Gabriel - Jessie Cooke Page 0,5
continued to pound...and woke up sometime later to an insistent knock on his front door. The phone fell to the floor as he was startled out of a deep sleep, and stepping over it, he went to see who was at his door. By the time he got there, he found himself hoping it was Patrice, with a believable explanation about why she’d disappeared, and maybe even an apology for not saying goodbye. Instead, once he’d pulled open the door he found himself looking into his president’s blue eyes.
Blackheart gave him a once-over and when he cocked an eyebrow it dawned on Gabe that he hadn’t pulled on any clothes. He was face to face with his president, and he was butt-ass naked. “You alone?” Blackheart asked.
“Yeah, boss, sorry...”
“Please tell me you were expecting anyone but me,” Blackheart said with a smirk on his face. Gabriel felt his face go hot.
“Sorry, boss. I’m just a little...”
“Hung the fuck over?”
“Yeah. Come on in. I’ll put some pants on.”
“Well, thank Christ for that,” Blackheart said, following him inside. As Gabe made his way back to the little 5th wheel “bedroom” he couldn’t help but notice the way Blackheart was looking around the small space, like he was still expecting someone else to pop out. As Gabe was pulling on his jeans Blackheart said, “You might also want to pull on a shirt and some boots because you’ve got a hell of a lot to do in order to rebuild the bar you and Ripper tore the fuck up.”
Shit. He’s already seen the club. Gabriel didn’t say anything but went ahead and pulled out a clean t-shirt and socks. While he finished dressing, he wondered if anyone had told Blackheart what they’d been fighting about. Once again that devil on his shoulder tried to get him to wonder if he was wrong about his boss...maybe he had found Patrice too hot to resist. Blackheart was the king of getting what he wanted, no matter how unattainable it seemed to others. What was really stopping him if he wanted something Gabe had? After all, no one was kicking him out of the club, even if he did do something the rest of them would deem “disloyal.”
Gabe ate another four pain pills before scrubbing his face, brushing his teeth, and going back out where Blackheart was, boots on and vest in hand. Blackheart had made coffee and he handed a mug to the younger man as soon as he walked out into the tiny kitchen. It smelled so good that Gabe almost forgot everything and was tempted to kiss him. He inhaled the magic brew before taking a sip of it and savoring the way it warmed his insides up as it slid down his throat. “Ahh...thanks, boss. I needed this.”
“Sit down with it for a sec. Before we go, you and I need to talk.”
That sounded ominous, but Gabe did as he was told and Blackheart took a seat on the little couch, almost dwarfing it. Blackheart ran a hand through his beard and said, “Your girl...Patrice...what do you know about her?”
Gabriel’s mouth went dry again and it was hard to form the words as he said, “Not a lot. She was brought up in Baton Rouge and moved here for the job after she got out of nursing school.” When Blackheart didn’t say anything after a few minutes Gabe summoned his nerve and said, “Can I ask why you’re asking, boss?”
Ignoring the question Blackheart said, “She mentioned me to you at all?”
Gabriel was now wondering how he would feel about his hero if Blackheart was about to admit to fucking Patrice? He didn’t know...but surely his relationship with Blackheart was more important than one with a woman he still barely knew? “No, boss...she hasn’t said anything to me about you.”
“What about her parents? Her maw? She still in Baton Rouge?”
“Um...I think so. She said she never lived on her own until she moved here...so, I just assumed she still lived with her parents.”
“Parents? As in maw and paw both?”
Gabriel wished he knew why Blackheart had so many questions about “his” girl, but he didn’t have the balls to ask again. Instead, he nodded, sending another jolt of pain shooting through his poor head. “Yeah, I mean, she’s mentioned them both, and a brother and sister...younger, I think.”
Blackheart stood up then, startling Gabriel, and said, “I think we’ll let Ripper get a start on that mess you two made. You and I are gonna