Warm squishiness returned to my stomach as I absorbed his words. Watching Gabe, I knew his words were the truth. I felt it in my gut.
“Cut him loose, Trent.”
Trent stepped to my side. “Willow, are you sure?”
I looked at Gabe. “Talk like Tack.”
Gabe’s dark eyebrow quirked. “I want you to believe me.”
The voice and the Irish accent were a perfect match to what I’d heard on the phone all those times I’d spoken to Tack as he protected me from a distance. I was drawn to him like I’d been to Gabe when we’d first met.
Trent looked at me with confusion. “Who is Tack?”
I kept staring at Gabe, who was looking straight at me. “The day I went to the station and learned Alex was an undercover cop, Gabe, who I knew as Tack, put an envelope in my car, which lead me to Cocktails. After that we saw each other at random places or we talked on a burner phone Gabe had given me. He spoke with an Irish accent.” Weariness crept in as the adrenaline rush left my body. For now, I wanted to get away from this situation.
There was a touch of hurt on Trent’s face. Through everything, we’d become close in a brother-sisterly way. I knew we’d be talking about this more in-depth later. “He had multiple opportunities to hurt me, Trent. Multiple.”
Gabe’s intense face relaxed.
Exhausted, I continued, “Cut him loose. He was in my room undetected. He called me to let me know he was here and wanted me to see who he was. He never put up a fight and stepped around Andre to make himself vulnerable.”
After stowing his gun, Trent pulled out one scary knife. “If I even think you’re up to something, Gabe, I won’t ask any questions.”
Meeting Trent’s stare, Gabe answered him calmly, “I would never hurt Willow. I’d die for her. I love her.”
Whoa. My hands trembled slightly. I set the glass down on the table. Abruptly, I stood, wanting space. “I need to rest. I’m going to go lie down for a bit.”
This was all too much, and I needed time and space to think. With Gabe’s admission of love, I had been shoved into territory I wasn’t prepared to face yet.
Bed. Thoughts. Sleep. That was my priority for now.
“What do you want me to do with Gabe?” Trent asked.
Both men watched me as I answered, “Whatever you think is safest.”
That was all I had left in me. Quickly, I rushed to the door.
“Willow.” Gabe’s voice halted me before I entered my room. My name was spoken like a prayer.
For a moment, my eyes closed as his voice penetrated that place only he was able to. Do not show your vulnerability, Willow. I straightened my shoulders and turned to him.
“This is too much for me right now. Gabe… you deceived me repeatedly over the last month. I’m pregnant with your child. You have a twin. You went under a pseudo name of Tack who I felt something for, too. You promised you wouldn’t lie to me. But deceit is the same thing.”
“I’ll make this right.” The words from Gabe were a vow that bounced around and took root inside of me. He had spoken similarly to me before he had been deployed and when he was Tack. I gripped the door handle to restrain myself from running into his arms and feel his comfort.
I nodded and thought, I hope so.
Trent watched our exchange. As soon as the door closed, I leaned against it and let out a long breath I had been holding. The familiar charge was there between us. Even through the door I felt Gabe on the other side. There was no doubt this man was not the same man I’d been married to.
He was most definitely the man I’d fallen in love with.
I tossed and turned through the night. It was still hard to wrap my head around it all, but in some ways, many of Gabe’s choices made sense.
Alex played the PTSD and guilt card well when he weaseled his way into my life. Thinking back to it all, Alex talked and walked like Gabe. He had been Gabe except for his soul, which he masked. My soul knew Alex wasn’t Gabe. The feelings that had been there with Gabe and Tack were absent. That was why I had second thoughts.
I touched my stomach; thankful this child belonged to the man I fell in love with versus the monster I married.
But I was still hurt and furious that Gabe had taken away my choices with his antics. Gabe said it was to protect me, but there had to have been an alternative to the deceit. A twinge pierced my heart. Tack was there for me. When I needed someone the most, he had been there. That was hard to ignore.
The pregnancy.
