Bound by Shadows

Chapter 4

Seating himself beside Trey, Gabriel urgently grabbed his wrist, trembling fingers pressing against the bruised flesh. Seeking reassurance through the pulse beating beneath the skin.

Fear gripped Gabriel’s core, a chilling thought worming its way into his mind—he had missed something critical during his initial examination, and now his friend might perish right there on the couch.

“Trey, are you in pain?” Gabriel asked, his eyes narrowed with concern. “Are you dizzy?” God, he hoped it wasn’t a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

“He should be resting and high as a kite on pain meds. Instead of sitting here and talking nonsense,” Edward snapped.

“Trey?” Gabriel called again, ignoring Edward’s contribution. His voice was turning urgent as more possibilities ran through his head.

The others in the room were also growing concerned and drifted closer. Abigail came over and capped his face between her cool hands. “Do you think we should just take him to a hospital?” she asked Gabriel quietly.

“I’m not sure what’s wrong with him,” Gabriel admitted. “Trey? Look, buddy, snap out of it before I slap you.”

“Very professional, doc. What part of medical training did that fall under?” Trick quipped even as he brought a bottle of water and opened it before handing it to Abigail so she could try to get Trey to drink some of it.

At that moment, Trey blinked and seemed to snap out of whatever trance-like state he had temporarily entered. Much to the relief of everyone in the room. He accepted the water Abigail gave him in small sips and then cleared his throat.

“Hey?” Abigail said softly and capped his cheek again. “What’s going on? Are you in pain?”

Trey shook his head and looked at Abigail. A flash of desperation was clear in his eyes and tone. “Something is wrong… with Danielle.” He closed his eyes and shook his head again. “I can’t explain it. I just know something terrible has happened to her.”

“You can’t be serious,” Talia shrieked the moment the words finished tumbling out of Trey’s mouth.

Gabriel was equally taken aback by that statement and wanted to shout. But his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth with disbelief. Luckily, Abigail didn’t suffer from the same predicament. Her focus remained on Trey. Although her words didn’t bring his friend much comfort. “I think you need to rest a little, Trey. Before we really get into this matter.”

Trey stubbornly shook his head. “Something is wrong, Abigail. I shouldn’t have left without her. We need to go get her right now.” He turned to Trick. “Trick, you can still trace her phone, right?”

Lorenzo moved closer at that point. His face was like a dark storm. “We are not going anywhere until you are fine. And especially not until we understand what the hell you have going with this woman. She’s a Marvick, for heaven’s sake!”

Trey’s breathing became erratic. He made to stand up, obviously determined to go after Danielle even if his family wasn’t backing him up.

“Where the hell do you think you are going?” Lorenzo demanded and took a menacing step closer.

It did not faze Trey. “I need to go. I have to go get Danielle.”

Abigail suddenly moved to stop him with her hand on his chest. “Trey, relax. You are in no shape to go back in the middle of nowhere, guns blazing like a goddamn cowboy.”

Having witnessed enough, Gabriel’s chest heaved with anger and confusion. Though he yearned for answers to the thousand questions flooding his brain, he knew his priority was to help Trey first. He reached into his pocket and removed the syringe he had placed in there, just in case they would need it. Apparently, his instincts had been right. They needed it right now.

Before Trey could offer further resistance, Gabriel swiftly uncapped the syringe with his mouth. His left hand went to hold Trey’s shoulder while his right swiftly plunged the hypodermic needle into Trey’s neck. Trey was so worked up; it took him a second to realize what was going on. But by the time he reacted, Gabriel was done and pulling back.

Trey turned and gripped the spot where he had been injected, glaring at Gabriel. “You drugged me?”

If eyes could kill. s**t! His friend was pissed. Yeah, Gabriel was well aware that he might face repercussions for his actions, but at least, for now, Trey was safe.

***

The soft glow of dawn cast a gentle light on the room as Gabriel stood silently, watching Trey sleep. His friend’s face was finally peaceful in slumber, and the weight of the pain and chaos temporarily lifted. But Gabriel knew it wouldn’t last. Not if he didn’t give the man something.

As the minutes ticked by, Gabriel couldn’t help but feel the pang of worry deep in his chest expand until it left like he had a baby hippo seated on his diaphragm.

They had been through so much together. From their very first encounter, death and danger had surrounded them like a stench they couldn’t wash off. He should have been used to it by now. But the thought of losing any of his friends haunted his thoughts like a lingering menace.

