Part of me wanted to believe him but I’d misplaced my faith so many times that the easiest thing to do now was to believe that everyone lied to you.
“He was going to pin it all on you,” I told him, wrapping my arms around my middle as another wave of nausea hit me. “He was going to kill me and you, and then say it was all your fault.”
Gabe looked like a statue in that moment. I could admit, that in some respects, we were scarily similar. We both had a habit of people watching but Gabe was more educated in the art. He’d been smarter in making his moves. I wondered if he had caught Xavier’s motives before we had.
“Makes sense,” he said eventually. “Silas mentioned he’d been in touch.”
“Silas?” I asked.
“We had a cosy little chat before he left us.” He phrased it more politely than the actual brutal act deserved. “Silas hasn’t cared about this family in a long time. He was at home when I went to see Chastity the first time and he didn’t say a word. Money and security, they make people change their ideas. Dad offered him both and he took a shot. Shame it didn’t work out in the end. I had a hunch. It’s why I gave you the phone.” He glanced at me sideways. “You never did say thank you for my generosity.”
Xavier really had been out to clear the path for himself. I still struggled to wrap my mind around the lengths he would go to in order to maintain his image. When the shooting failed, Xavier must have changed his plans to the stables.
Gabe hadn’t fallen far from the tree. He’d given us the phone because it was a way to let someone else tidy up for him. If it had gone badly, he remained in the clear.
“I kept your hands clean,” I told him, referring to Xavier’s death as my form of thanks. “Let this be an end to it now, Gabe,” I told him, getting down to business. Neither of us wanted to be here longer than necessary. This was my real reason for attending today. While Luc and Dante were focused on delivering a statement to the entire family, I only had one person in mind. “No more games. Luc will head this family and that’ll be the end of it.”
“And why would I just sit back and let that happen?”
“Because you’re the only one your mother can rely on now,” I reminded him. “Because your sister, despite bearing the Moretti name, has walked intomyfamily, and because Luc and I have more support than you’re aware of.” I was always under the impression that Luc was liked within our circles, but I had no idea how far it stretched out. There were people I hadn’t been introduced to yet, willing to come in and help if it was needed. “If you come after my family then I will make sure you join your dad.”
“Is that a warning, Mia?” he asked me bitterly.
“It’s a promise, Gabriel,” I corrected him. Accident or not, the conclusion would have been the same. There was no way that Gabriel would get out of this alive if it came down to us. Luc had already made it clear to me that if anyone tried to stand in his way, he’d deal with them personally.
“And you said you couldn’t be bought.” He scoffed. “You were just unaware of how high your price was.”
“Luc didn’t buy me.”
“No. This life did. The power and everything that comes with it,” he spat. “There will always be someone hungry and ambitious, Mia. Always someone who thinks they can do a better job at the top. Might even be your own children.”
The notion made my stomach coil with anxiety. I’d seen the way Gabe was ready to cross his father for power. Luc was only too happy to bury blood if they did him wrong. Could Link possibly grow to have the same fatal intentions? It was hard to imagine my cub as a cold killer but the world he would be raised in was less than conventional and morally grey. My jaw tightened as I made a silent vow to myself to make sure that my family didn’t crumble away under ambition.
“Gabriel?”
We both looked up to see Chas standing a little way off. She looked hesitant to join us, sensing that we needed some privacy to finish matters. Gabe lifted a single finger at her in a silent gesture to wait.
“You make sure that Vittoria is looked after properly,” he said, turning his head to me.
“She’s family,” I replied. He didn’t know how true that was. Dante would make sure she wanted for nothing and was protected for the rest of her life. As long as Tori didn’t cause any trouble, then she’d slot into our family perfectly fine.
“And nothing happens to my mother,” Gabe said, conceding defeat. His eyes flicked over to Chas again and I thought he might add something more, but it never came. It didn’t need to. Gabe wanted her to be safe and Chas already planned to ensure that by leaving.
“Chas wants to leave.”
He dragged his eyes back to me. “That was the plan all along. Although, you probably already knew that.”
“People tend to trust me.”
“What an awful mistake to make.”
“No worse than trusting you, Gabe,” I shot back at him. “You’ll need to let her go.” He tensed beside me. I wasn’t sure he loved Chas but something about her had unsettled his priorities until she wavered at the top. “Go with her.”
His head snapped towards me. “Is that an order?”
“It’s a suggestion from someone who was once a friend,” I said quietly. “I can’t tell you what to do—”
“Only that’s exactly your job now. You tell us all what to do, Mia.”