Gabe had known I needed him. Inexplicably, I loved him. But, I was terrified of being hurt again. When I saw him this morning, I would have to reinforce my walls until I was able to sort through the mess.
All this time, Gabe knew he was going to be a father—that my child would not be fatherless. During one of our phone conversations, I had expressed this fear of my child not having a parent like me. He hadn’t said anything except that I would be a wonderful mother. My life had been turned upside down over this last month, leaving a path of destruction in its place.
Seeing the time, I realized we were heading to the hospital to see Carson in an hour. My heart physically ached not having my best friend to talk to about this mess. He hadn’t known about Tack, but I needed to tell him. Maybe verbalizing what had happened would help me get my head straight.
I glanced to the door, knowing I needed to eat. Gabe may be out there. What was Nonno going to think? Was he awake? Probably, which meant it was time to get up. Swinging my feet over the edge of the bed, I contemplated food versus chancing who was in the main part of the suite. I wasn’t ready to face Gabe yet even if Trent had let him stay. But at the same time, I hoped he hadn’t left.
First, I needed a shower. The heat from the water seeped into my muscles, relaxing me. All too soon, the shower was over, which meant it was time to face the music. At some point, Gabe and I were going to have to talk.
Maybe it will just be Nonno and me.
Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, I wiped the steam away from the mirror and made sure my blond sloppy bun looked okay. The cuts and bruises from the accident were fading, but still present, and I had dark circles under my eyes from the lack of sleep. I was a mess. I’d rest later when we came back from the hospital.
I headed into the suite, wondering where Trent made Gabe stay last night. Or maybe he was gone. I knew Gabe wasn’t going to be far with how protective he seemed to be of the baby and me. A small part of me wondered if he only stuck around to see if I was pregnant. A sigh left me. I knew that wasn’t true, but I needed to protect my heart.
Voices came from the kitchen. I paused to listen before rounding the corner. Trent was speaking about the schedule. I bumped into a lamp and the noise was easily heard.
Silence ensued.
Shit.
It was time to make myself known since my not-so-suave entrance had given me away. I rounded the corner and found Trent and Nonno at the table sipping coffee. Tingles raced across my skin and my eyes gravitated to the stove where Gabe was flipping pancakes—one of my favorites for breakfast. He paused his movements and took a deep breath as if preparing to face me.
Do not focus on how good his low slung jeans and T-shirt look on him.
He took two pancakes off and put them on the platter. The muscles flexed under his shirt. I was frozen in place as I thought about our first date. Pancakes were the meal he’d cooked for me after we made love for the first time in my apartment.
I longed to run into his arms and hear how everything was going to be okay. But, I had to keep my distance. Stay strong, Willow. The game had changed. Now, I was pregnant and I needed to make sure I understood his intentions.
Gabe pulled the remaining pancakes off the griddle and turned in my direction where I was still rooted like a fool. There was concern written all over his face. I forced my gaze to the counter. The room was deathly quiet.
“Morning, Willow. How did you sleep?” Gabe said, halting my perusal of the room.
I felt the
gaze of Nonno and Trent on me from behind. It was awkward to say the least. It was hard to miss as Gabe swept his gaze over me with a pained expression. I still looked rough.
“Morning. Not very good,” I responded rather despondently, hoping to keep my emotions hidden.
He nodded and watched me. I broke eye contact.
Part of my body screamed to be near him, but I ignored it and focused on my grandfather instead as I turned my back to Gabe. Some of the realities in my life were now falsehoods. What Gabe and I had been was real. The night before Alex died was real. The manipulations of love I thought had happened hadn’t. My head hurt. Having my feelings for Gabe reignite caused tears to pick my eyes. But the hurt won out. I rolled my neck to release some of the tension.
Nonno gave me a smile as I walked to him and gave him a hug. Was he okay with everything? I held onto him a little longer than normal, needing a connection to normalcy. His white hair was a little unruly this morning, which brought a smile to my face.
“Glad you could join us, baby girl. Gabe and Trent filled me in on what happened last night.”
