Diavolo Ch. 16

Wow, she was really pretty, Abby mused.

She turned to regard Abby with her big dark eyes.

"Nice to meet you," she said in a surprisingly husky voice, extending her hand. "Gabe's wife, right?"

Abby shook her hand tentatively, unable to help noticing the abundance of tattoos adorning the woman's pale arms. "Yes, that's right. And you are?"

The woman's eyes widened a second before giving Abby a bemused smile. "I'm Jett."

The music stopped catching Abby's attention.

"Geez, Ariel, what the hell is wrong with you?" Angelo was saying over his mike.

Ariel ran an agitated hand through his tousled dark locks before pouting over at where Abby and Jett stood.

Next to Abby, Jett chuckled.

"He's a shy one that one," she was saying. "Until you get him riled enough. Then he's a fucking tiger." Again, she chuckled.

Abby frowned at her, wondering what that was all about, but the woman barely noticed, her eyes riveted to Diavolo's tall, lanky, bass player.

Could it be...?

Abby grinned looking back out to the stage.

Ariel had moved away some, shaking his head in a way Abby realized now was to allow his very long, thick curly hair to cover up the scar he had running across the side of his face. He bobbed his head up and down in time to the music as it started up again, his mile long legs spread and groin propping the heavy bass in his arms. Angelo was making weird faces as he beat the drums and cymbals, his blond hair already plastered to his sweating neck and shoulders. Rafe and Mike drew her attention away next. It was a wonder their fingers didn't burst into flames as they played amazingly fast. Abby eyes widened in awe once more, but then Gabriel wrenched her attention away by throwing his head back and letting out a long gritty high-pitched wail that had her melting on the spot.

"He's fucking amazing, girlfriend," Jett murmured appreciatively next to her.

"Yes," Abby sighed, unable to help putting her hands over her wildly thumping heart.

The sound check session went on for about two hours.

Gabriel and the rest of the band members walked off stage dripping sweat.

Grabbing a towel from a stack near the exit, Abby gave her husband a bottle of cold water she'd gotten out of a cooler with the band's logo.

Gabriel accepted it with a warm smile before proceeding to gulp it down noisily.

She kept looking around to see if Diamond would make an appearance, but the woman was strangely absent.

"What now?" she asked Gabriel.

"We go back to the hotel and relax a bit before the show," he answered looking at the time on his phone.

"You're not staying to watch Blood Angel?" Rafael asked tipping a flask to his lips.

Gabriel snatched it away with a scowl. "No," he snapped before sniffing the contents of the flask.

Rafael glared at him. "I fucking promised, douche bag."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed as he slowly held the flask back out to Rafe. "Just checking."

Rafael snatched his flask back and stalked away.

Abby frowned up at Gabriel wondering what that had been all about.

"Let's go," Gabriel sighed gripping Abby's arm.

*******

There was a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice-filled silver bucket when they arrived at their suite.

"Sweet," Gabriel said with a grin.

Abby flopped down on the edge of the king-sized bed. It'd been a long day for her, and there was still more to come.

"Let's make a little vid, babe."

Abby's eyes widened as her husband strode closer with two glasses and the champagne in hand.

"What kind of video?"

"I get you drunk and we have wild sex right here on this bed."

Heat suffused her cheeks. "Absolutely not."

She couldn't believe he'd actually suggested such an obscene thing to her. Just the thought had her shamefully throbbing in need for him.

Gabriel bit his lip and burst out laughing. "Just kidding, Abby. Geez."

Gabriel sat next to her, his weight making her slump toward him on the bed. His mouth covered hers, lips demanding, tongue probing. She opened to him, loving his taste and scent, the way his hair slid in a silken caress against her cheek.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready or something?" she asked when he pulled away and began to fill one of the glasses.

"After we toast," he replied with a grin. "Here."

Abby wrinkled her nose at the bubbly drink. She hated alcohol.

He filled the second glass, and set the bottle down at their feet.

She stared helplessly into his crystalline green eyes.

"I'm so happy you're with me now, Abs."

The sincerity in his gaze made her feel guilty. She kept putting her mother and sister before him. He was her husband. She needed to make him her first priority.

"Gabriel—"

"Shhh..." his lips touched hers again.

She sighed, her eyes closing blissfully at the familiar feel of him, his passion-filled kisses. Opening her eyes again, she waited with bated breath to hear what he needed to say.

