Dex gasps.
"Betrayal," he says.
"Even the children know," Colby adds.
Gabriel laughs and looks up at me.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah," I say lightly.
I hesitate for half a second.
"You survived my brother."
Gabriel snorts.
"Barely."
"Most people don't," I say.
"He's intense," Gabriel replies.
"That's a polite word for it."
Gabriel shrugs.
"He's looking out for you," he says.
Then he adds simply,
"He should."
Dex skates past again and bumps Gabriel's shoulder.
"Group hug," he announces.
"Absolutely not," Gabriel says.
"Too late," Dex replies, throwing an arm around him.
The rest of the team starts laughing again.
Maddie claps like this is the greatest entertainment she's ever witnessed.
Watching them, I realize something.
Gabriel isn't holding back anymore.
And somehow...
Neither am I.
Chapter eighteen
Gabriel
"Why are there twenty-five people in my backyard?" I ask.