Well, that was one way to address the huge ass elephant in the room. I tried to brush it off casually, but I still wasn’t sure how I was going to tackle this problem.
“Yeah, it was eventful to say the least.”
Apparently, Nonno was okay with what had happened, and Trent seemed fine that Gabe was here. I was a little shocked at how amicable everything was. What had Gabe said to them while I was sleeping?
Trent nodded my way as I took a seat next to him. Nonno sat at the end, which effectively kept Gabe from sitting next to me. I turned to Trent as I tried to block out Gabe as he walked over with the serving plate.
“Do we have any new leads?” I asked cautiously.
Gabe set the pancakes on the table. I knew they had bananas in them from the delicious smell. Banana pancakes happened to be my favorite. I bet there were nuts in them, too. He took a seat directly in front of me. His green eyes never left me. Maybe sitting beside him would have been the better choice.
I was a nervous wreck not knowing how to act with him. There was still so much left unsaid between us. So many questions. With him directly across from me, it was hard to miss his watchful eyes. I shifted my body toward Trent, who set his coffee cup down and took his time to answer now that everyone was silent again
Finally, Trent responded, “We’re going to keep investigating Jack De Luca and see where that leads.”
Jack De Luca was involved in the Alex saga in some way. We believed Alex was part of the reason De Luca had been arrested for murder. De Luca was rumored to be more mobster and less loan shark, but that was simply a guess. Apparently, the case against De Luca had been dropped because all the witnesses ended up dead. Burned. Like Alex and Commander Taylor.
“Anything else?”
Trent shook his head. “Not really. Gabe and I have similar notes. The biggest difference is Gabe was able to make some headway on the cryptic notes Alex left on the papers you gave me.”
Until now, the papers my housekeeper, Mildred, found hadn’t been of much use. I’d given a copy to Gabe and the originals to Trent to decipher. These same papers confirmed Alex had been the one to steal Dad’s Botticelli.
I blurted, “Do you have fingerprints?” I’d never noticed that Alex’s fingerprints had been removed. Because of the PTSD, we rarely touched. The only time I remembered holding hands was when we said our vows in Vegas. Otherwise, I might have noticed they had been burned off. It had been hard to isolate the match.
If Gabe wasn’t Alex, he would have fingerprints. I raised my eyebrow.
Gabe smiled. “I do. Does anyone have a pen?”
Trent handed him a pen he had with his files and shifted toward Gabe.
With ease, Gabe snapped the pen and rubbed some of the ink on his thumb before rolling it on the notepad. Meticulously, he went through all of his fingers before sliding the notepad back. “Run them. Do whatever you need to do to make Willow feel more at ease.”
Damn him. I wanted to be furious with everything that had happened. Hell, I was furious. No doubt Trent had run them already, otherwise he wouldn’t be so at ease with him.
My stomach growled. The sound of the plate scooting toward me brought me to look into the watchful emerald eyes of Gabe.
“Here. They’re your favorite, banana nut.”
I knew it. “Thanks.” Another wave of warmth spread through me as I grabbed the plate and applied a liberal amount of syrup.
He gave me a beautiful smile. “You’re welcome.”
This was getting off track. At some point, I turned my attention back to Trent, not wanting to lengthen my conversation with Gabe. “What does the cryptic text mean on the papers?”
“It was a meeting location and time on the day Alex died. It was in an old abandoned warehouse. Essentially, a dead end. Gabe visited there.”
Nonno kept switching his gaze between Gabe and me.
Before I could blurt out something else out, I took a bite of the pancakes. Flavors burst across my tongue. “These are delicious.”
Everyone agreed as they tasted their pancakes.
I kept my focus on my pancakes, aware of Gabe’s stare. Having a gulf between us was uncharted territory. My heart longed to be in the protective arms I remembered. Suddenly feeling a little nauseous, I pushed a piece of pancake around my plate.
“Why do you think Alex faked his death when you were young?” Thinking of everything had my appetite abating. I chanced to look up.
Running his fingers through his hair, Gabe took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. But I plan on paying my mother a not so pleasant visit soon.” There was venom in his voice.
