by Brynne Asher
Before last Friday, I’ve been alone with nothing to hold tight, grasping at things that make me happy for a while, but nothing bringing me happiness. I’ve prayed about it and I know I’ll see my parents again someday, but on this Earth, I don’t have anything to embrace that matters. But for the last four and a half days, I haven’t felt the overflow of loneliness. It’s different, it’s still new, and it scares the hell out of me. I don’t know if I can trust it because I don’t want to get used to it if it’s going to be taken away. If I hold on tight to something again and it’s ripped away, it might undo me.
I pull in a breath as Jude gives me a little squeeze to get my attention and as if he’s reading my thoughts, he says, “You can trust me. But you’ve gotta let me trust you, too.”
“You can trust me,” I answer immediately.
He pulls me in for a soft kiss and I can tell this is his way of thanking me. Leaning back to look at me again, he asks, “Can you scale back your shopping? The thought of you in and out of places all day makes me crazy.”
I sigh. “I guess. But can I at least go to Gloria’s? It’s a frame shop, I have prints I need to have framed for a client and if I wait any longer it’ll hold up my project. One store can’t make you that crazy, right? I’ll text you again, I promise.”
He relents and reverts back to Bossy Jude. “Fine. One store but come straight home.”
I smile big. “Thank you. And…um…will you be back tonight?”
“Yeah. You shouldn’t be by yourself and I want to be with you.”
I try to ignore how happy that makes me so I change the subject. “I’ll make dinner.”
“No. I’m taking you to dinner tonight. Be ready to go by six thirty.”
“Jude, you don’t need to take me to dinner. I don’t mind cooking.”
“No offense, because I’ve had three of your salads now, and don’t get me wrong, they’re fine. But I might become anemic if I don’t eat some meat soon,” he teases me with a grin.
“I put chicken on the taco salad. Are you forgetting that?”
“Gabby. You’re cute. But I’m still taking you to dinner tonight. Nothing fancy but we’ll make sure you can get a salad,” he adds sarcastically.
Feeling a little defensive, but at the same time happy that he finds me cute, I bite, “I do eat things besides salads, Jude.”
“Oh yeah? What did you have last night with your girls?”
I clamp my jaw shut and glare at him. His sarcastic smile grows into a wide grin, while pulling me in tight. I hold my glare as best I can, but he feels good and I can’t hide how nice it feels.
He looks down at me still grinning and I say, “I had a salad, but it had grilled salmon smothered in pesto, it’s my favorite dish there.”
“See?” He chuckles as he pulls me up for a kiss.
“Whatever. Don’t you have somewhere to be and a bad guy to catch so I’m free to roam and shop at will again?”
“Yeah,” he agrees. “I don’t want to inhibit your shopping any more than necessary. And don’t answer the phone if Megan tries to call you again. Keep the alarm on and look out the window if someone comes to your door. And by the way, how well do you know how to use your gun?”
“Good heavens, you are bossy. I have my Conceal and Carry, remember? I passed the class.”
“That’s an easy class. Really, how much have you worked with a gun, now I’m just curious.”
I sigh again. “My family is full of hunters. I grew up around guns and was taught to respect them. When we were old enough my dad and uncles would take us kids shooting, although I didn’t shoot a handgun until I was an adult. Lanny and Sophia own about ninety acres in southeast Nebraska with a little house on it, they use the land to hunt on. That’s when I learned how to shoot a handgun. I’m not a bad shot.”
“Good. Keep your gun close, you never know.” He leans in to kiss me. “I’ll call you later and check in. Be good.”
He lets me go, I turn to let Mia in and follow him to the garage door so I can set the alarm after he grabs a coffee to go.
“Bye, Jude,” I call.
He turns to wink at me with a grin. I lock myself in, set the alarm and head to the shower. I need to get my day started and I really need coffee. Mia follows and I throw my winter robe on the floor for her to sleep on while I get ready. She curls up for her morning nap as I set about my day, not thinking about what I need to get done, but about how that overflowing feeling is starting to come over me again. But this time it’s filled with something other than loneliness. Enjoying this new feeling, I step into my shower smiling.
“Thanks. I appreciate your patience, they’re just what my client wanted. The grass cloth matting has great texture and will really make a difference,” I say to the sales associate at Gloria’s Custom Framing.
“No problem, Gabby. It’s fun working with you. Thanks for coming back in. They should be ready in three to four weeks since we have to order the matting. We’ll give you a ring.”
I move to the door looking over my shoulder and turn to wave. “Thanks, again. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
I turn to the right on the sidewalk toward my car, pulling my cell from my back pocket to text Jude that I’m on my way home. He called me earlier to check on me, giving me the bad news that they’ve not found Trevor. He’s proving to be difficult, or resourceful, whichever side you’re on. Jude said the other side of his case is ramping up so he’d be a bit late, making it closer to seven for dinner.
Pressing send on my text to Jude, I look up as I near my Tahoe. That’s when I feel a hand from behind, a grip so hard on my left bicep I wince from the pain as I’m yanked to the right into a hard body. When I look over, I let out a small surprised scream. He’s got an arm around me from the back and his vice grip is totally different than Jude’s, causing a searing discomfort to shoot through my arm.
