CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“HE’S GOING to go to the police,” Tucker said softly. “You realize that, don’t you?”
Gabrielle wiped her eyes and turned to face him. They were still in the living room, where they’d stood in silence for long moments after David’s departure. “He won’t go to the police. I know David. He’s not a vengeful person. You’re fine here.”
“Jealousy does strange things to a man, Gabby.”
“Maybe to a regular man. But David’s different. We care about each other. We care about Allie. He knows I wouldn’t stand by you without reason.”
“You heard what he said. He thinks you’re confused, misguided. If they catch me here, you could be in serious trouble. I have to go.”
“Where?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Mexico, I guess.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You can’t. What about Allie? What kind of life would that be for her?”
Gabrielle closed her eyes. He was right, of course. Allie’s welfare had to come first but, God, it was tearing her apart to think he had to leave already, that this might truly be goodbye. “Will you ever come back?”
“I shouldn’t. You’d be better off without me.”
Fresh tears filled her eyes. “Can’t you stay another hour or two, at least? I can’t say goodbye so soon. Besides—” she took a shuddering breath “—Landon’s sleeping.”
“I doubt he’s asleep, Gabby. And for his sake, I can’t trust David as much as you do.”
“I know,” she said.
Tucker came up behind her, put his arms around her and pulled her against him. He felt so solid, so wonderfully real. And yet she knew that soon, this night would seem like little more than a dream.
“This was the best night of my life,” he murmured in her hair. “I knew before I made love to you that I shouldn’t, that the risks were too great. But—”
“But what?” she prompted.
“It was worth it to me,” he said softly.
His words were tender, but there was finality in the way he said them that confirmed what Gabrielle already knew—he was leaving. There wasn’t anything she could do to make him stay. She’d be a fool to really try because she’d only put them all in danger. “If you ever need anything—”
“No, don’t. I won’t have you holding on, waiting for me,” he said briskly. “Live your life without regrets, love again, marry again. That’s what I want for you, Gabby. Go forward and don’t look back.”
Gabrielle knew she’d never love anyone the way she loved him; she couldn’t even imagine marrying another man. But she wasn’t going to make his leaving any harder on him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded. “Sure,” she said as bravely as she could manage. “I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her neck, pressed his cheek against hers, then quickly released her.
“Tucker?”
He turned as he reached the hall, on his way to collect Landon.
“Be happy.”
* * *
DAVID FELT SICK to his stomach. As dawn began to tinge the east a delicate pink, he sat in his Toyota Forerunner watching Tucker’s beat-up old Datsun motor down the street ahead of him, wondering what he should do. He’d been following Tucker for over thirty minutes. Either he had to let him go, or he had to place the call he’d been dreading.
The light turned red, catching them both at an intersection in Casa Grande, twenty-five miles west of Florence.
David closed his eyes and momentarily rested his head on the steering wheel. He couldn’t let Tucker go. Tucker was a convicted murderer. David had a responsibility to himself, to Gabrielle and Allie, and to the community. Maybe Tucker hadn’t hurt Gabby or Allie yet, but he could. Besides, David had already spoken with Sergeant Hansen a couple of times and, although he found him abrasive and didn’t especially care for him, he sympathized with his tough-on-crime stance. David, too, was tired of all the headlines and news reports of violence. Bad guys always seemed to get away with their misdeeds, while victim after victim continued to suffer. He had a chance, right now, to make a difference. If he made the call, the police would descend on Tucker in a matter of minutes and take him back to prison, and Gabrielle and Allie and everyone else would be safe.
That was what he had to do, he decided. This went beyond his or Gabrielle’s personal feelings or background or future. Gabrielle thought she was in love with Tucker, but that wasn’t the issue here.
Picking up his cell phone, David dialed the prison. Not only did he owe it to Allie and Gabrielle and the community at large to do his duty as a good citizen, he owed it to the little boy in Tucker’s car. He might be Tucker’s son, but the courts had decided Tucker didn’t deserve the right to raise him. Who was David to condone the escape or the kidnapping? Who was Gabrielle, for that matter? Tucker had received his due process.
“Arizona State Prison, Florence,” a woman’s voice answered.
