ALoveSoDeep (15 page)

I believe that, until the digital clock above the stove flicks to six, and three more calls go straight to voicemail. I’m about to tell Sherry that I’m going looking for Gabe, when my cell rings. I snatch it up from the counter where the kids are eating a subdued spaghetti dinner, my pulse racing with relief, only for my hopes to plummet when I see an unfamiliar number on the display.

It’s not Gabe, but it’s a local number, so I step into the bedroom and answer the call with a soft, “This is Caitlin.”

“Hi, Caitlin,” a familiar voice says. “This is Kimmy.”

“Oh, hi Kimmy,” I say, surprised. “What’s up?”

“Listen, I know we’re not friends or anything, but I didn’t know who else to call, and Gabe left your number the other day with the keys, just in case there was an emergency with the car, and—”

“What’s wrong?” I ask, the anxiety in Kimmy’s voice making me impatient. “Is Gabe okay? Did something go wrong while you were selling the car?”

“No, that went fine,” Kimmy says. “We got everything taken care of, he got the money, and he went across the street to Harry’s to meet a friend. I didn’t expect to see him again, but then I realized he’d left his house key in the bowl by the door. I ran down to catch him before he left and I saw him leaving the diner with this super big guy. They were walking really close together and it just looked…weird, you know? And when I called Gabe’s name, he didn’t stop or turn around, and I know he had to have heard me. I was practically shouting.”

“What did the guy look like?” I chew my thumbnail as I pace the carpet, fear that Gabe’s father has intercepted him and forced him back to Darby Hill making my heart feel like it’s punching my ribs. “Was he Gabe’s height? An older man, with—”

“No, he was young,” Kimmy says. “And taller and heavier than Gabe, with wider shoulders. I remember that, because you don’t see many men bigger than Gabe.”

Young, broad shoulders, bigger than Gabe….

A horrible suspicion sweeps through me, but I don’t want to believe it’s true. Still, I ask, “Did the man have light brown hair, a little curly at the bottom?”

“Yes,” Kimmy says, sounding relieved, though she has absolutely no reason to be. “Do you know him? Are he and Gabe friends?”

“What time did this happen?” I ignore her questions, knowing I don’t have time to explain. There’s a chance another massive guy with hair like Isaac’s decided to take a close walk with Gabe out of the diner, but my gut says that’s pretty unlikely.

“About an hour ago? Maybe a little less?”

“And you’re just calling me now?” I ask, anger tightening my voice.

“It took me a while to get worried,” Kimmy says, defensively. “And then I had to get up the guts to call you. It wasn’t easy, okay. You
are
the woman he dumped me for.”

I take a deep breath and rein in my temper. It’s not Kimmy’s fault something’s happened to Gabe, and without her I might not have any clue where he is. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried. Can you tell me anything else? What direction they went? If they got into a car?”

Kimmy sighs. “They were walking down the street toward The Neptune and turned left on Mark Street, headed away from downtown. That’s all I know.”

“Thanks,” I say. “I’ll see if I can track him down.”

“Do you need any help? I could take my car and cruise one side of town while you cruise another.”

“That’s okay.” I don’t know what kind of situation I’ll find, and I don’t want Kimmy in the middle of something that might turn ugly. “But thanks. I appreciate the call.”

“You’re welcome,” she says, then adds, “and let me know when you find him, will you? I’d like to know he’s okay.”

I promise to call her, hang up, and immediately call Isaac. But despite the fact that he’s been leaving me angsty messages on and off for the past two days, Isaac doesn’t pick up the phone, and when I’m transferred to voicemail, I get a message that his inbox is full. I hang up with a curse and stab out a quick text, telling Isaac to call me as soon as he gets my message. I tell him that I know he’s in town, but I don’t say anything about Gabe, not wanting to tip my hand on that just yet.

I send the text, and wait a few moments, but there are no happy “text in progress” bubbles from my ex-boyfriend. He seems to be lying low.

