Chapter 16

Irun into the room when I hear El's screams. I want to shake her, touch her to wake her up, but I don't. Her eyes are open. She's sitting up on the bed. It's like she's having a nightmare while she's awake.

"El, stop. It's okay. You're safe," I tell her, hoping my words are enough to break through whatever demons she's seeing. "Eloise, it's okay," I repeat louder.

She turns her head in my direction. The loss of life in her eyes fucking tears at my heart. She shouldn't look like this. I can force myself to see past the bruising. The cuts. But the light that's gone from her eyes… that's fucking hard to swallow.

"Wh-where's Gio?" she asks me.

"He had to go out. What can I do? How can I help?"

"No, no, go and get him, Gabe. Don't let him go after anyone. Tell him to come back. I need him. He should be here." She sounds so desperate now.

"El, it's okay. He'll be back soon. I'm going to go make you a cup of tea. I'll get you something to eat." I turn to walk out but her fast movements have me stopping in my tracks.

"No, don"t leave me." She throws the blankets off the bed and goes to stand up.

"Okay. It's okay," I tell her before tugging my phone free to send a message to Gio. Urging him to get his ass back home. Informing him that his wife's awake and fucking needs him. "I'll stay here. I won't leave."

"Thank you." El sighs in relief. But then her eyes seem to flick around the room. Her room. And I watch as she gets up out of bed and walks over to the windows. She checks the lock on the glass and then turns back around to face me. Her hands are trembling by her sides. "I need to get something," she says.

"Okay." I open the door for her to walk past me.

I feel so out of my depths as I follow her through the house. I want to help her. I want to promise her that this will never happen again. I can't do that, though, because I can't keep her safe. I can't keep anyone safe.

She continues on to each of the rooms and I watch as she checks the rest of the windows. "None of the windows in this house are unlocked, El," I tell her. Which appears to do little to soothe her as she then heads downstairs.

There're a lot more men in the house right now. El looks around, the concern evident on her face.

"It's okay. Gio increased security." I lower my voice so no one else can hear me. "What do you need?"

"The office," she says.

"Okay, come on." I reach out and take hold of her hand. She doesn't recoil, so I squeeze tighter. As long as I'm with her, nothing will happen to her. It's when I'm not around that I'm worried about. Because I can't control that.

Eloise walks straight over to the far wall in my brother's office. It's an armoury, one she shouldn't know about but caught us inside. "There's a room behind this wall. How do I get to it?" she asks me.

"You don't need anything that's in that room, Ellie." It's my brother's nickname for her and I hope the familiarity helps. I don't know what else to do. I run a hand down my face.

What the fuck does she think she's going to do with a bunch of guns?

One thought crosses my mind and sends my blood cold. Hurt herself. That's what she can do, and I can't let that happen.

"Yes, I do," she tells me, and I shake my head.

There is no way in hell I'm opening that door for her. And she knows it. So she starts walking around the office. I know if she looks hard enough, she'll find a weapon without me having to give her one. I watch as she walks over to the desk and opens the drawer, retrieving Gio's spare handgun from inside.

"Ellie, put that down. You don't know what you're doing. You're only going to end up hurting yourself." I need to get that gun off her. Out of her hands. I'm taking steps in her direction as fast as I can without scaring her.

"Show me what to do then," she says.

"No." I shake my head again and take the gun from her hands.

"Please, I need it. I need something. I can't be left defenceless again, Gabe," she pleads.

"Ellie, there are over a hundred men on the grounds. Including me, Vin, and Marcel. You are safe here."

"No, I'm not. Please, just let me have it," she begs.

"I'll teach you how to use one. I will, and when you can prove that you can use it properly, without killin' yourself, then I'll give it back. I'll even buy you a pretty pink Beretta with diamonds on the grip," I promise her.

"Fine, show me," she huffs out.

"Not here. We have a range. I'll bring you there."

"No, I don't want to go anywhere." She looks panicked all over again. And I can't for the life of me figure out what I did wrong. Eloise walks around the side of the desk. Avoiding me. She's fucking scared of me.

I try to give her an easy smile. I'm not sure it works. "I'm not going to hurt you, El."

"I know that," she snaps.

"Do you?" I raise a brow at her.

She nods. "I'm going back to bed."

I follow her up the stairs and stop at the doorway when she walks in and climbs back into bed. "I'm so fucking sorry, El. I swear whoever did this to you will pay," I tell her.

"I don't need vengeance, Gabe. I need my husband," she mutters under her breath.

I sit down in front of her room and pull out my phone. First, I send Gio another text and then I message Daisy. She's downstairs in the living room with the rest of the girls. She's going to have my balls if I don't tell her that Eloise is awake.

Daisy runs up the stairs not even seconds later, and I can see she's upset. It's written all over her face. I stand up and stop her from entering the room. "You can't go in there looking upset, Daisy. She needs you to be strong. You can do that. Hold it in. For her." I swipe at the tears on her cheeks.

"Daisy? What are you doing here?" El's voice has me turning back around.

Daisy moves away from me, wipes her face, and plasters on a fake smile while holding up a grocery store bag she has tucked in one hand. "To see you, obviously. And I brought supplies," she says before walking over to the bed. Daisy grabs the remote and presses the button that sends the television down. It's the same one that's installed in my bedroom. I showed her how to work it last night.

"How did you know how to do that?" El asks her.

"All these fancy houses have things like that." Daisy shrugs, but my sister-in-law is already glaring at me.

"Oh god," Eloise groans. "Gabe, do not make me have to find a way to kill you. It'll break Gio's heart, and I don't want to do that. So, for both of our sakes, don't hurt my friend."

I smile. "The only person who's managed to thaw through my brother's heart is you, El. Don't worry. He won't miss me all that much."

El appears to ignore my smart-ass remark as she returns her attention to Daisy. "Really? Him?"

"I'm a big girl, El, and it's nothing. I just like his dick. That's all," Daisy says as she picks up the grocery bag and tips it onto the bed. A whole heap of snacks tumbles out in front of them. "We're watching a movie. You pick."

"You pick. Thanks for coming," I hear El whisper.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Daisy says.

"Can you… maybe call the others? Tell them to come. I sent Dani home." El looks up at Daisy.

"Dani's here. She never left, El. She's downstairs with Claire. Want me to send them up?" I chime in.

When both Dani and Claire storm into the room a few minutes later, I tell El that I'll be out in the hall, and remind her to call if she needs anything.

Vin finds me sitting with my back against the wall. "How is she?" he asks.

"All her friends are in there with her," I tell him.

"This is going to be hard for her," he says, with a faraway look in his eyes.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine. Tell her I'll be around if she needs anything," Vin replies before stalking into his bedroom and slamming the door shut.

I really need to help him figure out his shit as well. Right now, it feels like the whole fucking world is weighing me down. There're just problems on top of problems. With the family, the mysterious inheritance my father left to someone in his will. Trying to find the assholes who keep targeting our businesses. El getting attacked. Uncovering Vin's past and what our fucked-up father did to him.

It's all too fucking much. I'm trying to hold it together. But there is only so much I can do. Truth is, I'm not sure if our family is going to come out on the other end of all this. It's the exact reason I should be telling Daisy to fucking run before she gets caught in the crossfire.

The thought of her running, though? Yeah, it only makes me want to fucking chase her down and drag her ass back to me that much more.