Page 26 of Deliver Me

He would have waited to open the letter until his cellmate wasn’t around, but he hadn’t expected her to tell him this. He’d been denying and fighting his own attraction for so long, sure that she would never feel the same. His only hope had been that Mia felt some kind of emotional connection to him, a friendship and someone to care what happened to him, the idea that she might feel something sexual for him simply had not occurred to him.

They’d never met, but her pictures on the wall mocked him, a potent reminder that lust was perfectly able to flourish from something as simple as a photo and a phone call. He would never forget the way he had felt when she’d answered the phone for the first time. Hearing her sweet lilting voice had been one of the best experiences of his life.

He’d been ashamed of it, had felt like a creep for the way he’d felt about her, but if she felt the same way …

I needed you to know that no matter how you feel about me, I have strong feelings for you. I know I said I wouldn’t push for you to ask for a new trial, but I’m going to do it anyway. Please, if you feel the same way I do, if you want the chance to see what there might be between us, fight for your future. I’ll help you.

I’ll always be your friend, but I wish I could be more.

MIA

“If I were a decent man …” But the letter was clutched protectively in his hand, and he didn’t know how to let her go.

“You’re not.” Alex reminded him. “And I don’t think she wants you to be. Seems like she had one of those and decided she liked you better. So, whatever she said to you, say it back. Then ask her to send nudes.”

Gabriel glared at him. “You know the guards would confiscate that shit, besides she’s not like that.”

Alex snorted. “Women in love do crazy things.”

Gabriel’s heart, already pounding impossibly fast, somehow beat faster. “She’s not in love with me.”

“Isn’t she?”

Gabriel looked at Mia’s letter again. He was a selfish man and he wanted that from her, even if he only ever had her through the letters she sent.

“She didn’t say that she was,” he clarified carefully.

“Did you? Because we both know that you’re in love with her.” Alex didn’t wait for an answer before he shook his head and gestured at the letter. “It doesn’t matter if she said it, you know it’s true.”

She was too happy to be angry anymore. Her most recent phone call with Gabriel had pasted a smile on her face that didn’t waver when Lilly pulled out a chair and sat down beside her in the library.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

Mia nodded. “I have and I’d say that I was sorry, but it would be a lie. You told James about Gabriel, and you did it without talking to me about it.”

Lilly winced, but she didn’t deny it. “I thought I was helping you. This thing with Gabriel …” she drifted off, and her brows drew together in disapproval. “I’m worried.”

“I know you meant well which is why I’m not avoiding you anymore.”

Lilly relaxed, a soft sigh escaping her as she reached into her bag. “Does this mean that you’ve worked things out with James?” She pulled out a bar of chocolate and split it between them

“No,” Mia said with a laugh. Several of the other students turned to glare at her, but she ignored them. “It means I’ve forgiven you because I don’t care at all what James thinks anymore.”

“He’s a good man—”

“He didn’t love me,” Mia cut in. “I’m not even sure he liked me, really, and I deserve someone who does.”

“Of course you do,” Lilly agreed. “I just wanted you to be happy.”

“Iamhappy.” The memory of Gabriel’s phone call flashed through her mind, how he hadn’t even bothered to say hello when she answered.

“I want you,” he’d said breathlessly. “I want youso muchand I didn’t know how to tell you and I didn’t think you’d feel the same. I don’t know what the hell we’re doing, and you have a whole life ahead of you that I don’t want to ruin but if you want me, I’ll try everything I can to get out of here. The guys that spend all their free time helping the other inmates with legal shit agreed to help me file the petition. If they approve it and I have to go through a whole new trial, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“What are you smiling at?” Lilly asked. “Did something happen? Wait, do you have a new guy?”

“No, not a new one,” Mia considered not telling her, but it was bubbling inside her, a secret that begged to be shared. “It’s just … it’s Gabriel.”

The look of horror on Lilly’s face was almost comical. “No … Mia, I don’t even know what to say. I knew something was going on with you two.”

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