Chapter 6 - The Sovereign ShieldGabriel Hart stood over Dennis in the rainy alley, his six-foot-three frame cutting a terrifying, monstrous shadow under the streetlights.
He held Dennis by his collar with one hand, lifting the man’s feet three inches off the wet pavement, his slate-gray eyes burning with a dark, murderous fury that made the air in the alley go dead silent.
"You put a blade against Clara Vance," Gabriel whispered, his baritone dropping into a low, lethal register that made Dennis weep in pure, unadulterated terror.
"Mr. Hart! Please! I was drunk! I didn't mean it!" Dennis sobbed, his hands clutching frantically at Gabriel's iron wrist. "Don't kill me! Please!"
Two broad-shouldered security operators from Gabriel's private team stepped out from the black sedan parked near the alley entrance, their weapons held at low-ready.
Gabriel didn't throw a punch. He didn't lose his composure. He simply looked at Dennis as if he were a piece of insect filth clinging to his boot.
"Marco," Gabriel commanded softly, without taking his eyes off Dennis.
"Yes, Boss?" Marco responded instantly.
"Take Mr. Cole to the State’s Attorney's office," Gabriel ordered cleanly. "Hand over the complete inventory embezzlement files from the hotel. Ensure he serves the maximum fifteen-year sentence for commercial fraud and felony assault."
"Understood, Boss," Marco nodded, pulling Dennis’s sobbing, broken frame away, shoving him into the back of a secondary transport vehicle.
Gabriel turned around instantly, stepping toward where I stood against the brick wall, his dark coat wet with rain, his face wild with deep, panicked concern.
"Clara," Gabriel murmured, his broad hands coming up to gently frame my face, his warm thumbs stroking my cheekbones, checking my neck and shoulders for injuries. "Did he cut you? Are you hurt?"
I looked up into his gray eyes—seeing zero fear, seeing only the immense, fierce, and protective love that burned inside his soul for my son and me.
I reached up, my hands wrapping around his wet wrists, leaning my forehead gently against his broad, warm chest under the falling rain.
"I'm fine, Gabriel," I whispered softly, my voice thick with emotion. "I'm completely fine because you came."
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Gabriel let out a long, shuddering breath, his broad arms wrapping tightly around my waist, pulling me flush against his solid frame, burying his face into my hair, holding me as if I were the most precious treasure in the entire city.
"I will always come for you, Clara," Gabriel promised softly into the rain. "Always."