My eyes grew wide. I’d delve deeper into the mother situation later. With Nonno being here, the last thing I wanted was him on edge. So, I asked a different question, “Are you going to go back into hiding so people don’t know you’re a twin?” I wasn’t sure what I wanted the answer to be and that scared me insurmountably.
“No.”
It was the same as always. I was drawn to Gabe and talking to him was as natural as breathing. “Then, what are you going to do?”
“Protect the woman I love.”
Love.
That wasn’t past tense. This was too much. Way too much. Too fast. Abruptly, I stood not knowing how to respond to his statement. It was like a grenade tossed into my camp without any warning.
“I need to get to the hospital. I’m up first this morning to see Carson.” Quickly, I kissed Nonno on the cheek.
“Willow, you should try to eat a little more,” he said.
“I will, Nonno, at the hospital. I don’t want to be late. Francesca’s turn is after mine.” My heart still hurt because of what had been ruined the night of the accident. Carson had planned to propose to Francesca. It was such a mess.
Nonno squeezed my hand. “Okay, baby girl, I’ll see you later. Chris and Mildred called to check on you. I told them you were sleeping and would phone them later.” Chris, our gardener, and Mildred, our housekeeper were like family.
“Promise me you’ll eat something.”
“I promise, Nonno.”
Trent stood as did Gabe. My eyes grew big. “Are you coming, too?”
Gabe watched me wearily before he answered. “Yes. I need to make sure you’re safe after that accident. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I’m not making the same mistake again. If it takes us longer to figure this mess with me out in the open, so be it.”
There it was again—the no holding back. Gabe was always raw and honest with his emotions like Tack had been. Even in front of Nonno and Trent, Gabe confessed his love.
“What about the police? They think you’re dead. There are no records of Alex being born.” I knew it was a lame excuse to keep some distance between us.
As expected, Gabe had an answer. “We’ll cross that bridge when it’s time.”
I half expected Nonno to say something, but he gav
e me an encouraging smile. Even Trent was at ease with it. This was maddening and puzzling at the same time.
“What changed your attitude? Last night you were ready to take Gabe out. This morning you’re sipping coffee and going along with all this.” I said to Trent in front of Gabe.
“We talked.”
My voice rose. “That’s it? You talked?”
“Yes, we talked. I understand his reasoning, though I don’t agree with it.” Trent remained calm and collected.
A headache loomed in the back of my head. “Which was?”
Nonno’s hand touched my shoulder and I jumped. “I think that’s something you and Gabe need to discuss when you’re ready, baby girl. Right now, go see Carson. I get that you’re mad. I would be, too.”
I was stunned. “Do Bennett, Marie, and Francesca know about this mess?”
I could only imagine what Carson’s parents thought about this situation.
Gabe winced at the tone of my voice. Good, he needed to be affected.
“They do. Gabe met Bennett and Marie last night. They’re going to tell Francesca when she wakes up,” Trent replied,
Turning back to Gabe, he stood there with a little hurt in his eyes. I was torn, not able to close the gap between us. Instinct made me want to walk into his arms, but he’d slept with me without protection and hadn’t disclosed the truth. Yeah, I was pissed. Though, I would never regret the baby. A child was never something I would view as a mistake.
A wave of nausea hit. My stomach lurched. This wasn’t good. Morning sickness. As fast as I could go, I ran to my bathroom, barely making it. Footsteps approached as I emptied my stomach contents.
“Is it morning sickness?” Gabe was here and he rubbed soothing circles on my back.
My body craved him. Don’t think like that, Willow.
“Please stop.” I managed between heaving.
Immediately, the hand retracted and he sighed. “What can I get you?”
Remaining silent, I waited to see if I was done. Nothing else came up. I flushed the toilet and wiped my mouth. With jerky movements, I yanked out my toothbrush and vigorously scrubbed my teeth.
After spitting, I rinsed before I responded. “Nothing. I think you’ve done enough.”
Black Truth (A Twisted Fate Series Book 2) Page 2