“Well, I had sex. But not now. Not anymore. No plans for sex.” I yanked my hand from Gabe’s grasp and cradled my face in my hands. “I need a redo to this morning. I’m calling Gabe big. I’m spouting craziness about sex.” My head shot up. I had said that aloud. Oh my gosh! “Can we pretend none of this conversation happened and that I know to abstain from sex?”
Dr. Byrum tried to maintain a professional decorum.
Gabe was barely holding it in.
Dr. Byrum cleared his throat and said, “That will be fine. I’d still like to see you next week to make sure you’re happy with Dr. Jamiston.”
“Sounds good.”
Dr. Byrum left and Gabe followed with him. I heard Gabe speaking to the doctor but wasn’t able to make out what was being said. Thankfully, I was left to rein in my self-induced humiliation. When it rained, it poured. Apparently I suffered from severe word vomit during pregnancy. This was going to be a long nine months. In the mirror, I looked at my flat stomach. Two babies. It was hard to imagine there were two babies growing inside me.
When I finished dressing, I touched my stomach again. The story of Gabe’s mother still lingered. “I’m going to love you both equally.”
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
“Willow. Everything okay?” Gabe sounded a little worried.
“Yes.” My voice was small.
“Can I come in?”
“Yes.”
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Sudden tears were on the cusp of falling from the concern and love in his voice. I wasn’t alone in this. My babies were going to have a loving father. Gabe was beside me in a flash.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was fine. Then you asked. And then tears. These damn hormones.” He brought me to him with his strong arms, and I welcomed the comfort as my face sank into his chest.
“Willow, everything is going to be fine. We’ll figure it out. You won’t have to do this alone.”
“I know. I believe you. It’s a lot at once and unexpected.”
“It is.”
Wiping away the tears, I centered myself and changed the subject. “It’s almost my time to see Carson.”
Gabe interlaced our fingers. “Let’s head upstairs. Do you want me to call Dr. Jamiston to set up an appointment while you’re there?”
I wasn’t going to have to do this on my own. The realization started to sink in. “That would be great. I don’t have anything scheduled over the next week I can’t rearrange.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see what they have available and coordinate it with your schedule to see Carson.”
Carson. I needed my best friend now more than ever with everything that was going on.
Later that afternoon, I lounged in the living room of the hotel room and read a new historical novel about the Medici family. Since I was a little girl, I had been obsessed with the Medici family. I loved hearing stories about them and devoured any reading material on them.
I took a sip of my orange cinnamon tea.
The family intrigued me with how they had the foresight to preserve the art that was a defining factor in the Italian culture. They had preserved my dad’s painting La Primavera by Botticelli. It was because of them we had that beautiful piece of art that now was on indefinite loan at the Uffizi.
The worst of the physical injuries were behind me, which I was thankful for. In places I was tender. The deep purple was almost gone and back to normal. I thought about Carson and how his bruises were almost the same color as mine. His body was healing. Today it was easier to look at him as some color had returned to his cheeks. Francesca and Marie agreed with my assessment.
My appointment with Dr. Jamiston was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. They’d gotten me in earlier than expected. It still seemed surreal I was having twins, but the idea was slowly becoming my reality. It was going to be double the trouble.
Finishing a chapter, I watched Gabe stare intently at the pictures and notes sprawled across the coffee table. Earlier, I saw a few from the car accident and I quit looking, not ready to face that memory so graphically. The metal screeching still haunted my dreams. Gabe had offered to look at them somewhere else, but I insisted he stay. I wanted him near me.
I craved the feeling of being home when he was nearby. Thinking of home, I asked, “When do you think I’ll be able to go home?”
He paused writing on his pad of paper. “I’d like to talk to Trent about making a few security upgrades if you approve. I think we should add a few infrared cameras along with some sensors. Rotate the security a little more frequently.”
“Whatever you need to do, tell Trent.”
He nodded and went to say something but closed his mouth.