Or maybe he’s too busy beating the shit out of Gabe to answer the phone.

The thought makes me shove my phone into the back pocket of my shorts and jog back into the other room. I tell the kids that I’m going out, and ask them to be good for Sherry, then pull Sherry aside long enough to explain where I’m going, and why.

“But what about the flight tonight?” she asks. “Should I still get the kids ready to go?”

I bite my lip, making the call on the spur of the moment. “Yes. If I’m not back by eight o’clock, call a cab to take everyone to the airport. Hopefully, Gabe and I will meet you there. If I get stuck, and won’t be able to make it, and I’m able to call, I will.”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to call?” Sherry asks, skin paling beneath her freckles. “You don’t think Isaac has gone off the deep end, do you?”

“I don’t know.” I don’t want to scare her, but I want someone to know who might be responsible if I were to disappear along with Gabe. “But I’m going to be careful.”

Sherry nods. “Do that. Be very careful, and call me as soon as you can.”

“Will do.” I lean in, giving her an impulsive hug. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Go get your man,” Sherry says, hugging me back. “And let’s get you all on a plane before Aoife comes sniffing around and realizes you’re making plans to flee the country.”

I told Sherry that the custody battle was the reason Gabe and I had decided to make the spur of the moment, international move. Because Sherry is my friend and knows I love Emmie like a daughter, she didn’t doubt the story.

Still, I’m starting to feel all the lies I’ve told piling up around me, like concrete blocks stacked to the ceiling, ready to crash down and deliver life-threatening injuries. I need to get out of Giffney. I need to get to safety with Gabe and the kids, to a place where we can start fresh, and then maybe I can tell Sherry the truth. I want to be honest with the only friend I have left, but right now isn’t the time.

“Call soon,” I promise, pulling away and starting toward the door, grabbing the keys off the counter as I go.

Minutes later, I’m in the parking lot, heading for the rental van, so focused on puzzling out where Isaac might have taken Gabe that I don’t notice the silver Camry parked a few spots away until my sister steps out and slams the door. I increase my speed, hoping to get into the van and out of the parking lot before Aoife can trap me, but she moves fast for a pregnant woman.

She’s by my side by the time I reach the door, covering my hand with hers.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Caitlin
“And each man stands with his face in the light of his own drawn sword.
Ready to do what a hero can.”
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“We have to talk.” Aoife’s voice is low, urgent, and her grip on my hand firm enough to make it obvious she hasn’t come here to mess around.

“I don’t have time right now.” I try to pull my hand free, but Aoife doesn’t let go. Her fingers dig into mine as she steps closer, until I can smell her gardenia perfume, the same brand she’s worn since we were little girls, and Gram gave her a bottle for her birthday.

The smell sends melancholy oozing through my chest. What would Gram think of us now? The little girls she always said were like two angels fallen from heaven, we were both so beautiful and sweet.

“You need to make time,” Aoife says. “Gabe’s dad came to the funeral today.”

“I know.” I lift my chin, meeting her hard gaze straight on, playing tough, though my pulse is pounding with fear.

“He asked me to stop by his office after we finished at the gravesite,” she says, her grip still firm on my hand. “He said he wanted to give me something that would make sure I got full custody of Emmie.”

I tighten my jaw, willing my expression not to falter. “And? Did he?”

“He did,” she says, her own expression unreadable. “He showed me footage of you breaking into someone’s house. At first I couldn’t be sure it was you, but the person who was filming followed the van and caught you taking off your mask.”

I close my eyes, not wanting Aoife to see me crumble. This is what Gabe and I were afraid of, this is why we were getting ready to run. But fearing something, and having the hard evidence shoved in your face, are two very different things, and it suddenly feels like all those concrete blocks are tumbling down on top of me, after all.

“He had a private detective following you and Gabe,” Aoife continues. “He caught you breaking into two different houses, but Aaron cut all the footage of Gabe out on the DVD he gave to me. He told me to use it to blackmail you into giving up Emmie. He doesn’t want this going to court because he knows you might testify that Gabe was your partner.”

