Twisted Hearts

Chapter 6: Undercover

Gabriel stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes catching every detail of his features as he fixed the folds of his tux. He glanced anxiously at the watch on is wrist and noted he still had ten minutes before Sebastian would land on his door. He blew out a breath, forcing his heart to calm down even slightly as he heard the echo of the bell downstairs.

His heart beat rose slightly, as he grabbed his phone off the counter and keys, quickly running down the steps. He grabbed the door handle, not checking as he pulled it open.

“You’re early—Alice!” He said, his voice rising slightly in surprise.

It took him half a second longer than most times to recover from the shock. Alice stood at the door, her hands twisting and eyes wide with anxiety and nerves. A glossy sheen filled her eyes and Gabriel found himself speechless as he stared at her.

She sniffled audibly, glancing behind her, “Can I come in?” Her voice trembled.

Nodding numbly, Gabriel moved to the side, “Yeah…please,” Alice cast him a shy smile and walked into the house; he shut the door behind him and led her to the living room. "I’ll get you some water,”

She drank the water greedily, wiping at the tears in her eyes. Gabriel swallowed thickly, seeing his stepsister in his house.

He’d never thought he’d see the day, up until this moment he wasn’t even aware she knew where he lived.

“I’m sorry for coming over out of nowhere, but…I just had to get out of the house and I didn’t know where to go.” She shook her head, eyes filling once again with unshed tears. “I’m sorry Gabe, I just,” She hesitated, and Gabriel could see her eyes dart to the door.

“No, it’s okay,” His lips tugged up in a small smile, “You haven’t called me Gabe in a long time,” He added, confusion crossed Alice’s eyes before it was quickly masked by regret.

“I know, and I’m sorry for that too,” Her lips trembled and a tear rolled down her cheek. Gabriel moved closer to her, his hand instantly wiping away the stray tear. A shudder ripples through Alice as her hands slung around Gabriel, hugging him tight against her.

“Hey, hey,” He cooed, unsure of what he had to do. He pat her back slightly, feeling her shake as a sob left her lips.

“It’s okay, tell me what’s wrong?” His mind had gone through every scenario he could think of as to why Alice would be here, at his house, with him and yet he remained blank. Alice despised him, though not as strongly as her mother but she hated him as well—which really hurt him given that when she’d just arrived they were close. Alice had been the baby sister he had always wanted and then it had ended with the knowledge that he was gay.

Something terrible must have happened to her for her to be here, hugging him like he's her life support. Maybe it had something to with her mother, or…his face paled.

“Is this about Dad?” He swallowed thickly, “Did something happen to him?”

Alice sniffled, pulling away from him, “No, it’s not about Dad,” She whispered, avoiding his eyes. “It’s about me, I—” The doorbell rang. Panic took over Alice’s features and Gabriel could see her retreat back.

“You should take that,”

She muttered, motioning to the door. Hesitantly Gabriel stood up, casting his stepsister a quick glance. “I’ll be back so you can tell me everything,” He said, though a part of him could tell that she was done talking.

He opened the door a bit hard and felt his breath halt in that moment. Desire raced through him, causing his body to heat up and tightness in his pants as he swelled slightly at the sight of Sebastian. The other man looked…Gabriel mentally shook his head; he was too numb to look for a word to describe it. All he could say was that Sebastian looked good in black Armani, his hair styled perfectly well over his scalp.

A mischievous smile slipped over Sebastian’s lips as he let his eyes linger of Gabriel before meeting his eyes.

“Hey,”

Gabriel swallowed, his Adams apple moving with the forced action. He forced the rhythmic beating of his heart to stop, leaning away from the door as he nodded his head. “Hey,”

Footsteps had both men turning to look into the house; Alice came into view, her eyes red and bloodshot as she stopped besides Gabriel. Her eyes slid from him to Sebastian, realization flashing in them. She swallowed hard, her eyes surprisingly soft as they stared at Gabriel.

