Lord of Time: A M/M Paranormal Romance

Book 1: Lords of the Multiverse

by C.G. Rayne

Genres: LGBT Gay; Fantasy Romance; Paranormal Romance; paranormal romance; gay romance; fantasy romance; LGBT romance

Synopsis

A contract with a devil...?

Gabriel Morgan never imagines his eighteenth birthday will end with the doors of his home being kicked in by gun-wielding thugs intent on stealing away his little sister as payment for his estranged father's gambling debts. Pushed into an impossible corner, Gabriel is on the brink of doing something unspeakable when billionaire business mogul Darrien Stathos steps into the fray and announces a contract that nullifies all other claims—for Gabriel. Only too willing to be the sacrificial martyr to save his family, the cost of surrendering himself to Darrien, however, may be more than Gabriel bargains for.

Demon, alien, vampire, or just a plain human monster rumored to be the international crime lord known as Kairos, Gabriel has heard all whispered about this handsome, yet intimidating, savior. Whispers he is starting to fear are true when he witnesses a few disturbing incidents involving Darrien that cannot be rationally explained. Add to that the constant harassment of a couple of FBI agents intent on unearthing damning evidence that will prove that the crime lord, Kairos, is Darrien's true face, as well as an assassination attempt on Darrien, and Gabriel starts to think that maybe sharing Darrien's bed is the least daunting thing he will have to face.

Who is Darrien really, and why is he so interested in an ordinary guy like Gabriel, a guy just struggling to help his family make ends meet like millions of others? Gabriel isn't sure he wants to know the answer, but when has the universe ever given him anything other than the finger?

This is a m/m reimagining of the urban fantasy/paranormal romance story previously published as The Supreme Moment. It contains several scorching-hot scenes and mature language with a HFN plot resolution.

Release date: September 10, 2020

Publisher: Fantastical Press

Print pages: 482

Sample

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

 

“Hey! Wait up!”

Gabriel Morgan turned his attention away from the black sedan that was parked across the street from his high school he had been eying suspiciously and smiled as one of his best friends, Angie, all but bounced up to him, tugging his other best friend, Micah, her ever-present shadow and boyfriend, behind her.

“We heard from Sara and Kyle that you actually don’t have to work tonight,” the blonde girl said excitedly.

“Yeah. The store sent me a text before last period that the main water line broke beneath the store around lunchtime, and part of the floor back around the electronics section collapsed into a mini sinkhole. So, the store’s closed until they can get a city crew, insurance adjusters, and contractors to come out and get everything assessed and cleaned up,” Gabriel explained with a grimace. He worked for one of the neighborhood big box stores.

“The boss told me that half the merchandise was ruined once the geyser of water started spurting through the hole. I hope to God it won’t take more than a week. Money is tight as it is without missing out on more than a week’s pay. We have the money to pay the mortgage today, thank God, but Mom’s car payment and the electric bill are both due at the end of next week…”

Angie’s green eyes immediately flashed concern. “Damn, I hope so, too. I just thought your boss had finally decided to have pity on you and give you a day off on your birthday. Sara doesn’t have to work tonight either, so we were hoping to take you out to that new club over on Fifth. They don’t sell alcohol at all, so you only have to be eighteen to get in. Our treat and everything.” She grinned mischievously. “Who knows, maybe the owner’ll sing you happy birthday to cheer you up…”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Yes, because Darrien Stathos has nothing better to do on a Friday night than to embarrass some high school nobody at a club full of mostly college kids. I doubt he’s even been inside the place once since it opened.”

“Well, even if your boy-toy isn’t there, you’ll at least get to listen to some really awesome indie bands,” Micah added with a grin.

“One time—one time—I said he was kinda hot, and now he’s suddenly my boy-toy?” Gabriel grumbled. “I seem to remember Sara and Angie saying much the same thing, and I never once heard you call Stathos their boy-toy. Who even says that anymore? You’ve been watching way too many chick flicks, Mic.”