The light turned green. David gave his car some gas and rolled through the intersection, keeping an eye on the Datsun up ahead. “Sergeant Hansen, please.”
“I have him on the schedule for the day, but I’m not sure if he’s in yet. Hold on a second, and I’ll check.”
He tapped the steering wheel while he waited. Gabrielle didn’t mean what she’d said at the trailer, he decided. She had too soft a heart and had just gotten in over her head. She’d realize, once Tucker was back behind bars, that David had been right all along. She’d know his calling Hansen was for her own good.
“Sergeant Hansen here.”
David had halfway expected a reprieve, but now that he had Hansen on the line, he took a deep breath and identified himself. He loved Gabrielle—enough to do what was best for her in spite of everything she’d said and done.
* * *
“WHY ARE YOU FROWNING, Dad?”
Tucker glanced in the rearview mirror at his son and tried to smile. In the interests of safety, Landon was riding in the back seat, next to the duffel bag that held the sum total of their belongings. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Nothing important,” Tucker said, but he was thinking about something—or rather, someone—pretty important to him. Gabrielle. After last night, after the physical and emotional intimacy they’d shared, living without her seemed almost pointless. If not for Landon, he doubted he would have bothered to run. Even so, he was having a hard time putting any energy or focus into it. He didn’t want to be a fugitive; he didn’t want to leave his country. He wanted to marry Gabrielle and raise a family like the free man he should be. Rationally he knew that was an impossible dream, but there had to be a part of him, deep down, that still believed in truth and justice. Otherwise, he’d be able to reconcile himself to living in a foreign land.
“Can we stop for a burger?” Landon asked.
Tucker turned down the radio he’d been using, ineffectively, to distract himself from his thoughts. “Can’t you eat something that Gabrielle sent?”
“I don’t like egg salad sandwiches. And you said I couldn’t have any of the treats until after lunch.”
“Well, we’ll find a place to eat when we get a little farther down the road. For now, eat some of the carrots, okay?”
“All right,” Landon said, and grudgingly rummaged through the paper sack that contained the food.
“Is your seatbelt on tight?” Tucker asked after a few minutes.
“You always ask that,” Landon mumbled, but Tucker could hear him moving in the seat and knew he was double-checking.
“It’s important.”
“Why?”
Because Tucker was beginning to feel a little uneasy. His mind had been so consumed by Gabrielle, he hadn’t paid much attention to what was going on around him. But for the last few miles, he’d noticed a white SUV that looked suspiciously like the Toyota Forerunner David had been driving the day he’d given him a ride to Wellton.
He checked his mirrors every few seconds, trying to see if it really was David, but when he slowed to close the distance and get a better look, the SUV hung back. Which only made him more suspicious. What was David trying to do? Tucker had expected him to call the police, but he hadn’t expected David to follow him.
“Why, Dad?” Landon repeated.
“What?” Tucker said, still staring into his rearview mirror at the road behind him.
“Why do I have to wear my seat belt all the time?”
“Better safe than sorry,” he said, thinking he should’ve taken that same advice last night instead of staying with Gabrielle. He missed her already. He could still smell her subtle scent on his clothes, and he kept replaying every moment of their time together. He’d left his heart behind with her, and without it, he wasn’t so confident he’d make it to the border.
* * *
DAVID SAW THE RED LIGHTS flashing on the police car coming up behind him, doing at least ninety, and knew Hansen had called out the cavalry. In a few minutes, it would all be over.
“I did the right thing,” he said out loud, but he still wasn’t sure. Tucker’s muscle tone and the hard edge to his eyes certainly made him appear capable of violence. But if he was so violent, why hadn’t he tried to keep David from walking out of Gabrielle’s trailer last night? He would have been wise to do so, looking at the situation from a self-preservation standpoint. For a karate expert, it wouldn’t even have been difficult. David had no training, hadn’t been in a fistfight since grade school.
But he didn’t want to think about that. It eroded his confidence in what he’d done. He tried to turn his thoughts back to the good of the community, the good of taking one more criminal off the streets. But a vision of Tucker handing his baby back to him intruded, and he wondered if Tucker had been trying to tell him something with that one small act—that he wasn’t trying to take anything that didn’t belong to him already. That he had no intention of hurting anyone.
