Page 15 of Finn (Vampire Vows #1)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

GAbrIEL

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the dim glow of daylight filtering through the black-out curtains around me.

I was in the car. The rumble of the engine and the steady vibration of the road beneath me was a soothing reminder that we were still on the run.

I glanced over, and there he was: Finn, at the wheel, fighting to keep his eyes open, his grip tight as he pushed through fatigue.

Most vampires would panic waking up in a moving vehicle, but for me, it was almost peaceful.

I wasn’t in Beric’s house. I wasn’t under his oppressive gaze or trapped within the walls that suffocated me.

I was here, with Finn, out in the world. We were free or at least as free as we could be while constantly looking over our shoulders.

“Anything happen while I slept?” I asked, my voice still thick with sleep.

Finn gave me a tired smile. “Nothing. We’re good, I think.”

He covered a yawn with one hand, blinking hard to keep himself focused on the road.

Guilt gnawed at me as I took in his red-rimmed eyes.

He’d probably been driving since morning. Over the past three days, we’d barely any breaks.

Just a few stops for gas and a quick stretch.

Every time, we’d been both looking over our shoulders, ready to jump back in the car at the first sign of trouble.

“We should switch places,” I suggested. “You’ll fall asleep at the wheel if you keep going like this.”

Finn nodded slowly. He stopped the car and we traded places.

“The backseat’s more comfortable,” I suggested.

“I think I want to stay up a little a longer. Keep you company for a little while longer,” Finn said.

I smiled at that. Even with the danger, Finn still found moments to be thoughtful.

I drove, content just to sit with him in that shared silence. Eventually, I spotted a gas station in front of us.

“Can we make a quick stop?” Finn asked.

“Sure,” I answered. “We’re almost out of gas anyway.”

I pulled into the nearly empty gas station.

“I’ll grab some food and drinks,” Finn said, opening the door.“Stretch my legs, maybe. Be right back.”

I nodded, watching him as he got out and stretched, his footsteps echoing against the cracked concrete.

The only other soul around was the attendant, who was busy texting to pay attention to the single car on his lot.

I slumped back in my seat, closing my eyes again, sinking back into the momentary peace.

But something about the stillness unsettled me. I sat up, my instincts prickling with a familiar unease.

My gut twisted with a feeling I knew better than to ignore.

Ignoring the fatigue in my limbs, I slipped out of the car and followed the path Finn had taken to the back of the gas station.

And that’s when I saw him.

Gael stood there, his back turned to me, but I knew that stance too well. My chest tightened, and every muscle in my body tensed.

He’d found us. It was only a matter of time.

Still, it was a blow seeing him here, in the flesh, in this quiet, empty corner of the world.

As if he’d sensed my arrival, Gael turned slowly, a smirk curving his lips.

“Gabriel,” he said smugly, eying me up and down. “You look terrible.”

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to calm down.

“Gael,” I said. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

He let out a dark chuckle, stepping closer, his mocking gaze fixed on mine.

“Didn’t you? I admit, you and your human led me on a merry little chase,” Gael said.

A flash of anger burned through me, but I swallowed it down.

“If Beric sent you, you’re wasting your time. I’m not coming back,” I told him.

Gael laughed. “You really think you can walk away from us?”

He stepped in even closer, but I firmly stood my ground. Finn was still in the men’s room.

“We all belong to Beric, Gabriel. You should know that by now,” Gael reminded me.

I gritted my teeth. “Beric doesn’t own me. Walk away and pretend you didn’t see me.”

Gael scoffed. “And let go of an opportunity like this? If I drag you back to Craven Hill, I’ll be Beric’s favourite again. I can’t believe you’ll just throw everything away. And for what? Some human? Pathetic.”

Before I could even react, Gael lunged.

His hand shot out, lightning fast, and I barely dodged it in time, slamming into the rough concrete wall.

Pain jolted up my shoulder, but I pushed past it, twisting out of his grasp.

We grappled against the wall, each of us vying for the upper hand, our movements sharp and brutal in the dim light.

Gael’s hand found its way around my throat.

While I no longer needed to breathe, he could still break the fragile bones in my neck.

“I always knew you were weak,” he hissed, his grip unyielding. “Beric’s favorite assassin, yes, but weak at the core. And this only proves it.”

Bones creaked, but I fought against the panic. With a surge of strength, I raised my knee, slamming it into his side.

His hold faltered just enough for me to break free, and I staggered back, rubbing my neck, fighting to regain my breath.

“You don’t know anything about me,” I managed to spit out, my voice hoarse but filled with defiance.

“Oh, I know plenty.” Gael wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, his eyes darkening.

Gael continued, “I know a former hunter like you can never be trusted. I have to admit, you played the part of obedient killer well, but sooner or later, you were bound to blow your cover.”

“I did what I had to do to survive,” I told him. “But I’ve found something better now.

Gael sneered. “Better?”

He gestured in the direction Finn had gone, a glint of disgust in his eyes.

“This human? You think he’ll stay by your side once he finally realizes what you really are?” Gael asked.

Rage boiled inside me, raw and uncontrollable.

In Beric’s house, I’d always reeled in my temper, kept it tightly leashed, because one wrong step could mean the end. But here?

Here, with Gael’s taunts cutting deep, there was no reason to be careful.

I felt the urge to let the anger flow, to show him just how dangerous I could be.

Yet maybe some part of me recognized the truth in what he was saying, and that only fueled my fury.

What if Finn woke up one day, only to realize that everything he’d sacrificed, betraying the Guild, leaving behind his only family, all of it had been for nothing?

What if he saw me for what I was, a monster, and knew he’d made the biggest mistake of his life?

The thought clawed at me, every bitter word Gael spat forcing me to face my deepest fears. I gave into my rage.