Angie laughed at the look of disgust on her boyfriend’s face. “Methinks you protest way too much, Gabe. I seem to recall a quip by a certain birthday boy about Stathos having ‘a completely squeezable ass’ during that particular conversation.”

Gabriel sighed noisily. “I give up.”

“So you’re going?” Angie asked eagerly.

Gabriel nodded. “Mom’s off tonight, so no worries about Ella.”

“Great! Gotta celebrate your entry into adulthood the right way. We’ll meet you there at nine. Hopefully, there won’t be too long of a line like last week.”

“There will be now that you’ve jinxed it,” Micah teased as they turned to leave. He waved a hand at Gabriel. “See you.”

“And this time don’t be late!” Angie scolded over her shoulder as she playfully swatted Micah’s arm.

Gabriel laughed and waved them off. Tempus Port would fall into the Gulf the day he managed to be on time for anything. It was as though the universe were always conspiring with Fate against him because he was pretty sure no one should have as much bad luck as he did without it being deliberate. From dead watch batteries to ghost holes suddenly springing up just in time for him to turn an ankle, he had a thousand different reasons for being late in the past, and none of them had ever really been his fault. He wished to God he knew what he had ever done to piss those two entities off.

He turned his attention back to the lock he had been removing from the frame of his battered mountain bike before the sight of the black car had distracted him. The bike had once been navy blue, but years in the sun and rain had faded the paint to a sickly purplish-indigo with the occasional rust patch. He stuffed the lock into his equally battered backpack and then slipped it onto his shoulders.

Gabriel was glad that his mother was picking up his little sister from school today after work since Ella had practice for her school play until five. After a quick pit stop to pay the mortgage, he could go straight home and finally get some sleep. Last night, he had worked until three in the morning, and then he’d had to get up at six in order to get Ella and himself to school on time. He wanted to be as rested as possible for tonight.

Since it would take a minor miracle for him to get called into work tomorrow, today was one of the rare times Gabriel could stay out as late as he wanted. There was no way he wasn’t going to take full advantage of it.

As he mounted his bike, Gabriel cast a final, nervous glance at the black car. It had been parked in that same spot after school all week, and he had yet to see anyone from his school enter it, nor had he seen the driver. Because of the tinted windows that were surely too dark to be street legal, Gabriel couldn’t even be sure anyone was in the car at all.

That uncertainty was what bothered him the most about it and why he had made a point from the day he had first noticed it of riding his bike in the opposite direction the car was facing even though it was the wrong direction for him. Today would be no different.

The last few years of having to deal with the fallout of Dad’s stupidity have made you too paranoid for your own good, he thought wearily.

Gabriel didn’t relax until he had made it downtown to the city’s financial district along a random, winding route without even a hint of anyone following him. Sure, it took him an extra twenty minutes to reach the mortgage company, but as far as he was concerned, a few extra minutes wasted was well worth giving him peace of mind.

Stathos Mortgage Group was a four-story sandstone building situated in the center of several other buildings, most of which were also owned by Tempus Port’s most famous citizen. Luckily, for once, the place wasn’t overflowing with people, and he managed to pay his bill within ten minutes.

If he hurried, he would be able to make it home well before five—

A sudden jolt reverberated back through the hand Gabriel was using to push open one of the building’s doors as he exited, instantly dragging him out of his thoughts to realize with a sense of panic that he had just slammed the door hard into a man in a dark suit that had likely been reaching for the door to enter.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Gabriel gasped out in a tight voice as head down, he raced between the man he had hit and another suit standing off to the right without looking at either one before the guy could start hollering about injuries and lawsuits.

Been there, done that—though the last time it had involved spilled coffee—didn’t want to go through such a headache ever again.

Gabriel didn’t stop sprinting or to look over his shoulder even once until he had made it to the parking lot and the bike rack. No suits appeared to have given chase, but even so, he unlocked his bike in record time, the whole time expecting to hear shouts or pounding footsteps behind him.

