I gestured over at the detective and waved them back over.
“Mom, listen to me. Remain calm, okay? Don’t put me on speaker phone, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Sophie has had some sort of mental breakdown. She’s not stable right now. Where are you?”
“In the kitchen. I’m making her a cup of tea.”
“Mom, get her out of the kitchen away from the knives. Take your tea out to the balcony and we’re on the way. Is Dad there?”
“No, dear. He’s gone to his meeting.”
“So it’s you and her. Tell her I’m on the way to make it up to her. Okay?”
“Okay,” I could hear the fear in her voice. “It’s going to be fine, Mother. Just keep calm. Don’t defend me. Be on her side. I’m on the way and I’m bringing the police.”
“See you soon, dear.”
“Sophie is keeping my mother captive. She’s having some sort of breakdown. You need to come with me.”
The detective nodded and we hurried out of the building. I sat shotgun in the detective’s car and I led the police to our home. They pulled up as quietly as they could with no lights or sirens. That would be all Sophie needed to go off on my mom. I still didn’t know what Sophie was capable of, but it was obvious something was wrong and she couldn’t be trusted. If she hurt my mother…I couldn’t even let myself go there.
I paused on the doorstep. I whispered to the officer, “Please let me go in first. I want to make sure my mother is okay. Please.”
“Okay, but once we come in, don’t get in the way, Mr. Gregory.”
“You can trust me.” I walked into my parents’ home, walking past the kitchen and out the French doors to the balcony that overlooked the pools below. Mom was there, standing stiffly on a step as if she were ready to run at any minute.
I spotted Sophie, and although I wanted to scream at her for screwing everything up, I knew it was essential to keep calm. “Sophie, I didn’t know you were meeting me here. What’s going on? Mom, are you okay?” She nodded but stared at Sophie. She didn’t have any weapons that I could see but her makeup was running all over the place. Quite frankly, she looked like a mess.
“I told her about what happened! I told her how badly you treated me today! How could you, Gabe? All I have ever done is love you!” She took a swing at me with her fist but she missed. I could smell alcohol on her breath—obviously, she’d been drinking heavily since fleeing Sea Lab. Maybe even beforehand.
“Everyone freeze! This the Destiny Beach Police Department. Now, Miss Maguire, you need to come with us, ma’am. This is an ongoing investigation and you need to come with us.”
“Fuck you!” Sophie screamed. She launched herself at me but the younger cop intercepted her and restrained her easily. Sophie continued screaming curses and nasty names at everyone as he was leading her out of the house in handcuffs.
The detective paused on the doorstep. “Mr. Gregory, thank you for your cooperation earlier. I’ll need to take your mother’s statement and then I’ll get out of your hair.”
“No problem. Where are they taking here? I think she needs some professional help, not jail time,” I asked, watching the cop load Sophie into the back of a squad car that had arrived minutes before.
“The officers will be taking her to the Meadows to let them evaluate her. If she doesn’t qualify for a psych hold, then she goes to jail. If the Meadows keeps her, it will be for thirty, sixty or ninety days. That’s all up to them.”
I nodded. I had no idea what had caused Sophie’s break, and while she’d hurt Pepper and nearly ruined everything, I still had a long history with her and hated to think of her behind bars in some dingy jail cell. “Thank you, Detective. Now I better check on my mother.”
Dad rolled into the driveway as the cop car was backing down the street. He snapped his head around at the sight of Sophie in the back of the car. “What in the world is going on here?” he hollered as soon as he exited his car.
“Dad, I can explain but right now, I need to check on Mom.”
“Is she hurt? Adrian? Adrian? Move, boy!” He ran into the house and found her sitting on a padded chair on the balcony. She was talking to the detective, one of her chenille throws tossed about her shoulder. She sipped from a glass of water someone had brought her. “Adrian!”
