Page 48 of Angel's Forever

It was only then that I thought about Gino and whether he was still alive. I quickly turned to Viktor and went to speak, but he answered my question before I even asked it.

“Gino is alive. Aleksandr and his men found him in time. All three of them are on their way up here now. I’m going to take you to a hotel and wait for them with you. Aleksandr will accompany me, but he can wait outside if you would like.”

I looked over at Aleksandr, who now looked a lot less menacing than I first thought.

He smiled at me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Quinn.”

I smiled back. “And you, Aleksandr. Please call me Gaby. Thank you for saving Gino. When I saw him lying on the ground, covered in blood…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence without the tears starting to fall. Two arms engulfed me and held me. I heard Aleksandr speak as Viktor held me.

“You’re welcome, Gaby. I’m just sorry we didn’t get there sooner. I will wait for you outside, Viktor.”

I heard Aleksandr leave the room and close the door behind him.

“Are you alright, malyshka? Did he hurt you in any way before we got here?”

My tears slowed, and I started to get my emotions under control.

“No, that was the first time he tried anything. Up until that point, he had treated me quite well.”

Viktor pressed a kiss to my head. “I’m sorry it took us so long to get to you. Let’s get you into something comfortable and then get you out of here.”

There really wasn’t anything that I wanted to wear in here. It had all been purchased by Vincent, and I didn’t want to be reminded of him. There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Aleksandr walked back into the room holding what appeared to be a t-shirt. “I thought you might like something to wear that hadn’t been brought here by him. One of the men had a spare t-shirt he said you could have. I can also see a robe over there, so I thought you could wear that as well. I suspect the guys will bring some clothes with them, so it will only be until they arrive.”

I smiled at him as he passed the shirt to me. “Thank you, Aleksandr. Please thank your man for me as well. It was very kind to think of me.”

He gave me a quick nod and left the room again.

“I’ll wait outside while you get dressed,” Viktor said. “I will be just outside if you want to come out when you are ready.”

I didn’t want to walk out there if I was going to come face-to-face with Vincent again. Viktor must have seen my concerns.

“Don’t worry. Vincent is already on his way back to New York. You won’t see him.”

“Thank you, Viktor, for everything.”

He gave me another kiss – on the cheek this time – and headed out of the room. I quickly put on the t-shirt, grabbed the robe, and put that on, along with the pair of shoes I had been wearing the day Vincent took me. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed out of the room to find Viktor and Aleksandr both standing there waiting for me.

Viktor walked over to me and placed his arm around my waist. “Let’s get you out of here, shall we?”

Viktor helped me down the stairs and out the front door to the waiting car. One man was waiting by the car, and a second car was behind it with two more in the front. As we arrived next to the first car, the man standing there opened the door for me, and Viktor helped me inside. He closed the door and then walked around to get into the other side while Aleksandr got into the front passenger seat.

“Gaby, this is my younger brother, Ivan. He was the one that gave you his spare shirt.”

I looked at Aleksandr and then at Ivan. “Thank you, Ivan. It was very kind of you and much appreciated.”

“You are welcome, Miss Quinn. Like Aleksandr and our cousin Alexei, who is in the other car, we all promised Nico and Gino that we would keep you safe. I personally know Nico and Gino quite well, so I hope that gives you some comfort.”

He turned back and started to drive us to the hotel. It did give me some comfort to know that Nico and Gino knew all these men. At least I now knew that I was safe and I could start to relax. The hotel was only a few miles away, and we arrived in about ten minutes. Ivan parked in the underground parking garage and got out to help me out of the car.

“Thank you Ivan, and thank you again for the t-shirt.”

“It was my pleasure, Miss Quinn.”