Why does this kind of shit always seem to happen to me? he lamented as he peddled out of the parking lot, barely able to breathe around the huge knot of tension choking his throat. At least you didn’t trip or lose your backpack while hauling ass down the sidewalk…

Thirty minutes later, Gabriel was home and in bed for a much needed nap, the tension of both having seen that stupid black car outside his school yet again as well as accidentally hitting one of the suits with a swinging door of all things finally beginning to bleed away now that he was indoors. His mom and sister had not made it home yet, his mom likely taking advantage of her free evening as well to pick up a few groceries. Gabriel had scribbled a quick note on the dry-erase board by the fridge to not be disturbed until after seven-thirty.

It seemed he had barely closed his eyes when his alarm started to shriek. Gabriel groaned and bashed his fist into the snooze button. He had already begun to drift back to sleep before he remembered why he had set the alarm in the first place, and he was suddenly wide awake. Work and school warranted two or three presses of the snooze button; hanging out with friends could always get him out of bed faster than the wail of a tornado siren.

Gabriel quickly showered and threw on a faded, black zip-up hoodie and a worn pair of jeans he only wore around the house. After blow-drying his hair, he went back to his room to grab his phone to check for texts missed during his nap, deciding to pick out an outfit for the club after eating a snack and telling his mom his plans for the evening. He had skipped lunch today to do some Calculus homework he had not had time to complete during his dinner break at work the previous night.

He was halfway down the hall, frowning at the unusual lack of texts, when loud banging abruptly sounded out from the front of the house. For a split-second, Gabriel froze, nearly dropping the phone, before a rush of instant fear and adrenaline had him sprinting towards the living room.

There were only two reasons why someone would be banging on their front door as if they were trying to knock it down, and both of them meant that his family had only a minute or two to hide. There was a crawlspace beneath the house leading to a small “room” big enough to fit four people if they were lying down. It was accessible only by lifting a couple of floorboards beneath his bed. Grandma Nancy had told him the previous homeowner had stored his valuables in it back in the fifties before their neighborhood had begun experiencing so many floods. It was apparently something the man had built himself.

Gabriel raced into the living room where Ella had been watching a DVD on their ancient TV. The tiny blonde dashed into his arms just as their mother came barreling from the kitchen towards them with blatant fear in her eyes. The pounding seemed to be coming from every direction now.

“We have to get into the crawlspace!” Gabriel said in an urgent whisper.

He tried to push a wide-eyed Ella towards his mother, but his sister only clung to Gabriel’s waist more tightly, refusing to leave his side. Instead of arguing, he just rushed Ella towards the small writing desk against the far wall near the hallway.

“Gabriel…” Ella whispered fearfully as the sound of shattering glass came from the direction of the kitchen, seemingly trying to melt into her big brother’s side as Gabriel yanked open the desk drawer to grab Grandpa Frank’s .22 Colt revolver he kept loaded inside for this very scenario.

“Hurry!” their mom urged frantically, tugging at his arm.

Just as Gabriel’s hand closed around the butt of the gun, the back and front doors exploded open almost simultaneously. Men dressed all in black, fatigue-like clothing and tactical vests began pouring into the house from both directions, and Gabriel cursed harshly as he backed his family against the wall next to the desk and urged them down into a crouch.

He crammed his free hand inside the pocket of his hoodie in search of his phone, flipped it open, and frantically pressed the buttons for 9-1-1. Thank God it was an ancient model with raised buttons he could feel with his fingertips and not one of the newest touchscreen smartphones that he had been salivating over. He had never been so glad to be dirt-poor in his life.

They were surrounded. There was nowhere left to run.

Praying the call went through, Gabriel brought the gun up just as a middle-aged, balding man in a dark blue business suit stepped forward. He was flanked on either side by several of the dark-clothed men wielding a mixture of handguns and semi-automatic rifles.

“You’re Gabriel, I presume,” the man said, a touch of amusement coloring his words. His eyes flickered over to his mom. “And Mrs. Emily Morgan. James has told me so much about you two.”

He waved a hand behind his back, and two of his men brought a cowering, blond man forward—or more like shoved. Gabriel instantly saw red as he recognized the paunchy figure of his father.

