Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
“And is that why you’re where you are now? You don’t like taking orders?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you ever want to find your parents?”
“No. I wasn’t even curious.”
“Why not? I’m sorry, that’s so rude of me.”
“It’s not rude. I … they gave me up. They didn’t want me, so why should I care about making them feel good?” he asked. “Nothing good would have come from it. They weren’t there when I was treated like shit. They weren’t there when I was beaten or starved, and to find them now would be because of the power I have. I don’t need anyone in my life who doesn’t want me.”
Faith surprised him. Rather than read from her menu, she reached across the table and held his hand.
“Then they don’t deserve you.”
He stared into her eyes and wondered if it was at all possible to make this angel love him. Gabriel didn’t know where that thought had even come from. It made no sense to him. He didn’t care about love, didn’t fucking believe it. What the fuck was happening to him? Love was not in his plans.
“Also, I want you,” Faith said.
The waiter came to their table and Faith looked away. That meant something, he knew it did. Why the fuck did it matter? He had never opened up with anyone before. What was it about Faith?
She’s mine.
He ordered for them both and Faith lifted her gaze to his. “So, I guess asking what you wanted to be when you grew up is kind of a silly question?”
“I wanted to be a cop,” he said.
Faith’s lips opened and her eyes went wide. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not joking. For the longest time that’s what I wanted to be, a cop. I figured I could catch the bad guys.”
“What happened?” Faith asked. “Because I didn’t think you ever trained as a cop.”
Gabriel took hold of her hand again, locking their fingers together. “I watched one of the guys who fostered me pay a cop to look the other way. I knew then there was good and bad in it all. There were no exclusive good guys.”
“Wow,” Faith said.
“Yeah, wow.”
“My parents were saints,” she said. “I wish you could have known them. I truly do.”
He wished he had known them as well, but if there was a heaven and hell, wherever they were looking down from, he promised them not to worry. He’d take care of Faith, and he’d make sure Nigel never fucked up again.
Chapter Nine
Their week away ended way too soon and by Faith’s estimation, they only had two weeks left together. She didn’t want to go home.
Gabriel wasn’t a bad guy. He was a great guy who had awful shit happen to him, and he was just making a life from everything that had been handed to him.
She loved spending time with him. Loved getting to know him. But that didn’t mean she loved him, did it? No, it couldn’t possibly mean that.
Faith walked her way through the aisle of the store, checking to make sure everything was in order. She’d already caught up on all the work from her one week of vacation. Angela had a couple of business meetings, and then it would be the end of her first day.
Gabriel had told her he was going to come and pick her up. She had no idea what he had planned, but either way she was excited about it.
For the next couple of hours, she helped the staff with some difficult customers, and as she closed the shop, her cell phone started to ring. She paused in sliding the bolt across the door as the ringtone was the one she had in place for Nigel.
What … huh?
Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she looked to see that it was indeed Nigel. All hesitation evaporated as she accepted his call.
“Nigel?”
“Hey, sis,” Nigel said.
He sounded a little weak.
“How are you? Are you okay? Is everything all right?” She began to cringe at her line of questions. Now she sounded like a nagging sister rather than a loving one, and that pissed her off. “I’m so sorry for everything.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. I was a dick to you. It’s why I knew I had to get myself sorted out.”
Faith walked away from the door and frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I knew I was going to do something I regretted and Finch, he told me if there was ever anything I needed, then I was to go to him.”
“But, I thought you approached him and a bunch of guys in a card game?” Faith asked, a little confused.
“Huh? I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I went to Gabriel, you know the guy. I told him I wanted to get clean and he promised to help me.”
Faith had walked all the way to the back of the shop and lowered herself down into one of the chairs available.