"I want to put all the bad things that have happened behind us. We need to open up and talk things out, baby. I know I can be an ass at times, but I promise you I'll try harder. I really want this to work out. I love you, Abigail. You're it for me."

She blinked hard, doing her best not to let her expression crumple at the sweetness of his words.

He raised his glass. "To us?"

Abby let out a breathless laugh, clinking her glass against his. "To us."

Gabe's grin grew wider and then he tossed the contents of his glass back, swallowing it down in one gulp.

Abby stared at him open mouthed. If she tried to drink her champagne in the same manner she knew it would come right back up. Again, she looked into her glass and wrinkled her nose. Gabriel's throaty laugh made her look back up at him.

"Oh, no. You gotta drink up. It's bad luck if you don't."

Abby smirked. "Bad luck?" she rolled her eyes now. "Mr. Raven, I'd never pegged you to be superstitious."

He chuckled. "It's not superstition, baby. We just toasted to us. If you don't drink up anything could happen."

"Oh, really?" she chuckled, loving how his eyes danced with mischief. "Like what?"

His smile suddenly waned and his bows drew minutely together. Next thing she knew, those gorgeous green orbs rolled up and he fell back onto the bed, the champagne glass rolling onto the carpet.

"Gabriel, that's not funny," she exclaimed. Standing up. He remained immobile. "Gabe?"

Her heart began to race. Setting down the glass next to the phone he'd propped up on the table in front of them, she sat back down next to him and patted his cheek. "Gabriel? Oh-my-God, Gabriel!"

Pounding came at the door. Desperate, she ran to it, stumbling a bit with her heels and yanked it open.

Diamond stood there poised with a key card in her hand, as if she'd just been about to open the door herself.

Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing Abby.

"There's something wrong with Gabriel," Abby blurted in desperation shoving her glasses backup her nose after they'd slid down from her stumble.

Diamond ran in, shoving Abby back and closing the door behind her. The blonde turned, her upper lip breaking out in a sweat as she stared at Abby.

Abby readjusted her glasses upon her nose, her breathing coming out in pants now from sheer terror over Gabriel. "We need to call 911. Gabriel's out cold."

Diamond's gaze went over to where Gabe lay unconscious before regarding Abby coldly.

Abby got a strange feeling settling into the pit of her stomach at the woman's glare.

Abby took a step back, her fear ratcheting up another two notches.

Diamond snorted, "Can't you do anything right, you stupid bitch?"

Abby's jaw dropped. "What's going on? What are you up to, Diamond?"

Diamond pursed her glossy pink lips and stepped closure. "I am so going to enjoy this."

*******

Abby's jaw hurt. She blinked open her eyes to find that she was lying on the bed next to Gabriel.

Confused, she looked around. The light was on in the bathroom, and she could hear water running.

Rising up on her elbows, she frowned when she saw there was a gun on the small table near the bathroom door.

Terror chilled her veins. Turning toward Gabriel, she patted his cheek again, but he wouldn't rouse. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, but his eyes remained closed.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," she choked on a heartfelt sob, remembering how animated he'd been moments before.

She needed to do something. Diamond was out of her mind.

Getting up, she stalked closer to the bathroom and grabbed the gun.

How she loathed the things. Heart in her throat, she looked at the open balcony doors and ran toward them. With a shaking hand, she tossed the gun over the railing, hearing it thud below.

"What the fuck," she heard a woman say from down below.

About to scream for help, she heard Diamond shriek behind her, "What the hell did you do?"

Fearing the crazy woman might hurt Gabriel, Abby turned around and faced her.

"Can't you do anything right?" Diamond spat.

Abby shook her head, not understanding what she meant.

Diamond ran her hands through her platinum blond hair, taking a cleansing breath. "Never mind. We'll just have to do this the messy way, I guess."

"Were you the one who ran Gabriel off the road?" Abigail blurted.

Diamond stopped in her tracks.

"Tell me," Abby demanded.

Diamond tossed back her head, lifting her pert nose. "I wouldn't ever hurt Gabriel. I don't know who the hell dared try to kill him, but I did followed him up to the Montenegro estate because I thought he would go there after your slutty sister, but I was wrong. It was you he wanted. I guess you posed a challenge for him, you little cock teaser. I know your kind. You get them all hot and then don't deliver the goods." She laughed humorlessly. "You were smart though. Who'd have thought an ugly, insignificant, little, four-eyed thing like you could rope the likes of Gabriel Raven."

