“But I have to admit, I grabbed this before I left the Omega Wellness centre. Must have known you’d rock my world, Ms. Vale. Now split ’em.”
He leans in to give me a peck on the lips, and then gets to work. A tracker is nothing compared to what I’ve given them already. It takes under three minutes, six if we include Ares.
And then Gabe squeezes the shit out of me before hooking his finger under my chin and dropping all the fun and play that we have between us. His brown eyes fill with all those emotions you see in the romance movies. “Len, no matter what happens, you don’t give up. I’m not saying anything will, but I am leaving you with your words ringing in my ears about what you would do if someone did catch you. Promise me you’ll trust me enough.”
“Gabe…”
“I mean it, Len. Let me be your hero.”
And then he slams his lips on mine. He’s rough and hard the way he kisses me. His eyes are open the whole time and it’s like he’s memorising the way I look, and taste. With a final growl, he walks back to his brother and Lincoln, hugging them both before he jogs across the tarmac and gets back into Noah’s SUV, speeding off.
Turning back around, both Lincoln and Valak are still talking with Joe, but they’re signing forms, meaning we’re leaving soon. My phone rings, and I check the number. I only answer because I’m intrigued as to why Fez from Broken Cube is calling me. Last I heard, my name was shit.
“Hi, this is Lennon,” I answer, purposely adding frost on top of my icy tone. They iced me, I got no issue returning the favour.
“Lennon, thank fuck you answered. Please…” he says, no hello, no greeting, and I close my eyes, fighting off wanting to ask him why he’s calling. I feel like I already know where this is going.
“Gus, why are you on Fez’s phone?”
“Spencer OD’d.”
My throat closes over, and all of a sudden I feel like I’m about to hurl. “Get him to the hospital, now, Gus! Don’t waste time calling me.”
Valak stops whatever he’s doing, his fingers clicking at my dog to run a check around the area before he stands in front of me, leaning in to hear my conversation.
Gus is a ball of emotion, his words rushing out too fast to understand, but he repeats himself. “I’m here already. Fucking hell, Lennon, you should see him.”
“Where’s Frank?”
“Out with Fez. We were all out to dinner, and he went to the toilet. He was gone for so long. But no one checked. Some old guy found him, he was gone, Lennon. Fucking gone. I don’t even know how I got to the hospital with Fez’s phone. I don’t know where Tilley is. I’m here by myself.”
“Gussy, where are you?”
“Port Bay Memorial Hospital.”
“Honey, I’m at least a day away. I could leave now, but I wouldn’t get to you for a while.”
“No, don’t come here. It’s so fucking toxic here. I just needed to hear your voice, that’s all.”
“Tell me what happened?”
“He’s been on a bender. We had a massive fight. I can’t deal with him and Fez anymore. I’m so done, Len, like so fucking done. He threw a fucking full bottle of Jack at my head. Fez sat there laughing, calling me a pussy because I walked out the door. I couldn’t stay, but I didn’t want to leave. Anyway, we agreed to have dinner, to try to fix everything up. I walked in the restaurant and they were trashed. He begged me to stay, how could I leave him? Tilley told me to give them a go, and now… Some stranger found him in the toilet not even blinking his fucking eyes. Fez and Frank walked out and left. They didn’t even pay the bill, Lennon. I called the ambulance and they were here within five minutes. I’m in Spencer’s room now but…”
“Gus, honey, I can stay on the phone with you or I can leave now and be with you in about eight hours.”
Valak hisses at me, and my eyes dart to his as I snuggle into him.
“Do not come here. No matter what happens, stay away. Fez and Frank talk bad shit, like real fucking bad about you. They’re setting stuff up to sue you. It’s all they’re focused on, obsessing about ways to drag you down. So far they’ve got a whole list of bullshit claims, including trying to blame you for the fact that Fez has no money. Stay away.”
“I’m not scared of them.”
Valak rolls his shoulders, his anxiety and protectiveness picking up.
“Tilley’s coming, she’ll be with me. Don’t you dare come here, Lennon. I didn’t want to be a part of what happened with Frank, and no matter what happens after tonight, I’m done. It’s so selfish that I’m talking about quitting him when he’s lying here with tubes in his nose and shit, but I can’t do it anymore. Can we talk professionally? Please, just you and me?”
“Of course, Gus, you know I’m here for you.”
Gus stops talking, and I can hear him struggling to get his breathing under control. He’s always been the most sensitive, not really timid but not assertive either. In the background I can hear someone walking in.
