Gabriel's Rule

Gabriel's
Rule is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and
incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious
manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is
purely coincidental.

Copyright
© 2015 by Sloane Kennedy

Published
in the United States by Sloane Kennedy

All rights reserved. This book or any
portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without
the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review.

Cover Image:
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Cover By:
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The author acknowledges the
trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in
this work of fiction:

Ford

http://www.ford.com/

Pike
Place Market

www.pikeplacemarket.org

University
of Washington

http://www.washington.edu/

Not again
.
Gabe Maddox stared at the door in front of him for a long moment and then
pushed the door open with his foot. He took in a quick view of his apartment
before looking at the doorjamb again. Abby hadn’t bothered to find a loser able
to pick the lock this time; the door had been pried open with a crowbar. It
wouldn’t have taken much effort Gabe knew, because everything in his apartment
building was so old and run down that the building probably wasn’t too far from
being condemned by the city. He may as well have left the door unlocked but
Abby would have been too high and too desperate to even have the sense to check
it first.

Steeling
himself against the automatic disappointment that went through him at her
latest betrayal, Gabe took a few steps into the apartment and looked around at
the chaos. The few books he had, had been dumped on the floor and the bookshelf
turned over, probably to check for money hidden behind it. The small TV he had
bought at the thrift store after the last time was gone which surprised him
because he’d only paid fifteen bucks for the thing and couldn’t imagine it
would bring in any kind of cash – it seemed like it would have been more effort
to haul the heavy little thing around, but he again figured Abby was well
beyond common sense at this point.
 
He
was glad to see his couch was still intact. The cushions had been pulled off
but at least this time there weren’t big slashes in the fabric.

Kicking
what was left of his tableside lamp out of his way, Gabe made his way to the
kitchen. They’d left his weight bar and bench alone, as well as the heavy
boxing bag that had hung from the ceiling in the dining room, so at least there
was that. The high quality workout equipment was among the few things he had
splurged on in recent years, figuring it was more of an investment than an
indulgence.

His
kitchen hadn’t fared as well as the living room. The few dishes he had were
mostly in shards and there was food debris everywhere. Damn, he’d just shopped
yesterday too. The morons hadn’t even been considerate enough to close the
freezer after they rifled through it so there was water dripping all over the
floor. His heavy work boots crushed glass and ceramic as he left the kitchen
and checked the bathroom, then bedroom.

She
hadn’t found much else; he certainly wasn’t stupid enough to keep any kind of
medication in the place and the only thing of value was his cell phone charger
sitting next to his bed. She’d taken that too. He stepped over mountains of
clothes thrown on the floor and dropped to his knees to look under the bed. He
sighed in relief when he saw the floorboard he had carefully pried up earlier
this year to hide the few valuables he did have was untouched. It was the only
reason he had invested in the heavy, wood bed frame – it was too cumbersome to
move and Abby was always in a hurry when she made her little visits. The
mattress had big slashes in it where someone had taken a knife to it and some
of the filling stuck out, but if he flipped it the mattress would be useable,
at least until the next time.

Gabe
studied the damage for a few more minutes and then turned and left the room.
He’d been looking forward to spending the rest of the night sitting on his ass
and watching the game on his crappy little TV while nursing a couple of beers.
She hadn’t even left him the damn beer. As he left the apartment and pulled the
broken door closed behind him, he willed himself to drown out the feeling of
betrayal that ripped at his insides. Yep, for the third time in a less than a year,
his own mother had robbed him.

***

Riley
Sinclair loved the rain but moving in it not so much. At least she only had a
few boxes and her rolling suitcase to slog through the huge puddles of water that
had collected on the short walkway to the apartment building. It was an ugly
building, she mused, as she sat in the compact ten year old sedan and studied
the structure. It was three stories tall with two apartments per floor. The red
brick was faded and a lot of the windows were cracked or covered by newspaper
from the inside. Stairs for the fire escape snaked down from the roof to the
ground, but they looked like they were about to fall off the building. At least
what little grass there was, was lush and rich in color. That was better than
the endless dust that seemed to cover all of Texas.

She’d
left Dallas four days ago and headed north. Once she’d gone as far as she could
before hitting the Canadian border, she turned her car west and kept going until
she’d reached the northern suburbs of Seattle. The drive had been long and her
little car had threatened to die on multiple occasions, but she’d made it and
she’d never felt so free. Sure, the apartment building looked nothing like the
“cozy, family friendly” home that had been promised in the ad she’d found last
night on the library computer, but it was in her price range and it was
available now, so she’d have to make do. At least it would be hers, all hers,
and that would make it good enough.

