Gabriella
“You look gorgeous,” Triker mumbles on my neck.
At least he’s over his bad mood.
Triker called me in from the pool to have a midday make-out session, even though he didn’t let me leave the bedroom until after eleven a.m.
His phone rang, and he received some bad news, so he called his thugs who screwed something up in and pulled brass knuckles out of the coffee table drawer. I rose to leave, and when I made my way up the stairs, I could hear their screams of pain before Triker ordered them to ten minutes in the garage.
“The garage” I’ve learned is where Triker’s bodyguards take members of the gang who have done anything Triker isn’t happy with. Being a Twisted Heart means you stand and “take it like a man” while Triker’s most trusted guys beat you.
The forced expression of happiness I’m getting used to faking automatically comes on my face. “Thanks. Can you zip me up?”
He gropes my ass a few times in a playful manner. “I think we have a bit of time before we leave.”
I spin into him and put my arms around his shoulders. “I just spent an hour doing my hair and makeup.”
“And you look amazing.”
“Do we have an hour on top of extra time to play?”
Please say no.
He glances at his watch. “No, but you won’t need an hour.”
I put my lips next to his. “But I will. After you have your way with me, I’ll be full of sweat. This is a big day for us. I want to appear my best representing you.”
“You’re Gabriella Triker. You’re sexy and perfect. Stop worrying.”
“Please. I’ll make it worth your while on the car ride home if you wait. It’s important to me I represent you the best I can.”
He licks his lips. “All right. I’ll make sure we take an extra car so we’re alone.”
Great. Get ready to perform again tonight.
I stroke his cock, which is hard. “I’ll be thinking of what I want to do with you all night.”
He grunts then kisses me, and I fall into my role of kissing him back, which I never have to fake. One thing, no matter how hard I try to stop it, is how my body reacts when his lips consume mine.
I pull back. “Tell me again who I need to pay attention to when we get there.”
He reviews the names of the other head gang members, and I note it all in my head so I don’t screw up. Lena has reviewed pictures with me and what their roles are. She also told me more info than I cared to know about why they are all so dangerous and that even though I’m Triker’s, I shouldn’t let myself be left alone in a room with them. Triker would kill them if they touched me, I’m sure of it, but Lena said I shouldn’t put myself in a position for something to happen.
“You seem worried. What is it?” he asks me.
While I don’t like the fact I’m “married” to Triker, I know he will do anything to protect me. In his mind, I am his wife. I am vowed to him. I am his and his alone. The company we will be keeping tonight worries me.
He cups my face. “Gabriella, what is it?”
“Sid, this is just us talking, right?” Whenever I’ve had to talk to him about anything that concerns me, he listens and tries to reassure me or fix things to my liking. I think he feels we are in a real relationship when I ask him that. In some ways, I guess we are in a relationship, as screwed up as it is.
No matter how much of a monster Sid Triker is, I trust that his words on our “wedding night” that he will die protecting me are true.
He leads me over to the couch and pulls me on his lap. “Yes, of course. Say what is on your mind.”
“These men that are going to be at the party tonight...” I take a deep breath.
“Gabriella, don’t be scared to tell me what you are worried about.”
I exhale. “I don’t want to be left alone with them. Will you make sure you don’t leave me alone?”
“Gabriella, if anyone ever touches you, I’ll kill them.”
“Yes, I know, but I don’t want to be in a situation where they might. Please don’t leave me alone. Even with Phillmore or Conceed.” Phillmore and Conceed are Triker’s right hands. If he ever goes off while we are at an event, they watch over me.
His eyes turn into slits. “Has something happened with Phillmore or Conceed? Have they been inappropriate?”
“No,” I quickly say.
“Then why can’t they watch over you if needed?”
“Normally, they can. But...” I close my eyes.
“Gabriella, tell me what this is really about.”
“Sid, I don’t want to be around these men on my own without you. I only feel safe with you. Normally, Phillmore and Conceed are fine, but please, just tonight, don’t leave my side. This is our party to celebrate our wedding, so it shouldn’t be strange or anything, should it?” Our wedding was over a month ago, but this party is to show me off to more of the most important Twisted Hearts members.
He thinks for a moment. “Okay. I won’t leave you.”