“Get him out of here!” Gabriel hissed.

“Such poor manners, and to your father, no less,” Blue Suit said with a chuckle.

“Get out!” Gabriel repeated, his hands shaking so much that he was having a hard time keeping the gun aimed at the man.

He shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s you and your mother that will have to leave. This house now belongs to me.”

Gabriel stared. This was not at all what he had been expecting.

“You’ll let us leave? Just like that?” he asked suspiciously.

Blue Suit laughed. “Of course. The Hayes Group has no claim to you two.” Suddenly, his smile was predatory. “Little Ella however…”

Gabriel’s heart stopped.

The boss waved his hand forward, and four of his henchmen started moving towards them. Gabriel waved the gun wildly before him as if that alone would keep the goons away.

“Don’t come any closer!” he warned, his voice tight and steadier than he ever thought possible considering how he was screeching with fear inside. “Don’t think I won’t shoot!”

“Just give us the little girl, kid,” the boss (Mr. Hayes?) said irritably as if he were faced with a rebellious child and not a teenager waving a loaded gun. “Do it while I’m still willing to overlook this little bit of defiance.”

“Gabriel…” Ella whimpered, the terror so embedded in that one word Gabriel felt it almost like a physical blow.

However, he didn’t dare take his eyes off the ten men spread out in a semicircle before them to comfort her.

“She’s not yours to take!” Gabriel growled, his hands instinctively tightening around the gun until his knuckles turned white.

The probable Mr. Hayes waved a piece of paper before him. “This contract I have with your father says differently.”

“Screw that! That sorry piece of shit doesn’t own her, either! This isn’t the 1800s! We’re not slaves to be bargained away like property! He can try to sell us off all he wants, but once the police get here, the only thing that piece of paper will be good for is to wipe your ass!”

Hayes laughed. “The police?” he sneered. “Do you honestly think 9-1-1 is on the other end of that cell phone you’re hiding in your pocket listening to all of this? We jammed all outgoing signals from this shack before we even kicked down the doors. No one is coming to help you.”

Gabriel felt the angry flush in his cheeks drain away as the bastard shattered the last of his hopes. There were ten men with guns and God-only-knew how many clips against his six bullets. There was no way he would walk away once he fired the first shot. Maybe his mother, too.

“That asshole has no right to her!” he repeated more forcefully. “If it’s money you want, then why don’t you sell the bastard’s kidneys or something? His debt has nothing to do with us!”

“You ungrateful little shit!” his father screamed, trying to lunge at him even though his arms were being firmly held by two enormous, very terrifying henchmen.

“Your little family drama means nothing to me,” Hayes remarked in a bored tone. “I’m a businessman, not a shrink, so the only thing I care about is the collateral owed me. Your father’s in the hole a couple million dollars. Even if we sold every piece of him, we would barely recoup even a quarter.”

“Again, not our problem,” Gabriel growled through his teeth. “Mom divorced the jerk ages ago. Make him dig ditches or something for the rest of his life to pay you back.”

Once again, the crime boss laughed. “Why would we do that when we could easily recoup the losses with your sister within a couple of months? You wouldn’t believe the price a man would be willing to pay for a safe, completely anonymous, uninterrupted night of fun with such a cute little girl…”

“You sick bastards!” Gabriel screamed, rage and fear warring within his body until he felt as though he might puke.

“Take me instead!” his mom cried desperately almost in the same instant, pushing Ella firmly against Gabriel’s back and out of everyone’s line of sight as the older woman moved forward on her knees.

“You?” Hayes said incredulously. “Your mile-wide cooch isn’t even worth ten bucks a fuck. I’d make more money screwing your son with the handle of a hairbrush and selling tickets to the event than I would with you in your entire lifetime!”

The rest of the men snickered as his mom covered her stricken face with shaking hands and wept.

Gabriel could feel Ella’s face burrowing hard into his back, the thick material muffling her sobs. He felt sick that his ten-year-old sister was forced to hear such cruel, disgusting words from that pig in a business suit, and it was at that point that a terrible thought crossed his mind, unbidden.