Braving
the rain, Riley grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and climbed out of
the car. She reached into the backseat to grab her suitcase and then darted up
the walkway, water quickly soaking through her thin sneakers. It only took her
a few minutes to find the Super, give him the little cash she had left in
return for a single key along with a terse warning about following the rules
and not making trouble, and then she was on her way up the stairs, her heavy
bag in tow.

Finding
her door, she crossed her fingers that the view from the back of the apartment
was a little bit better than the view of the busy street out front, stuck her
key in the lock and turned and…nothing. Twisting and turning did nothing and
she glanced up at the number on the door to make sure she had the right
apartment.

“It
sticks,” came a deep voice from directly behind her. Sucking in a startled
gasp, she swung around and slammed her back into the door, the key jabbing her
in her spine. He wasn’t directly behind her like she’d thought but the huge man
was only a few feet away.

“What?”
she said, trying to catch her breath. He’d been so quiet that she hadn’t even
heard a single footstep. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see if
anyone was around to hear her scream for help.

“The
key, it sticks. You have to push it in a bit as you’re turning it.”

She
watched as he searched through the plastic bag he was carrying and pulled out
what looked to be a deadbolt. She noticed that in his other hand was a small
toolbox.

“Um,
thanks” she mumbled and then swung back around to do as he suggested. Sure
enough, the door opened. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed the man was
fixing the doorjamb which had splinters of wood missing. Had someone broken
into the apartment across from hers? That couldn’t be a good sign. As she
fumbled for the knob, she glanced at the guy’s build and clothes. He had to be
in his mid to late twenties, at least 6’, and wore faded jeans, a tight black
T-shirt and heavy duty, dark brown work boots. She could see the muscles
bulging against the fabric over his upper arms and what appeared to be a tattoo
seemed to curl around his left bicep because she could see bits of it as he
moved and flexed his arm and the sleeve of his T-shirt rode up.

He
had a darker skin tone, part Hispanic maybe, and his dark brown hair was thick
and curled a tiny bit just above the nape of his neck. She couldn’t see his
face but her body didn’t seem to care because little firecrackers were going
off inside her. She’d never thought men to be beautiful, but oh was she wrong,
because this man was stunning. He must have noticed that she hadn’t yet moved
because he glanced up from his work and pinned her with his dark eyes.

She
had guessed he’d have a face to match the body and she wasn’t disappointed. Sharp
features with a slightly crooked nose that may have been broken at one point,
but somehow just made the perfection of the rest of his face more obvious. His
eyes looked almost black from where she stood but she couldn’t be sure. What
she could be sure of was that there was a hint of amusement in them as he
watched her stare at him. Caught red handed, she swore she heard him chuckle as
she spun around and rushed into her apartment. Her suitcase caught on the door
twice before she managed to drag it into the room and slam the door.

Gabe
watched the suitcase finally disappear into the apartment with its owner. He’d
felt bad about scaring her but it hadn’t been his intention to sneak up on her.
People always assumed a man of his size would be noisy and lumbering and would
stand out in a crowd, but childhood had taught him the value of sticking to the
shadows, moving in silence and observing rather than participating.

He
guessed her to be in her mid-twenties and though she wasn’t skinny, she hadn’t
been heavy either. Loose fitting clothes had him guessing she was average sized
with curves in just the right places so that someone his size wouldn’t have to
worry about breaking her every time he settled his weight on her.
Jesus, where had that thought come
from?

He
frowned and looked back at his lock. He couldn’t help but think the girl was
out of her element – her long blonde hair had been in a loose ponytail that
almost reached the middle of her back. Her gray eyes had seemed almost hungry
as she studied him and her full pink lips had parted slightly when he had
turned to look at her. Her reaction hadn’t been unusual. Women usually tended
to take their time when they looked at him. He wasn’t being arrogant; it had
just always been that way and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t taken
advantage of the good looks he’d been graced with. This was the first time in a
while that he had enjoyed it though. It was also the first time he had looked
back and that confused him. He shook his head as if to clear it and then got
back to work on the door.

***

Riley
looked at the apartment in dismay. It was a dump, plain and simple. Dirty
walls, stained carpet, and tiny. One of the appeals had been that it came
furnished but when she saw the loveseat in the tiny nook that she guessed was
supposed to be the living room, she cringed. It was ripped in several places
but she could live with that. It was all the brown and yellow stains on it that
grossed her out – and those were just the stains that were visible to the naked
eye. She choked back her disgust and turned towards the kitchen.

