[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Gabriel reached for him, an instinctive clasp for an anchor in a world that had just been
knocked off its axis. Tristan s hand met his, one brief squeeze for assurance. Then Tristan
tugged him away from the mess he d made on the floor, into a fierce hug. He imagined his
bones creaked, Tristan had clasped him so tightly. Gabriel hugged him just as fiercely,
burying his face in the side of his brother s neck, sucking in great gulps of air laced with his
scent, his essence.
Tristan was alive.
Tears squeezed out of the corners of Gabriel s eyes and his shoulders shook. Tristan
stroked his hair, comforting him, even though he d been the one, who d only moments ago,
had a gun to his head.
BROKEN Sage Whistler
100
Gabriel wanted to be strong, wanted to be the one offering comfort, but he couldn t find
it within himself to pull out of the hug, to be anywhere but sobbing in Tristan s arms. The
relief was so profound he found it hard to breathe.
He stayed where he was. Even when his knees began to ache, he stayed where he was.
Tristan was the one to begin to pick up the pieces. Wrapping his arm around Gabriel s
waist, his twin started to draw them to their feet.
Every muscle in Gabriel s body shook, vibrating with tense, restless energy. He shook
his head. No.
Come on, Gabe. I have to call the police, get somebody down here. I m not leaving you
in here alone.
Gabriel leaned back, looking into the concerned face of his brother. Tristan looked like
he d aged a decade. He looked tired. He looked like he d been to battle. Blood stained his
shirt, spots of it in various amounts were speckled from the right side of his forehead all the
way down to his chin.
An anguished moan trembled on Gabriel s lips. He reached up, trying to wipe the blood
away with his fingers but only managed to smear it.
Tristan seemed oblivious to the blood. Come on, man, you ve got to stand up. He
tugged Gabriel. This time there was purpose behind his grip, determination in those fingers.
His frown was fierce, but his eyes were gentle.
Gabriel got halfway to his feet, before his knees began to buckle. He clutched at Tristan.
His empty stomach rolled.
I ll fall, he said desperately, wanting nothing more than to be let down on the carpet,
to curl up in a ball with all his aches and pains and hurts and focus on not crying. He was
damn sick of crying. Damn sick of hurting.
Lips brushed across his forehead. Tristan didn t let go. Instead, he pulled him to his
feet. I ll catch you, Gabriel, he said.
I ll catch you.
BROKEN Sage Whistler
101
Chapter Fourteen
Mark s gun had been full of blanks. The detective who d come by several times during
the course of the following week told him so. Even with blanks, at such close a range, the
bullet could have still caused major damage to Tristan. Whether Mark had known he had
blanks in the gun and had just wanted to play some sick joke or whether the two men he d
had with him had taken out the live shots was something the detective couldn t tell the
twins.
So far there were no leads on who the men were. The only witness they might have had
was scheduled for a trip to his final resting place tomorrow. The fact that only Mark knew
the two men s identities supported the detective s theory about why he d been killed. When
Tristan had opened the emergency exit at the back of the apartment building, the men had
already been masked.
Only one who got to see their faces was Mark, Detective Harrison had said. Guess
they didn t trust him not to rat them out when he got caught. It was clear that the two men
were much smarter than Mark had been, using him like a pawn to gain entrance into
Gabriel s apartment. They d made off with over four thousand dollars in clothes and
merchandise. Two days after the robbery some of Gabriel s personal items had showed up on
eBay. But any leads to who d owned the items only turned up people who d bought the
items second-hand from an unknown source.
Mighty generous of you to bury him, Detective Harrison said. Standing in Gabriel s
living room, the burly blond rocked back on his heels.
Gabriel twirled an unlit cigarette like a mini-baton between his slender fingers. He
wasn t going to smoke it, but the movement and the smell of tobacco gave him comfort. If I
hadn t, he would have been cremated and put God knows where.
Besides it had been the right thing to do. Without the drugs Mark had been a decent
human being. Gabriel had caught glimpses of that good spirit during their time together. It
had been what drew him to Mark in the first place. Paying for his funeral expenses and a
BROKEN Sage Whistler
102
coffin was the least he could do. Gabriel wouldn t be showing up for the small ceremony.
He d brushed by death too close six days ago to want to visit that place again.