“Promise me?”
“I promise.”
“Thank you.” I lean in and kiss him, sealing the deal, and his erection grows again.
“You’re killing me, making me wait,” he growls.
I run my hand on the side of his head. “Patience.”
There is a knock on the door. “Come in,” Triker yells, and Lena enters.
“You look nice,” I tell her. She’s wearing a red bodycon dress.
“Thank you. So do you. I love that pink on you.”
“Thanks.”
“Phillmore told me to ask if you could leave now? He wants to make a stop on the way to pick up another piece in Tampa,” she says.
I cringe. “Another gun? Because you don’t already have enough?”
Triker ignores my comment. “Yes, we’re ready. Tell him to give us five minutes, and we’ll be down.”
Lena twists her hair. “Okay. I’ll see you in the car.”
“No. Tell him Gabriella and I are going in our car alone.”
“No problem.” She leaves and shuts the door.
He drags his finger in my cleavage. “I have a gift for you.”
“Oh?”
He reaches in his coat pocket and pulls out a sparkling necklace, full of diamonds in different sizes.
“Wow. Sid, it’s beautiful.” I try to act excited. It is a gorgeous piece of jewelry, but I don’t care about any of that. Sid, on the other hand, thinks anything worth money is important, and if I don’t make a big deal out of his gifts, he gets upset.
“Not as beautiful as my wife.” He clasps it around my neck. Just like my wedding ring, it feels heavy and suffocating.
Tell him what he wants to hear.
“Thank you. You’re way too generous.”
He squeezes my ass again, and I know I’ve made him happy with my words. “Let’s go have a good night.”
“You still need to zip me up.”
His hand slides across my bare skin, and he traces a finger down my spine, stirring up my nerves. “I might need to find a dark corner tonight.”
“Not tonight. All eyes are going to be on us, and I don’t want to let you down.”
“You aren’t going to let me down.”
“I’m representing you. I want to be perfect for you.”
“Gabriella, you are perfect for me.”
My stomach twists. “But, I want others to see that I’m perfect for you and not question it. So, no dark corners. Wait till the car ride home. Please. Promise me.”
He pecks my lips. “Okay. I’ll control myself until the car ride for this one night. I promise.”
“Thank you.” I rise and grasp his hand, and he stands. I spin. “Now, zip me up.”
He moves my hair to the front of my body and slowly zips my dress while kissing my neck.
I hate myself more for the flutters that race through me.
We go downstairs and out to the garage where the SUV with the blacked-out windows and chrome wheels is parked. The corner area where Twisted Hearts members go to “take it like a man” is covered in plastic wrap, waiting for its next victim, and I shudder.
“You cold?” he asks me and pulls me tighter to him.
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
I wait till we get in the car and are alone. “I don’t like that area.” I point to the corner.
His face hardens. “It maintains order.”
I fidget with my nails.
He grasps my hand and brings it to his lips. “Don’t worry about things that don’t concern you, Gabriella. Men know what they sign up for when they pledge to the Twisted Hearts.”
“Do they?” I don’t know why I question it. I shouldn’t. It isn’t my business, and it’s a question Triker could get angry over. While he never takes his anger out on me, I also don’t want him in a bad mood or others getting hurt for my actions. “Sorry. Forget, I asked.”
He pulls me on his lap. “You’re the First Lady, so we should talk about this.”
“I don’t want to know,” I say quickly.
“You don’t want to know what?”
“About the Twisted Hearts. It isn’t my business.”
He squints at me. “But it is your business. You’re the First Lady. You have a right to know everything. I’ll tell you everything unless I feel it will put you in danger.”
I don’t want to know.
You’re the First Lady.
“No one is forced into the Twisted Hearts. They make a decision. It takes months and sometimes years of proving yourself to become one of us. We all know what we are getting into.”
No one is forced? I was forced.
“How did you get into this? I don’t understand how or why someone joins a gang.”
Why are you asking him these things? Stop talking, Gabriella.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I told you to speak your mind with me. I want you to ask me these questions.”
“Why?”
He spends several minutes with his tongue in my mouth then murmurs, “You’re my First Lady. I love you.”
