CHAPTER EIGHT

The gate had closed behind Patrick at least ninety seconds ago, and Gabriel and I were still exactly where we’d been when he walked out. We stood there waiting for that gate to swing open and Seanna to march back in. Finally, I checked the latch, as if I could somehow bar re-entry.

Talk to Gabriel.

Don’t talk to Gabriel—find him something to do.

Help him compose his plan to deal with Seanna.

No, avoid the topic of Seanna, and get him doing work instead.

I turned to see him on his phone, typing something in. As I walked back, he looked up.

“Can I trouble you for a coffee?” he asked.

“A…?”

“Coffee. Please.”

“Sure…”

“Thank you. I’ll be in momentarily.”

It might seem that Gabriel was so traumatized by this reunion with his mother that he wanted me to go into the house so he could break down in private. Yet it was also possible that having seen the mother he thought was dead, the most pressing thing on his mind really was rectifying a late afternoon caffeine slump.

As I stepped onto the porch, I snuck a glance back at him. He was still typing, but his face was relaxed, no sign of tension in his shoulders. Yep, he might actually just want coffee.

I went inside, and I’d just begun filling a mug when the back door opened.

Gabriel stepped in and said, “Do you have travel mugs?”

“Uh, sure. Are you…leaving?”

“We are. The trunk on the Maserati is quite small, as I recall. Correct?”

Again, I thought I couldn’t possibly have heard right, but said, just to clarify, “Yes, the Spyder has a very small trunk.”

“And not enough space behind the front seats for both Lloergan and luggage.”

“Umm…”

“Do you mind letting Rose borrow your car for a few days?”

“Uh, no, but Lloergan will fit behind the Spyder’s seats fine, and I don’t need to put anything in the trunk—”

“I’ll switch cars now,” he said, taking my keys from the rack. “I’ll bring Lloergan back with me. That should give you time to pack a bag. Three days’ worth. Casual clothing, the sort for hiking and whatnot.”

“Umm…”

“Yes, I know. You’ve pointed out that I lack such clothing myself. However, I have rectified that. It’s at my condo, which we’ll need to stop by on the way.”

“On the way where exactly?”

“It’s a surprise. Put my coffee into a travel mug, please. We’ll stop by that place you like in the city and get you a mocha for the drive.”

And with that, he strode through the parlor and out the front door before I could say another word.

We’d stopped at Gabriel’s condo for his bag, which was already packed, suggesting this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment trip. After we got my mocha, he finally explained that this was why he’d asked me to keep the weekend free—he’d planned a weekend getaway. A surprise for me, because I’d been working so hard lately.

Under any other circumstances, I’d have been thrilled. But as it was, I sat in the passenger seat, my mocha untouched, Lloergan in the back seat giving the occasional whimper, as if picking up my unease.

“I’m not running away from her,” Gabriel said when we were outside the city.

“Even if you were, I wouldn’t blame—”

“I’d already made plans.”

“I know.”

“What I’m doing, Olivia, is ensuring Seanna does not interfere with my plans. I had no appointments tomorrow that could not be easily rescheduled, so I am beginning our trip early, knowing that if I stay, this situation will deteriorate and come tomorrow night, when we were supposed to leave, we won’t be able to get away.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “You need a break. We both need a break.” He paused. “I want this.”

He blurted the last part, as if getting the words out before he could decide against them.

I want this.

Three words that most people have no problem saying. Gabriel himself practically lives by those words.

No, that’s not true. He’s lived by the words “I need this.” I require this, first for survival and then for security, a series of goals he needed to achieve to relax, secure in the knowledge that nothing could send him back where he’d been.

In the six months I’d been at the law firm, I’d gone on two vacations with Ricky. Gabriel rarely took a day off, and I suspect he’s never actually been on a holiday. I know he doesn’t own a passport. Maybe now, seeing me take vacations, he thought, You know, I could do with some of that. But one of the reasons I suspect he’d never done it before was that he had no one to travel with. So now, having decided he’d like a weekend trip, he framed it as a surprise getaway for me. This wasn’t Gabriel fleeing Seanna—it was Gabriel safeguarding his weekend away.

“You’re right,” I said. “I could use a break. Rest and refocus.”

“Exactly.”

He drove another couple of miles in silence and then said, “That shot to the leg doesn’t seem to have slowed Seanna down.”

“So should I aim higher next time?”

He chuckled and relaxed his grip on the wheel. “No. I was only raising the subject to say that, while I’m not averse to the thought of her being shot, I’d rather you didn’t do it again. She’ll be quick to press charges next time, and I don’t want you dealing with that.”

“I won’t. She just pissed me off.”

“Something she said?”

I made a noise in my throat.

“She insulted you?”

“Not—” I stopped myself, but it was too late. He’d laid the trap and I’d fallen straight into it.

“She insulted me,” he said.

“She pissed me off.”

“I won’t pretend that I don’t find that more gratifying than I should, but I will ask you not to let her get to you. I’m quite accustomed to her insults.” He handed me my mocha. “Drink up. We’ll be there soon.”

When we arrived at our destination, I was out of the car before it even stopped, Lloergan shoving through the seat gap to follow me, alarmed by my haste. I gave her a quick pat and then dashed up the steps and around to the back porch, and when Gabriel found me, I was leaning on the railing, gazing out at the lake.

I grinned over at him. “Does it only get cell phone reception on Tuesdays, if I hold my phone just right?”

“With any luck, it doesn’t get cell phone reception at all.”

“I can make sure of that.” I took mine out, shut it off, and then raced down the back steps and started crossing the rocks.

“Careful, Olivia. It’s slippery.”

“Then you’ll have to come and keep me safe,” I called back. “After you change into those jeans you claim to have bought. Come on, Lloe. Time to explore.”