LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      Gabe Santiago stared at Thom. The last thing he wanted to do was get into anything with the other man. Not tonight. Not when he had so many other things on his mind. But he would do what he had to do. What his job demanded. As he always did.

      “This is business?” Thom shook his head, then he spoke again, his voice quiet. “How long have you been doing this stuff?”

      Gabe kept his emotions in check. “This stuff?”

      Thom shrugged one shoulder nervously. “You know...the fixing stuff.”

      He sensed it would be wrong to smile, despite the overdramatic near fear in Thom’s voice. There was nothing remotely amusing about his work. It was serious stuff. Sometimes life and death serious.

      “Does it really matter?”

      Thom shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable as he exhaled a shuddering breath. “I guess not. I just thought...”

      “You thought what?”

      The other man looked as though he wanted to plummet into a sinkhole. “I wondered why it’s all such a big secret.”

      “Because it has to be. Secrets are secrets for a reason,” Gabe reminded him. “You should know that...considering.”

      Gabe noticed Thom’s response in a microsecond. The other man’s jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists. His shoulders straightened. Which was the usual comeback when someone felt cornered. Gabe was well acquainted with the fight-or-flight response in people. And Thom, to his credit, didn’t look as though he wanted to bail. He looked like he wanted to knock Gabe on his ass. But Gabe wasn’t about to start a fight with his cousin’s fiancé. If he broke Thom’s nose or gave him a black eye—or worse—he’d have some serious explaining to do to Elana and Mariella. Besides, Luc and Rafe’s recent scuffle that had been caught on camera already had the rumor mills churning about the family and how they were coping after Harrison’s accident. It had taken some effort to pull the plug on the photos and video circulating on the internet.

      “You’d really resort to blackmail?” Thom asked, his lips pressed together.

      Gabe nodded, suddenly bored with the whole conversation. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to ensure the family is protected. Maintaining anonymity ensures their protection. If you force me out of the closet—figuratively speaking,” Gabe said calmly, “I’ll do the same.” He took a long breath and glanced backward briefly. Inside the restaurant, the party was going on without them. Gabe could hear music and Elana’s bubbly laughter and the clinking of glasses. He needed to keep it together. While Harrison was out of action, Gabe needed to be the glue that kept everyone together and the family afloat. He knew what the truth about Thom would do to the family. He knew Elana would be hurt and Thom’s parents, Samuel and Caroline Scott, would be outraged. It was better that everything remained a secret. Hidden. Off the grid. As it had been for so long.

      Gabe took another deep breath and spoke again. “And since it will not only upset Elana, but also ruin the relationship with your parents that you clearly want to protect, you should think hard before you open your mouth to the family...or the press.”

      “Is that a threat?”

      Gabe shrugged loosely. “Take it as you like. I get things done. Things that other people don’t want to do.”

      “As Harrison’s hired thug, you mean?”

      “As someone who will do whatever needs to be done to protect the people in that room,” he replied, hooking a thumb in the direction of the party. “You’d do well to remember that since you’re soon to become part of this

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