Beautifully Broken: If You Leave Part 15

With a sigh I turn to Jared.

"What?" I demand. "I'm not in the mood for you, Jared."

"I said, tell your s.l.u.t of a friend to stop lying about me." Jared enunciates every word slowly and loudly, as if I'm dumb. I glare at him as I start walking again.

"I don't know what you're talking about and I don't care."

Jared's hiss halts my steps. "Jacey was right about you, you know. You're a spoiled b.i.t.c.h. You have no idea what the real world is like. You've had everything handed to you your whole life."

I freeze, anger flooding through me until my vision almost blurs at the corners of my eyes.

"Jacey would never say that," I snap. "Because she knows better."

Jared skirts around me and gets in my face, invading my personal s.p.a.ce like an annoying ankle-biting dog. "But she did. And she was right."

"You know better than that," I tell him icily, knowing full well that he's lying just to get under my skin. "Do you consider having my parents killed in a head-on crash with an eighteen-wheeler 'having everything handed to me'? Or did I have something handed to me when I had to come home from New York and live my life next to worthless f.u.c.ks like you?"

"No one is making you stay here," Jared snarls. "And in fact, I'd like it better if you left. But before you go, tell your s.l.u.t friend to lay off the bulls.h.i.t. If I wanted to f.u.c.k with her, I would. Until then, I would appreciate it if she didn't lie."

"I'm not your messenger," I snap. "And neither of us are interested in anything you have to say."

He grabs my arm and I whirl around.

"Get your f.u.c.king hand off of me."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ethan take one step and then stop. He's not on his phone anymore, but he still doesn't come to help. Jared grins at me, close enough that I can smell his rancid morning breath.

"Are you going to make me, princess?"

I open my mouth to answer, but someone else answers first, a husky and familiar voice.

"No, but I'd be happy to."

Without even turning around, I recognize that deep voice, the rich timbre, the steady tone.

Gabriel.

Unconsciously my body relaxes ever so slightly in relief, as though I've been waiting for him to arrive and didn't even know it.

I exhale slowly, turning to find Gabriel standing on the pavement with two breakfast burritos in his hand. His other hand is flexing as it dangles by his thigh. He's staring at Jared with unflinching precision.

His gaze is undeniably lethal.

It's frightening in its intensity.

"For f.u.c.k's sake," Jared mutters under his breath. Looking up at Gabriel, he says, "There's no problem here, man. I was just explaining that to Madison."

"No, you weren't," I answer firmly, stepping out of his grasp. "You wanted me to take Jacey a message."

"And that is?" Gabriel raises an eyebrow.

Jared doesn't answer, so I do.

"He wanted me to tell her to stop lying. And he called her a s.l.u.t."

I couldn't help but add that last part on. Jared so deserves it and he's so obviously scared of Gabriel.

Gabriel calmly sets his breakfast down on the roof of his car and approaches us. His gaze hasn't moved from Jared. It's like watching a lion and its prey. It's fascinating to witness.

I step back.

Gabriel steps forward.

Jared turns around.

"f.u.c.k this," he mutters. "That b.i.t.c.h isn't worth it."

He bolts for his truck and peels out from the parking lot.

Gabriel stands still, watching him go. Then he turns to me.

"Are you all right?" he asks quietly, his dark eyes flitting over me, checking for damage. I nod, noticing the way Gabriel is dressed in workout clothes, the way his T-shirt clings to his broad chest, the fabric skimming over his chiseled abs. I swallow.

Suddenly this doesn't seem like a game anymore. Gabriel is serious and concerned, strong and lethal.

And I want him.

I want him.

I want him.

I swallow, dropping my gaze before he can see the truth.

"I'm fine. Jared is just an a.s.s. He's always had a temper problem."

"Maddy!" Ethan calls, coming forward now that it's safe. "Are you all right?"

No thanks to you, I think, utterly disappointed in everything about him. His candy-a.s.s clothes, his bland personality, his ability to stand aside and watch Jared hara.s.s me.

I hate violence and I hate bullies, but standing up for someone smaller or weaker is something different entirely.

And Ethan didn't do it.

Resentment wells up in me. Seriously. He was ten yards away. He could've stepped up to help, but he didn't. What kind of man does that?

"I'm fine," I sigh, fighting the urge to be a b.i.t.c.h, fighting the urge to tell him what a p.u.s.s.y he is. "Gabriel stepped in."

I turn abruptly, blocking Ethan from my sight. It might be rude, but I'm p.i.s.sed.

All I want to look at now is Gabriel. I want to revel in the fact that he stood up for me. He stepped in when he didn't have to.

