“I’ll stay until she arrives,” Brett offered, leaning his arm over the back of his chair. “I’m going to finish up that car Maxx was working on.”
“I’ll keep you company,” Chase insisted.
“Then we all have our jobs,” Stefano said, standing. “Dinner was great. Thanks, Chase.”
He nodded. “Anytime. I had a great day with my little buddy here.”
Theo high-fived him. “We talked about cars and motorcycles all the way there. And the parts guy showed me some stuff. It was so cool.”
“Good.” I ran a hand over his head. “I’m glad you had a good day.”
He grinned. “The best.”
STEFANO
I looked in on Theo. He was passed out, one arm flung out, the other holding his favorite stuffed teddy. He’d fallen asleep in the truck, and we didn’t wake him. Gabby sat on his mattress, staring at him in silence for a long time. I hated to tear her away, but the police had shown up to talk to us.
“Tesoro,” I murmured.
“Coming,” she replied. She stood and bent, kissing Theo’s head.
I held her hand on the way to the kitchen, feeling the tremors she was trying to hide.
She awed me with her strength as she gave her statement. It helped I knew the officers—both were customers at the garage. Todd and Barry knew all of us there. They knew the gist of everything, but Gabby filled in the blanks. After she finished telling what had occurred in the barn plus the background, she sat back, her tension evident.
“Where is he?” she asked.
Todd finished the cup of coffee she’d poured him, setting it on the table. “In jail. He has a massive headache and says he’s going to press charges for assault, but I somehow think you have no worries on that end.” He shook his head. “He had rope and gags in his rented van. The idiot had a list of what he wanted to do. How he planned to kidnap both of you. As he tried to defend himself, his story only incriminated him more. He refused a lawyer. There is no doubt he’s going to jail for a long time. The list of charges we have against him is pretty serious. And he is insisting he wants to be tried in BC, not here.”
“He thinks he’ll get a friendly jury,” Barry added with a smirk. “He’s wrong.”
“I’ll feel better once he’s out of this province.”
“We’ll help you with paperwork and a restraining order so he doesn’t try to contact you or have anyone do so on his behalf. You and Theo are safe now, Gabby. He’s behind bars, and he’s going to remain there a long time.”
“Did he really think he’d get away with this?”
The two men exchanged glances. “I don’t think his thought process was very clear. We found drugs in his possession. Hard ones. Pretty sure they were floating in his system too.” Todd paused. “He had himself a little side business. As I said, his list of charges is long.”
The odd look in his eyes Gabby had commented on now made sense. The idiot was high and stupid. Not a good combination.
They stood. “You’ll have to come to the station and sign some papers. Both of you.”
“Tomorrow okay?” I asked, eyeing Gabby. I wasn’t sure how much more she could take tonight.
“Yep. Anytime is fine.”
After they left, Gabby disappeared, and I heard the shower come on. I rinsed out the coffee cups and checked on the doors, making sure they were all locked, knowing Gabby would need to feel extra safe tonight. I was surprised to hear the shower still running, and I peeked in, my heart breaking at the sight in front of me.
Gabby was facing the wall, her face buried in a towel. Her shoulders were shaking with the force of her sobs, her distress evident.
I discarded my clothes, stepping in behind her. She gasped as I pulled her back to me, wrapping my arms around her.
“I’m right here, Tesoro. You’re not alone.”
She turned and flung her arms around me, crying.
I ran my hand up and down her back in long, soothing passes. “It’s okay, Gabby. Let it out. It’s over, my beautiful girl. My Tesoro. He will never come near you again.”
Her sobs grew harder, her entire body shaking.
“I didn’t want to die,” she confessed. “But I couldn’t let him near Theo. Or Brett and Chase.” She clutched me harder. “I didn’t want to leave you.”
“You were so brave, Tesoro. You told him off and let him know what you thought of him. You needed that. I was as proud of you as I was scared. Never put yourself in that position again. I can’t lose you.”
“I love you,” she whispered over and over. “I love you, Stefano. Amore.”
“Shh,” I hushed. “I know. I love you too. And tomorrow, we’ll start new, yes? Go see Maxx and Charly. Take Theo to the park. A day of just us.”