Right now he should have been in his room catching some shut eye. Especially considering what the day had in store for them, but he couldn’t close his eyes. What they were doing was madness, and he wished he could shake Trey awake and make the man see sense.

Unfortunately, as soon as Trey had woken up from the sedative Gabriel had given him, the man had made it clear he was determined to go back for the sister of the very man that had almost killed him and would definitely finish the job as soon as he saw any of them.

To say that they had bad blood between them and the Marvick family was to say nothing at all. Before their clash, the Marvicks had been a family of five, with Clement Marvick, the father, at the head. Unfortunately, they had underestimated Gabriel’s family and paid the price. Now they were a family of two. But it damn well served them right.

Gabriel shook his head just thinking about it. Their paths would probably have never crossed if Edward hadn’t run into a half naked, terrified Talia in the middle of the night on an empty road.

One of Clement’s sons had not only eliminated Talia’s family in cold blood after her father witnessed a crime, but had attempted to sell her as well. Then they came after Gabriel and his family like starved sharks that had caught the scent of blood.

A lot of blood had already been shed because of the Marvicks and Gabriel had hoped they were done with that name, but now Trey had gone and fallen for Danielle Marvick and Gabriel couldn’t understand it. Was stockroom syndrome possible within a week?

Gabriel shook his head again and raked his fingers through his copper-colored short curls. Absently, he reminded himself that he needed a haircut. Something else that would have to wait, like sleep.

Just then, a muffled sound reached his ears. Someone approached quietly, their footsteps barely audible against the plush carpet in the hallway. Gabriel glanced behind him and saw Lorenzo. He wasn’t entirely shocked to see the man, even though they both shared the penthouse on the far end and they were now both in the one shared by Trey and Trick. Lorenzo was worried, just like him.

A faint smirk danced at the corner of Gabriel’s lips before he stared back at Trey. “Do you think Trey would notice if I drugged him again?” Gabriel teased, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes despite the worry sitting like a rock in his gut.

Lorenzo chuckled softly but shook his head as he came to a stop next to him. “I wouldn’t recommend it. If Trey woke up in a daze and realized you stopped him from going after the woman, he’d probably beat you into a coma before you could say ‘sorry.’”

“But then he would be safe.” Gabriel pointed out with a wry grin. “Everyone would probably thank me.”

“True,” Lorenzo conceded. “But I’m sure he would hate you for it.”

Gabriel gaped at Lorenzo. “Hate is a strong word. I’m his brother.”

Lorenzo studied him for a beat before releasing a heavy sigh and grabbing his shoulder. “Trust me, everything you are thinking of, I have already thought and rethought. We all don’t want to take the risk. Especially not when he is barely able to stand on his feet. It is only his stubbornness that is keeping him going. But as you said, we are brothers, and we promised to always stand by each other no matter what. We did it for me and Edward. This is no different.”

There was some truth in that, but not entirely, and Gabriel was already opening his mouth to argue. “But this is different, Lorenzo. Danielle is a Marvick. They tried to kill us in our own home. Chip would have killed Trey if he hadn’t escaped.”

“But he did escape. With Danielle’s help,” Lorenzo retorted.

“That one act can’t erase all the rest.”

Lorenzo let go of his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest, turning so he too could watch Trey sleep. “The bottom line is that Trey says she’s his woman, and it is our duty to help him get her back. We will sort out the rest later.”

“Now you sound like Abigail. She’s working overtime to convince you, or did she just vow not to give you any if you didn’t support Trey?” A glare met Gabriel’s teasing glance and he immediately sobered.

After a beat, Lorenzo spoke again. “Regardless of our personal opinions on the matter.” The man sounded like the words were forced through gritted teeth, but Gabriel didn’t look to confirm. “Family comes first and we support each other in hell and back.”

Frustration crawled up Gabriel’s back, but he shoved it down and took a deep breath before voicing his greatest fear. “I hope there will be a later and we won’t die in this madness.”

His friend gave him a serious look. “This is not our first time going after some idiots with guns. So long as we have each other’s backs, nothing will happen.” Lorenzo paused and then grabbed Gabriel by the back of his neck and held his gaze. “I won’t let anything happen to you or anyone else again.”

That was a good promise, Gabriel thought with a sigh. But he wondered how his friend was going to keep it.