No one's ever done that for me before.

"Thank you," I tell Gabe simply. "You didn't have to do that."

"I didn't?" he asks doubtfully. "I'm not going to watch something like that without stepping in. You were holding your own like a champ, but once he put his hands on you, it was game over."

I nod, suddenly feeling a little choked up.

Gabriel is night and Ethan is day. And all of a sudden I see the beauty in that.

Yeah, Ethan is a doctor who is trained to save lives. But he doesn't have it in him to stand up to someone if he needs to. And even though I should probably respect that about him since I hate violence, I just can't. I need someone who can walk a thin line-someone who isn't a bully, someone who isn't violent, but someone who has the ability to summon up all the fury of h.e.l.l if he needs to protect someone.

Someone like Gabriel.

Gabriel has been trained to protect people at all costs, even if the cost is his own life. He's not a violent bully. He's a protector.

For some reason, even though I should've seen it before, this knowledge slams into my chest and leaves me dumbfounded. The idea that I need a protector makes me feel weak. But the idea that I just had a protector makes me feel strong.

Invincible.

I only savor the feeling for a minute before I shake it away. Needing someone like that makes you weak. You can't count on other people to be there. You can only count on yourself.

Myself.

Ethan walks into my periphery again and I shove my annoyance with him away. Now isn't the time. I don't know why I ever thought, even for a minute, that he and I could work.

"Maddy, I'm sorry," he says hesitantly, staring from Gabriel to me. I can see that he's very uncomfortable standing next to Gabriel, but he doesn't address it. "I've got to go. A patient is fully dilated and ready to deliver. Can we get a rain check on breakfast?"

I nod quickly, almost relieved. I almost feel guilty for being p.i.s.sed that he didn't step up, but I don't. He stood over there looking on even after he hung up his phone. He could definitely have done something then.

But he didn't.

Because he's a candy-a.s.s.

"Of course," I tell him. "Not a problem."

I stand still, waiting for him to leave, and he looks at me uncertainly again.

"Maddy, I'm your ride."

Oh.

In the heat of the moment I'd forgotten. And Gabe's intoxicating nearness isn't helping either. I inhale his power and his strength with every breath I take. It's distracting.

I flush and take a step away from him. My foot doesn't seem to want to comply, but I force it.

"Right," I say sheepishly. "I came with you."

Gabe smiles, like he knows exactly why I'm distracted. Like he can see the comparison I've been drawing between him and Ethan. Like he can see how much he wins that comparison.

"I can take you," he offers. "I mean, if the doctor has an emergency."

Ethan looks uncertain for a split second, then nods. "That would be great. I really should go. Maddy?"

Ethan looks at me, expecting me to agree. And there's really nothing else I can do, not without seeming like an utter b.i.t.c.h.

But the idea of Gabe and me... sitting within the small confines of a car again. The mere thought almost makes me twitch, because all I can do is think of the last time.

When Gabe licked his fingers clean.

Warmth spreads into my panties.

I can't help it.

Gabriel's dark gaze is on me, potent and powerful, and I swear to G.o.d he's remembering too. His lip actually twitches, trying to fight off a smile.

The man can affect me without saying a word, especially now that I've decided I was wrong about him. I was so, so wrong.

He's a protector.

That makes it even harder to fight off this attraction.

You don't need protecting anymore, I remind myself. You're all grown up-strong and independent. No one can hurt you now. But that doesn't matter. None of that matters. All that matters is how Gabriel is making me feel right now.

Safe.

My fingers tremble so I clench them into fists. He makes me self-conscious, like he can see right into my thoughts.

I swallow hard and try to act nonchalant, as though he doesn't affect me at all.

"That would be fine," I finally manage to say. "Thank you, Gabriel."

"I'd give you a ride anytime," he answers and I look at him sharply. His double entendre hasn't been missed. At least not by me. Ethan is oblivious.

"Thank you," Ethan tells Gabriel grudgingly. He starts to walk away, then calls over his shoulder, "I'll call you soon, Maddy."

I don't even answer.

Gabe looks at me, amus.e.m.e.nt in his dark eyes. "What the h.e.l.l do you see in that guy?"

"I... er..." and then I can't help but dissolve into a giggle.

The memory of Ethan standing helplessly to the side, watching while Jared puffed out his chest like a rooster, suddenly makes me laugh. I'm no longer even mad about it. It's just so ridiculous.

"I don't know," I finally manage. "He's been a friend for a long time. He was probably just afraid. Fighting isn't really his thing."

"He's a candy-a.s.s," Gabriel answers simply. "Fear is a choice."