“Here I am, James. I’m fine. No fussing, now. Really, I’m fine.” I followed Dad out the area and sat across from them. “As I was telling the detective, I was shocked by all of this. I couldn’t believe how she was behaving. We’ve known Sophie forever, and she was always such a nice girl. What could have made her snap like that? I’ve never heard her cuss and swear like she did. Could she have been on drugs or something? I heard the reefer makes you go crazy!”
I smiled. “Mom, do you even know what ‘the reefer’ looks like?”
“No, but I bet she does. Oh, my God! Are you doing the reefer, too?”
“Mom, no one is doing drugs. Sophie just had some kind of mental break. You know she hasn’t been that strong since her father passed a couple of years ago. I mean, I always knew she liked me but apparently she has some sort of obsession I never knew about. She thought we were dating and that Pepper was a publicity stunt. The whole thing was really ugly. Speaking of, I really need to go see Pepper and make things right.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw the text from Pepper. I smiled, knowing things were going to be all right.
“I have to go!” I told my parents.
“Of course, son,” Dad said, wrapping an arm around my mom.
“I’m finished here. I’ll call if we need anything else,” the detective announced, rising from his seat. “I can give you a ride back to Sea Lab, if you need one.”
“That would help.” I followed him out and we went back to Sea Lab where my car was parked. I thanked him for his help and dialed Pepper’s number as soon as I was alone. She didn’t answer, so I dialed Mills’ number—still no answer. Worry started creeping in.
I jumped in my car and spun out to go to the marina. If a cop had wanted to pull me over, he’d have to follow me to the marina because I was not stopping until I knew my girl was okay. Poor Mills was pregnant and sick. I slung around the big curve in the highway and kept going. I drove like a lunatic down the long slope that led to the harbor. I got out, barely putting my car in park and ran to the boat.
“Pepper!” I yelled as I ran down the gangway. “Pepper!” By the time I got there, a blonde head was appearing at the top of the stairs that led to the cabin below. She smiled when she saw me and relief washed over me.
“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
“Oh, sorry. I turned it off. I didn’t think you were going to answer me and it was ringing off the hook since Mills’ little stunt.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but all I cared about was that both she and Mills were safe.
“I didn’t want to answer any questions from magazines or photogs. I’m sorry. Why? What is it?”
“Where is Mills?”
“She’s downstairs eating and resting. Today wore her out.” She zeroed in on my face and looked concerned. “You look winded. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I am now.” I paused to finish catching my breath.
“What’s going on, Gabe?” She touched my shoulder and I finally relaxed.
“Sophie came to my house and threatened my mother. I was scared. I thought maybe she’d come after you, too. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“Not since I bitch-slapped her in your office. I’m sorry about that, by the way. I had no right to act so stupid.”
“It’s okay. As long as you’re okay.” I pulled her into my arms and breathed in the scent of her hair that was fluttering around her shoulders in the breeze.
“Say you forgive me,” she mumbled against my chest.
“I do forgive you. Now, let’s check on Mills. What did you mean when you said her little stunt? What happened?”
“Oh, I�
�ll let her tell you that herself,” Pepper answered, rolling her eyes before leading me down to the cabin.
“Really? I’m dying to know what’s happening.” I was almost afraid. These girls were known to raise a little hell, and if even Pepper thought Mills had gone too far this time, it was bound to be a doozy.
Downstairs, it looked like an office had been set up on the small dining table. Two laptops and a tablet were all lit up and Mills was typing away in between taking bites of a salad she was working on.
I gawked at the sight. “What are you up to, Mills?”
“Oh, hey, Gabe. Did you two kiss and make up?” She smiled proudly as she munched a healthy salad.
I nodded and Pepper smiled at me. Suddenly, I wished we were alone. I adored Mills, but right now, I needed Pepper all to myself.
Mills continued. “Well, Evangeline thought she was going to steal all the headlines today with her lies about Pepper. I decided to make her suffer. I announced my pregnancy on social media about an hour ago and now nobody is talking about her at all. What good are the paparazzi if you can’t use them yourself every now and again? Fallon thinks it’s funny. I’m texting with him now.”
