Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Or in Gabriel’s case, buckets of blood from countless bodies.
And maybe it was better if he didn’t recognize himself. He didn’t want to know that person in the mirror any longer. The darkness was creeping, sinking its talons in deeper.
The killing had never been particularly difficult, but then the argument had always been that if he didn’t, he would be dead. Simple.
But the bullets so easily placed in the foreheads of those two men had been accompanied by something else. Something angry and almost gleeful. There had been no thought about possibly wounding them, incapacitating them so he and Justin could escape. Hell, there had been no thought at all. He’d just aimed and squeezed the trigger.
Fuck it. Gabriel leaned over and turned on the water for the shower. No point in debating it now when he was in the middle of a job. Not the first time he’d used that excuse to dodge the painful question: When would it be enough? When could he stop? He was so tired of this job, soul weary of the killing and death. But he was good at it. Very good at it. And there was a part of him that felt so good to do something he was good at. He felt powerful when so much of his life he’d been utterly powerless.
When would he be done with this life? Gabriel knew the answer deep down—never—and it didn’t give him hope to keep drawing air into his lungs.
He quickly showered, washing away the grit and doubts from the previous day. The hot water eased sore muscles and cleared the fog from his brain. Only a few minutes passed before he was wrapping a towel around his waist and gathering up his clothes. When he quietly opened the bathroom door, he found Justin sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing one hand through his hair and yawning wide enough to crack his jaw. The man looked adorably rumpled and sleep-warmed.
Gabriel dropped his dirty clothes onto the chair he’d slept in and crossed his arms over his chest. “How do you feel?”
Justin’s eyes slowly skimmed over his bare chest as if appraising the muscular body in front of him. It was a struggle not to shift or flex his muscles under that sleepy, appreciative gaze. Who didn’t want to be thought of as sexy? When he finally met Gabriel’s eyes, a heated smile was tugging at his lips. There were more and more moments where he couldn’t tell if Justin was just doing things to tease him or if he was truly attracted to him. That long, slow look was not one from a straight man.
“Rough as shit and hung over. Someone drugged the crap out of me last night.” His voice was warm and thick like syrup.
“Drugging you meant I got the bullet out without a lot of screaming, and you slept without moving, potentially tearing the stitches.”
“Thanks. I—”
A knock at the door caused Justin to jump. His hand searched around the bed for a weapon, bringing a smile to Gabriel’s lips. “Room service.”
Justin huffed, sinking into the mattress again. There was no hiding the embarrassed flush to his cheeks, but then Gabriel couldn’t blame him for his anxiety. He was the one sitting in the bed, recovering from a bullet wound.
Gabriel walked to the door, not caring that he was still wrapped in only a towel. The room-service attendant blinked and flushed, his eyes darting from Gabriel’s chest to the trolley of food in front of him. He held the door open, allowing the hotel attendant to push it in before he closed the door and followed him. Justin once again stretched out on the bed, the cover pulled over his legs and stomach enough to hide his wound while still appearing to be naked.
Justin smiled broadly, mischief twinkling in his eyes. “Aww, baby. You ordered me breakfast in bed. I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
Gabriel accepted the leather folder with the bill from the server and signed it. “Well, I thought after last night’s rough treatment, you would need some time to recover your strength,” he drawled.
The server coughed and blushed, trying to look anywhere but at the two men, while Justin laughed loudly, pushing his head back into the pillow. Gabriel was surprised that the joyous sound seemed to wrap so tightly around him, tempting him to smile in response.
The server accepted the folder, mumbled for them to have a nice day, and quickly scurried out of the room. Justin’s low chuckle followed him. Gabriel ignored his companion, pouring some hot water over a tea bag in a cup as he prepared his morning tea. He had intended to put in a standing order for breakfast, but he’d expanded it beyond his usual oatmeal and tea after Justin had fallen asleep. He’d known the man would need something in his stomach following a night of drugs and blood loss.