I try not to grimace at both those statements. And I know he hopes I’ll someday tell him I love him, but it’s the one thing I can’t lie about. At least, not yet. It’s a card I’m holding if I ever need it.
I don’t answer him and kiss him deeper to avoid responding.
“I grew up penniless,” he says between kisses.
I tear my lips away from his.
His face hardens. “My mother worked three jobs and could barely put food on the table for my little brother and me. My father...well, I never met him.”
For the first time since meeting Triker, I feel sympathy for him. “That must have been tough.”
He shrugs like it isn’t a big deal. “My mother got sick, and we had to figure out how to survive. Skates gave me a job that paid me enough to buy her medication and feed my brother.”
“Is your mom okay?”
He blinks twice and shakes his head. “She died a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry. Do you still see your brother?”
His jaw clenches. “No. He died about ten years ago in prison.”
“Oh,” I quietly say.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“With pity.”
For a moment, I forget he’s a horrible person. I put my hand on the side of his head. “Am I not supposed to feel some sadness that you experienced pain?”
He turns toward the window.
“Sid.”
“Hmm?”
I turn his face back to me. “It’s just us talking.”
His hardened eyes drill into mine, and he shoves his hand through my hair and holds my head next to his face. “You know what I did to the man who killed my brother when I got to prison?”
My heart beats faster. “No.”
“I held his face against the stove in the kitchen. But that didn’t kill him, and I knew it wouldn’t. After I couldn’t take the smell of his burning flesh anymore, I utilized a box cutter and sliced his skin so many times, I lost count. He almost bled to death, but before he closed his eyes for the last time, I plastic wrapped his face so he couldn’t breathe.”
My insides quiver, and I swallow the bile rising in my throat.
“If anyone ever touches you, including anyone tonight, their death will be more painful.”
I’m blinking back tears of fear and disgust, but he mistakes it for affection.
He wipes his thumb under my eyes and kisses me, clutching his arms tight around me, hardening underneath me. “I want you now, Gabriella. We have a long drive. Tell me you need me right now.”
The heat and anger in his eyes, I’ve seen it before. If I don’t tell him what he wants to hear, the night is going to end up with him in such a bad mood, more blood will be spilled.
“I need you, Sid. But I want to be perfect for you.”
He hoists my dress up and turns me so I’m straddling him. “Listen to me. You always are perfect. You’re my beautiful wife. Stop worrying.”
“But—”
“I said stop worrying,” he commands in his voice I know I shouldn’t argue against. He lifts his hips and drops his pants past his knees then moves my panties to the side and shoves me on his cock.
“Oh God,” I whimper.
“Ride me now. I need it now, Gabriella.”
I put my forearms on his shoulders and use them as leverage to help me ride him at the speed I know he wants it.
With Sid, everything is fast. There’s no time to let me adjust or enjoy him. It’s get him to come, and hopefully, I get there, too. Besides the time we spent on the yacht, every encounter since has been all about him.
As I learned several nights before, if I don’t come, then I better fake it because not orgasming with him is a blow to his ego.
He surprises me and moves his hand between us and circles my clit. But just like the way he fucks, there is no buildup. It’s just instant speed.
“Come, Gabriella,” he growls. I don’t have to fake it, and I fly over the edge, calling out his name because that is another thing I learned that keeps him in a better mood.
My body vibrates on him.
“Keep fucking me,” he grunts and moves his hand mid-orgasm to squeeze my hips and thrust me faster and harder.
I dig my elbows into his shoulder blades and my fingers into his bald head.
He slams me on him and hits my G-spot, and I scream out his name again and lose the ability to hold myself up.
As my insides spasm on his shaft, he loses control and pumps hard into me, calling out my name and obscenities.
We’re sweating, and his face is flushed. I try to catch my breath when he grasps my hair and pulls my lips back to his. He shoves his tongue into my mouth as I gasp for air.
When he allows me to pull back, he holds my head firm next to his. “I just broke my promise to you.”
I don’t think about him being angry. I whisper, “You did.”
“From now on, don’t make me promise you when I can and can’t have you. You’re my wife, and if I need you, I don’t want to go against my word and let you down.”
A tear slips out of my eye. This is my new reality. I’m Triker’s wife, and his toy to play with whenever he decides.