Before I could say another word—not that I could think of anything—my phone started ringing again. It was Doug Anderson.
“Hello, Mr. Anderson,” I answered. Pepper and Mills both snapped to attention at my greeting.
“Hello, Gabriel. I’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon. I have another favor to ask of you,” he said.
“I’m sorry, sir, there’s been a lot going on.”
“Yeah. Here, too. Listen, it’s a madhouse here. I need you to take care of the girls till things can get contained over here. Can you do that?”
“Of course.”
“Remember, under no circumstances are they to come back to the house. And a hotel probably isn’t a good idea, either. Someone will sell them out and then the swarm will migrate.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.” I hung up and looked from Pepper to Mills and back again. “That was your dad. You two are coming back to my house. He said the paps are even worse since Mills’ announcement. You can’t go back to the house.”
“Oh, God,” Pepper groaned.
“Do you have ice cream?” Mills smiled at me, sitting on her knees like a kid.
“I have four or five flavors. I’m totally addicted to ice cream. But I don’t have any pickles,” I joked with her.
“Ew, gross. What are you trying to do, make me sick?”
“Come on, sicko. Let’s get you moved to a less wobbly location.” We cleaned up the kitchen while she packed up the electronics. I watched Pepper putting the glasses away. She stretched to reach the tall cabinet and I caught the twinkle of gold on her ankle. She’d found my present to her. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Here, let me help you, dolphin girl. Love of my life.”
“Am I?”
“Are you a dolphin girl?”
She smacked my arm playfully, “No, you know that’s not what I mean.”
“Yes, you and only you are the love of my life.”
“Gross! Yuck! You two are disgusting,” Mills complained, dragging her bag upstairs.
Pepper called after her, “That would be much more convincing if I hadn’t seen you and Fallon sucking face earlier.”
“Shut up!” she laughed. “I’m going to wait upstairs!”
I pulled Pepper close. “I love you,” I whispered in her ear.
“I love you more,” she whispered back.
I wove a hand through her hair and tipped her head back to get the perfect angle as I leaned over to kiss her perfectly pink pout. She moaned as the kiss deepened and I knew she’d been waiting for that kiss just as much as I had. It seemed like it had been forever since I’d held her this way and I didn’t want to let her go. My tongue parted her lips and tangled with hers, loving the fresh taste of mint and strawberry as I explored her mouth. I skimmed her stomach with my fingertips, and she shuddered and pressed closer to me.
The feeling of her breasts pressed against me got me rock hard. I rolled my hips against her so she could feel my excitement for her.
“Gabe!” Pepper giggled but didn’t pull away. “My sister is upstairs.”
“I know,” I groaned and kissed a hot trail down her neck. “I can’t help it, though. I need you. Now.”
“Mmmm.” Pepper sighed. “Can we go to your place now? Mills will probably crash out early. Maybe we could sneak off to the lagoon again?”
I gave her one more kiss and then released her. “Let’s get out of here!”
She laughed again and helped finish packing up with record speed.
Chapter Ten — Pepper
It was late when we finally got back to Gabe’s place and settled down for the night. I’d called my attorney and spent an hour talking to him about the things Evangeline was saying. Gabe had insisted on cooking for me while I took care of business, although, truthfully, all I wanted to do was drag him out to the lagoon for our promised night of passion under the stars.
But, I knew I had to be patient. And Gabe was worth it.
I watched him cooking and he threw me a wink. I was so lucky.
After dinner, Mills crashed out in front of the TV. Some entertainment channel was talking about the “bombshell news” but then Mills’ name crawled across the screen. The ticker said, “Baby Heiress Is Having Baby.”
She laughed at the whole thing but I still wasn’t sure she’d done the right thing. Something about it was nagging at me. Finally, I told her she needed to call it a night. I snatched the remote from her and turned off the TV, no longer able to listen to one more word about any of it. Mills didn’t argue and curled up in the big Panama-style bed in Gabe’s spare room.
