𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝟏𝟖+

47. broken

GABRIEL DALTON

✥

I pace the hall of the private infirmary that is attached to Lonzo's empire. As soon as the paramedics came rushing in and started pushing us away, I knew it was bad. A part of me didn't want to accept that she might die so in my mind I'm currently delirious.

They won't let me see her and I have no idea what condition she's in. It's been thirty minutes and I'm making a dent in the floor from the endless walking. Lonzo sits on one of the chairs watching me intently but I don't dare look at him.

I couldn't care less about what he has to say right now. The only thing I'm focused on is whether Poppy lives. I'm still running her confession over and over in my head like a broken record. It's the only thing I can think of without going insane.

I am so fucking in love with you.

My jaw grinds down so hard that my teeth ache. She better make a recovery so she can say those words to my face again but this time explain fucking everything. I still remember the night we were in my bed, she was upset. She kept telling me over and over how grateful she is that I'm in her life, how happy she is when she's around me.

Flashbacks erupt in my mind. I remember the desperation and need in her eyes. She leaked the truth straight into my mouth and down into my heart with every kiss, every touch. I tighten my fists in frustration. I wish she told me. Why didn't she want to tell me?

The side doors to the corridor burst open and Alexia enters, hair flying behind her as if she's been running. She's followed by three guards. "Oh my God," she exhales. "What happened?"

My sister walks straight up to me and I lower my head. "Poppy, she's been stabbed."

"Shit," she rasps. "What about the guy you were going after?"

"Dead," I murmur. "He was already dead when we got there. By the looks of things, Poppy killed him."

Alexia's eyes widen at the same time Lonzo's head twists to glance at us. "Do you believe now that not everything he said was true? Poppy might not have told the truth but why would she have killed him if she truly wanted to betray you?"

"She wouldn't," I whisper.

Lonzo stands up and takes two strides towards us. "She still fucked you over, Gabriel," he growls in my face. "Don't be so fucking naive. She says she's in love with you and all of a sudden you forget what she's done? Who knows what information is out in the open... who he gave it to. This could fuck us over, forever. She still lied and that is unforgivable."

I square up to him, refusing to let him intimidate me. "Then when she's recovered we can ask her what truly went down. She's our best shot of understanding. She has nothing to lose now."

"Apart from her life," he snaps at me. "If she gets out of this, she spills everything. Otherwise I'll kill her myself."

Alexia gasps from beside me at his brutality but I keep my eyes focused on him. I raise my arm and I shove him back into the wall with force, flicking my gaze between his with blind rage that crashes over me. "You dare touch her and I'll make your life a living hell. Don't you fucking dare test me right now."

"She fucked spied on you, Gabriel!" Lonzo's nostrils flare.

"We don't even know the full story," I growl in his face, flicking my eyes between his hatred-fuelled ones. "That place was a fucking blood bath, we both saw it. She might have spied on me, on us, on Zane. But something isn't adding up. I don't expect you to understand because you weren't there to experience it but when she said that none of it was fake, I believed her. Even for a split second. I care about her, so fucking much. These last few months I let my guard down and that might have cost us something but I can't help but feel like Rexx is the one who has tormented her, used her body as his personal punching bag."