Promises (The Kings of Guardian #14) - Kris Michaels Page 0,25

daughter could settle down.” She narrowed her eyes at Gabriel. “He sent a team over there to watch her, to make sure she was where she said she was.”

“Having a security company comes in handy,” Gabriel admitted.

“Well, I think it’s wonderful that she’s settled.” Anna patted Gabriel’s leg. “And I’m especially happy that Daddy is finally trusting her to run her own life. She is twenty-one, dear.”

“Doesn’t make a difference.” Frank shook his head. “A father needs to keep tabs on his children. I’d hate to think what would have happened to Tori if I hadn’t stuck my nose into her business.”

“I’m glad we could help with that situation.” Gabriel’s grave response earned him a nod from Frank.

Anna glanced from one man to the next. “What? What did you do for Tori?” She swung her attention to Amanda. “Do you know?”

Amanda shook her head. “No. I have no idea what they are talking about.”

“Tori had an incident when she was working for the C.I.A. I asked Gabriel to check things out behind the scenes. He helped.” He patted Amanda’s leg. “She doesn’t know and I don’t think we need to tell her. Everything worked out well enough.” Frank took a sip of the tea and recoiled, handing it back to her. “I’d prefer bourbon or a single malt Scotch.”

“I can help with that.” Gabriel stood and headed over to the bar. He leaned out so he could see into the other room and smiled. “They’re having fun, no bloodletting yet.”

“They do have their moments, but Talon, Reece, Blake, and the twins are great with Tristin. Lizzy mothers Chloe like crazy, but since they don’t get in until later the boys are having fun together.” Anna shrugged. “I raised eight kids, watching grandbabies for a few hours is child’s play. Literally.” She chuckled and sipped her tea. She winked at Anna. “I don’t care what he says, this is amazing.”

“I don’t know how you did it. I raised four, and they wore me to a frazzle some days.” Anna took another sip of her tea as Gabriel delivered a drink to Frank and sat down beside her with his.

Amanda sighed. “Well, you do what you have to do. I could never make ends meet if Chance didn’t have the insurance policy from Guardian. That money allowed me to stay at home full-time until they were older. It worked, although their father’s death was hard on each of them. Lord, there were days when all I did was cry, but I wiped away those tears when the kids came home from school. They needed a parent who was there for them. I gutted out the first couple years. As the kids grew, it became easier. Chance had a couple brothers who reached out and offered help. They were there if I needed them, and we visited a couple times, but driving from Mississippi to the upper East Coast is one heck of a trip. They had jobs; we had a life down south.”

“I understand doing what you have to do.” Anna’s eyes traveled to her husband. They’d had a rough start. The urgency of taking care of their unborn baby had driven her into hiding and away from the man she loved.

Gabriel nodded and wrapped an arm around her. “When Amanda contacted me after Joseph went after Chance’s killer, we agreed that we would try to provide a career path for each of them with Guardian or one of the other businesses.”

Amanda nodded. “The only one who wanted nothing to do with Guardian was Justin, but Gabriel was able to help him get into the restaurant business.” She smiled at Gabriel. “You were literally our family’s Guardian Angel.”

Anna smiled. Her husband had been a helping hand to so many people, but these two and their family—she was very glad he’d taken a special interest in both of them.

Frank took a sip of his drink. “That is a drink.” He winked at Amanda before he continued, “Got to admit it, Gabriel, you’ve been a friend to all of us when we needed you.”

Gabriel drew a deep breath. “I made a promise to myself a long time ago. Doing what was right would never take a backseat to making money. Taking care of my people and a decent business ethic is the hallmark of Guardian and now the other businesses I took over from my family. I have surrounded myself with people who believe in the same values, morals, and ethics. I made the