I open my eyes, confused by the compassionate note in my sister’s voice. “So…are you going to blackmail me? Is that why you’re here?”

Aoife’s fingers tighten, until her grip on my hand is almost painful. “Aaron Alexander told me today that
you
are the reason his son started committing crimes, but I know that’s not true.”

“You do?” I squint into the sun turning my sister’s hair into a golden halo, trying to get a better look at her face. I would swear she looks upset, but I have no idea why. This is exactly what she wanted, handed to her on a silver platter.

“Because I know it’s
my
fault,” she says, her face crumpling. “And I’m so sorry.”

I blink in shock, but I don’t have time to speak before Aoife continues in a teary voice—

“I know how hard it was just looking after the boys without Mom around, and I left you with the boys
and
a newborn and nobody in the world to help you.” She releases my hand to swipe the tears from her cheeks. “At first I was so fucked up I didn’t even think about what I’d done, but then I talked myself into believing it was okay. You’ve always been so much stronger than me. I told myself you could handle it and—”

“But I’m not…I wasn’t,” I say, the words bursting from my chest though I know I don’t have time to hash through our family drama right now. “You were always the one I turned to, Aoife. Always. Ever since I was a baby. I would have died without you. I loved you and counted on you and I….” I press my lips together, but I can’t seem to stop myself from finishing my sentence. “I fucking worshipped you, Aoife, and you
left
me.”

I fight through the wave of emotion, refusing to cry, or let her see just how deep this goes. This is a wound that cuts through flesh and bone, slicing straight into the soft center of my heart, where all my feelings for the big sister I once loved so much have been locked away.

“I know,” she says, fresh tears spilling from her blue eyes. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s my fault that you had to start stealing. I know if I’d stayed, or at least sent money home when I could, you might not have had to do what you did. You were right today, I can’t erase the past, no matter how much I want to.”

“Me either,” I say in a soft voice. “I can’t go back and undo what I did last summer, but I promise you it isn’t as bad as it looks. I did steal things, but I stole from criminals Gabe’s dad helped keep out of jail. That doesn’t excuse it, but I want you to know I wasn’t hurting innocent people. That’s not who I am.”

She nods. “I’m not here to judge what you did. I’m here to say I’m sorry, and to warn you that Gabe’s dad is going to turn the footage over to the police tomorrow morning.”

My breath rushes out. “Why? I thought you said he didn’t want to risk me testifying against Gabe.”

“He gave me today to convince you to give me Emmie, break things off with Gabe, and leave town,” she says. “If Gabe isn’t home, and you on a plane to somewhere else by tomorrow morning, Mr. Alexander is going to the police. I think he thinks you and Gabe might run if he gives you too much time.”

He thinks right. And we might still escape if I can find Gabe, and get to the airport before it’s too late.

“He’s scared of his son ending up in jail,” Aoife continues, “but he seems more scared of losing him.”

“He’s scared of losing control,” I say bitterly. “That’s all he’s ever wanted.”

Aoife casts a glance over her shoulder before turning back to me. “You may be right, but whether he’s motivated by love, or something else, he seems determined. You and the kids should get out of here as soon as you can.”

My chest loosens, but I’m afraid to trust that I understand what she’s saying. “But what about the court date on Friday?”

“I’m dropping my suit,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to hurt Emmie. It’s going to kill me, but at least I’ll know I did what’s best for my daughter. She loves you. You’re her real mother. I’m just an egg donor, like you said.”

I wouldn’t have believed it possible an hour ago, but at that moment, all the love I ever felt for my big sister, my protector, my friend, comes rushing back, so big and strong, I can’t keep myself from leaning in and wrapping my arms around her. “You don’t have to lose her,” I say. “We can work something out. You can come see her; you can be close. Maybe…
we
can be close again, too.”