If God’s plan really was about making things right, shouldn’t he have ensured the remaining victim’s happiness? The truth this implied shook Gabriel’s newly-found faith, but at this point, their quest was no longer about him.
Abaddon had fallen into his life like a meteorite made of gold and precious stones, changing everything with his kindness, and he deserved the same in return. If Gabriel, the pathetic worm who’d never before deserved acknowledgment, had the means to help him into Heaven, that was what he would do.
Even if it meant walking into the lion’s den and looking into its jaws with a smile.
He combed back his hair and once more rearranged his hoodie as if it could matter in this situation. Done with the stalling, he knocked on Martinez’s door.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about this place—a single storey motel like many he’d seen in the movies, with patterned curtains that didn’t block out all of the light. Still, despite the snack vending machine standing nearby, or the relaxed music coming from the reception, he had wasps crawling up and down his back. Anything could happen when this human-shaped beast was around.
The click of the lock felt like a sting, and it must have poisoned Gabriel with a paralyzing agent, because he could neither move nor breathe when the door opened.
Was Abaddon watching or had he managed to get into Martinez’s car, like they’d agreed?
Martinez’s face went slack, and he leaned against the door frame, a wolf dressed as the family dog, in a Florida T-shirt and sweatpants. But looks deceived, and the generic room behind him already smelled of the blood sticking to the beast’s fur.
“I’ll be damned! How did you get here, boy? Did someone drop you off for me?” Martinez asked as his body language changed, becoming more confident with each passing second.
Gabriel hid his hands in his sleeves. He didn’t have the first idea about being seductive, but he didn’t think that would matter to the man. Martinez liked him uncomfortable and shy, and wanted that power over someone more than he cared for his exterior or affection.
“I hitchhiked,” Gabriel said through the tightness in his throat. “I didn’t want Father John to know I came here. I just didn’t know who else I could talk to about this.”
‘Pump up his ego,’ Abaddon had said. ‘Convince him you are craving a man so much you no longer care what he’d done. Plus, he still thinks you believe you had delusions’.
Martinez bit his lip, but that only made his smile creepier. “He’s not as saintly as it might appear,” he said before leaning forward to place his dirty hand on Gabriel’s arm. Fire ants crawled under Gabriel’s skin from the touch, but Gabriel summoned his best acting skills and leaned in, despite feeling like the evil running through this man’s veins might end up contaminating him. “I saw you always looking at me, all thirsty. You’ve had enough living in the desert, boy?”
Gabriel licked his dry lips. He was certain his guardian angel would come for him even if Martinez dragged him into the room, but his nerves were on their last thread regardless.
“I want to know what it’s like to be with a man,” he muttered, keeping up the eye contact. Saying those words felt like an out-of-body experience, as if his soul were floating somewhere above while a puppeteer made his mouth move.
Martinez’s smile turned into a grin, and he tugged on Gabriel, pulling him into his trap.
Fear was like cold metal rods pushing into Gabriel’s flesh, but he caught himself in time and resisted, because Abaddon was counting on him, and yielding to pressure now would jeopardize everything.
“N-not here. I don’t want to be seen when I come out later. But there’s a place…”
Martinez frowned, leaning close enough to choke Gabriel with the peppery cloud he carried around him. “A place? What’s better than a bed, a bathroom, and a locked door?”
All of Gabriel’s body hair bristled and he looked around. “It’s a warm night. I’m already risking a lot by being here. There’s a spot we could park in by the forest.” Terror shook his heart when he realized there was no backup plan for a situation where Martinez refused his proposition He managed to force his lips into a smile. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Martinez watched him with eyes like copper daggers, but in the end he moved his hand down Gabriel’s body. It felt like having a venomous snake trail along unprotected flesh, and Gabriel fought to keep his eyes open for fear that he might see the past too clearly to stay in character.
“Desperate, aren’t you? And nobody else ever touched you?”
Nausea rose in Gabriel’s throat, but he crossed his arms, shaking his head. “I never get to meet anyone.” He thought back to the loving, tender way in which Abaddon touched him, to how patient his angel was and how focused on Gabriel’s pleasure. He hated needing to deny Abaddon’s existence, even for a noble goal. “You’d be my first.”