Page 136 of Dark Angel
“Do we need to take him to the Black Site?” Teddy blurted as customers in the parking lot rushed over.
“Please, Father, not this man,” Gabriel whispered. “Not Angelo.”
Gabriel heard frantic voices, but his entire focus was on his friend, dying in his arms. Angelo was hit twice in the chest at point-black range. “Sei la mia famiglia, mio fratello.”You’re my family, my brother.
Angelo’s lips moved, but no words. Gabriel hugged his friend as he took his last breath.
Then, stillness.
Emotion constricted Gabriel’s throat, his chest tightened, his heart shredded. The agony swirled through him, overtaking every fiber of his being. He was surrounded by urgent chatter, someone screamed, but he couldn’t focus on anything—anyone—but his friend—his fratello—lifeless in his arms.
“Riposa in pace, Angelo. Vai con Dio,” Gabriel whispered.Be at peace, Angelo. Go with God.
“G, I’m here.” Teddy’s voice cut through the night. “Gabriel, look at me.”
Gabriel looked toward the familiar sound in a sea of garbled conversations.
“He’s gone,” Gabriel murmured, peering back down at Angelo. The light, the energy, everything that made Angelo Angelo was no more. Replaced by the emptiness of his lifeless body.
Halston was directing people away. Tara, the restaurant floor manager, rushed outside.
“Keep everyone in,” Teddy hollered at her.
Tara’s gaze met Gabriel’s, then she saw him clutching Angelo. Fear flashed in her eyes before she retreated inside, pulling the front door closed behind her.
“That motherfucker’s in the parking lot.” Gabriel’s thoughts were a jumbled mess. “I gotta go after him.”
“No, G, the gunman took off,” Teddy said. “I’ll check surveillance.”
Halston knelt beside him, placed a soft hand on his. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“I can’t let him go.” As Gabriel closed Angelo’s eyes, he vowed revenge. “La troverò e la annienterò. Non mi vedrà arrivare, ma sentirà la mia ira.”I will find him and I will annihilate him. He won't see me coming, but he will feel my wrath.
“Ti aiuterò,” Halston whispered.I will help you.
Gabriel regarded her. “My world is too dangerous for you.”
“I don’t think he was trying to kill Angelo,” Halston whispered. “Those bullets were meant for you.”
14
TAKEN
GABRIEL
Afury unlike any other enveloped Gabriel as he and Teddy placed Angelo’s body in the back seat of his pickup truck.
“How can I help?” Teddy asked.
“Take care of the customers,” Gabriel replied.
“I’ve got to send everyone home,” Teddy said.
Gabriel raked his hands through his hair, the anger gaining momentum as it whirled though him. “This was a targeted hit but do what you gotta do. I’ll swing by tomorrow, look at the video.”
“I got you,” Teddy said before hugging his brother.
The grief came hurtling toward him. Emotion tightened his chest, the pain numbing him.
