Gael's Naughty Angel: A Mafia Prince Romance

Chapter 506 – Dark Halls (2)

"What are you doing here?" Gael gently turned her around, his brows deeply furrowed as he studied her, briefly glancing behind her—probably at the guard. "Do you need something?"

How could he be so quiet? She didn't even hear him walk up to her from behind. Where did he come from and how long had he been back?

"No… I just." She cleared her throat. "I felt a little stuffy in the room. Can we get some fresh air?" Technically, she wasn't lying. She did feel boxed up in that room with no window. It felt like a dungeon in there despite all the things in the room. That's what this whole place felt like—a dungeon.

Taking her hand, Gael walked her back to where she came from. "We can't come up yet. At least for a couple more days."

Angela pursed her lips. Days? She had to stay down here for days without seeing the sun?

Noticing the sullen expression on her face, he paused and turned to face her. When she didn't meet his gaze, he hooked a finger under her chin until she did. She didn't know what he saw, but it made him sigh. "Fine. I'll bring you somewhere, but whatever or whoever you see, don't talk or look at them. Do you understand?"

It felt secret and dangerous, sending tingles down her spine. She nodded.

They turned into a fork, walked down a hallway, turned a couple more times, and then walked up a long staircase. She didn't know how he even knew where to go when it was dark and everything looked like a maze to her.

The door opened to a basement where a few people were lounging. As soon as they saw Gael, they got to their feet but he waved them off and pulled Angela very close to his side. Just like he told her, she looked away, looking anywhere else but them. They walked up to another staircase and landed on a hallway that looked like The Bunk only with a different wallpaper and furniture. 

They passed by a few more people as they continued to ascend two more flights of stairs. The men didn't speak, but she figured they were his soldiers, judging by them snapping up straight in his presence as he passed and not questioning why he was there.

Gael pulled her into the last door at the end of the hallway. A bedroom with a made-up bed and very few things except for a couple of water bottles on the nightstand.

"Where are we? And whose bedroom is this?" she finally asked.

"It's the house at the opposite end of the block where our soldiers stay. This is…Ace's bedroom."

"Oh…" She let her eyes wander and that's when she noticed a few personal items here and there, but there was barely anything else. The room was very tidy. It was weird being in this room when its owner was no longer alive.

Gael opened the window and a cool wind blew into the room. She joined him there, breathing in the smell of cold air that was actually refreshing—so much better than the room in the dungeons. They stared at the empty backyard outside. It was dark out, saved by some lights from the windows from other houses nearby.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Not as I expected." He stared at nothing in particular, pushing one hand into his pocket while the other limply hung on his side. "Ace's mother is devastated. That I was ready to face. I promised her I will take care of the funeral arrangements and naturally, I'll provide for her living expenses since her son is no longer here."

"That's kind of you…"

He shook his head. "It's what we do. Our people work for us for various reasons that they can't work for others. And while some of them are single, others have families or old, sick parents—all the more reason for them to stick to the job because they have no other options. It's either they starve out and die on the streets, or do our dirty work. They're family providers."

Angela swallowed. They didn't really have conversations like this. It's the first time that Gael openly talked about the situation with his soldiers. There was nothing to say, so all she did was reach for his hand and twine their fingers together.

"It's not the first time I had to look at the families my men left behind… Look into their eyes and tell them their son is dead. I don't do it for everyone. Just those who worked closely with me. But over the years, I've been in those situations a few times." Gael slid his stare to hers. "It's not the best feeling in the world."

 "You're a good leader," she told him, squeezing his hand.

He softly chuckled, which sounded more like a scoff. "I don't know, Angel. Like the others, I expected Ace's mother to lash out on me, call me names for letting her son die." She furrowed her brows but before she could tell him that's not fair, he added, "You know what she did? After she cried, she looked me in the eye and said… Thank you."

"She said…thank you?"

He laughed, but his laughter sounded cold. And he looked out the window again. "Can you believe it? I went there to tell her that her son died. She should be mad I let that happen. But instead, she thanked me. I've never heard that before. I already felt horrible on my way there, and now I feel like shit."

Angela's chest squeezed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he buried his face into her shoulder, inhaling her. He hugged her back carefully, not wanting to hurt her. She wasn't sure what to tell him. And he didn't expect her to tell him comforting words because her presence was already enough. Then she whispered, "We'll get through this."

It was as simple as that. She didn't have to say anything else. All it took were those four words and he felt better. Because no matter what happens in the future, he knew they would get through it together. 

They stayed like that, folded into each other's bodies by the window, enjoying both the cool wind and each other's warmth.

After a while, they closed the window and walked towards the door to the bedroom, ready to go back underground. But then Gael caught her elbow, stopping her. "There's something else I have to tell you."

His face was blank, making it hard for her to know what he was about to say. So she asked cautiously, "What is it?"

His jaw set and it took him a few beats before speaking again. "Yesterday. On my flight back to New York, one of the underground guards told me Leos asked to see you."

Angela was taken aback. That was something she did not expect. "Evan. He's down there too, isn't he?"

Gael only stared at her. And when he didn't answer, she tugged on his hand. "Gael…"

"I was driving back here when they called me about an hour ago." His jaw clenched and the words that came out of his mouth next made the hair on her nape stand on end.. "He's dead."