“Well… you can see why it’s a bit… hard to think she’s innocent,” Gabriel says. “But we need more proof that she was involved in the actual killing. She said that she will explain more if she can speak to Liam.”
“Suspicious,” Matthew comments.
“How do you know her?” Gabriel asks me, like he’s expecting me to spill all my dirty secrets in front of my nemeses.
“What’d she look like again?” I ask, as if I don’t already know.
Gabriel clearly knows I’m procrastinating because he jabs a finger at the bathroom. “I’m going to the bathroom, and while I do, decide whether or not you’re going to talk to her,” he says before heading off.
Chris, Matthew, and Penny all stare at me like they’re expecting something either juicy or fascinating to happen. I stand up. “I’m going to go help him piss. He generally has his support cat to hold, and I don’t want him to get stage fright.”
I hurry to the bathroom and hammer on the door. “Hey, Gabriel. I feel uncomfortable out here and would feel more comfortable in there.”
He sighs and opens the door. “I really do have to take a piss.”
I slip inside and close and lock the door. “We have a problem.”
“Okay? So you do know the woman that you’re pretending you can’t remember?”
“We were in the same foster home together.”
“Oh,” he says, sounding surprised. “I never thought of that. I mean… it’s not like you generally pay attention to people enough to remember them.”
I grin, pleased at how well he knows me. “Right… but there’s a teeny-tiny little issue. Like it’s so tiny that you’re going to laugh at how tiny it is.”
Gabriel oddly looks more concerned and less like laughing. “Yeah? I feel a bit panicked now because your teeny-tiny issues are generally super-big issues,” he says. “Please let it be teeny-tiny.”
I step forward and wrap him up in my arms.
“Oh dear god. It’s getting bigger by the second.”
“I really love you.”
“Fucking hell. This is bad. How bad is this? Liam, just fucking spit it out.”
I press my lips against his ear so I can whisper it to him. “She knows I’ve killed people.”
His entire body stiffens. “She could tell someone? Fucking hell, Liam.”
“She only knows about two people. The man who killed my mom and… then one other.”
Gabriel’s body is so tense that I’m afraid he’s going to pull away from me. He seems prepared to flee, but where the hell is he going to go? “What if she tells someone? She’s going to fucking tell someone. Oh my god. Fucking hell, Liam. It’s why she wants to talk to you? She’s going to use this against you. If she’s the killer… oh fuck.”
I squeeze him tight and rub his back as I try to calm him down. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not fucking okay!” Gabriel says, sounding more panicked by the second. “This is why I can’t move in with you. Because I’m going to fall so fucking far in love with you, and then someone’s going to realize what you are and you’re going to be taken from me. Or what if you’re killed running after killers? What the fuck have I done? What have I done? I’m going to lose you. I can’t lose you.”
Shit. I shouldn’t have said anything to him, but I sure as fuck don’t like leaving huge secrets between us. I just don’t want him to leave me. I don’t want him to question why he’s with me. And I don’t ever want him to regret being with me.
I run my fingers through his hair as he tucks his head against my neck. “Gabriel, my sweets, I don’t ever want to make you worry. That’s the last thing I ever want to do. She’s kept my secret this long. We don’t even know what she wants. But I’ll only talk to her if you’re okay with me doing it.”
I take his head in both of my hands before tipping it up until it’s not tucked against me so I can see him. “And if she ends up being the killer and threatens me, we’ll let her go, and I’ll take care of the issue myself.”
Gabriel seems so torn, but he lets me kiss his cheek.
“Please don’t draw away from me. I will do anything you want. I will fix this. Please just don’t pull away.”
Gabriel tips his head so his cheek is resting in my hand as he takes a deep breath. “I’m not going to pull away from you. Let’s deal with her. I’ll be out in one minute.”