"His surname is Montenegro," Abby snapped.

Diamond laughed. "Oh, yes. That. Was it the money that made you go and seduce him? Hmmm? You found out Daniel was no longer the sole heir and you sought to snag yourself the first-born son of Daniel Montenegro the first?"

"You're out of your mind! If you followed him up to the Montenegro estate then it was you all along, wasn't it? My wedding dress burning...the light at the practice session in Florida..." At that, Diamond began to giggle, her tongue wagging mockingly out through her lips. Abby clenched her fists. "Did you push my sister down the steps so she could lose her baby?"

Diamond frowned at that and then snorted. "So that's what happened. I wondered why there was an ambulance...never mind, bitch. Stop distracting me."

Again, she began to advance upon Abigail.

"You won't get away with this, Diamond."

The woman laughed. "Of course I will. I'll just say I came in here because I needed to tell Gabriel something and you attacked me in a fit of jealousy. You tried to shoot me and I pushed you off the balcony in self-defense. You were raving stark mad," she finished, rounded eyes showing whites in a mask of insanity. "Your finger prints are the only ones on that gun by the way, because I handled it very carefully with some plastic gloves I just flushed down the toilet."

"You're crazy," Abby huffed taking a step back as Diamond drew ever closer.

Banging on the door startled them both.

"Abby, open the door," she heard Mike shout from outside.

"Break it down," she heard Ariel demand.

About to scream, she gasped instead when Diamond rushed her.

Her spine slammed against the balcony railing as Diamond tried to push her over.

She dug her nails into Diamond's face, leaving behind dripping red ribbons of blood. The other woman screamed in rage.

Abby's ears rang when Diamond slapped her and for a moment, she lost her footing with her darn heels. Abby tipped over the edge of the railing when Diamond shoved her hard. Her arms and legs flailed in the air as she went down.

*******

Gabriel rubbed his aching temples. The incessant blipping of the machines let him know his precious Abby was fine.

He awakened to see all hell breaking loose in his hotel room.

The first leg of the tour across the U.S. had been canceled until further notice. He knew there were going to be lawsuits, but he really didn't give a fuck. His woman came first.

Another pending disaster looming over his head was his brother.

Someone had gotten hold of his phone that recorded the whole event where Diamond had tried to kill Abby. The video had gone viral, along with the little bit of his affair with Daniel Montenegro's current wife.

He had no idea where Abby's mother and sister were at the moment, nor did he particularly care, but he knew when Abby awakened she'd want to know eventually, so he'd hired someone to track them down.

His life had become very complicated. He'd tried calling Daniel, unsure of what to say, but his brother never answered any of his calls.

Paulina had called, however, her words veiled threats. Gabriel hadn't bothered to call her back and just deleted all her messages.

The door to Abby's room opened and Mike stepped in.

"How's she doing?"

"The doctors have her on a sedative."

Gabriel looked at his prone wife. Her delicate arm was set in a cast and she wore a brace beneath the sheets for her ribs, four of which were broken. She was fortunate to have fallen to the balcony below, which happened to be Ariel's and sustained minimal injuries considering she could have fallen to her death from the twentieth floor of the hotel.

The thought alone made Gabriel want to vomit.

"We should just cancel this tour, man," Mike sighed with a frown.

Gabriel shook his head. "Just this week. She'll be good to go home and we'll finish. I've got some people who are going to make sure she's safe while we finish. The canceled shows already have been rescheduled to happen at the end of the tour. We're extending it one more week for that."

"Shit. When did all this happen?"

"I talked to a lawyer friend of mine. He contacted a guy he knows...promoted a few significant bands and he wants to help us out. We need a new manager."

"You look like shit, man. Why don't you go back to the hotel and rest. You've been up more than twenty four hours."

Gabriel shook his head, running one finger delicately over Abby's thigh.

'I'll stay here with her," Mike offered.

"No."

"Don't be stubborn. Go on. I'll stay here with her."

"Stay, but only so I can sleep right here," he said feeling his energies lagging. He wouldn't leave Abby's side though.

Mike shook his head, blowing out an exasperated breath. Pig-headed. Fine. Get some shut-eye. I'll guard you both, but you're too suspicious. Nothing will happen here in the hospital, man."

Gabriel was too tired to argue, but he knew Mike was wrong. So-so wrong.

