Glancing down, I touched my stomach. Alex Junior was going to have cousins he would never know about. With all that Alex was involved in, I wasn’t willing to intertwine our worlds more than they were. An ache settled in my heart. Family was important to me, but they would never know Gabe’s side.
I knew Gabe agreed with my thoughts on the matter though we hadn’t discussed it at great length. Regardless of how he felt about his brother, I knew it cut deep not being involved in Alex Junior’s life.
The clock showed it was time to leave.
“Gabe, are you ready?”
An older man with glasses walked in the door, similar to the man I saw at Precinct 54 the day I confronted Commander Taylor and learned Alex was not an undercover cop. I would recognize those green eyes anywhere. “I know why you wore glasses when you were pretending to be the older men.”
“You would have figured it out.”
I smirked at the Irish accent he adopted. If Alex sounded like Gabe in everyday life, his speech would have to be changed as well. Seeing the way his eyes lit up anytime we saw each other, I would have known.
I kept constant eye contact as I walked up to him. “Yes, I would have. The eyes are the perfect window to a person’s soul.”
“And yours is beautiful,” he said.
“So is yours.”
“Only because of you.”
The words he spoke touched me as always. We were entranced with each other as we searched the depths of our love.
A distant beep alerted us to Trent opening the hotel suite door. “Willow? Gabe? Andre is ready in the car.”
“In here. We’re coming out!” I called.
Casually dressed, Trent walked toward my bedroom door as we exited. “I’ll be riding with you guys. Security is starting to arrive on our strategic timetable. The supplies you requested are in the car.” Trent gave a smirk. “Nice costume, old man. I think he might be too old for you, Willow.”
I giggled.
“Fuck off, asshole,” Gabe shot back.
Trent chuckled.
It was tempting to tease Gabe, but I needed to focus on the day ahead. “What are your names again?” I asked. They had told me yesterday at the hospital but I had been tired.
“Gabe is Ben Jones and I’m Joe Smith.”
It was hard to keep a straight face as the man who didn’t look like Gabe had his voice. “Those names are pretty boring.”
“True, but that means there’s a million of them and it made it easier to have a fake background uploaded for them to check against.”
These two men had skills. They accomplished so much with so little time.
“Makes sense.”
Yesterday, while in the waiting room at the hospital, I had come up with a lesson as well as the supplies needed. Due to time, I kept it easy and planned to use something Dad had taught me at an early age.
It was near time for Carson to be up, having always been an early riser. I checked my phone to see if I had missed a message, but there was nothing from Carson or his family.
“Have you heard from anyone at the hospital?”
Trent rechecked his phone. “My men made their rounds five minutes ago. Bennett is in the waiting room waiting for everyone to wake up. All is clear.”
That was a relief. As we headed to the door, Trent motioned to the bar. “Fresh breakfast from a random bakery across town. We cleared out all the food yesterday from the suites and restocked Bennett and Marie’s with new supplies. For security reasons, I advised Bennett we were no longer using room service to eliminate any potential risk due to the unforeseen video outage. Only my men, Carson, and you two know about the attempted poisoning.”
It still made me sick thinking about what almost happened. An inconspicuous shudder moved through me. Last night, Nonno had said he would visit Carson today. “Is Nonno still going to the hospital?”
Trent checked something else on his phone. “Mr. Russo confirmed with security he would come to the hospital when you were there.”
I hadn’t seen Nonno since he left and missed him terribly. However, I wanted to thank him for having the foresight to understand what Gabe and I needed. Yesterday, I decided against telling Nonno about Apple Blossom. Until we had answers, it wasn’t something he needed to worry about.
The muffins smelled delicious and I grabbed one and a banana. Gabe snatched two bottles of orange juice.
On our way to the elevator, I asked, “How is David doing this morning?”
Trent gave me a warm smile. “Good. He’s pissed as hell and ready to be back on the job. The doctors expect a full recovery.”
These security men were crazy half the time with how quickly they wanted to return to work. “Tell him to rest. I’m going to have something sent to him today if that’s okay.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
I pulled out my phone, I placed an order for a get-well balloon arrangement on our way down. Balloons seemed manly enough. I wasn’t sure David was the teddy bear type.
A knot formed in my stomach knowing Alex most likely would see us at some point today. We were about to potentially start down a path we would not return from. With us reaching out to Alex’s child, we were about to poke an unhinged person. That alone had my nerves prickling with apprehension.
As we walked through the lobby, I looked at people wondering if they were somehow connected to all this. All of the people’s faces were appropriately engaged. I looked for a sign, something, but saw nothing. With all the threats, our enemies had the potential to blend like Gabe. Even his gate was slower with a slightly slouched posture as he embraced every part of appearing to be fifty.
If Gabe had on sunglasses, I would not think he was the man I loved. It was unsettling to know the capabilities of people. Whoever wanted to take me could be in this room, watching as we walked across the lobby. The thought sobered me. But, I pushed forward.
We stepped outside. The city was awakening as the early morning light chased the night away. Every morning felt like a new beginning—a fresh start to correct the wrongs of yesterday. Hopefully, today would lead to answers instead of more questions.
Scooting to the far side of the black town car, Gabe got in a little slower. It was hard to take my eyes off him.
The car door closed and away we went as the sun crested over the horizon. Gabe handed me an orange juice. “Grabbed this for you. I thought this might be good for your stomach.”
“Thanks.” I settled in and ate my breakfast, hoping it wouldn’t cause a bout of morning sickness. Inconsequential chatter filled in the interim—mainly sports talk. It helped ease the tension, but my mind flitted to what was ahead and beyond. Hopefully, this wasn’t a mistake.
Poking the beast sometimes was worse than letting it sleep.
My phone vibrated with Carson’s name, which
brought a smile to my face.
Carson: Morning. Wanted to check on you. You okay?
Me: I’m good. A little nervous, but I’ll be fine.
Carson: You’ll do great. Text me when you’re done and on your way back.
Me: I will.
Carson: I wanted you to know I support you. I shouldn’t have said what I did yesterday.
Me: I know you do. It’s a lot for us all to take in.
Carson: It is, but it’s not an excuse. Do you forgive me?
Me: Of course, I do. I wasn’t mad. I’ve missed you.
Carson: Miss you, too.
It was so good to have Carson back in my life. Every day I had him would forever be a blessing.
Trent turned around as he adjusted a small earpiece that was almost impossible to see unless you were looking for it. “Put this pendant on your shirt. It’ll help us hear you just in case.”
Taking the proffered piece of jewelry, I inspected it. The microphone was a little painter’s palette with all the primary colors. I smirked. “Cute, fitting and practical. Just what the special forces ordered.”
Andre disguised his laugh with a cough while Gabe and Trent shook their heads.
I pinned it to my shirt. “There.”
There was a pause and then Trent said, “Good. It’s working. We’re reading you loud and clear.”
Within a few minutes we pulled up to the school. It was an old church that had been renovated into a special needs education center. A widow had bought it and had it redone for her grandson almost two years ago. It was beautiful.
Andre pulled the car underneath a covered porch and things became real. I was here and about to meet Alex’s son. At the hotel, I had similar thoughts but now the reality of the situation had increased in potency.
Deep breaths. I have this. It’s the fastest way to draw Alex out. I want to be free of him.
I kept looking at the stone building, expecting it to reveal the answer to all the madness. Trent’s words broke through my thoughts. “We’ll be with you the whole time. If you feel uncomfortable, say you need some air. We’ll get you out immediately.”