He once again misinterprets my tears. “That’s right. My word means something no matter who I give it to, but especially with you, Gabriella. So tell me you aren’t going to put me in that position ever again.”
Pull it together. Play your role.
“Okay.”
He kisses me again, and the car stops. He’s still in me and already has a semi again.
“Do you have something for me to clean myself up with?”
He rolls the divider window down. “Pete, throw the tissues back here.”
The driver rolls the window down further, and I feel the heat from embarrassment crawl up my face. He tosses the box and rolls the window back up.
“Why are you red? You should never be embarrassed about pleasing your husband,” Triker states. He hands me a wad of tissues.
I roll off him, clean myself up, and think about how to respond. “Some things I want only between us. Is that such a bad thing?”
He grins at me, and I’m relieved I didn’t say the wrong thing. “No.”
I clean up as best I can and pull my dress down. “I probably look a mess now.”
He kisses me. “No. You’re as beautiful as when we got in the car.”
I don’t believe him, but it calms my nerves a bit.
He laces his hand in mine, kisses it, then says, “Ready?”
Panic races through me. “Okay. But don’t forget to stay with me. Please don’t leave me.”
“I won’t. That’s a promise I will keep to you tonight.”
“Thank you.”
We get out of the car in the back alley, and he quickly escorts me inside. It takes an hour to make our way through the club since everyone is congratulating us. I put on my fake face and stay close to Triker’s side, not that he even attempts to let go of me. But I prefer it because I don’t trust anyone we are around.
When we finally get to the VIP room, the head gang members who I’ve studied photos of with Lena are already there. Several appear drunk, and I scoot as close to Triker as I can.
After he pours me a glass of champagne, he pulls me onto his lap, and I put my arms around his neck as I’m expected to do.
Tonight, I have no qualms about doing it. The men in the room are extremely dangerous. In all reality, Triker isn’t any less menacing than they are, but Triker has never once laid a finger on me or allowed anyone else to. While I fear at times for others’ safety, I have never feared for my own since the first week of being in his house.
Lena comes in and sits next to me. She picks up a glass of champagne, and we chat for a while. From time to time, I catch parts of Triker’s conversation with the other men, but I try not to listen.
The DJ stops the music. The room becomes silent, and he talks through the loudspeakers. “We’re here to celebrate a very important man and his new bride.”
Cheers and shouting echo throughout the club. Triker puts me on my feet and rises, never taking his hands off me.
Put on your game face.
He moves us to the window and we wave to the crowd.
“Speech, speech, speech,” the crowd chants.
Triker spins, winks at me, then puts both hands on my face and plasters one of his toe-curling kisses on me. He pulls back an inch from my lips and then he mouths, I love you.
It’s putting me on the spot. I know others saw it and expect me to say it back, but instead, I put my hands behind his head and pull him down to me, kissing him as if my life depended on it.
We stand flush together, he hardens, and I know I’ve passed a significant test. Everyone believes I love him, and Triker is appeased for the moment.
When I pull back, he growls in my ear, over the loud crowd, “I’ll love you for life, Gabriella.”
The only thing I can think to do is kiss him again. He pulls back, waves to the crowd, places his hand in mine, and leads me down the hallway and into a stairwell.
“Where are we going?”
“To introduce everyone to their First Lady.” He stops on the landing, spins me against the wall, and pushes my hair off my face. “You’re the only person who’s ever made me happy. I don’t deserve you. I know I don’t. I’m not good enough for you and never will be. But I love you, Gabriella. Every fiber of my being loves you. And nothing makes me prouder than having you as my wife. And I know you’ll never love me but—”
“I do love you,” I blurt out. And I don’t know what I’m thinking. This man is evil. He’s sinister and took me away from everyone and everything I love.
He freezes.
“I do. I shouldn’t. I want to hate you. But I can’t.” My lips are shaking, and tears are falling down my cheeks. My brain is asking me what I’m saying, but I can’t stop my mouth. It’s like the truth I’ve suppressed I can no longer hide from. “I hate what you do and how evil you are. The men you surround yourself with repulse me. I’ll never forgive you for ripping me away from my life. But there are these glimpses of you, of who I think you could be, maybe of the person you once were, that I love.”