I closed the gap between us, my fist flying forward with a speed I’d always held back, landing squarely on his jaw.

He stumbled back, but didn’t back down, his expression twisted with a feral fury.

“You want to do this the hard way?” he growled, his voice laced with venom.

“Fine by me.”

And we clashed again, each blow more brutal than the last.

Gael fought to cripple, to punish, to make me regret every choice I’d made to defy Beric, to defy him.

But I fought back just as fiercely, each hit a reminder of everything I was leaving behind.

Everything I was willing to give up for Finn and for the chance to live free.

He snarled, lunging at me with renewed aggression, his fists aiming to break me.

“You’re Beric’s property,” he spat, eyes blazing with a twisted loyalty. “He owns you. Always will.”

“Not anymore,” I grunted, dodging a vicious swipe and countering with a sharp kick to his ribs. “I’m done with him. With all of you.”

We grappled, our movements a deadly dance, each of us driven by fury and desperation.

Gael twisted, trying to throw me to the ground, but I held my ground, digging deep, finding a strength I didn’t know I had.

I broke free, managing to pin him against the wall.

For a tense, breathless moment, our eyes met. Beneath the fury in his gaze, I saw something else. A flicker of disbelief, of… regret.

“I thought you were smarter than this, Gabriel,” he whispered, voice tight with something almost like pity. “I hated you sure, but I admired you as well. I thought you understood what it takes to survive.”

My grip tightened, and I leaned in close, my voice barely a whisper.

“Surviving isn’t enough for me anymore,” I said.

With one last shove, I pushed him back and stepped away, chest heaving, my fists clenched and still trembling.

Gael staggered, but he didn’t retaliate. He wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes dark with fury.

“Gabriel!” Finn’s voice snapped me out of my rage.

He burst out of the men’s room, his eyes wide and frantic, and tossed something my way. A silver knife.

I caught it by the handle, feeling its weight, its cold, sharp promise.

Gael’s gaze narrowed, his eyes darting between the blade in my hand and the second knife Finn now held, poised and ready to strike if needed.

Finish it, a dark voice whispered inside me. Gael would never stop coming after us.

He’d hunt us to the ends of the earth if Beric demanded it, if only to prove himself in his twisted loyalty.

And yet…as I looked at him, part of me felt an unexpected pang of pity.

I couldn’t deny that in some ways, he and I weren’t so different.

Gael was bitter and broken, consumed by his anger and desperation to survive.

If more time had passed, if I hadn’t had Finn to pull me out of Beric’s world, would I have ended up just like Gael, who was petty, bitter and hollow?

My grip on the knife tightened, my resolve wavering. Just as I was about to make a decision, the screech of tires broke the tension.

A car skidded to a stop in front of Gael, its headlights slicing through the night, illuminating our standoff in stark, cold light.

Of course, Gael wasn’t alone, I thought in irritation.

“This isn’t over,” he said. “You may have gotten away tonight, but Beric won’t let you go. And next time… there won’t be any mercy.”

Gael slipped into the car. I gritted my teeth, steadying myself.

And that’s when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned, and Finn standing there, his face filled with fear and worry.

“You good?” he asked.

I nodded, though my body still thrummed with adrenaline.

“Let’s get out of here, before he returns with reinforcements,” I said.

Without another word, we slipped back into the car, leaving the gas station and Gael behind us.

I started the engine and we pulled back onto the empty road.

My mind replayed Gael’s words, like venom sinking deep under my skin.

Finn was the only piece of my old life, my true life, that I’d managed to hold onto.

He was the one reminder of who I used to be even after everything Beric had stripped away. But what if Gael was right?

What if Finn would one day wake up and look at me, and instead of love in his eyes, I’d find regret?

“You really okay?” Finn asked.

I managed a nod, not trusting myself to speak yet.

Finn had given me the one thing I thought I’d never feel again: the hope of a life beyond Beric, beyond blood and violence.

And I wanted that life with him so fiercely it ached.

I had dragged Finn into this mess, asking him to turn his back on everything he’d known and trust me.

It was a selfish choice, and yet I’d made it, driven by the hope that we could be each other’s salvation. But was that even fair to him?

“Gabriel?” Finn’s voice interrupted the spiral of my thoughts.

I stopped the car and turned to look at him. Finn looked concerned.

“What happened back there? What’s your relationship with Gael?” Finn asked.

I took a few seconds, searching for the right words.

“Gael hated my guts the moment Beric turned me. He used to be Beric’s old favorite,” I said. “But he also knows exactly how to push my buttons.”

“What exactly did he say to you?” Finn demanded.

“He thinks you’ll regret being with me,” I finally admitted.

Honesty was the foundation of any relationship and I never ever wanted to lie to Finn.

I wondered what he was thinking, if there was any hesitation or doubt hiding in his heart.

Finally, he reached over, his hand slipping into mine, his fingers lacing through mine.

“Then he doesn’t know me at all,” Finn said, his voice full of quiet confidence.

He gave my hand a squeeze. Finn continued, “I’m here because I chose this, Gabriel. No one forced me to. I know what I left behind. And I know why I left it behind.”

I looked at him, something loosening in my chest at his words, at the conviction in his voice. But the fear lingered.

“You say that now, but what about in a month? A year? When we’re still hiding, still on the run?” I swallowed, fighting to keep my voice steady.

Finally, I continued, “Finn, I’m...I’m not sure I can give you the life you deserve. And Gael, he’s always there to remind me of what I am, what I’ll always be. A monster who traded one cage for another.”

Finn turned to me, his gaze sharp, full of defiance.

“That’s not who you are to me, Gabriel. I know who you really are. And I’m not going to run away because things get hard.” His hand tightened around mine.

I wanted to believe him, but the fear was rooted deep, coiled around my heart like a vice.