Gabriel: Prequel

twenty

[ harper's pov]

As we fluidly move past the trees at a safe distance, a body falls in front of us. I look over to Nicholas, silently praising him as he sheathes his knife. The plan to ambush Axel and get payback is finalised after a long time, ready to make sure he dies at our hands. Darren had told us that he fucked him over many times before, too, but the move of killing Amancia - an innocent - was worthy of death. The plan is simple: our men had told us he had been moving between cities every week to an unknown destination with his own men behind him not to look conspicuous; so, we get rid of him men slowly and face him at the hidden place where he should be vulnerable. Whether it's the nausea from the pregnancy, or the unsettling anxiety over the situation, bile rises up in my throat, threatening to leave my body. Throwing up would definitely thwart the plan by a milestone. 

With a few of our men behind us, and Darren and Nicholas between our men and Gabe and Rehan, I take the lead in front, acting as the eyes and ears. So far, we'd taken out three men in stealth at the hands of Nicholas - a hidden ace. Darkness already enfolded over us, swarming us with darkness, only the scarce streams of hazy moonlight to guide our way. There's probably, like, a few other men are left. Knowing that we're so close to taking him down overrides the nausea easily, replacing it with a greedy taste for revenge. 

"Kind of hungry," I hear Rehan whisper behind me, followed by a light thud which I can only guess is Gabe hitting him to stay quiet. For the most part, we've been following them in silence, the exception being, occasionally, Rehan, Darren and Gabe. A while back, I'm sure I heard the other men exchange murmurs, too. Unsurprisingly, Nicholas swiftly killed the men in angry silence. Admittedly, I didn't realise how much this job would weigh for him: if he manages to kill all the men and ambush Axel successfully, he might be able to let go of his anger and move on. Only thing is who will kill him first. 

Every moment we follow them, the tension in the air thickens in danger, and our anticipation starts to swell, ready to be let out when he's finally alone. Luckily, one of Axel's men starts to lag behind, becoming as easily target, as I put on the silencer on the gun and press it to his neck, shooting. As his body collapses, I step aside, adamant not to look at the blood in case of the return of the nausea. 

With only two men to take down, we wait for our time, not letting any opportunity go to waste as Nicholas takes one out easily, hardly sweating. Now he's finally alone, an unspoken reprimand to stay silent hushes over us as we near his path, our hearts, no doubt, smashing against the ribcage. As we follow him closer, my mind starts to fuzz but I can't pinpoint why. The path starts to turn and near its destination, I halt. A slight, but definitely there, scent of orange blossom wafts around us, all the way to spiking my stomach. It can't be; it couldn't be. As the others wait until he is definitely inside the building, my head starts spinning uncontrollably at the unique scent. I repeatedly convince myself I'm wrong, that my hormones are making me confused and I'm not where I think I am. However, after seeing the scattered pills on the floor and the broken window, I already know the truth. Axel had been visiting my mom. The statement floods my mind over and over until we find ourselves standing in front of the house.

"This doesn't seem right - I can't think why he'd be here," Darren mutters, frowning.

"I think I do," I barely whisper, not being able to keep my eyes off of the house.

"Harp, are you alright?" Gabe nudges my foot, placing his hand at the small of my back to steady me. 

"My heart," I begin, not being able to understand anything, "it's feeling heavy."

Before he can respond, the last of Axel's men starts to come outside, calling someone and we all hide back into the shrubs. "Yeah, it was wild. She's pretty hot - good enough for Boss. Banging each other every week, haha, wait-"

He stops talking and scans his surrounding, probably realising he's the only one left, "I'm gonna need to call you back, I don't see-" Without realising, at the words of hearing what Axel and my mom have been doing, my feet dragged me to him in stealth, pressing the gun into his neck.

"The fuck did you just say?" I attempt to bark, but my breath comes out shakily as my hands also shake holding the gun. I don't even realise how he pushes the gun out of my hand and slams me against the wall until my back feels like it's breaking.

"You! Little bitch," he curses, pushing me further nearer to the smashed glass as a broken shard taunts me, threatening to hurt me.

The others emerge from the landscape, their faces twisted into scorn, and at their number count compared to him, his grip weakens, letting me drop to the floor. A pang of pain flashes through me but I ignore it as I acknowledge how I put the plan at risk. By now, Axel can come out and kill us and then everything we've done would be in vain. The man attempts to run, but my concentration focuses onto my back as I get up. The wound from his ambush on his months ago hasn't quite healed and starts to sting at the contact now.

"Harper, what the hell were you thinking?" Nicholas seethes, his eyes flashing red, hot anger as he glares down at me.

"Save it, I don't need a lecture from you."

"That was so fucking stupid, reckless and impulsive. You could have ruined everything," he snipes, not helping me up but continuing to glare at me.

"I wasn't think-"

"I could tell. You need to start thinking and being rational. You're not allowed to be selfish anymore, do you not fucking get that? You're pregnant!"

"I don't get why you're being a dick, Nic, I don't even care," I mutter, feeling ashamed at his words. I get up slowly, turning around so he doesn't see tears starting to well in my eyes.

I feel him stand behind me in lethal silence, his glare burning into my back. "It's because I fucking care that I'm mad," he says under his breath, his footsteps fading away.

"Guys, we need to go!" Darren calls, signalling me to turn around. I rejoin the others, but start to worry at the thought of Axel's man telling him. I glance around frantically until a warm hand laces with mine, pulling me close.

"I shut him up for good down the intersect of the forest. Not our problem now he's dead," Gabe reassures me. I look up at him, mildly surprised.

"How-"

He just shrugs, "I guess it comes easy to risk it all for you, Harp."

The stress, the shock and anger starts to fade at his words, and instead, warmth spreads through me. "You're a bad guy like us now?"

"Definitely not. I hope that's my last kill and serious involvement in the gang, to be honest."

I look away from him, facing the others as walk away. I also hope you never have to do that again.