Something I never thought I would see, happens. Sid Triker, head boss of the Twisted Hearts, blinks back tears.
He puts his lips on mine. “I’ll do better for you.”
“You can’t. Don’t promise me something you can’t do.”
“I will. You have my word.”
Our eyes lock. The walls I’ve put up to keep hating him crumble. I realize my old life will never be mine again. If this is my new reality, then I need to make it the best I can. I could be with one of the men upstairs instead of Sid, who, through all his faults, at least loves me and would go to his grave protecting me.
He will never come close to replacing Javier in my heart, but that ship has sailed, and these are the cards I’m holding.
“Love me and give me a real chance,” he murmurs.
I succumb to what he wants. “Okay. I will.”
“You will?”
“Yes.”
He kisses me. “I won’t let you down.” He spins then leads me down the remainder of the stairs and to the main level. As soon as we pop out of the stairwell, he beelines it to the DJ booth. The DJ and Triker embrace in a man hug and slap each other’s backs.
“This is my wife, Gabriella.” He beams with pride.
“I’m Marco. Congratulations.” He hugs me.
“Thank you.”
Marco hands Triker the microphone, and Triker steps out of the DJ booth and into the center of the dance floor. People are reaching for us, and he releases my hand as men pat his back, and women try to hug him.
“Sid,” I yell, but it’s loud, and he’s too distracted by everyone’s enthusiasm for him.
I get farther away from him and scream his name again.
He turns with a smile on his face, and it falls when he realizes I’m not with him.
There are dozens of people crowded around me, and I panic and call out his name again.
“I know you’re all excited to meet my wife, Gabriella, your new First Lady, but you need to step away from her right now,” he bellows into the microphone.
They all stop and step aside. He takes several steps toward me and mouths, It’s okay, holding out his hand, just as the lights go black and, “This is the FBI. Everyone get on the floor now and put your hands where we can see them,” rings through the air.
Chaos ensues. People begin screaming, pushing, and running. Gunshots echo throughout the club, and I get trampled.
“Gabriella,” Triker’s gruff voice barks out.
“Sid,” I yell, not knowing what to do or what is happening but afraid I might get shot.
In a swift move, he picks me up.
“Get down on the floor, Triker.”
He doesn’t listen and runs, carrying me toward the alley door, which is about a hundred feet away.
Guns continue to fire, and bullets whizz through the air. My heart beats so hard, I think it might explode. I bury my face into Triker’s chest, trying to protect my head.
“Hold on, Gabriella, almost there,” he yells while running.
There are more shots fired everywhere, and instructions for Triker to get down boom through the club over and over.
We’re almost to the door when he screams in pain, and blood seeps through his shirt.
“Sid,” I scream.
He keeps moving but falls. Blood oozes out of his leg from being shot again. I fall, too. It’s dark, so I can hardly see, but I crawl over to him.
“Gabriella,” he barks and attempts to get up.
I reach out for him just as a bullet goes through his head, and his entire body collapses on the floor.
“Sid,” I yell, crying, holding his head in my lap, in shock.
Someone grabs me, and I kick and scream, trying to get back to Sid.
Whoever has me is saying my name, but I fight them to try and get to Sid. I continue to cry and shout his name, the image of his face with the bullet through his forehead haunting me.
I’m pulled outside, put into a van, and someone who feels familiar is holding me, but I’m so distraught, I can’t stop crying over Sid.
Whoever it is keeps kissing my head, telling me it will be okay, but I see nothing but the bullet hole in Sid.
At some point, I realize I’m at the hospital, and, when I turn my head, Javier is sitting in a chair next to my bed, holding my hand to his mouth, tears in his eyes.
He jumps up and strokes my hair. “Gabriella.”
“Javier?” I cry, not sure if I’m seeing things or in a good or bad dream.
He pulls me into him. “I’m here, baby.”
I sob in his arms for hours. I never thought I would see him again and am in his arms. I grieve over Sid’s death. And I wail over the hatred I have for myself because I wasn’t faithful to Javier, and not just sexually but emotionally. I wasn’t strong enough to resist Triker, and, once Javier finds out, he’s never going to want me as his again.
I’ve done the unforgivable and, for the rest of my life, I’ll pay for it. I can’t help but question what kind of person I’ve become.