Gabriel's Promise (Gabriel's Inferno 4)

She hugged him around the waist before crossing over to the linen closet.

Gabriel pretended to continue shaving, regarding Julianne through the mirror.

She retrieved a pair of thick white towels, hanging them on a hook near the walk-in shower. Then she opened the shower door.

Gabriel turned around in anticipation.

Julia shrieked and leapt backward, bumping into her husband. He grabbed her by the shoulders, steadying her.

“Et tu, Brute?” She gave him an accusatory look.

“Oh come on.” He squeezed her. “That was funny.”

Julia shook her head and crossed back to the shower. Inside, a plastic pink flamingo wearing a shower cap grinned up at her.

“I hope you cleaned it when you pulled it from the ground.”

“I didn’t need to.” Gabriel smirked as he returned to his shaving. “I used the one you cleaned.”

“The shower cap was a nice touch.” Julia switched on the shower and carefully removed her nightgown.

“I thought so.” Gabriel turned and regarded her over the rim of his glasses. “Are you going to shower with the flamingo?”

“I get lonely in the shower.” She gave him a heated look.

Gabriel watched as she removed her belly band and underwear, his gaze fixating on her stitches. In only a few days, her abdomen had contracted dramatically, making the slight smile of the cesarean section visible.

She entered the shower and closed the door.

Gabriel removed his glasses and leaned against the vanity as Julia stood below the spray. She brushed the water from her eyes and reached for a bottle of shower gel. Then she stopped.

She looked down past her abdomen and appeared to be inspecting her stitches.

“Is something wrong?” He lifted his voice above the din of the falling water.

When she didn’t answer but remained frozen, he slid open the shower door. “Julianne?”

She was gazing down, motionless.

He followed her gaze and saw a swirl of red in the water that rushed about her feet.

Gabriel panicked. “Julianne?” he repeated, more urgently.

She lifted her gaze and made eye contact with him, her expression strangely unseeing. Then her eyes rolled back in her head.

Gabriel jumped into the shower, still wearing his towel, and caught her as her knees buckled.

“Julianne!” He scooped her up, feeling her body go limp in his arms.

Not knowing what to do, he ran to the bedroom and placed her on the bed, covering her with a sheet. “Julianne? Julianne!” When she didn’t respond, he skirted the bed and raced to his nightstand. He’d just unlocked his cell phone when he heard her murmur.

“Gabriel?” She squinted up at him, a confused look on her face.

He sat next to her. “How do you feel?” He touched her forehead, searching for a sign of fever, but her skin was cool.

“I don’t know.” She looked down. “Why is my hair wet?”

Gabriel’s expression tightened. “You fainted in the shower.”