices as I cup the sides of Scarlett’s head in my hands. Physical pain shreds my lungs as I stare into her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry. I promised you that he’d never touch you. That none of this would ever touch you. I failed you.”
She reaches up with a trembling hand to stroke my cheek as she shakes her head. “It wasn’t your fault. Lucy grabbed me. She’s the one who started it all. That didn’t have a damn thing to do with you, Gabe. You can’t take the blame for that.”
“She hated you because of me,” I say, ready to take every bit of guilt and bury myself with it.
“No,” Scarlett says with force in her voice. “Apparently, Lucy hated me for years. She was the troll. My stalker. Rolo killed her.”
I stare into Scarlett’s soft gray eyes while I try to make sense of what she’s saying. “Wait. Lucy grabbed you, Rolo shot her . . . Rolo tried to take you . . .”
She nods. “And Moses saved me from Rolo. So, basically . . . he’s the reason I’m here right now, instead of God knows where with either of them.”
I press my sweaty forehead against hers. Tremors rip through me as I realize how fucking badly this night could have gone. “I don’t even know what the fuck to think right now.”
“That I love you, and I’m so glad that we never have to go through this again,” Scarlett whispers against my lips.
I release a long breath and squeeze her as hard as I dare. “Never. Never fucking again.”
“Um . . . Gabe,” Q says from above us. “Not to break this up, but we gotta get Rolo to a hospital, or he’s not gonna make it.”
Fifty-Seven
Scarlett
As soon as we enter Gabriel’s office, after giving statements to the police in the conference room, Bump tackle-hugs us both.
“I’m so glad you’re okay! Nothing can happen to you, Gabe. You either, Scarlett.”
Gabriel pats him on the back as Bump trembles in our arms. “We’re okay, bud. Totally okay. Nothing happened to Scarlett. She’s fine.”
Bump loosens his grip to look at us. “You got hit in the face a lot tonight. I thought you weren’t gonna let him hit you this time?”
Gabriel gives him that half grin I love so much, even with his battered face. “I tried not to, but at least I won, right?”
Bump nods soberly. “But Moses came back. He wasn’t supposed to come back.”
“He’s gone now, honey,” I tell Bump, running a hand over his short-cropped hair. “He’s never coming back. I promise.”
“You promise? Are you sure?” His question carries all of the fear he’s no doubt been storing up, and I know what promises mean to him.
“We promise, bud. Totally sure.” Gabriel’s reply must quiet some of his concerns, because the lines on Bump’s face smooth out, and his whole body seems to deflate.
“Okay. Good. Because I don’t think I can handle that again. No one hurts my family.”
The word family sends warmth unfurling through my chest. That’s what I have now. A family.
There’s a knock at the door, and Q pokes his head inside. “Before you leave, there are some people who want to talk to you.”
“Who?” Gabriel asks, and it’s clear from his tone that he doesn’t want to talk to anyone.
“My folks, Scarlett’s friends, and Creighton Karas and his wife. What do you want me to tell them?”
Gabriel looks at me. “You up for this? Because if you want, Q can tell all of them we’ll talk to them later.”
I think of what Bump just said—family. That’s what my friends have become too. That’s what Q’s parents are for Gabe. In the end, family is all we have, and all we really ever need.
“They can come in,” I reply.
Q nods and opens the door.
Harlow, Kelsey, and Monroe burst through first, all with their arms outstretched as they rush toward me.
“Oh God. I can’t believe Lucy! And she’s dead? Oh my God!” Tears stream down Monroe’s face as she yanks me into a hug first.
Harlow and Kelsey wrap their arms around me from either side. “We’re so glad you’re okay,” Harlow says.
“I would kill her myself, if she weren’t already dead,” Kelsey adds.
“I love you guys.”
“Flynn has been calling and texting you, and she freaked out when you didn’t answer,” Harlow tells me. “She called me, and I kind of had to tell her what happened.”
I freeze. “Oh shit. Is she flipping out?”
“I talked her down. You have to call her, though. She’s demanding proof of life.”
“I will,” I whisper as I squeeze them all close. “Thank you. Thank you for being here and worrying about me.”
Harlow cups my cheeks. “We love you right back, and this is what we do for the people we love.”
Kelsey presses a kiss to the top of my head.
“Did you know you have two seriously famous people standing six feet away from you right now?” Monroe tries to whisper, but it comes out much louder.
I twist my head out of Harlow’s hands to stare at Monroe. I actually whisper, “What did you just say?”
She turns my head in the other direction, and I catch a glimpse of Silas Bohannon as he steps over to give Jeb a backslapping hug. And then my gaze locks on an imposing man in a dark suit and the petite brunette standing next to Big Mike, Joanie, Ryan, and Christine.
Creighton Karas lifts his chin at Gabriel, and then moves toward me as the girls shift to stand beside me. “Ms. Priest, it’s a pleasure to meet you. We’re very happy to hear that you came to no harm after your ordeal. I promise we won’t stay long. I just wanted to offer my sincerest apology to both you and Legend for what happened tonight.”
The girls step back, and Gabriel comes to my side, curling his arm around my waist. “It wasn’t on you. No apology necessary.”
“I told you not to worry about Gaspard because there was nothing to worry about. The fact that he was here and my security team didn’t prevent him from causing Ms. Priest distress proves that I was wrong.”
“Moses saved me from Rolo,” I tell the billionaire. “So . . . maybe it’s a good thing you were wrong?”