Page 34 of Gabe's Obsession

Savannah stared at her quietly. Her ability to keep her emotions hidden scared Nina a little. What had happened in her life that made her learn such a skill? After a few more long seconds she couldn't stand it, she had to say something.

"Is this thing working? Did you hear me?"

Savannah nodded. "I heard you just fine. I'm just processing this new information. Are you really telling me that you have some sort of amnesia and truly can't remember what happened that night?"

"Yes and it's driving me crazy. I need to know. I don't care how bad it was. Anything is better than not knowing."

The other woman chuckled and the sound scraped down Nina's spine worse than nails on a chalkboard.

"You should always be careful what you wish for, darling. It just might come true."

Nina rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for this. Their time had to be half over by now. "Fine. Whatever. Just tell me. I really don't care. I just have to know."

Savannah's eyes narrowed and she compressed her lips, giving Nina her first real glimpse at the true age of the other woman. With the makeup and such that she still managed to wear while in jail, she looked completely put together despite the silly white jumpsuit they made her wear. (So much for the idea that all prisoners had to wear orange. Clearly that was a TV thing.) But with her mouth twisted and her eyes squinting, the well-worn wrinkles of age were clearly visible.

Tucker's mother no longer had the benefit of her youth to guard her. She tried to remember her age, but the information escaped her. Savannah had always been so perfectly coiffed that no one even bothered to question something so silly as her true age.

“If this is serious, then it's better you not know the details."

Her words brought Nina out of her head and back into the prisoner visitor room where the lights glared and the stark sparseness of it all began to match the void Nina felt in her memory.

"What's better is irrelevant. It's more important that I know what happened. What I did that night."

A smile completely void of happiness crossed Savannah's face, making the unease inside Nina ratchet yet another notch higher.

"It's better this way. In fact, this works perfectly as far as I'm concerned. I've confessed. What else matters? Go home, Nina. Forget about me. Forget about all this. Let that night go. We'll all be happier for it."

“How can you say that? I’m clearly not happy or I wouldn’t be here and how can you be happy sitting in a jail cell?”

The other woman continued to stare blankly at her as if she’d completely tuned out.

Anger surged through Nina as she stood and slammed her hand down on the table. "Don't do this. Please. I can't stand it. I have to know.”

Savannah was looking down at the table, now intent on something other than the conversation they were having. Nina followed her gaze.

"You're married?" Savannah asked.

She looked at the shiny new wedding band on her finger. "Yes, but—“

"To who?"

Nina blew out a breath. This conversation was beyond frustrating. "Not that it matters right now, but Gabe Michaels and I were married yesterday."

Savannah's head jerked up and their gazes met. This time the void of emotion had been replaced with something that actually looked real. Fear? No, that couldn't be it. Regret? She couldn't tell. Reading others’ emotions had never been her forte.

"That's unfortunate," Savannah replied, the sadness in her voice echoing what Nina saw in her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean? Why would my marriage to Gabe, someone your son has embraced as almost a brother, be unfortunate?"

"Has he told you about his parents yet?"

The question out of the blue about Gabe's parents threw her off. Why in the world would that matter? ”Of course I know what happened to his parents. Their tragic car accident has never been a secret."

Savannah shook her head. "Not his adopted parents. His real parents."

Nina stopped short. "Gabe's adopted?"

The sigh she heard through the handset did not bode well and Nina had a feeling whatever she was about to say next was going to be really bad.

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