Maybe I should just turn the gun on her, on all of us, and force that asshole to clean up his own mess. Death would be a kinder fate for Ella. A bullet in the head and she would probably not even feel any pain…

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

The sound of several harsh gasps instantly drew Gabriel’s gaze towards the smooth, unknown voice that had suddenly cut through all the laughing. He felt his trembling body freeze even as he almost lost his grip on the gun in his sudden shock.

A tall, black-haired man in a black, expensive-looking suit stood on the threshold of the destroyed front door, arms crossed, and eyes gazing over the entire room with the narrowed expression of a parent catching his children doing something naughty. Gabriel knew this man of course; anyone who had lived longer than a day in Tempus Port would have been hard-pressed not to, seeing as he owned about fifty percent of the city.

Darrien Stathos—the billionaire business mogul—as well as the alleged lord of the worldwide underworld known only as Kairos. That last title was something people only dared whisper in the shadows. Not that anyone would ever have the guts to call him that to his face in public or on camera. It was said that he even outright owned the police department and at least half the members of the Texas State Senate. Gabriel had even heard that both the FBI and IRS were keeping an eye on him but had yet to pin any charges on him. He had even had a run-in with Interpol a few years back that had also amounted to nothing.

He was also the very man his friends had been teasing him about earlier. Gabriel had always thought of him much in the same way he considered any other public figure or celebrity—interesting to talk about but someone who lived on a plane of existence he would never touch, like a character in a movie. What was such a man doing here at their house?

Stathos casually stepped into the room as if it weren’t currently filled with a bunch of men with guns. He was immediately followed by at least a dozen men dressed as impeccably in black suits and shirts as their boss. However, whereas their boss was visibly unarmed, Stathos’s men all carried a variety of guns, and all were pointed at the other men, including Hayes.

“Mr. Stathos…” the other crime boss, loan shark, or whatever he was ground out as if the words were forced from his throat unwillingly.

“David Hayes. You’re a long way from home,” the Lord of the Underworld remarked in an even tone as if he were merely commenting on the weather.

Hayes flinched as if the other man had pressed a gun between his eyes.

“Forgive me, Lord Kairos. I meant no disrespect. We were merely tracking this runner,” he said, nodding towards Gabriel’s dad, whose wild eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of their sockets with fear. “We tracked him here to this house where conveniently his collateral was hiding.”

Gabriel felt a shiver go down his spine as Stathos’s uncanny, mismatched eyes suddenly flashed with something dark and dangerous even though his attention was focused solely on the other crime boss. Rumor was that the man was an albino who dyed his naturally white hair black but kept one eye red and wore a brown-tinted contact on the other in order to unsettle his rivals. His skin, as smooth and pale as a Greek sculpture, certainly added to that evidence.

Still, others insisted that the red eye and not the hair was the illusion, just a custom-made contact worn for much the same reasons as the other rumor. Some of the more outrageous rumors claimed that Stathos was an ancient vampire who had grown tired of living in the shadows of humanity and was in the process of taking over the world, doing it one city at a time. After all, it was said that he owned various properties and businesses in major cities all around the world, and no one could fathom how one man who was still in his late twenties could have amassed such an empire in such a short period of time if he wasn’t something supernatural.

The way he was looking now, the shadows of the house practically clinging to him as if he were a black hole incarnate, Gabriel could readily believe the billionaire was a demon of some sort. Apparently, so could David Hayes because the bastard was visibly beginning to sweat just as much as Gabriel’s father.

“Collateral?” Kairos repeated softly. His eyes slanted briefly over to Gabriel, and he almost choked on a breath. “Do you mean the young man so bravely pointing his gun at you?”

“No, no!” Hayes said hastily. “This man’s contract was for his youngest. If you have business with their father as well, then we’ll just take the little girl and leave Morgan to you.”

Kairos laughed, a sound full of razor-sharp edges. “Such bold words! It’s been a while since a man has dared dictate my business to me, and within the heart of my city with one of my citizens no less.”

