Lead the Way (16 page)

              When gets into the lobby, he calls out to get the security guards attention, “Hey, I need some help.”  He can see feet sticking out from behind the security guards desk.  He thinks the security guard is taking a nap, so he moves closer.  When he gets closer, he can see drag stains of blood.  Somebody moved the body behind the desk.  As he gets even closer, he recognizes that it’s Gary.  “Shit, Gary, no,” he says, leaning down to check his pulse.  It’s too late, Gary’s gone.

              Gabriel knows that what’s he’s witnessing is a bad sign.  It would be one hell of a coincidence if Ryan isn’t behind Gary’s murder.  The feeling of dread that he has in the pit of his stomach, has increased exponentially.  He’s scared of what he’s going to find when he gets inside Eva’s apartment.

              He lets himself inside Eva’s apartment quietly.  His hope is that he will surprise Ryan and have the advantage.  As he stands in the hallway, it is eerily quiet.  He clears every room.  They aren’t there. 

              He stares at the chair and the zip-ties that are lying on the floor.  They were definitely in the apartment for some period of time and Eva was tied up.  He wonders why Ryan would take her out of the apartment.  Why would he risk someone seeing them and risk Eva alerting them?  He doesn’t understand the logic.

              He finds the suicide note.  Ryan plans on killing Eva and making it look like a suicide.  Gabriel is not surprised at the lengths Ryan will go.  As he finishes reading the note, he remembers the tracker that he gave to Eva.  He hoped that it would never come in handy, but he’s glad he gave it to her.  It could be the one thing that saves her life.

              He quickly looks the tracker up on the computer.  “Good girl,” he says, when the tracker’s location pops up on the screen.  He wasn’t sure that Eva would follow his instructions and keep the tracker on her at all times.  Buying the tracker had been a shot in the dark.  He knew when he purchased it, that it could be useful or useless, depending on Eva.  Her need for safety or fear of harm had won out.  She is on the roof.     

              He runs as fast as he ever has to the roof.  The door is slightly ajar.  He can see Eva and Ryan, but they haven’t noticed him.  Ryan has Eva by the edge of the building, holding onto her arm.  He is right in Eva’s face, yelling.  Gabriel can’t hear what Ryan is saying, but he guesses it isn’t nice things. 

              Gabriel doesn’t like what he sees.  He doesn’t like the direction things look like they’re heading.  He contemplates taking a shot, but he’s too afraid that he will hit Eva.  He decides that confrontation is the only answer. 

“Hey!” he yells, gun drawn, walking directly towards them.

              “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Navy Seal himself,” Ryan says.  “I thought you’d be on your way to the morgue by now.”

              “Well, you thought wrong.  I’m very much alive.  Let her go and I won’t kill you,” Gabriel says, cocking his pistol.

              “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

              “Ryan, this only going to end two ways,” Eva speaks up.  “You’re going to walk out of here, dead or in hand cuffs.  The police are coming.  It’s over Ryan.”

              “I’ve killed one person today, why not make it two,” Ryan says, picking up Eva.

              Gabriel lunges forward and grabs Eva before Ryan can throw her over the edge.  They all fall to the ground.  His gun flies out of his hand and goes over the side of the building.  When Eva hits the ground, she bumps her head and is knocked unconscious. 

              Gabriel and Ryan struggle on the ground for control of Ryan’s pistol that been knocked a couple of feet away from them both.  Gabriel’s fingers brush against it, knocking it a few feet further away. 

Ryan decides that it’s out of reach.  He can feel that he is stronger than Gabriel is.  He will have to overpower him.  He is able to get on top of Gabriel.  “Not so tough, are we now Navy Boy,” he says, as he starts to choke Gabriel.  He watches Gabriel’s face turn red and he feels Gabriel’s strength waning.  He is winning.  He squeezes Gabriel’s neck tighter. 

Eva regains consciousness.  She sees Ryan on top of Gabriel choking the life out of him.  She looks around for some sort of weapon.  The only thing that she can find is a long steel rod.  She swings the rod as hard as she physically can.  It hits Ryan across his face and neck area, knocking him off Gabriel.

“You bitch!” Ryan screams, getting up and charging towards Eva.