He pictured Gabrielle’s face, pleading with him to understand, and remembered her saying, “I love him, David.”
Shaking of his head, David floored his SUV and easily closed the distance between him and Tucker. Tucker had picked up speed. He was trying to run, but he obviously wasn’t making a mad dash for freedom. David knew it was because he had his son in the car. Surely that indicated something about the kind of man he was. A truly violent criminal wouldn’t care about the child in his car. A truly violent criminal would care more about himself than the safety of others….
The police were nearly upon them. David could hear the sirens, and he knew Tucker could, too. He tried to conjure up some enthusiasm for what was about to happen but the sense of satisfaction he’d felt when he first hung up with Hansen slowly drained out of him. He’d always trusted Gabrielle’s opinions before. Why was he second-guessing her on this? He didn’t know Tucker; he didn’t want to know him. He just wanted Tucker out of his life—and Gabby’s. Which said much more than he wanted it to.
With a sigh, David raked a hand over his face, feeling the roughness of his unshaved chin. He shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be doing this. He should be home showering so he could head into the office and finish catching up on everything he’d missed during the past few weeks. He should be home, going through the motions of moving on with his life. Regardless of how little he wanted to face it, his marriage to Gabrielle was over for good. The real question wasn’t whether he loved her enough to do what was best for her. The real question, at least for him, was whether or not he loved her enough to let her go.
“Shit,” he said and, instead of pulling over to let the police car pass, he slammed on his brakes and angled his SUV to block the road.
* * *
THE CALL, when it came, caught Gabrielle cleaning up after breakfast. Allie was playing at her feet, tossing utensils from the kitchen drawers onto the floor. Gabrielle didn’t bother to stop her, even though the clanging made her nerves raw. Right now, it was more important for Allie’s attention to remain focused on other things. Right now, Gabrielle needed a chance to cope with the fact that Tucker and Landon were gone, David was angry with her, and she was going to be seeing her real mother in just a few hours—at a time when she already felt emotionally exhausted.
Maybe she should call and tell Naomi she couldn’t make it, she thought. She wanted to meet her siblings, but not today. Today was one of the worst days of her life. She wasn’t herself, and doubted she could deal with anything stressful on the heels of this morning. But what if Lindy had canceled something important to be present? What if Naomi had already gone to a great deal of work?
The phone interrupted her deliberations. Tucker hadn’t promised her any future contact. He’d told her to forget about him. But she couldn’t help feeling a stab of hope that he might be trying to reach her. Flicking the soap from her hands, she reached for a paper towel and started for the living room just as the answering machine came on.
“This is Gabrielle. Please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
Knowing Tucker would hang up rather than leave a message, she reached for the handset, then stopped abruptly when she heard Sergeant Hansen’s voice.
“Hadley, are you there? If so, I suggest you pick up.”
She did nothing.
“Hadley, I have David here with me. And he’s in some trouble.”
David? Gabrielle’s mouth went dry. How could David possibly be in trouble? Tucker had thought he would go to the police, but she couldn’t understand how that could get David in trouble.
“Gabby? Pick up. I need to talk to you.”
It was David this time. Gabrielle’s hand suddenly felt clumsy, but she forced it to work well enough to bring the phone to her ear.
“David, what’s going on?” she asked, fear pouring through her veins. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
She wanted to ask him if Tucker was okay, too, but with Hansen so close, she didn’t dare. “What’s going on?” she said again. “What kind of trouble are you in?”
“I called the police and followed Tucker, just like you told me to, but I’m afraid they didn’t get him, and now they’re trying to blame me.”
She gripped the phone a little tighter. “I don’t understand.”
He went on as though she’d asked him something else. “I don’t know what happened, exactly. I’m guessing my tire must’ve hit the soft shoulder, because just as the police were coming up behind me, something spun me across the road. Next thing I knew, the police car rammed into my back rear panel, and that hung things up pretty good.”
“You were in a wreck? Were you hurt?” Gabrielle asked anxiously.
“No. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but Tucker got away. And now Sergeant Hansen thinks we’re somehow in league with the escaped convict we just tried to help him catch. He wants to ask you a few questions, okay?”