I knew it was about where he was going to stay. I felt safer with him near. To put any doubts at ease, I said, “If you want to stay at the house, you’re more than welcome.”
Gabe’s tension released. “I’d like that. I’ll work with Trent. When do you want to go back home?”
“Whenever you and Trent think it’s best. I know with Carson’s situation it’s probably easier to stay here, but I’m ready to be back in my bed and in my studio. I need to paint.” With all the emotions swirling inside, I knew this would help me sort through it some.
He leaned forward. “Give me a little bit. I promise—”
A knock at the door interrupted him.
“Willow, Gabe, it’s Trent.”
“Come in,” I called over the sofa.
After we’d returned to the hotel, Trent had left to catch up on some work in his room a door down. One of the other security guards, Matt I believed, was outside our door in the interim.
The key card reader beeped and Trent came in. “I just got off the phone with the lab. We’ll have the DNA results by tomorrow.”
Gabe sat back and closed the file he’d been working on. “Good. Have you found anything else?”
“No. But, I came to a decision about Andre.”
My eyes darted between the men. I liked Andre but had to respect Trent’s decision for his team. I hoped Andre could stay.
Trent leaned forward. “Andre is back on under the condition that he never pull a stunt like that again. I understand you two have a history—a close history. If I suspect anything, he’s gone. I will not tolerate insubordination when someone’s safety is in my trust. Understood?”
“Understood.” Gabe relented easily enough. “Willow is the only reason I went to such extremes before.”
Trent sat back. “As long as we’re clear.”
Whew. That seemed to go pretty well and Andre was back. Playfully, I stage-whispered, “I’m glad he’s back. I missed him.”
Laughing, Trent looked my way. “I figured you would be.”
The earlier conversation about the DNA brought on the same worries I had before. “What if the DNA doesn’t match?”
The fingers running along Gabe’s scruff was the response I received. He was probably thinking about the best way to approach this situation. “Why send you a message with Alex’s ring and someone else’s finger?” My eyes widened and Gabe put his hand on mine. “We’ll cross that bridge if we have to. Remember, it’s onl
y precautionary.”
The thought of Alex still being alive was horrifying. I released my bottom lip I was chewing. “But you suspect…”
Gabe gestured to the papers on the table. “There’s too many unanswered questions. I suspect there’s more to the story.”
Of course there was.
Trent looked at the papers sprawled across the table while I took a sip of my tea, hoping to curb the nerves doing jumping jacks in the pit of my stomach. Tipping his head, Trent asked Gabe, “What are you looking at?”
Gabe glanced to me. “Later.”
Now, I knew there was more. Not knowing was worse at this point. “Go ahead.”
A few seconds passed before Gabe turned a picture to face us. It was of the ravine we’d rolled down in the accident. I refused to look away. Gabe held up another from on top of the ravine looking toward the tree line with a road just beyond. The last moments with Carson were crystal clear and a shiver ran through me. Trent and Gabe focused on me.
As Gabe put the picture away, I pushed him to continue. “I’m fine. I need to know. I’ll worry about it if I don’t know.”
He hesitated.
“Please don’t keep me in the dark.”
I knew he was unable to resist my plea since he promised to never keep something from me again.
Gabe pointed to the pictures. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I was so caught up with Willow being hurt, it wasn’t until this afternoon when things were calmer I was able to look at these with fresh eyes.”
I set my tea aside. Gabe paused, assessing me from head to toe, and I forced myself to remain outwardly calm though I felt this was about to get worse.
“The note in Italy said they wanted what was owed to them. Then the note in the art gallery said they were coming for her. If something happens to Willow, all her money goes to charity and they can’t touch it. From all accounts of the accident, whoever was behind the wheel was on a mission to push them down the ravine. The location of the attack was designed to accomplish precisely this.”
Trent sat back and muttered, “Oh fuck.”
My eyes darted back and forth between them. “What does that mean?” I shook my head. “I mean… I… I know it means they wanted me…” I wasn’t able to say it. The word had too much finality.