“Shut the fuck up,” he bites.
The pain is so overwhelming, I find myself at a loss and barely whisper, “Trevor?”
He starts moving me fast, turning me down the side of the building and before I know it we are behind the storefront area of the outdoor shopping center of Rockbrook Village, but more importantly, away from shoppers. He whips me around, shoving me up against the brick wall with so much force, my head flings back hitting the wall with a thud, pain shooting through my head and neck. Trevor puts a hand to my chest to keep me where I am.
I scarcely get the words out. “No, Trevor. Stop.”
“What the fuck, Gabby? Since when did you hook up with a cop, huh? You hold out on every man who might want a piece of your sweet ass for years. Won’t talk to anyone, like you’re too fucking good for the general population, but you choose a cop? And now? Why is that? Answer me!” he screams, his face mere inches from mine.
Barely finding my voice, scared out of my mind, I try, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
With that, he draws his arm up and back, and with what feels like full force, backhands me across the face so hard I fall to the side, landing violently on my hands and knees. “Don’t lie to me,” he continues to yell venomously. “Just this morning some FBI Agent told Megan to quit calling you. I’ve seen him coming and going from your house. Are you informing on me Gabby? What the fuck do you know?”
I can barely lift my hand to touch my temple where he hit me and cower. I dropped my phone along the way and my purse is probably three feet away from me on the ground with my gun in it. There’s no way for me to reach for it. Talking is my only option.
“I don’t know anything, Trevor. You know I love Megan. I would never do anything to hurt your family.”
The tears start to well in my eyes from the pain and fear combined. Tears I haven’t shed in so long. Months after my parents died I was cried out, dried up, nothing left in me. But now they’re coming with a vengeance and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.
Still on my knees, balancing on one hand, Trevor crouches to me, his face so close I feel hi
s breath on my face as he spews in a quiet, menacing voice, “You better not have, you fucking bitch. If I find out you had anything to do with what went down at my house last week, I’ll come after you, Gabby. This is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you, but I’ll fucking play with you first. We’ll see how sweet you are, and trust me, you won’t enjoy it one fucking bit, do you hear me? You’ve got that coming for being such a cold bitch all these years.”
With that he stands up and a powerful kick connects with my torso, my body hurled to the side with the force of his boot. Closing my eyes, the pain shoots through me like lightening. Then, as quick as he came, he was gone, and I don’t have enough energy to see which way he went. I lay here for a few minutes silently crying before trying to get up but my middle hurts so badly I can barely move.
Finally, I manage to pull myself up to a sitting position when I hear a noise and a door slam. Scrambling as fast as I can to put my back to the wall thinking it could be Trevor, I wince from the pain in my head, face, and probably my ribs. A younger kid comes around the dumpster wearing all black with a white apron, carrying a huge bag of trash.
Taking one look at me, he drops the trash and rushes my way. I don’t know why, but I cringe, trying to get away, and grimace from the pain it causes, letting out a sob.
“It’s okay,” he says softly, stopping to hold his palms out, showing me he’s not going to hurt me. He pulls a cell out of his back pocket and starts to dial. “Don’t move, I’m going to call for help, okay?”
Closing my eyes, I try to concentrate to find a place on my body that doesn’t hurt as I listen to the young kid talk on the phone describing the mess in front of him. Then I try to remember back to just this morning when I didn’t feel alone, thinking that was really short lived, as the tears I dread so much start to flow freely for the first time in years.
Chapter Nine
Mine
“If you don’t calm the fuck down, Ortiz, I’m not letting you walk into that hospital. I’ll hold you down myself, boy, you understand me?” Mac growls, driving too fast through the city streets. He insisted on bringing me, like I couldn’t fucking get to her on my own, and I could’ve done it a hell of a lot faster. “She does not need to see you like this. Get your shit together.”
“I’ve got a handle on it—would you just get me there?” I bite back.
I got a call fifteen minutes ago from Tony, letting me know Gabby had been transported to Lakeside Hospital. He got a call from police and was on his way, but he hasn’t seen her yet. All the police told him was that she’d been worked over, she was in bad shape, and was transported by ambulance.
When I hung up the phone from Tony, I fucking lost it. Not knowing what had happened to her, thinking of the possibilities of what could’ve happened, made me lose my mind. I threw my chair across the office and put my foot through a wall. It took three guys to hold me down. Mac called his contact at OPD and they haven’t gotten her statement yet because EMS needed to transport her right away, which cannot be good. The only thing that made me get it together is that Mac did find out none of her clothing had been ripped, torn or removed from what the first responding officers could see.
I didn’t do enough. I knew she had been threatened on the wiretap, her house had been broken into and I still let her talk me into going out this afternoon by herself. One fucking store. Damn it. It had to be Harper or one of his henchmen, it’s been five days and we don’t have them behind bars yet.
