ANGELICA

This was the fifth day Angelica had been unable to sleep due to the darkness that clouded her dreams. Screams, bloodshed, pain and anguish filled her mind every time she closed her eyes. It got so bad the night before that she had left small scratch marks on Gabriel's chest, screaming for him to help her family. Screaming at him, asking him the same question over and over again.

"Why?".

She dreaded the sleep that was going to consume her that evening. She wasn't ready. She even tried to sleep next to her mother, to no avail. Somehow her nightmares were worse. She didn't know what to do, so she took up her time tending to the four injured guards in the east wing of the home she was in. she didn't recognise it as hers and Gabriel's. She hadn't worked for anything there, so why should it be labelled as hers?

Dragging her tired and somehow slimmer body to the stairs, she began to walk towards her destination. Walking through the door, she noticed a few more guards in there than normal. However this time, it was unusual. Whispering was heard and some few loud words were uttered.

"Boss", "Why?", "What do you kn-?".

She had no idea what was going on, and her heavy head didn't help either.

"What's going on?", she mustered. Each man paused and looked at their lady, slowly parting ways to give her access to the unconscious man in the bed. She gasped. He had awoken and seemed to be staring into the lights on the ceiling. Dimming them slightly, she walked up to him and began to check all his vital signs. Albeit hard, she overcame each hurdle and finalised his vitals list.

"How are you feeling?", Angelica muttered softly.

"Wat-". Grabbing the cup, she asked the men around her to elevate him so he could consume the liquid.

"One of you, please go down to the kitchens and ask for a clear soup. Possibly chicken and some black tea". Without further instruction, two men left the room, obeying what she had asked of them.

"How are you feeling?", she mustered again.

"Much better", the man smiled lightly with a hoarse voice. He looked to be in his late twenties.

"What is your name?".

"Zachary, ma'am".

"Well, Zach if I may? Could I please ask a few questions when you are ready?".

"Of course".

"Hmmm, it is only one. What happened at the warehouse?".

Each man in the room pricked their ears up to listen to what he had to say. He faced the brunt of the explosion, and oddly enough, according to non-obscurred footage, Zachary had a physical fight with a man trying to get away not long before. They know what he looked like, just not fully why he chose that specific warehouse to blow up.

"I was walking along the embankment and I-", he began coughing profusely, unaware to the people patiently waiting in the room, "and I saw this man. He didn't seem to notice me until I yelled out to him. He tried to pull out a gun, but I had gotten to him before he could do anything with his weapon. I fought with him hard, asking questions along the way, like why he was there. I got no reply, until he hit me on the head hard. He bent down and asked me to give....asked me to give you your regards, ma'am".

"Please do not call me that. Any of you. I have a name and would like you all to use it", Angelica muttered.

"Before I could get up, he ran, and the warehouse blew up. I felt sharp splinters enter my body and I tried to get up, but I stumbled at each step. You...you know the rest".

"You are very brave, Zachary", Angelica whispered.

Looking at him sadly, she sighed and stood up.

"Ma'-I mean Angelica, these were the records of the man who attacked Zachary. Usually we would show boss, but, it seemed he had a message for you specifically".

Looking down at the record in the mans hands, Angelica was stunned. She knew she wanted to help the injured men, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go as far as to look at records into what Gabriel did. However, she did hear correctly. The man told Zachary to give her his regards. Who could this man be? What did he want? As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything to anyone at all.

Shaking slightly, she tiredly took the folder out of the mans hands and silently thanked him. Making sure all was well, she walked towards Gabriel's office to give him the papers. Sighing, she couldn't keep it shut. Stopping a few metres away from his office doors, she opened the folder and gasped. Her body began to heat up and her eyes immediately shed tears. Before she knew it, dark spots began to cloud her vision, and she collapsed outside her husbands door, folder and papers strewn out on the floor in one hand, and the other open slightly, almost pointing towards Gabriel's door.

Just as her eyes closed, she faintly saw an array of shiny black shoes running towards her, and someone softly yelling her name.

GABRIEL

"Ma'am", "Lady", "My Baby!". Screams and footsteps were heard outside of Gabriel's office door. He was in an important meeting with his top men who worked and ensured safety and precaution around all his warehouses.

Realising what names were said, Gabriel slammed his chair back, running to see what was going on. Pulling his doors open with haste, he glanced at the commotion. What he saw worried and angered him. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well, but she assured him she could have dealt with the matter due to lack of sleep from studying. Running towards his wife, he picked her limp form up in his arms and ran to their room, shouting at men to get him a doctor or a nurse. Although he never let anyone enter his room, he advised against the rule. Her family was in tow, including her frantic mother who had tears streaming down her face.

Kicking open his bedroom doors, he laid his wife on the bed and felt her head. His mind was spinning. What had happened? Was she okay? How did she fall unconscious? Questions continuously ran through his mind, irking him to his core. Noting her mother stroke Angelica's head, he looked at her with a worried expression. Never had he been so openly vulnerable. Scared about what was going on. Especially because he had no idea as to what was happening.

"No", he thought. He had to be strong in front of his family. Or they would worry. Jackson was standing by the door with Angelica's brothers, tears in their eyes.

Standing up, he looked at one of his men.

"Meet me outside".

Waiting for a nurse to check on her, he left Angelica with her family. She deserved to wake up to them after all that had happened. She deserved to wake up and look at her mothers loving eyes. To see what she had been craving after he had stolen her away.

Sighing and holding his head, he walked towards his office, a few of his men sitting down and standing up inside.

