Chapter 5 - THE KISS BEFORE THE GUNSHOT
We left Chicago before dawn.
Luca Moretti, Gabriel's oldest surviving friend, arrived in an unmarked sedan and drove us north toward a safe house near the Wisconsin border.
Luca was broad-shouldered, quiet, and carried the kind of scars that suggested he had survived more than he talked about.
He took one look at Gabriel and shook his head.
"You look terrible."
Gabriel settled into the back seat.
"Good morning to you, too."
Luca glanced at me.
"And you must be Matilda."
"How do you know my name?"
"Gabriel has been talking about you for three hours."
I turned toward Gabriel.
He looked out the window.
"Luca exaggerates."
"Not about this," Luca replied.
Gabriel gave him a look that would have terrified most people.
Luca merely laughed.
For the first time, I saw Gabriel around someone who wasn't afraid of him.
It was strangely comforting.
The safe house was a small lakeside property surrounded by trees. It had no visible security cameras, no servants, and no marble floors.
Gabriel seemed uncomfortable from the moment we arrived.
I found him standing in the kitchen, staring at a kettle.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You look like the kettle insulted your family."
He glanced at me.
"I don't make my own tea."
"Then today is an excellent day to learn."
I filled the kettle.
He watched as though I were performing a complicated medical procedure.
"How long does it take?"
"Longer if you keep asking questions."
He leaned against the counter.
"You're enjoying this."
"A little."
When I handed him the mug, he took a cautious sip.
Then he frowned.
"It's too sweet."
"You told me you drink coffee black. I assumed you were a difficult person."
"I am a difficult person."
"At least we agree on something."
He laughed.
And for a few precious minutes, Gabriel Falcone was simply a man drinking tea in a quiet kitchen.
Later that afternoon, Elena arrived with medicine and news.
"Sofia Bell has agreed to meet us," she said. "But she wants proof Gabriel is alive before she gives us anything."
Gabriel nodded.
"Reasonable."
"She also says Carmine is planning a gathering tonight to announce his permanent leadership."
Luca swore under his breath.
"He's moving fast."
"He believes I'm dead," Gabriel said. "And he's using the confusion to seize control."
I folded my arms.
"Then we need to prove you're alive."
Gabriel looked at me.
"That would create a great many problems."
"Being dead has created problems, too."
Luca grinned.
"I like her."
Gabriel ignored him.
"We need the financial records first. Once we know what Carmine has done, we can take everything to the authorities."
I stared at him.
"Everything?"
He nodded.
"The money transfers. The poisoning. The attempted murder. All of it."
"And the rest of your organization?"
His expression grew guarded.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether the people working for me can survive without becoming Carmine."
I stepped closer.
"Then give them a choice."
He studied me.
"You think it's that simple?"
"No. I think it's that necessary."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he nodded slowly.
"All right."
That evening, I found him on the porch, looking across the lake.
The sun was sinking behind the trees.
I brought him a blanket.
"You should be resting."
"So should you."
"I'm not the one who was shot three times."
He accepted the blanket.
"Matilda, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why did you come to my medical wing that night?"
I sat beside him.
"Because I didn't want you to be alone."
"Even after everything you've heard about me?"
"I know what people say about you. I also know what I saw."
"What did you see?"
"A man who made someone apologize for humiliating a maid."
He looked down.
"That was a small thing."
"Not to me."
The silence between us softened.
Gabriel turned toward me.
"I don't know how to be the man you think I am."
I shook my head.
"I don't think you're a perfect man."
"Good."
"I think you're a man who has to decide what he does next."
He looked at my face for a long time.
Then he reached for my hand.
His fingers were warm.
Alive.
"Matilda, if I survive this, I want to become someone who deserves the trust you gave me."
My heart began beating faster.
"Then start by surviving."
He smiled faintly.
"That's a very practical answer."
"I'm a practical woman."
"You're also the only person who has ever ordered me to drink tea and go to bed."
"Perhaps your staff should have tried it."
He laughed.
Then his expression changed.
"May I kiss you?"
The question startled me.
I had imagined Gabriel giving orders, making threats, and expecting obedience.
I had never imagined him asking permission.
I looked at his face.
At the man beneath the reputation.
"Yes," I whispered.
He kissed me gently.
It was brief, hesitant, and nothing like the dramatic kisses in the romance novels I used to read during breaks.
It was better.
Because he stopped when I pulled back.
He rested his forehead against mine.
"I won't ask you to risk your life for me again."
I smiled sadly.
"You may have to ask me to stop doing it."
His arms tightened around me.
For one moment, I believed we might have a future.
Then a gunshot shattered the evening.
Gabriel jerked backward.
I screamed.
Luca appeared at the porch entrance, weapon raised.
"Inside! Now!"
Another shot struck the wooden railing.
Gabriel pushed me toward the door.
I grabbed his hand.
"No!"
"Matilda, move!"
We ran through the kitchen as Luca returned fire from the porch.
A bullet shattered the window above the sink.
I stumbled.
Gabriel caught me, but his wounded side struck the counter.
He gasped in pain.
"Gabriel!"
"I'm fine."
He wasn't.
Blood was spreading beneath his shirt.
Luca rushed inside.
"They've got two vehicles on the road. We need to leave."
I pressed my hands against Gabriel's wound.
"You're bleeding again."
He looked at me.
His face had gone pale.
"Matilda, listen to me."
"No."
"If they capture us—"
"They won't."
He cupped my face with his uninjured hand.
"If anything happens, you run."
I stared at him.
"Don't ask me to survive a world without you."
His expression broke.
May you like
Then he kissed my forehead.
And the gunfire began again.
