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IttakesZiontwodays to find a contract he feels I can handle and that isn’t as dangerous as the ones he normally goes on. I don’t know why I asked him to take me on one. I think I have something to prove not only to him but to myself.

I know Zion is a killer. I’ve seen it firsthand. But three of them were because they were after me, while the last one was because a “friend” of his had asked. I hate that because we’re around, he can’t be himself. He can’t go on his missions because he feels the need to protect us. And as much as I love that, I love him for it, I can’t let him feel obligated to change his whole life around for a girl he’s only known for a few months.

My problems shouldn’t be his.

“You’re going to be safe, right?” Gabriel asks me.

On Christmas when Zion and I got back from our little ride along in the snow, he pulled his mom off to the side to ask her to watch Gabriel while we’re gone. She was more than thrilled and promised up and down that no one was going to hurt him. She apparently has a whole room of weapons, much to her dislike, but Zion’s orders.Even if Louise doesn’t like guns, Zion makes sure she knows how to use them.

“I’ll be okay.”

Gabriel is the one we had a hard time convincing. Even now he still isn’t convinced. He knows Zion “hunts” others. But he doesn’t know he is a hitman, or that he’s killed thousands of people. I’m not sure how Gabriel would feel if he knew we were living with a murderer that didn’t just kill out of self-defense. We’ve lived with psychopaths before. And it hasn’t ended well.

Zion might be crazy, but I love his crazy.

“What if you get hurt?” Gabriel nervously folds and refolds my shirt.

“Zion won’t let anything happen to me, Gabby.” Snatching the shirt from his hand, I toss it into the suitcase Zion gave me. I only packed a week's worth of clothes, hoping we won’t be gone longer than that. But he says anything can happen. We could be gone only a few days, or a few weeks. He promised that if it went on longer than two weeks, we’d come back.

“I’m starting to trust him,” he whispers, as if it’s a secret. I smile because finally Gabriel is learning Zion isn’t all bad.

I know we had made the mistake of trusting someone, but they sold us out. Zion isn’t him. Zion has no idea who we are. And it’s nice. It’s great that we can be ourselves for once, and not the scared little children who hide away in Dan’s clubhouse.

"Do you love him?”

That’s the funny thing about love. I never believed I would find it. Besides Gabriel, I’ve never muttered the words. The word made me uncomfortable, and weird. I hate that four-letter word more than I hate plain coffee. And Ihateplain coffee. So, when Zion told me in the middle of a damn storm that he loved me, I freaked out and ended up being fucked on top of the kitchen island.

I still don’t believe he loves me. I can’t believe anyone would.

I’m scared, damaged, and have a whole load of problems that would be a shrink’s wet dream.

“Okay, okay. No need to answer me.” Gabriel laughs.

“I’m… I’m not sure how I feel. I mean, I think of him all the time, even when he’s next to me. He’s always on my mind, I want to know everything about him, I… I’m not sure, Gabriel.” I fumble over my words, finding myself folding and refolding a pair of pants. Scoffing, I throw it into the suitcase before zipping it up.

“Does he know it was your birthday?”

“What’s with all these questions?” I snap back. Gabby doesn’t know why I hate my birthday; he just knows I do.I can never tell him that Reaper and Tiger both stole that one day away from me.

“Damn, I’m just trying to make conversation before you leave. I’m not going to see you for a while, and I don’t know…”

Looking over at Gabriel, I sigh when he won’t look back at me. Of course, he’s scared, I don’t blame him. If we were switched, I’m not sure how I would handle him being gone away from me. I’d probably kick my feet and end up tagging along or just following.

“I’ll be okay. Zion won’t let anything happen to me. And… hey, how about I call twice a day? When I wake up and before bed, that way you know I’m okay?”

“Twice a day.” Gabriel nods and walks over to me wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “And I swear if he doesn’t protect you, if you even have a damn mosquito bite, I’m punching him in the dick.”

Laughing, I wrap my arms around him. “Why the dick?”

“It’ll hurt worse than the throat, and he’ll know I mean business.”

“You’re the best sibling I have!”

"I’m the only sibling you have.” Gabriel chuckles just as Zion steps into his room.

After things between us escalated I tried keeping some sort of distance, staying in my own room, keeping my belongings in that room. It took all of twenty minutes of us arguing until he moved all my clothes into his room. There is no fighting that man when he makes his mind up on something.

Not that I’m complaining much. It’s nice sleeping in someone's arms, something that makes me feel safe and warm.