"I want to know what happened and I want to know what happened now". He noticed Daniel looking at him from the corner of his office, nodding his head slightly.

"Boss, I am sorry. We saw her collapse by your office doors and ran to check if she was okay. These papers were next to her, scattered on the floor", one man said, handing him the folder, looking to the floor.

"We gave them to her boss. Zachary had woken up, and told us and the Lady that the man who attacked him in the CCTV footage asked him to give her his regards. As this was focused on her, the folder was given to her without hesitation", another man said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "She had helped Zachary only a few moments after he had woken up. She proceeded to ask him what had happened, waiting patiently for his answer, after she had asked one of us to get him some food".

The man stepped back alongside his fellow gang members, keeping his eyes down. No one wanted to anger the boss. He wasn't human when he was angry. He became insane. Driven with death and a lust for bloodshed.

Gabriel looked down at the folder and opened it up. A picture of a man was clipped to the other pages, along with all his details and life history. Gabriel stared at the the papers, skimming through things, but before he could read any further, Daniel came around and took the folder.

"That will be all", Daniel said angrily. The men trailed out of the office and closed the door behind them, leaving two guards outside the room, guarding their boss and right hand man.

Gabriel stared at Daniel as he there the folder onto the leather couch.

"Don't read any further Gabe. You won't like it. I need you to stay calm right now. Okay?".

Gabriel nodded, sighing angrily, thinking about his beautiful wife who was on cast onto the floor like a lifeless doll not hours before.

"He was the one".

"What does that mean Dan?!". Gabriel began to grow frustrated. He wanted to know what he had missed, to help him put all the pieces together. If a man - unauthorised - who attacked one of his gang members moments before his warehouse blew up asked for his regards to be sent, it only meant one thing.

She was a part of this now, as much as he and his gang were. She was known of, and that meant she was a target. A target for danger.

"He was the one who attacked her that night in the alley when she went looking for Greg. He is the lowlife scum who hurt her and raped her, just before Greg saved her. I recognise him from the searches we did, trying to look for him.", Daniel muttered slowly, worried for his friends reaction.

But there was none. Gabriel was silent, yet his muscles were tense. His eyes looked to be angry, but Daniel didn't miss the pain that shot threw them momentarily.

"All we can do is catch the bastard and make sure Angelica never goes through that pain again", Gabriel muttered. Turing away from Daniel, he looked at the photo of the man on his desk with hatred and burning anger. Daniel nodded and walked out the door, without a second glance.

Sitting in his chair for a while, Gabriel stood up and stretched. The day had been too long and he needed to check on his wife. Maybe she had awoken?

Walking to his room, he saw her family walking out slowly, with four guards surrounding them, including the one man in his gang who knew how to check vital signs.

"Boss, she's okay. She needs sleep". Nodding at his gang member, Gabriel watched him walk away, turning back towards her family. Each one patted his shoulder, Jackson lingering longer, thanking him with his eyes as if to say he was happy she was being protected.

Jas however, lingered by his bedroom door.

"Thank you, sweetheart", she said lightly. He hadn't been called that for years, and he closed his eyes, long enough for Jas to take his cheek in her palm, despite the height difference. He looked down at his mother in law, a tear dripping down his face.

"You will protect her, and us. I know you will", she let go of his cheek lovingly and held his hand, "she hasn't woken up, and as much as I want to be there, you need to be".

Gabriel looked at her in surprise.

"Don't you give me that. She may not have told me, but I can see her pain behind her eyes. I have a feeling she wasn't very willing to marry you, hmmm?".

"I-".

"No. Enough. You may have hurt her, but you can win her over. She will love you. She needs time". Kissing his hand, she patted his arm, walking away towards her bedroom. Sighing to himself, Gabriel entered his room and shut the door. His Angel lay soundly on the bed with a glass of water next to her. Her hair was messy yet somehow beautifully strewn behind her. The silkily locks adorning the bed sheets, complimenting her face shape. Her hands were by her sides, and her face was tilted to the side. Walking over to her, he lifted a stray piece of hair out of her face, stroking her cheek softly. Changing his clothes, he was in his closet, rubbing his eyes, until he heard sharp cry out for help.

Wasting no time, he ran into his room, and saw his wife, wide awake, crying and shaking violently. Her eyes were closed as he ran to her calling her name.

"Angel, shhhh". He wrapped his arms around her small shaking frame as she cried against his chest, fisting his shirt as jolts ran down her body.

"He-He knows I-",

"Shhhhh, I know my love. I know".

"What if he-".

"He won't. I promise you I will be there to protect you".

"He r-raped m--".

"Shhhh", he muttered again. Slowly, he began to rock her back and forth, humming an old tune to her softly. As time went by, her panic began to subside and all that was left were the tears rolling down her cheeks, still continuously wetting Gabriel's and her shirt. Slowly unwrapping his arms around her, he bent down and looked into her eyes.

"I will be back in ten seconds". True to his statement, he bought back one of his shirts and handed it to her. She didn't make a move.

"Do you want me to help you angel?", he asked softly. She nodded, lifting her arms above her head, he took her shirt off and quickly put his one on her body before he could glance at anything. He had never seen his wife so vulnerable. So fragile and so broken.

Stripping out of his own shirt, he pulled her up to his chest and got under the covers, wrapping her cold body up in his arms and the thick blanket. Running his hands softly through her hair, Gabriel realised her crying was becoming a rarity, and sniffles took place instead. Continuing to play with her hair, he began to humming the old tune once again, kissing her forehead, not realising that he was the reason she was about to have a peace filled sleep for the first time in days.