Hayes took an involuntary step back. “I meant no insult! I would never deem to do business with those who are not of my territory! This family does not live in this city! Their current address is an apartment in Shreveport. This house belongs to Morgan’s mother. They thought to hide from their debts by believing we would not follow them into your domain! I had every intention of paying my tithe to you for stepping into your city! As soon as we collected the girl, we would have headed to your office to present the contract as per your laws!”

Kairos tsked. “You didn’t do your homework, Mr. Hayes. Nancy Morgan died six months ago and willed the house to her grandchildren, who had been living with her, along with their mother, for the past five years. I currently hold the original mortgage lien on this home. As for James Morgan, he has lived in my city since his birth. He’s run afoul of some of my lenders and casinos several times. In fact, that’s why I’m here today. Imagine my surprise when my assistant told me that an outsider thought he could take what was mine, what was promised to me over a year ago…”

Gabriel suddenly found himself pinned by the full intensity of Stathos’s eyes like a mouse before an undulating viper. He couldn’t have looked away even if his life had depended on it.

Hayes suddenly fell to his hands and knees, prostrating himself before the crime lord. “I swear to you, My Lord! I swear I had no idea that James Morgan was one of your citizens, that he was indebted to you when I took him on as a client!”

Stathos didn’t even spare the babbling man at his feet a glance. He continued to stare at Gabriel, eyes slowly raking over his body in a way that had every alarm bell sounding in his head. He couldn’t possibly… Gabriel’s back couldn’t have been stiffer if it were a marble column.

Then the Lord of the Underworld raised a pale hand towards him and held it out, palm up. “Come, Gabriel,” he commanded gently, “and bring your sister and mother.”

Gabriel nearly had a heart attack hearing that man say his name. Oh my God! Why does he even know my name? Did my piece of shit dad…no!

Of course he did. Gabriel had been wondering why the bastard had used Ella rather than him or even both of them to pay off that Hayes prick. Apparently, Gabriel had been living as the property of the Lord of the Underworld for a whole damn year, and he hadn’t even had a clue!

When Gabriel remained frozen, the crime lord merely smiled patiently and beckoned him again with a crook of his fingers. At that moment, Stathos no longer looked like someone who shared traits with something out of his nightmares but just a man—albeit an unusually intense man with an eye like the Terminator. He didn’t believe it for a second—a wolf in sheep’s clothing if he ever saw one.

There were no good choices here, Gabriel suddenly realized, but if the choice was between Ella’s life and his freedom, then God help him, a slave he would become to this enigmatic lord of the criminal underworld.

He reached behind him and blindly grabbed his sister’s small, clammy hand—all the while thinking that no ten-year-old kid should have to go through this kind of trauma. Ella was such a gentle soul. She would probably have nightmares for years. Probably need therapy.

Gabriel slowly lowered the gun to his side as he stood, his eyes nervously darting over Hayes’s henchmen as he half-expected them to take a shot at him, Kairos or no Kairos.

“Gabriel! No!” his mom sobbed, grabbing the hand Gabriel had curled tightly around Ella’s with both of hers and tugging him back desperately.

“It’s okay, Mom,” he said as steadily as he could. He flashed her a pained smile. “Everything’s going to be okay; you’ll see.” He hoped to God that was true, though a darker, more cynical side of him knew his words were just empty platitudes.

Swallowing past the enormous lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, Gabriel forced himself to relinquish his only weapon before he could chicken out, the small pistol hitting the ground with a louder thud than he thought it should. Then he purposely walked towards Kairos, Ella squeezing his hand so hard it began to hurt and his mother still sobbing quietly beside him. He was careful not to look into those demon eyes, sure that he would lose his nerve and bolt the moment he did.

Gabriel placed his free hand into that slightly larger, outstretched hand, surprised that it wasn’t shaking. The crime lord’s skin was practically scorching against his ice-cold hand as the man’s fingers closed firmly around it, so much so that it was almost uncomfortable. It was only then, when he could no longer easily run, that Gabriel dared raise his eyes.

