Always and Forever

by L. A. Fiore

  This was how Mr. Payne found her, sobbing in the midst of the destruction she had caused.

  "Well, I say it's about time. I always hated this room."

  Quinn lifted her head and stared at Mr. Payne wondering how long the man had been standing there. She lifted her hands to wipe at her eyes and saw the mess she had made of them.

  "Oh dear," Mr. Payne immediately hurried over pulling his handkerchief from his pocket so he could wrap Quinn's hands in the silk.

  "We need to get these tended." He met Quinn's gaze. "Are you ready to leave now?"

  Quinn scanned the results of her flip out and was satisfied to see that everything in the room had been destroyed before her focus turned back to Mr. Payne.

  "Yes."

  A few hours later, Quinn was lying down on the sofa in the library, a warm blanket covering her, as a fire burned in the grate. Her hands were bandaged and in lieu of pain killers she had two three-fingers of scotch, so she was feeling happily numb. She heard Gabriel's heavy footfalls as he came down the hall. He appeared in the doorway and she felt her heart flip over in her chest. He moved with such grace as he walked across the room then he hunched down in front of her. He gently lifted her one bandaged hand to hold in both of his.

  "Oh, love, what did you do?"

  Looking into his beautiful face she couldn't help but see him as a child on the streets of Dublin, as the child beaten in the accursed room upstairs, and her tears started again.

  "Shh, love, please don't cry."

  "Did you know?"

  A hardness came into his voice when he replied, "No."

  "I killed the room and I'm not sorry."

  He stroked her hair but a smile curved his lips. "I only wish I was here to help you. Maybe I could have prevented you from butchering your hands."

  "It was a small price to pay for the satisfaction of destroying that hateful room."

  "Quinn, my own avenging angel."

  The effect of the alcohol was starting to take its toll as her lids grew heavy and when she spoke, her words were barely audible. "If anyone ever deserved an angel, it would be you, Gabriel."

  He pulled her blanket up and pressed a kiss to her forehead as love swelled in his chest for the magnificent creature before him. He waited until her breathing evened out into that of sleep before he stood and walked to the fireplace.

  Mr. Payne walked in at that moment. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize she was up there until I heard the sobs."

  "Her hands?"

  "Cut everywhere but nothing that required stitches. They should be fine in a few days." Mr. Payne took a thoughtful pause before he asked, "Should I clean up the room?"

  "No!" It came out in a roar as all the feelings assailing Gabriel wrecked havoc on him, but he softened his voice and added, "No, just lock it up."

  "Very well." Mr. Payne said and turned to leave the room as he added, "I'm glad she destroyed it. I never liked that room, bad vibes up there."

  Gabriel replied flatly, "Evil vibes."

  After Mr. Payne departed the room, Gabriel reached for his cell phone and called Nicholas. He didn't waste time with greeting his friend before he asked, "Did you know?" The question was so softly spoken but there was no mistaking the thread of barely controlled fury.

  "Gabriel, what's happened?" Nicholas asked with genuine concern.

  "The place I made roots, the place I brought Quinn, did you know it belonged to that bastard Scarcliff the first?"

  Nick's gasp of shock wasn't feigned. "Jesus, I didn't know. Gabriel, I honestly didn't know."

  Some of Gabriel's rage abated at his friend's sincere denial since part of what fueled him was the idea that he had been deceived by someone he considered a friend.

  "How the hell did we miss that? I wouldn't have encouraged you to buy the place if I had known that bastard owned it. Why the hell didn't I know it had one time been Scarcliff property? It isn't documented in the family papers," Nick asked genuinely pissed and hearing his friend in temper had the rest of Gabriel's anger fizzing out.

  "I didn't know, my friend, but it's your home now. You've breathe a new life into the stone and wood." Nick paused for a moment before he asked, "You were just pissed thinking I had deceived you."

  "Yeah."

  "I value our friendship as much as you," Nick said sincerely.

  "That's what I wanted to hear. Good night, Nick and I'm sorry."

  "No apology needed my friend."

  Quinn woke with a searing pain in her hands and for a moment panic gripped her because she didn't recognize where she was. Then she heard Gabriel's soft voice coming from across the room. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she saw him sitting at the desk in the corner. His hair was a mess, as if he'd spent the past few hours pulling his hand through it. His oxford shirt was opened at the collar and his sleeves were rolled up. She climbed from bed and padded over to him.

  "Have you slept?"

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap burying his face in her neck so he could breathe her in.

  "No." He looked down and reached for her hand. "How are the hands?"

  "Sore."

  "Would you like me to get you something for them?"

  "No, it's not that bad." She looked down before she asked, "Are you mad?"

  He lifted her chin. "Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?"

  She shrugged but couldn't deny the relief she felt that her freak out hadn't upset him.

  "I'm mad that you hurt your hands but I'm not mad at you."

  He tucked her hair behind her ear and continued, "I can't explain it but I have impressions, memories really, that are not mine but in a sense they are. I know the kind of man and father Bryon Scarcliff was and how this place had never been a home to Archer."