Two shots ring out.  The bullets hit Ryan in the side of his chest.  The power of the bullets send Ryan over the edge of the building.  His screams fill the air as he falls to his death.  They stop when his body lands on top of a parked car, killing him instantly.

Eva runs over to Gabriel.  He collapses in her arms.  The adrenaline has been the only thing keeping him going.  He is completely wasted.  If the fight with Ryan had of continued, he’s unsure if he would have made it.  The pain in his head and shoulder are suddenly unbearable.  He groans from the pain.

“We have to get you back to the hospital,” Eva says, rocking him back and forth.

“Over here,” she calls out to the police officers, who have swarmed the roof. 

Chapter 13

It’s been a year, since Ryan attacked them and a lot has changed.  She and Gabriel sit in the gazebo at the beach where it all began.  “Remember when we came here the first time?” she asks Gabriel.

“Remember?  That is why we’re here.  This gazebo represents coming full circle for us.”

“A lot has changed, hasn’t it?”

“A lot has changed and it’s all been for the better,” he says, kissing her.

She sits in the gazebo with Gabriel with no fear inside of her that’s ready to bubble up and come alive.  She’s now able to regularly leave the house on her own.  She’s had one panic attack in twelve months, which is a vast improvement.  Things are not perfect, but she is definitely not where she used to be.

She has her psychiatrist and mostly Gabriel to thank for all her progress.  When speaking about her progress, she gives all the credit to outside forces, but she knows deep down, she’s put in a lot of work in and deserves a pat on the back.  It’s been a long road, but well worth it.

She hates to admit it, but Ryan’s death helped to eliminate a lot of her symptoms.  Knowing that he could no longer hurt her was a huge relief off her shoulders.  She has a lot of mixed feelings about Ryan.  He was her half brother, but he was a monster.  It’s hard to reconcile those two things. 

She often wonders what Ryan would have been like, if their mother hadn’t given him up for adoption.  She wonders if he would have been normal or were his problems something that would have been exposed some other way.  She wonders sometimes what it would have been like to have an older brother to talk to and to help guide her.  She’s come to accept that she has a lot of questions about Ryan that will never be answered.

She and her Mom have had deep discussions about Ryan.  Eva holds no ill will towards her Mother.  She holds no grudge against her.  After speaking to her Mother and hearing how things transpired around Ryan, she understands where her Mother was coming from and why she made the decisions that she did.  She was a young mother and saw no way out.  Eva doesn’t judge her for her decisions.  She wishes that Ryan could have been more forgiving.  Maybe they could have been a family. 

“Hola, Rosa,” she calls down the beach.  She watches Rosa make her way down the beach.  She can see the slight limp that appeared after her broken leg healed, but Rosa doesn’t let it slow her down.  Rosa is like the Energizer Bunny, she just keeps going.

As Eva’s health status has improved, she’s needed Rosa less and less, but she would never dream of firing her.  She needs Rosa like a fat kid needs cake.  The time that she gets to spend with Rosa and Gabriel is priceless.  They are her family.  She can’t possibly imagine life without them.  They’ve become a part of the everyday fabric of her life.  If they were gone, a part of her would be missing.  She loves them both to death.  They are special to her.

“I brought the food,” Rosa says, giving the basket to Gabriel.  “Please set it up and tell us why you have brought us here.”

Gabriel sets the basket down and turns towards Eva.  “Well, as you know, today it has been a year since Eva and I first met.  It has been the best year of my life.  In that time, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my life and where I am going.  I’ve had a lot of time to think about you, Eva, and how much you mean to me.  I’ve realized that I can not see my life without you in it.”  Gabriel gets down on one knee and pulls a ring box out of his pocket.  He opens the box and presents the ring to Eva.  “Eva, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Both of Eva’s hands cover her mouth.  She is shocked.  She didn’t have any inkling that Gabriel was going to propose – not even a whiff.  “You’re sneaky, you know that!  Of course I will marry you.”

Gabriel slides the ring over her finger and kisses her.  He picks her up and swings her around.  “Future Mrs. Gabriel Law, I’m going to make you a happy woman.”

“You better,” she says, admiring her ring.

“Well, it’s about time.  Let me see that ring, Carino,” Rosa says, grabbing her hand to look at the ring.

“I love you guys so much.  I hope you know that,” Eva says, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Mi hijo, we know,” Rosa says, bringing them in close for a hug. 

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