The detective cleared his throat and shuffled in place. When Gabriel looked up, he was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Gabriel reached for him, an instinctive clasp for an anchor in a world that had just been
knocked off its axis. Tristan s hand met his, one brief squeeze for assurance. Then Tristan
tugged him away from the mess he d made on the floor, into a fierce hug. He imagined his
bones creaked, Tristan had clasped him so tightly. Gabriel hugged him just as fiercely,
burying his face in the side of his brother s neck, sucking in great gulps of air laced with his
scent, his essence.
Tristan was alive.
Tears squeezed out of the corners of Gabriel s eyes and his shoulders shook. Tristan
stroked his hair, comforting him, even though he d been the one, who d only moments ago,
had a gun to his head.
BROKEN Sage Whistler
100
Gabriel wanted to be strong, wanted to be the one offering comfort, but he couldn t find
it within himself to pull out of the hug, to be anywhere but sobbing in Tristan s arms. The
relief was so profound he found it hard to breathe.
He stayed where he was. Even when his knees began to ache, he stayed where he was.
Tristan was the one to begin to pick up the pieces. Wrapping his arm around Gabriel s
waist, his twin started to draw them to their feet.
Every muscle in Gabriel s body shook, vibrating with tense, restless energy. He shook
his head. No.
Come on, Gabe. I have to call the police, get somebody down here. I m not leaving you
in here alone.
Gabriel leaned back, looking into the concerned face of his brother. Tristan looked like
he d aged a decade. He looked tired. He looked like he d been to battle. Blood stained his
shirt, spots of it in various amounts were speckled from the right side of his forehead all the
way down to his chin.
An anguished moan trembled on Gabriel s lips. He reached up, trying to wipe the blood
away with his fingers but only managed to smear it.
Tristan seemed oblivious to the blood. Come on, man, you ve got to stand up. He
tugged Gabriel. This time there was purpose behind his grip, determination in those fingers.
His frown was fierce, but his eyes were gentle.
Gabriel got halfway to his feet, before his knees began to buckle. He clutched at Tristan.
His empty stomach rolled.
I ll fall, he said desperately, wanting nothing more than to be let down on the carpet,
to curl up in a ball with all his aches and pains and hurts and focus on not crying. He was
damn sick of crying. Damn sick of hurting.
Lips brushed across his forehead. Tristan didn t let go. Instead, he pulled him to his
feet. I ll catch you, Gabriel, he said.
I ll catch you.
BROKEN Sage Whistler
101
Chapter Fourteen
Mark s gun had been full of blanks. The detective who d come by several times during
the course of the following week told him so. Even with blanks, at such close a range, the
bullet could have still caused major damage to Tristan. Whether Mark had known he had
blanks in the gun and had just wanted to play some sick joke or whether the two men he d
had with him had taken out the live shots was something the detective couldn t tell the
twins.
So far there were no leads on who the men were. The only witness they might have had
was scheduled for a trip to his final resting place tomorrow. The fact that only Mark knew
the two men s identities supported the detective s theory about why he d been killed. When
Tristan had opened the emergency exit at the back of the apartment building, the men had
already been masked.
Only one who got to see their faces was Mark, Detective Harrison had said. Guess
they didn t trust him not to rat them out when he got caught. It was clear that the two men
were much smarter than Mark had been, using him like a pawn to gain entrance into
Gabriel s apartment. They d made off with over four thousand dollars in clothes and
merchandise. Two days after the robbery some of Gabriel s personal items had showed up on
eBay. But any leads to who d owned the items only turned up people who d bought the
items second-hand from an unknown source.
Mighty generous of you to bury him, Detective Harrison said. Standing in Gabriel s
living room, the burly blond rocked back on his heels.
Gabriel twirled an unlit cigarette like a mini-baton between his slender fingers. He
wasn t going to smoke it, but the movement and the smell of tobacco gave him comfort. If I
hadn t, he would have been cremated and put God knows where.
Besides it had been the right thing to do. Without the drugs Mark had been a decent
human being. Gabriel had caught glimpses of that good spirit during their time together. It
had been what drew him to Mark in the first place. Paying for his funeral expenses and a
BROKEN Sage Whistler
102
coffin was the least he could do. Gabriel wouldn t be showing up for the small ceremony.
He d brushed by death too close six days ago to want to visit that place again.
The detective cleared his throat and shuffled in place. When Gabriel looked up, he was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]