It
wasn’t much better, but at least she could scrub the surfaces with bleach or
something and all the appliances she would need were there. And there was a
small kitchen table against the window so maybe it would be a nice place to sit
and enjoy the view each morning while drinking her coffee. Unfortunately, the
view turned out to be another building on the other side of a dark alley lined
with bags of garbage.

So
it wasn’t what she was used to, but she could make it work. Maybe slap some
paint on the walls and kitchen cabinets, add some plants and a few pictures.
Feeling a little more optimistic, she moved to the bedroom. It wasn’t any
better than any of the other rooms and she made a mental note to find a really
good mattress cover for the full sized bed…maybe two just to be on the safe
side.

The
bathroom was smaller than a closet and there was no tub, but at least the toilet
flushed. Small victories, she reminded herself. But when she went to wash her
hands, she found that the water didn’t drain. Okay, not a major roadblock, just
a tiny pebble on the road to her new life. Maybe if she repeated that over and
over to herself a few hundred times she’d actually start to believe it.

***

“If
I have a problem do I just come to you?” he heard a small voice ask him. Gabe
was about to start installing the very expensive, supposedly nearly
indestructible new deadbolt that the Super wasn’t going to reimburse him for
when he heard the question behind him. He looked around and saw that the young
woman was back outside her door and she was actually talking to him.

“What?”

“The
drain in the bathroom sink isn’t draining. Do I just let you know or do I need
to go through the Super?”

“Miss,
I don’t work here.” He pointed to the door behind him. “This is my place.”

She
looked embarrassed. “Sorry, I just thought with the tools and stuff…”

“Yeah,
well, the Super is more interested in scratching his own ass than fixing
anything around here. You’re better off fixing it yourself. Or call a plumber.”
He saw a stunned expression come over her.

“Okay,
thanks. And sorry about that,” she stammered as she pulled the door closed
behind her and disappeared downstairs. He shook his head – how had someone like
her ended up in a dump like this? He heard a knock on the floor below and then
the Super’s raised voice, something about causing trouble already. A door
slammed and a couple minutes later the young woman was trudging up the stairs,
a bulky box in her arms.

He
needed to just finish the lock, go inside and start cleaning up his apartment.
He was absolutely not getting involved. That’s what his brain told him but his
body obviously wasn’t listening because he stood, closed the distance between
them and took the box from her.

“I’ll
take a look at it.”

She’d
been startled by his action but quickly shook her head. “No, it’s okay. But
thanks…for the offer I mean.”

“You
got a snake?”

“A
what?” she asked, horrified.

“A
plumber’s snake,” he clarified.

“Oh.
No-”

“You
got a couple hundred bucks to waste on a plumber?” When she didn’t answer he
looked pointedly at her apartment door. He knew she was reluctant to have a
strange man in her apartment and he was glad to see that but it wasn’t like he
could speak some special words to gain her trust. She was either desperate
enough to accept his help or she had the money to call a professional. After a
moment of indecision she opened the door.

“I’m
Gabe by the way.”

“Riley,”
she said softly before leading him inside.

Riley
leaned back against the door, her hand on the knob so she could still make a
quick escape if she needed to. When Gabe had walked passed her into the
apartment, it was then that she realized what a big guy he really was. She was
no pixie stick herself but even with the extra pounds she just couldn’t seem to
shed from her middle, this man still dwarfed her. He didn’t necessarily tower
over her since she was 5’6, but his bulk unnerved her. He wasn’t as thick as
some of the muscle builders she’d seen on TV once who did all those weird poses
in tiny bikini underwear – those creeped her out actually. No, he just looked
like he should be on some billboard on the side of a building, at a busy city
intersection where women could properly drool over him as he showed off the
overpriced underwear he was wearing.

“Where
do you want this?” he asked, lifting the box in his arms slightly.

“Kitchen
table please.” If he noticed that she was treating the door like her lifeline,
he didn’t say anything. He dropped the box on the table and made his way back
towards her instead of going to the bathroom. She sucked in a breath when he
stopped in front of her.

“I
need to get my tools,” he finally said when she didn’t move. It took a full ten
seconds for what he’d said to register. She was in his way. She nodded and then
pulled the door open. Once he was gone she shook her head and laughed. This man
both intimated the hell out of her and made her act like a complete moron all
at the same time. Twice now, she’d been caught staring at him like a teenage
girl.