He still had enemies even though Diamond was now behind bars without bail until her trial came up. He'd watched the video of what happened while he was drugged and unconscious. Diamond said she wasn't the one who'd tried to run him off the road.

*******

His phone vibrating in his pocket roused him. Gabriel rubbed his eyes for a moment before looking at Abigail.

Her face was turned toward him and her sweet lips were ajar, showing a hint of pearly white teeth and pink tongue.

His heart clenched within his chest at the sight of her until his phone buzzed once more in his pocket.

He looked around and frowned at Mike when he saw the guitarist coming out of the adjacent bathroom.

"What? I had to pee," Mike snorted with a shrug.

Gabriel pulled his phone out of his pocket, giving his band mate one last glare before he looked down at the phone's screen.

It was Mikayla. Given the current circumstances, Gabriel decided to answer the call.

"Hello," he said curtly.

Sniffling was the only thing he heard. Huffing out a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes in irritation. "Micks, stop crying and tell me where you are already. I'll have someone pick you and your mom up and take you somewhere safe."

"She's dead," someone whispered over the line.

Gabriel's eyes snapped open. "Mikayla, what's going on? Who's...?"

"This is Marjorie. My daughter is dead...and it's all your fault," the woman said between choked sobs.

Damn media. He'd refused to give out any statements on Abby's situation or what happened and they most likely were making assumptions, with the cancelation of the tour till further notice and all.

Gabriel shook his head. "Abby is fine, Mrs. Brown. I'm with her right..."

"Mikayla," the woman spat. "Mikayla's dead. They're trying to make it seem like an accident, but she wouldn't be that careless. She'd just miscarried. Why in the world would she go out horseback riding? It was that bitch, Paulina. She did this to free her son from the disgraceful marriage to my daughter. It's your fault," Marjorie spat before breaking down into hysterical sobs again. "You're a curse to everyone. Just look at the tragedy that befell your parents...and now my precious daughters. You never should have been born. You're an abomination."

The line went dead. It was just as well since Gabriel was frozen to the spot, the vile woman's words churning his head.

"What the hell happened , man?" Mike asked leaning toward Gabriel. "Is your grandmother okay? Did she have another attack?"

Gabriel looked up at Mike. "Micks is dead."

Mike's eyes went round. "Shit. What? How?"

"Something about horseback riding."

Mike scratched his head. "Damn. Sorry."

They both turned to look at Abby.

Mikayla dead.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

The heart monitor on Abby blipped accusingly. Her pretty blonde hair was mussed around her head and there were dark circles under her eyes. His sweet angel. He'd done this to her too.

It took every ounce of willpower he had not to fall to his knees beside her bed to beg forgiveness from the Almighty. The girl had been pure and innocent...and safe tucked away at that nunnery in Italy until he'd decided to extract some revenge on the Montenegro clan.

Now look at her...and her sister was dead.

Briefly, Mikayla's smiling face flashed in a blurred memory, she was kneeling between his spread legs while he nonchalantly chugged down a beer, barely paying her any mind except for the pleasant sensations she was eliciting by caressing him inappropriately.

Mikayla had been so into him. He shouldn't have let her touch him, given her false hope. He felt very much like the bastard he actually was.

Marjorie was right. He was a curse.

"I'm all wrong for her, Mike," he finally said.

Mike turned bewildered hazel eyes in his direction. "What?"

Gabriel jerked his chin toward Abby. "This life isn't for her. Look at her. This is all my fault."

"Wait...what?" Mike sputtered incredulously.

Gabriel surged to his feet. "Watch her, please." He gripped Mike by his shirt, getting into his face. "Swear to me you'll stay until she wakes. I'll be sending someone to take your place in a bit. There's something I need to do."

Just as he was about to release Mike and bolt through the door, the guitarist grabbed him by the arm. "What the hell's gotten into you? Where are you going?"

Gabriel looked at Abby again, his heart breaking, sending pulsating pain into his very soul. "I need to fix something. Just stay here with her a while."

*******

Abby's body throbbed, but not in the pleasant manner it did when Gabriel touched her.

The dull pain awakened her as well as the soft blipping nearby.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. There was a young nurse making annotations on a stack of papers clipped to a clipboard.

Abby cleared her throat, catching the girl's attention.

The brunette's blue eyes widened. Her nametag read Ciara.

"Hello, Abigail. Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"