  "I called Nick, while you slept, with the intent of reaming out my best friend but Nick didn't know about this house. We never discussed it openly but we both know there is a link between us that goes deeper than friendship. I didn't think that he would intentionally push a house on me that had an unpleasant history, one that I am somehow linked to, but I needed to be sure."

  "He's upset at himself because he didn't know that this place was linked to his family. He didn't see it documented anywhere."

  "It isn't. Archer hated this place so when he became Earl he sold it and erased every reference of it from Scarcliff history. I am sorry, Gabriel, that you unknowingly purchased a place you vowed never to return to."

  "What makes a home is not the history of the place and who lived there but who lives there now. I don't care about the past of this place, only the present and the future." He ran his finger along her jaw before he added, "But I can't deny that I'm damn glad you trashed that room."

  "Mr. Payne must think I'm crazy."

  In a fluid move, Gabriel rose, with Quinn in his arms, and started for the bed. "Quite the contrary. I think he's prepared to give you a medal, maybe even declare a Quinn day."

  "Really?"

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Yes." When he placed her in the bed, he thought how very small and delicate she looked.

  "Aren't you coming to bed?" she asked as she settled more deeply into the warmth of the blankets.

  "Soon."

  Her voice was soft but fierce when she vowed, "You can sleep now, Gabriel, you're not alone anymore. I'll protect you."

  And in that moment he fell completely and irrevocably in love with her, again. His voice was thick with emotion when he whispered, "I love you."

  Surprise flashed across her face then it turned to a look of love and finally a grin curved her lips as she whispered, "I said it first."

  His chest hurt from the magnitude of love he felt for her and long after she fell asleep he remained at her side watching over her.

  It was dark and cold, his breath exhaled into mist, as a chill seeped into his bones. He was running through the blackness as his hands blindly searched but came away empty. Something infinitely worse than fear gripped him. He looked for
her, shouted her name, but his desperate calls went unanswered. He searched the house and beyond, every room and every patch of trees, but she wasn't there and then he heard her call. Blindly, he followed the sound of her voice as he prayed that he was not too late. When he found her she was huddled in a corner, her hair a mess as it hung dirty and tangled over her face. She called to him, reached her hand out to him, but as he stepped forward he felt it, felt death breathing down his neck. He turned to look the Reaper in the eyes and heard the sound of a gun shot. He instinctively reached for his chest, to the smoldering wound that would seal his fate and take him from his love, but he was unmarked. It was then that he realized how very quiet it had become. He turned to see her lying on the ground, a red spot spreading over the white of her blouse. Her silver-gray eyes were dull, the light that burned in them was fading, as she clutched the wound that was slowly stealing her life away. He tried to staunch the flow of blood but with each pump of her heart the closer she came to death.

  "No!" he roared in anguish as he pulled his shirt over his head and pressed it to the wound but he knew when her eyes fixed on his that she was leaving him and this brought searing pain to his chest. He watched as the light of her life started to dim and she reached for his hand to hold it over her heart. Love flickered in her eyes and then her body spasmed and the hold on his hand weakened. Her beautiful eyes dimmed until they looked at him but did not see.

  Gabriel woke with a start as his heart pounded hard against his ribs. He reached for Quinn, who was sleeping peacefully at his side, and pulled her into his arms. She sighed and in sleep her arms came around him to hold him close. He pushed the last remnants of the nightmare from his mind as the reassurance of her warm body cradled against his settled him back into sleep.

  The attic was huge, damp, musty and so full of dust that Quinn felt her sinuses packing up to leave. Gabriel was called away for a meeting and wasn't expected home until the morning so she decided to explore the attic: the last place in the house that she had left to see. As she walked around poking into the boxes Quinn wondered if any of this could possibly be from Archer's time. How many families had owned this house after Archer's father and before Gabriel?

  She didn't know how long she spent going through the boxes but clearly there had been many families who called this place home, based on the span of years for the items that were left behind. It was in the last box that Quinn made a disturbing discovery. This box was filled with stuff on Gabriel, pictures of him when he was younger, articles on his businesses, even an old news clipping. She pulled it out and sat down on the floor to read it and felt a shiver of dread when she read about his attempted murder. Quinn was happy to read that they caught the shooter but it was disturbing to learn that someone had tried to kill him. There was no date on the article but the thought that Gabriel almost died terrified Quinn. Who would want to kill him? And why hadn't he ever mentioned it to her?

  She left the attic and decided to have dinner in his room while she watched some television. Later, she grew bored so shut off the television and walked into the dressing area just so she could smell him and feel closer to him. There was a well-worn shirt in the back of his closet, clearly a favorite of his, so she slipped out of her own clothes and pulled the soft cotton over her skin. His scent enveloped her as she closed her eyes and breathed him in. She walked back to the bed and climbed in but as soon as she rolled onto her side, she felt something sharp digging into her ribs. She reached down and found a concealed pocket on the inside of the old oxford and that was when she found the ring, a wedding ring of diamonds and platinum. But it was the inscription on the ring that broke her heart.

