Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 11

Gabriel had expected this moment to occur when they first showed up at the Tomases’ doorstep at three am, almost five, nearly six days ago, and honestly, he had been looking forward to it. It had become almost a ritual for them to get together and talk whenever the Romeros were in town. This time, it was happening in Tomas’s kitchen. Gabriel had come over, looking for a specific drink Luca had asked for and, with the utmost certainty, that the drink was in their pantry.

What Gabriel hadn’t expected was that Rick and Roman were already occupying the kitchen, fresh mugs of coffee in their hand as they yawned into the crook of their elbows, both in what they considered their pyjamas, which were a tight shirt for Rick with some sweatpants and a loose shirt and sweatpants for Roman.

“Gabriel,” Roman said, smiling as he entered the kitchen. Whatever discreet conversation the two were having came to a pause. “Perfect timing, let’s talk. Do you want to start?”

Roman walked to the raised area parallel to the kitchen, where the summer sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and he sat at the dining table. Gabriel followed after him after pouring some coffee for himself. Rick, fiddling with his mug, rolled his eyes. “I’ll start. Mine’s short, anyway. I still haven’t found the dirty rat bastard.”

Gabriel’s eyes shot up as the news sank in. Then he frowned as he stared at the man who was scowling at his drink. “Maybe it’s time you hire someone else. After all, aren't there people for this sort of thing? There might be a few mercenaries or something similar.”

Rick waved his hand. “Mercs are only useful when you have an address. I don’t have anything.”

“What about a PI or something?” Gabriel asked, tilting his head as he sipped his coffee. He would eventually get around to grabbing Luca the drink, but this was much more important.

“No sane PI would want to work for someone in the underworld.”

Gabriel didn’t want to be the one to say it, but he knew he and Roman were possibly thinking the same thing; it was time for Rick to move on from this. Even though they claimed to have tracked the Fells to this city, there was no concrete proof that they had done so.

Rick cleared his throat and took a big sip from his drink, “Anyway, we know they’re in this city. We kill them for messing with our business, and I kill their leader for even ordering the hit in the first place. I might even go for his kids first and send them souvenirs, just as he did for mine. After all, it's an eye for an eye.”

Gabriel sighed, “Rick. The whole saying is an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” He didn’t think the obsession Rick had for the Fells was healthy, but knowing what he did, he couldn’t blame the man for wanting to find him and kill him.

“Okay, I’m done. How are you and Silver doing?” Rick asked, wagging his eyebrows as he stared at Gabriel.

“Oh, we’re good, he’s so sweet. I think he could be the one.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “You’re still young, you still have time. For all you know, you might find someone better.”

Gabriel scowled. “One, my age doesn't have anything to do with this. I think he really might be the one and two, you’re really not being subtle about hiding your disdain for my boyfriend.”

Roman shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “I’m just saying, I think you could do so much better than him.”

“How’s job hunting going?” Gabriel groaned, going as far as to bang his hand on the table several times. Roman snickered, “I assume not well?”

“I didn’t think it would be this hard to find a job not connected to the underworld. At this point, I might start considering finding something else. How hard is it to find-”

“Gabriel!”

All three heads snapped to see Midnight standing there, his eyes scanning over the scene before his eyes, before he stormed over, almost tripping over the raised area, and when he got close enough, Gabriel smelled the weed on the man. Of course, he was high. These days, he was hardly sober. Midnight roughly grabbed his wrist, and Gaberel frowned at the strength the man was using in his grip. He tried to pry his hand off of him, but hissed when that didn’t work.

“Midnight, let go. You’re hurting me.”

Roman was out of his seat in seconds, grabbing their hands. “Let go of him, Midnight, you heard him, you're hurting him.”

“No,” Midnight scowled, glaring at the man through bloodshot eyes. “You’re going to hurt him.”

Rick sighed, running a hand through his messy dark hair. “We have this fight every time we’re together. How many times do we have to tell you we’re not going to hurt him?”

“I can't trust you. You kill people for a living,” Midnight hissed, his grip tightening on Gabriel’s arm. He was trying to hide his wince, but the grip was tight, and he was trying to hold back tears. Maybe he shouldn’t have suggested the gym to Midnight to blow off some extra steam.

“So do your uncles. How do we know you won’t hurt him?” Rick shot back.

“That’s them, not me.”

“Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it?”

“Midnight!” Royal hissed as he stormed into the kitchen and smacked the man on the back of the head. “What the hell! Luca told you to come get the drink because Gabe was taking too long, not for you to fight with them instead.”

Royal forced Midnight to release his arm, and Gabe let out a sigh of relief as Roman grabbed his arm. Midnight lunged for him, but Royal caught him by the back of his shirt. “Sorry, he’s higher than a f*****g kite right now. I’m just going to.” Keeping hold of Midnight's shirt, Royal went to the pantry, took Luca's requested drink, and dragged him away.

Gabriel stared at his wrist, knowing the chances of it bruising were high. He sighed, rubbing it a little before hiding it under his full-sleeved shirt. However, as Gabriel continued with his dilemma of just joining his aunt and uncle, even though his father would fly back from New Zealand to beat him half to death, it would be worth it if he could start making his own money. Luca walked in.

“Two kids,” he muttered as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped to stare at Gabriel, Roman and Rick sitting at the dining table and made a face of realisation. “Ah.”

“Hi, Luca,” Rick said, frowning a little. “Aren’t you meant to be at work? Why do you have two of them coming in for drinks?”

Luca didn’t reply. Instead, he made a fresh pot of coffee and stared at the pantry where Sebastian stored most of his alcoholic drinks. He muttered something to himself, though he shrugged when he finished making his coffee in a travel mug. The three men watched the sergeant pour a concerning amount of alcohol into his drink. He shrugged when he looked up to see the look of horror on their faces.

“I’m not driving; Austin is waiting in the car for me. And I’m on desk duty, I have an insane amount of paperwork to fill out.” And with those parting words, the man left, going the way he had come.

Rick finished his coffee and grinned as he put his mug in the dishwasher. “There never is a dull day at the Tomas household,” he said as he sat back in his chair.

“So, as you were saying, something about joining your aunt and uncle and taking the beating from your father because at least you'd be making bank?”

Gabriel continued talking about his dilemma, getting input from the two older men for another few minutes before Ace and Isaac entered the kitchen. “Hey,” Ace said, waving at the two older men before turning his gaze to Gabriel. “Silver was at the door. Something about a surprise date. I saw his face and stopped caring. I'm going to be so honest.”

He sighed, smiling apologetically at the two men. “I'm sorry, but can we continue this later?”

Before either man could reply, Gabriel had already rushed to the door. Struggling to get into his shoes, he opened the door, kissing the man on the cheek before the two went down the street.

~*~