“I should leave,” Her eyes returned to Gabriel, soft and fragile. “I’ll see you later Gabe,” She muttered his nickname purposely, as if trying to make a point. Something twisted in Gabriel’s stomach as he watched her leave, unsure if he should stop her.

A sigh built up in his chest, slowly seeping loose as he turned back to Sebastian, who was watching him, worry creasing his brows. “You okay?” He asked, softly grasping his arm.

Heat seeped into the skin where Sebastian touched, burning him. Casually shrugging his arm away, Gabriel swallowed hard. “Yeah, I’m just not sure what just happened,” He muttered truthfully, shaking his head to clear the thought, he would deal with it later; right now he had a job to be.

He looked back at Sebastian, eyes steeling with determination.

“Shall we go?”

*

Alexander De La Rosa, The man was far from the image Gabriel had constructed in his head, he’d seen the pictures and knew well enough that he was handsome, but his attitude… Gabriel took another sip of the champion in his hand, drawing himself out of his revenue to listen to the conversation around him.

“The man sure is handsome,” A woman standing a few feet away from him sighed, bursting into a fit of giggles with her friends. He turned to the source of their excitement, only to have his heart drop as he saw Sebastian, talking politely with another man.His feet moved against his better judgment.

What the hell are you doing? He shook his head, momentarily hesitating in his steps; ready to turn and leave but at that moment Sebastian met his gaze, his face breaking out into a bright grin. Swallowing hard, Gabriel found himself standing next to Sebastian.

“Simon, meet my personal attorney and good friend, Gabriel Hasting and Gabriel, meet Simon Colleens—I’m hoping he’ll be my new business partner soon.” Sebastian introduced, Gabriel shook the man’s hand, grasping it firmly in his hand as he remembered his previous conversation with Sebastian.

“Simon Colleen, he’s the underboss, if we can impress him then Alexander will be right for the picking,”

Gabriel pulled away, casting the man with a wary eye. Simon didn’t look like much—standing rather short for the average male height with a round belly and a short mustache over his lips. But Gabriel knew very well that looks could be deceiving, and the man might not have looked like it, but he was apparently very dangerous.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Hastings—” Gabriel cut the man off by raising his hand, a small smile twitching charmingly at the edges of his lips. “No need for formalities, you can call me Gabriel since I can very well tell we'll be working closely together, it’s a beautiful thing that you’re doing here,” he complimented, eyes turning to take in the luxurious room.

-------

His eyes slid from Gabriel to Simon, seeing the suspicion behind his kind smile as he stared at both of them. Simon was clearly no i***t, he’d expected no less from a man who stood second in command to a large criminal network such as the one Alexander was creating.

“I wouldn’t jump to such conclusions; we’ve barely gotten to know each other that well,” The man chuckled; finish off the wine in his hand. He glanced at the glass, letting out a soft chuckle. “Look at that, I need a refill, excuse me gentleman.”

“He isn’t falling for it,” Sebastian said, turning to Gabriel. The other man had his eyes glued to something a few feet behind them, Sebastian turned, seeing the man they were after. Alexander stood amongst a large crowd, entertaining them with his charming antics. Jealously twisted in Sebastian’s stomach, filling his mouth with a bitter taste.

“Maybe we actually don’t need the second in command,” Gabriel muttered, sauntering leisurely to the crowd.

Sebastian inhaled hard, ready to walk towards the crowd and join them when a hand wrapped around his upper arm, squeezing sensually. He turned over his shoulder, meeting a small petite woman with dazzling blue eyes.

She smiled, biting her lower lip, “Hello, my name is Amanda,” She whispered. Turning over his shoulder, Sebastian saw the crowd laugh at something Gabriel had said, for a brief moment their eyes met but the other man turned away quickly, saying something to Alexander.

Maybe he doesn’t need me…yet.

“Sebastian Knight, nice to meet you,”