“I love you, Mills.”
“I love you, too, Pep. I did good today, didn’t I? We really got her, didn’t we?”
I paused. There was no point in dumping my anxiety on her, so I answered, “It’s all going to work out, I promise. Now go get some rest. I’ve got get up in the morning and go to work.”
“Work? You’re going back to Sea Lab?”
“Of course. I’m not going to let Sophie or Evangeline stop me from my destiny. You need to stay here, though. Dad will flip if anything happens to you.”
“I know. I need a day off anyways. Will you say goodbye to me before you leave, though?”
“Of course, I will. Good night, sis.”
I shut off Mills’ light and went down the hall to Gabe’s bedroom. I smiled as I looked around the room. It felt right being here with him. It felt like Gabe. The California King bed was made up with sleek, high thread-count sheets in a slate grey. I sat down on the edge and sank into the soft mattress.
Gabe appeared from the en suite bath and smiled at me. “You still wanna go out to the lagoon?” He wiggled his eyebrow at me.
“Mmm. I think I changed my mind.”
He looked surprised, and slightly hurt. “Oh, okay.”
I smiled up at him and pulled my shirt off, revealing my black lace bra. “I thought maybe a change of venue would be nice.”
“Aha!” He pulled off his own shirt and my eyes grew wide at his muscled form as he stalked across the room like a big cat hunting prey.
He reached me and I wrapped my legs around his hips. “I’m so happy I’m here with you.” He ran his finger over the delicate anklet.
“Thank you,” I said, looking down at the sweet gift. “It’s beautiful.”
Gabe brought his eyes back to mine. “You’re beautiful.”
He was so sweet. I wasn’t used to guys being so genuine and kind. It was all just parts of Gabe that combined into the man I loved. I felt tears building in my eyes but I didn’t want to ruin the sexy mood.
“Come here,” I said, tugging on his firm arms.
He lowered his head and kissed my lips, sweetly at first, but then deepened the kiss and left me breathless within seconds. I let my hands wander down his smooth
chest and abs, tracing the little v-lines at his hips. He groaned and I smiled against his lips. I loved getting him riled up. I grazed my fingertips against his firm cock but then pulled away.
Gabe grabbed for my hand, trying to drag it back. “You’re killing me. You know that, right?”
I laughed, looking up at his tortured expression as I continued to resist him. “I do. But that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?”
“You think so? Well, turn about’s fair play.” With a quick move, he spun me around and pinned me to the bed on my stomach. Gabe kissed his way down my spine, sending shivers and tingles all through my body as his warm palms slid down my sides. He unhooked my bra and then spun me back around, letting the bra drop to the floor by my feet. He traced the outsides of my breasts, circled around my hard nipples, before sliding back to my bellybutton.
“What do you say we lose these shorts?” he said, already unbuttoning the top.
“That’s an excellent idea,” I purred.
He lowered the shorts and ran his fingertips on the outside of my panties that were already soaked through. I shivered as he pressed the outside of my pussy lips.
“I love your body, Pepper. You’re perfect.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.” I laughed and ran my fingers up his smooth abs.
He stopped talking and began kissing my breasts tenderly. He sucked a hard nipple into his mouth and I cried out at the sweet pleasure. “Gabe!”
As he teased my breasts with his lips and tongue, his fingers found the edge of my soft panties and slid against my bare skin, slick with my wetness. I arched against him and leaned back on the bed as he quickly had me frenzied with desire, panting and clawing my way up his body.
“Yes, Gabe! Yes! More!”
He thrust his fingers deep inside me, tearing my panties. “Oh, shit! I’m sorry, Pepper.”
“Don’t stop! Rip them off!”
Gabe flashed a wicked grin and ripped away the thin fabric with one tear, leaving me completely naked before him. I was dripping wet and I pulled at Gabe’s hand, needing him back inside me.
Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set Page 33