He threw open the door and the two reporters who had managed to stick around hit us with questions and followed us down. I pulled Luna close to hide her face until we hit the lobby. We hurried out to the car, walking at a stiff pace that had me missing the gym. I hadn’t called in any bodyguards, but seeing how nervous Luna was made me reconsider. Luckily, the media crowd had died down and there were only a couple of stragglers left.
Luna ducked under my arm and climbed into the back of the car, and I followed. Mason piled in behind us and my driver, Joe, shut the door and hurried around to get us going.
Mason straightened his tie. “It’s good to know the crowd has dispersed.” He brushed his hair back from his face and picked a piece of lint off his slacks. “So, what was it you needed to tell me?”
I glanced at Luna, who nodded. I figured I may as well blurt it out. “Oh, yeah, I’ve been meaning to tell you. We’re married.”
I’d have given my fortune for the look of horror that fell upon his face. And then his rant began.
Chapter Thirteen
Luna
The day had dragged on in slow motion while we sat in the interview room. First, they separated the two of us, and then had us sit through the same routine together. It comforted me having Gabriel in the same room, and strangely enough Mason, too, though he’d given us a brutal tongue lashing that lasted until we walked up the steps of the department.
It seemed there was a slight oversight that neither Gabe nor I had thought of: husbands and wives don’t have to testify against each other. More importantly, most anything a spouse would say, including being an alibi, would be looked at as partiality and dismissed by any jury.
The good news was whether I remembered anything or not, it didn’t matter.
The bad news was Gabriel didn’t look very honest, having to tell them about the marriage. Even though he explained why he didn’t think it was important, the detectives knew better. Gabriel was a man of power and intelligence, and they’d been hard on him about it. Vegas, Baby! Wedding Chapel hadn’t produced any security footage, and the best they had on that trip was our entering the building. So much for wedding pictures.
We’d barely made it back to the room when Mason decided to go off on another tangent. “How dare you keep that from me, Gabe. We’re not only attorney/client, but we’ve been friends for twenty years. This is something you tell a friend.”
“Please, I haven’t even told my father.” I shrugged. I’d have to do that soon, I realized; now that the police knew, they’d have no reason not to leak it to the press.
Mason’s hazel eyes pierced me with a cold glare. “I’d get on that before he learns about it on CNN. You two are completely irresponsible. Next thing you’ll tell me is that she’s pregnant. I swear, I feel like I’m raising a pair of teenagers.”
Gabriel held up a hand to silence Mason. “You’ve done an awful lot of talking, but now it’s my turn.
“I didn’t tell you because when I had planned to, I was dragged away from my room and interrogated by the police. Once I figured out that they didn’t know about the marriage, I decided it was best not to bring it to their attention. As far as they knew, Luna was nothing more to me than an assistant. Knowing there was someone out there killing the women in my past made me wonder if they’d target Luna.
“And so we’re on the same page, we’ve not even consummated the marriage, and furthermore, to my great disappointment, we haven’t shared more than a kiss.” His words got my attention, and I smiled that he all but admitted he wanted to sleep with me.
“Well, that’s good news. At least when we do have this thing annulled, the two of you can go on with your lives like nothing ever happened and we’ll have no issues with the process.”
I sat on the couch and slipped off my heels. “How much longer do you think we’ll have to go on with this? When can we go home?”
“The marriage will have to stay intact until he gets the all-clear, and if you’re smart, you’ll keep it at least a month after. You don’t want it to look suspicious.”
Gabriel walked to the bar and poured himself a drink. “Don’t worry, I’m not letting her out of it that soon.”
I glared across the expanse of the room. “I’m right here, and you’ll let me out of it as soon as possible, right?” He’d spoken like it was his decision alone. “I do have some say.”
Mason lifted a shoulder in a carefree manner and joined Gabriel at the bar. He glanced over his shoulder and met my eyes. “You’ll need to be in agreement, of course.”
“But you’d grant me one anytime I asked, wouldn’t you, Gabriel?” He kept his back to me a moment longer than I felt comfortable with, and suddenly, I knew my answer. He was in control and had no intention of giving me the annulment until he was good and ready. His phone rang and he took the thing out of his pocket, and after a glance, put it away.
Mason raised a brow and Gabe mumbled. “That’s my sister-in-law again.”
“Our sister-in-law,” I said with a stiff tone. He turned and faced me with a bleak expression; his eyes were full of apologies and regret. He wanted a wife – I’d give him one.
Mason’s phone rang and as he stepped away, he apologized. “I’ve got to take this.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, I crossed the room and stood next to Gabriel. “You told me this was only until you’re cleared.”
“Is it so bad being married to me?” He threw back his shot and poured another. His gray eyes were shadowed, and there was no laughter or softness in them.
“It’s not that, Gabriel. You know it’s not.”