Chapter 13 - The Unspoken Vow
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The morning arrived with a thick grey fog rolling off the Atlantic, blanketing the city in a ghost-like haze.
Inside the mansion’s private dining room, Noah was hungrily eating a plate of Belgian waffles, completely oblivious to the armed guards standing outside the French doors.
Gabriel sat at the head of the table, sipping black coffee while reviewing financial ledgers. Harper watched him from across the table, still trying to process how the most feared man in Massachusetts was treating her little brother like royalty.
"Mr. Gabriel?" Noah asked, wiping syrup from his chin.
Gabriel lowered his newspaper, his stern expression softening instantly.
"Yes, kid?"
"Are those men outside with guns going to hurt us?"
Harper’s heart dropped. She made a move to speak, but Gabriel raised a hand, stopping her.
"No, Noah," Gabriel said, looking the boy dead in the eyes with absolute solemnity.
"Those men are here to make sure nobody ever hurts you or your sister again. Do you understand me?"
Noah nodded slowly, visibly relieved, before returning to his breakfast.
Harper looked at Gabriel, her chest aching with an emotion so powerful it scared her.
"You don't owe us this," she murmured under her breath.
Gabriel locked his pale blue gaze onto hers.
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"I don't do things because I owe people, Harper," he stated quietly.
"I do them because they belong to me. And right now, keeping you safe is the only thing that matters in this entire godforsaken city."