Giving
herself a mental shake, she left the door slightly ajar and then went to start
unpacking the box he’d carried in for her. He returned within moments, knocked
briefly on the door and let himself in. He ignored her and disappeared into the
bathroom. As he worked, she emptied the few contents of the first box and then
went to her car to get the rest of her stuff.

***

Riley
had managed to get the few kitchen supplies she had unpacked by the time Gabe
came out of the bathroom. It hadn’t taken him long to do his thing but she had
heard a few muffled curses here and there.

“You’re
all set,” he said as he started for the door.

“Thank
you so much, you don’t know how much I appreciate…oh wow, you’re bleeding.”
There was a red stain on his pants where he had clearly once already wiped
blood off his hand. A gash on his palm continued to bubble up with blood.

“It’s
nothing.” Before he could even finish his sentence she had closed the distance
between them and pulled him by the arm to the table.

“Let
me take a look.”

He
could have easily pulled free of her, but she seemed so focused on the minor
wound that he did as she asked and dropped into one of the two small chairs by
the wobbly table. He watched as she pulled a black backpack from by the door
and dropped it next to the table. She sat down and then began rummaging through
it. She pulled out a few medical items including hydrogen peroxide, scissors,
gauze, ointment and a hot pink bandage that looked like the kind of material
that stuck to itself. He glanced down at the contents of the bag and noticed
what looked like a bag of saline, some syringes, and a couple of vials of some
type of drug.

“It’s
my go bag.”

“You’re
a nurse?”

She
was busy examining his wound and dabbing at it with some gauze. “Um, no I’m a
vet tech…well, used to be any way back in…” Her eyes lifted briefly to meet his
before she said “back home” and reached for the hydrogen peroxide.

“I
don’t think you need stitches but I want to clean and wrap it.”

“What
do you mean ‘used to be’?”

Riley
was cursing herself for her slip. She used the moment to dump some hydrogen
peroxide on his hand. She knew she should have warned him, but she needed the
few seconds to collect herself. He only winced slightly at the pain but he
didn’t pull his hand away like she would have expected.

“So
if you’re not a vet tech anymore, why the go bag?”

Man,
he wasn’t going to let it go. “Habit I guess. I used to volunteer for a rescue
group and a lot of times we’d get calls for emergency rescues – having a go bag
saved time.” She checked the wound to make sure there was no debris. His skin
was rough but warm and she ignored the tingles that shot down to her toes.

“What
are all these scars from?” she asked, motioning to the superfine lines that
littered his hand. She had run her fingers over a few of them before she
realized what she’d been doing.

“I
work construction so this type of thing goes with the territory,” he said,
waving his hand over the injury. He didn’t seem concerned at her change in
subject. She finished cleaning the injury and then applied some antibiotic
ointment and a gauze pad. Grabbing the pink bandage she started wrapping it
around his hand. He said nothing about the garish color and she smiled slightly
when she saw her finished effort. Big, scary, tattoo-wearing, gorgeous man with
a bright pink hand.

Gabe
watched her start cleaning up her supplies. He hadn’t missed her enjoyment of
seeing him trussed up in neon pink. It amused rather than annoyed him. When
he’d asked her about her job, she’d gone dark for a moment and he was surprised
how unsettling that had been for him. At her change of subject, he knew she was
hiding something but it certainly wasn’t his place to prod. It explained how
she’d ended up in this dump. Being anonymous was safer and doing it in a place
that no one dared come if they valued their health was even better. He pushed
back the automatic, protective instinct that kicked in.

“Thanks,”
he said, lifting his hand.

“Thanks
for taking care of my drain. You were right about the Super. He wasn’t really
interested in helping me out and paying a plumber…” she trailed off.

“No
problem,” he said as he followed her to the door.
Don’t say it Gabe, don’t say it!
“If you need anything else let me
know.” Damn it – where had that come from? And why could he not stop noticing
how good she smelled, like fresh peaches. He had to get out of there. He
mumbled “welcome to the neighborhood” as he hurried out the door.

Riley
watched him disappear into his apartment before she returned to the kitchen to
finish cleaning up. His offer had been sweet but there was no way she’d take
him up on it – his effect on her was way too overwhelming and when she had
realized that all she could think about while she was cleaning his wound was
leaning down to kiss each tiny scar, she’d known she was already too far gone
when it came to her hunky neighbor. Even if a great looking guy like him ever
took notice of her with her plain Jane looks, she wouldn’t know what to do with
him. She sighed and got back to work unpacking.