Chapter 1 - The Safe Haven
Gabriel kept his hands raised and visible in the dim light.
He did not take a single step forward.
The woman on the cot was trembling so violently that the metal springs squeaked against the concrete floor.
Her eyes darted wildly between Gabriel and the armed men standing just outside the heavy steel door.
"Tell me your name," Gabriel asked, keeping his voice at a slow, soothing pitch.
The woman swallowed hard, her throat bobbing as she pulled the infant tighter against her chest.
"Leah," she finally whispered, her voice raspy and ruined from days of exhaustion.
"You saved him, Leah," Gabriel said softly.
He watched the way her hand instinctively cupped the back of Noah's fragile head.
"I saw the crash on Hanover Street," Leah choked out, tears pooling in her bruised eyes.
"I was walking home from my shift at the diner when the black SUVs blocked your brother's car."
Gabriel felt a sharp ache in his chest, but he forced his facial expression to remain perfectly neutral.
"The men in ski masks got out and started shooting, but they didn't check the floorboards in the backseat," Leah cried.
"The mother had pushed the baby carrier down onto the floor before the glass shattered."
Gabriel closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, honoring Elena's final, desperate act as a mother.
"I waited until the shooters ran to check the trunk, and I pulled the baby out of the wreckage," Leah explained.
"I ran into the alleyways and hid in the dumpsters while they tore the neighborhood apart looking for him."
Gabriel felt a massive wave of gratitude wash over his hardened soul.
She was not a kidnapper looking for a ransom payout.
She was just an ordinary, brave waitress who had risked her own life to save a stranger's child from professional assassins.
"Ethan," Gabriel commanded, never taking his eyes off the terrified woman on the bed.
"Prepare the master guest suite on the top floor and have Dr. Parker meet us there in five minutes."
Ethan nodded briskly, turning around to issue quiet orders to the security team in the corridor.
"I am taking you out of this basement, Leah," Gabriel promised.
"You and Noah are going to the safest room in this city, and nobody is going to hurt you."
Leah looked into his dark eyes, searching for a lie, but she only found genuine sincerity.
She slowly stood up on her shaking legs, refusing to let go of the sleeping baby.
May you like
Gabriel carefully took off his heavy wool coat and draped it gently over her shivering shoulders.
For the first time in ninety-three days, Gabriel Mercer finally felt a flicker of real hope.