  Always and Forever, Gabriel

  She just sat there holding the ring, evidence that his heart had belonged to someone else, someone he clearly loved deeply because he still carried her ring. It was then that she remembered Ireland and the look of devastation on Gabriel's face. He had lost his wife. How could he fail to tell her something as significant as the fact that he had, at one time, been married and that his wife had died? He didn't tell her of the murder attempt. What else hadn't he told her?

  She couldn't describe the emotions that were running rampant in her at the thought of Gabriel loving another, marrying another. She pulled the shirt off and headed back into the dressing room to dress in her own clothes. Her vision blurred as she blindly stuffed things into her bag. She had really believed that she and Gabriel had something special, rare enough that even time couldn't keep them apart, but how special could it be if he had married another? She wiped at her eyes as she placed the ring into the pocket of the shirt then hung it back where she found it. She finished packing and called for a cab and then she made her way downstairs to the front door but was stopped by Mr. Payne.

  "Quinn?"

  "Please. I need to leave."

  "Shouldn't you wait until Gabriel comes back?" he asked, his expression was one of sympathy.

  "I can't."

  "Whatever you think you know he deserves to explain himself."

  "Let her go, Tommy." Mrs. Payne offered but there was a tone in her voice that had Quinn eying her and it was then that Quinn realized, despite her manners, Mrs. Payne was not a big fan of hers.

  Quinn dismissed Mrs. Payne's obvious disregard and met Mr. Payne's gaze squarely. "There isn't an explanation that can make it any better."

  "Are you sure about that?" he asked and in that moment he looked so very wise.

  Quinn thought of Gabriel loving a woman so much that he married her, one whose ring he still carried around with him, before she replied, "Yes."

  Mrs. Payne disappeared inside and moments later the cab arrived. Quinn hugged Mr. Payne.

  "Take care of him."

  And without another word she walked down the path and climbed into the cab.

  Gabriel could not wait to get home to see Quinn. He missed her so damn much. When he walked into his house, he called out her name, dropped his bags by the door and started towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. He worked the tie from his neck as his long legs carried him down the hall towards his bedroom, their bedroom, and caught himself grinning at the thought that she was already in bed. He wasn't going to let her out of it for at least twenty-four hours, maybe forty-eight.

  He couldn't help feeling disappointment when the room was empty, not even her scent hung in the air, but it wasn't until he walked into the dressing room to change that he realized something was wrong. Her things were gone and as he pulled the drawers open he felt panic grip him. A quick search of the bathroom showed her things were cleared out of there too. He was just coming from his room, heading down the hall, when Mr. Payne appeared and he knew from the saddened look on the butler's face that Quinn had left him.

  "Where the hell is she?"

  "She left last night and by the look of her something she discovered devastated her."

  Gabriel felt his throat closing up even as self-loathing burned through him. He turned and disappeared into his room. He just stood there blindly staring at the wall. He hadn't come this far to fuck it all up now, he needed to find her. He started to pull his clothes from the closet to pack when he noticed the shirt in the back, hanging slightly askew on the hanger. He reached for it and pulled out the ring, felt the anger rising in him. Damn, no wonder she left. He should have told her. He pocketed the ring and finished packing. He'd find her and explain everything, like he should have from the very beginning.

  Two days later, Gabriel stood in Quinn's cottage but she clearly hadn't come back here. Cole and Nick stood next to him.

  "What the hell is going on?" Cole asked.

  "You need to tell him, Gabriel." Nick offered quietly.

  Gabriel was so angry at himself and how his hesitation in telling Quinn everything had inadvertently hurt her. He had to find her but first he had some explaining to do. He looked at Nick for a minute before he turned to Cole. "This is a conversation best had over scotch."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Qu
inn was walking down Grafton Street in Dublin. She should be in her hotel room looking over the file she had collected from Charles before leaving the Cotswolds so abruptly a week ago but she couldn't get Gabriel off her mind. They needed to talk but she just wasn't ready for that conversation: to hear the details of his marriage and his wife.

  It wasn't a coincidence that she came to Gabriel's birth place and as she walked along, despite the tourists and the history, Quinn couldn't imagine a seven-year-old surviving these streets because they were definitely a bit scary. As if on cue, her cell phone rang.

  "Quinn, it's Tessa. I've been thinking about who could have been working with Derek, who would have known what the glyphs meant, and there really can only be one person. She studied with us at University and did her dissertation on Mayan mediation rituals. You actually met her a few times. Anyway, I've been doing a bit of research on her and have found several publicity photos of her with Derek from his earlier digs but nothing lately."

  "Can you send me a copy of her photo?" Quinn asked.

  "Yes." Tessa replied.

  "What's her name?"

  "Constance Danvers."

  "Shit," Quinn said under her breath.

  "What?" Tessa asked in concern.

  "Long story. How much do you think she would have aged based on your theory?"

  Tessa exhaled loudly. "It's just a guess and it all depends on how many times she went back."

  "I know, but ballpark. Say she went back at least fifteen times?"