We finally get to the hospital and Mac pulls into a no parking lane next to the ER entrance. Some security guy is standing there, walks up to us as I get out and run to the doors. I hear Mac tell him who we are and badge him, but I don’t look back. I turn and move to the waiting room where I find Tony, his dad and Gino standing there in suits.
“Where is she?” I demand.
“She’s in CT, we haven’t seen her yet,” Gino answers. The three of them look like what I feel, a wreck of worry and rage.
Turning to the attendant at the counter, I pull out my credentials and move that way. “I need to speak to the EMS team who brought in Gabrielle Carpino. Now. Where can I find them?”
She looks at my badge and then to me. “Through those doors, I’ll buzz you in. They should be repacking their equipment.”
I look back at Gabby’s family. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
Giving me head lifts, I turn to the doors as the attendant buzzes me through to the ER. Looking to the left, I see a pair of EMS packing up their gurney and bags.
I show them my badge. “Did you bring in Gabrielle Carpino? Young woman, thin, about five-seven, blonde?”
The tall guy turns to me. “Yeah. She was beat up pretty bad. They’ve got her in CT checking for a concussion. She had two blows to the head, one in back and the other at her temple. They’re taking her to x-ray after that. From what we could tell, she already had bruises forming on her torso, I’m sure they’ll be checking for cracked ribs. They’ll have to assess for internal damage from that blow—the bruises were forming fast.”
“What else?” I demand, glaring at them, hoping they catch my inference. I might lose my mind again if I have to spell it out. “Was there anything else?”
“I was in the back of the rig with her,” the female answers. “She had all of her clothes on when we got to her. I was trying to keep her talking because of the blow to head, watching her eyes, making sure she was coherent and knew what was happening around her. She said he back handed her and gave her a boot to the gut, but other than that, only threatened her. I asked if she knew him and she said she did but wouldn’t talk anymore. Other than the injuries we just told you about, I don’t think anything else happened.”
Closing my eyes and dropping my head, I let out a breath. Getting it together, I look up. “Thank you. Who’s
her doctor?”
“Dr. Aimes. He’s good, evaluated her and sent her for tests right away to see what he was dealing with. She should be back soon,” the guy answers.
“I appreciate it.” I turn back to the waiting room to let her family know. When I get there, the Carpinos have started multiplying. Nic is here with two of her aunts and some of her cousins. I tell them what I know and we have to wait for her to get back. Mac is standing off to the side and I join him.
Twenty minutes later, a white-haired doctor in green scrubs comes through the doors, announcing, “Gabrielle Carpino?”
More of Gabby’s cousins and another aunt have shown. The group is huge. Her aunts jump up and get to the doctor first.
Realizing he has such a large audience, the doctor starts informing everyone on her condition. “Gabrielle has a concussion and severe bruising to her ribcage. We didn’t find any fractures, but they don’t always show on the scans and the treatment is the same if she has a fracture or just bruising. She’s got a good bump on the back of her head and at the temple. We don’t see any signs of internal bleeding or damage to any organs. I’d like to keep her overnight, observe her because of the concussion and make sure she doesn’t present with any signs of internal damage. All in all, for what she experienced, she’s lucky her injuries aren’t more substantial and should make a full recovery. She’ll need time and rest to heal.”
“I want to see her,” Lizzie demands.
The doctor looks over her shoulder at Gabby’s massive family and warns, “Just a couple at a time, we’ll move her to a room shortly. She’ll be drowsy because of the medication we’ve given her for the pain. She’s going to have one heck of a headache, so she’ll need quiet and rest.”
Lizzie, Tia, and Emma forge through the doors to get to their niece. I want to take them all down to get to her myself. I need to see her. But I’ve only known her for five fucking days.
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I turn around to see Tony and he says in a low voice, “I’ll make sure you get in there soon.” I don’t know what my body language is saying, but clearly, he could tell that I need to get to her. All I can do is lift my head in app
reciation and move to the wall, waiting for her aunts to come back out.
As I stand here waiting for what feels like a year, Gino walks up to me and announces, “Jude, I need a word.”
I see him taking me in, looking for something. What, I don’t know. Finally, he crosses his arms and starts. “Gabby’s a strong girl. She gets that from her mother. Meredith was a tiny little thing, but no weakling, that’s for sure. Gabby was strong like her mom until she lost her parents. Don’t get me wrong, she’s still a spitfire, but even though she has all of us, she doesn’t have siblings, so she couldn’t help but feel alone when she lost her family. She puts on a good front, but every one of us can see she’s been going through the motions, holding herself back. That fuckwad, James, broke her heart when she was already broken and, although we’re happy as hell he’s gone, we hated to see her experience that even though she downplayed it at the time. Now, you’ve barely been around a week and don’t get me wrong, you seem like a decent guy. We can all tell there’s something going on between you and my niece. I’d normally never ask this, but with what’s happened today, we have to do everything we can to protect her from every angle. I think you being here now means something, but I’m gonna say it anyway. If you don’t have a true interest in my niece, you need to get going. But, if you think there’s something to you and Gabby and you plan on sticking around to see it out, then you’re welcome to stay. Now’s the time for you to make that choice. And once you choose, son, you’d better damn well stick to it.”