The man known as Kairos was still smiling that same gentle smile down at him, but his eyes—something indecipherable swirled within, something unnerving, something—

Something hungry…

“But—” Hayes abruptly sputtered below them, making Gabriel jump. “I thought—the little girl—”

“—was not James’s to bargain with,” Kairos finished, his eyes narrowing sharply as he looked down at the other crime boss. That dangerous gleam was back in his eyes. “However, this unfortunate misunderstanding has left no one the worse for wear and given me my prize a month earlier than expected, so I’m feeling generous. With Gabriel and his family now in my possession as agreed, I’m willing to call my lien with Mr. Morgan paid in full and to release him into your custody as well as the deed to this house. I expect ten percent of his contract with you as your organization’s tithe to me by the end of this month. I’ll turn over the deed to you then.”

Without another word, Kairos turned on his heel and strode out, tugging Gabriel, Ella, and their mother behind him like some bizarre human train. Gabriel imagined that they probably looked ridiculous, especially since none of the three were even wearing shoes. Kairos’s hired suits followed at a slight distance, guns still drawn and ready.

A black stretch limo and an entourage of four black SUVs were parked in a line in front of their house. Gabriel totally expected to see a crowd of neighbors standing in their yards gawking at his house. After all, the tires of a limo had probably never driven over their pothole-covered street in its entire existence, but the block was conspicuously empty of another soul. He wondered if the crime lord had anything to do with that.

He had also half-expected to see the black car from his high school that had plagued his thoughts all week among the vehicles, but it was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it really had been just an empty car that he had gotten worked up about over nothing, and it was just a cruel coincidence that his family had been attacked the same week the car had appeared. Maybe it wasn’t, but none of that mattered anymore.

His family’s safety now rested in the hands of the powerful and dangerous man in front of him, and Gabriel couldn’t afford to waste even a second agonizing about all the what ifs and if onlys.

A large, dark-haired man stood next to the limo, dressed in a suit identical to the others. He immediately strode down to the end of the vehicle and opened the door as they neared. He looked more suited to playing tackle for an NFL team rather than a chauffeur.

Still gripping Gabriel’s hand tightly, the crime lord waved over two of his nearest men.

“I leave them to you,” Stathos said, gesturing to his mom and Ella.

His mother started to open her mouth to probably protest at the top of her lungs, but Gabriel caught her eye at the last second and shook his head.

“It’ll be okay,” Gabriel repeated firmly. Maybe if he said it enough, he would start to believe it.

“G-Gabriel…” his mom moaned, the older woman’s voice tight with anguish as her eyes darted from Gabriel’s face to zero in on the possessive hand Darrien Stathos still had on her son.

Gabriel could guess what his mother was thinking, something he refused to allow his own mind to really acknowledge was a very real possibility. He would fall apart otherwise, and that was a luxury he couldn’t afford right now.

He had to be strong for all of them.

“Ella,” he said, looking down into chocolate-brown eyes still wide with fear. Gabriel squeezed her small hand gently. “I have to go with Mr. Stathos now. You and mom take care of each other, okay.”

The way her eyes shimmered, Gabriel could tell that Ella wanted to say a lot of things, but his sister merely nodded, her lips trembling as if she were a breath away from crying. Ella held onto Gabriel’s hand tightly until one of Stathos’s men carefully took her arm and gently pulled her away towards one of the SUVs, followed by the second man and their mother. Gabriel felt the separation as keenly as a scab brutally ripped from a wound.

His mother’s tortured eyes did not leave Gabriel until she entered the vehicle, and even though Gabriel could see nothing beyond the tinted windows, he knew that his mom was still watching him. He knew that his mom was crying.

“Come,” the crime lord said firmly, tugging on their joined hands as he walked over to the open limo door.

Another of Stathos’s men handed Gabriel a pair of his sneakers before he was ushered into the vehicle first. The sound of the door closing was like the final bang of a coffin lid falling shut, sealing what had been his life within forever.