Gabrielle didn’t know how to answer him. In the end, she didn’t have to, because Hansen came back on the line. “What the hell kind of game are you two playing?” he demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
“David called me this morning, said Tucker showed up at your place, trying to overpower you and escape with some money and food.”
“That’s true,” she said, knowing that all she could do at this point was trust David.
“So what happened?”
Oh, boy… Taking a shaky breath, she curled her free hand into a fist, hoping she could safely navigate her way through this. “Um…David showed up just in time to scare Tucker off,” she said, praying that her story matched David’s.
“So why didn’t you call in?” Hansen asked.
“I had to stay with my baby daughter. David was the one who was following Tucker. Didn’t he tell you where you could find him?”
“He told me all right. I dispatched a couple of cars, but then your ex-husband got in the way and let Tucker escape again.”
Gabrielle took solace from the fact that Tucker was still free—and wondered what on earth had happened. David was an excellent driver, certainly not the type to make such a stupid mistake. “I’m sure it was just a simple accident,” she said, even though she wasn’t sure of any such thing.
“So how’d Tucker know where you live?”
“It wouldn’t be hard to figure out in a town this size. Anyway, he probably assumed I live alone and thought I’d be an easy mark.”
“Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Why is it that, with Tucker, all roads seem to lead back to you?”
“It’s just a coincidence,” she said.
“You know what, Hadley?”
“What?”
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” he said. Then a dial tone suddenly hummed in Gabrielle’s ear, and she sagged onto the couch.
* * *
DAVID ARRIVED at the trailer less than an hour after Gabrielle had hung up with Hansen. By then, Allie was down for a nap and Gabrielle was pacing the floor, still wondering what had happened this morning. And worrying what Hansen was going to do about it.
When she saw her ex-husband, she wasn’t sure how to greet him. The past few weeks hadn’t been easy on their relationship. They’d parted on bad terms this morning, something terrible had happened afterward, and now…and now they were entering brand-new territory.
He walked into the trailer, looking tired.
“You okay?” Gabrielle asked, perching on the arm of the couch as she watched him.
He nodded. “Where’s Allie?”
“Napping. What happened this morning?”
With a long sigh, he sat in the chair opposite her. “I realized something.”
“What’s that?”
“That I love you more than I thought.”
He wasn’t making a play for her. Gabrielle could tell by the tone of his voice that a significant change had taken place. “You want to explain that?” she asked.
He shook his head, glanced around the trailer as though he might never see it again, and stood. “No. I’m going back to Phoenix, Gabby, where I belong. Can I have Allie next Saturday?”
“Of course.” Gabrielle stood, too. “You have partial custody.”
“Good. I’ll send my child support this week.”
He started for the door. She caught him by the arm before he could step outside. “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened with Tucker and Hansen?”
“Can’t you guess?”
“You called the police after you left here.”
The look on his face told her she was right.
“So what changed your mind?” she asked. “Why’d you let him go?”
“I didn’t want to send a man to prison because of my own jealousy. And I finally realized I’d already lost you, anyway.”
She brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “You haven’t lost anything, David. You’re still my dearest friend. You always will be.”
He smiled, and it was the old smile, the one Gabrielle had long admired. “I hope Tucker’s able to clear his name. Maybe then the two of you can be together. At least part of me hopes that,” he amended.
Gabrielle felt profound gratitude for having known David, for his friendship and longtime support. “David?”
“Hmm?”
“Thanks.” Standing on tiptoe, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“For what?”
“For being you. And for helping Tucker. I’m glad you weren’t hurt pulling that little stunt.”
“So am I.”
“Any chance I could tag along with you and Allie this Saturday?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I thought I’d take Allie and the new woman in my office on a picnic. Shauna’s been hinting she’d like that,” he added with a grin. “It might be a little tough to explain why I’m bringing my ex-wife along.”
She laughed. “I could tell her what a good guy she’d be getting if she was ever lucky enough to land you.”
He held up a hand. “Let’s give her a chance to figure out that kind of stuff for herself, okay? It might be a while before I’m ready for anything serious.”
“I understand. Call when you have a little time to spare, then, and we’ll catch a movie or something.”
“Sure.” He stared down at her for several seconds. “Goodbye, Gabby,” he said, and Gabrielle knew from the way he said it that he was saying goodbye to their past.