Page 36 of He Doesn't Deserve You

“We don’t have enough evidence to hold him on those charges,” he admitted. “But this isn’t over. We’re going to keep investigating those crimes. You have my word.”

Emily’s eyes filled with desperation. “And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

Detective Martin sighed. “I’m sorry, my hands are tied. Until we have concrete evidence, we can’t keep him in custody.”

“Get the tapes, then you’ll have proof,” Emily said as she stepped out of the car and walked into her house.

19

Hearing the front door open and close, Gabriel hurried into the foyer. “How did it go?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

Emily placed her purse on the side table and exhaled deeply. “They’re releasing Roman.”

“What? Why?” Gabriel demanded, following Emily as she started up the stairs.

“They said he didn’t kidnap Ava,” Emily explained, not masking her frustration. “I left her with him. They don’t have enough evidence against him for the other charges.” Reaching the top of the stairs Emily asked, “Where’s Ava?”

“She’s asleep.”

Emily put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence, and carefully opened Ava’s bedroom door. She tiptoed across the room over to the bed. In the soft glow of the nightlight, she gazed at her sleeping daughter, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. After a few moments of watching Ava’s peaceful slumber, she gently ran a hand through her hair and kissed her forehead. “Sleep tight, baby,” she murmured lovingly.

When Emily stepped out of the bedroom, she quietly closed the door behind her. Gabriel was leaning against the wall in the hallway, arms crossed over his chest.

“Are you ready to talk about this?” he asked gently.

“Sure, do you mind if I take a shower first?”

Gabriel nodded, “I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

Twenty minutes later, Emily walked into the kitchen, dressed in pajamas and a robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. Gabriel handed her a steaming mug. “I made you a cup of tea,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” Emily replied, gratefully accepting the warm cup and then taking a seat at the table.

Sitting down at the table, Gabriel met Emily’s eyes. “I know you saw the credit card bill. Those purchases weren’t mine.”

Emily’s expression grew skeptical. “Are you telling me the card was stolen?”

He frowned and shook his head. “No,” he admitted. Avoiding Emily’s gaze, he softly added, “I lent the card to Olivia.”

Emily’s face flushed with anger. “Why would you do that?” she demanded. “And why didn’t you tell me?”

“She came to me in tears, saying she was having financial problems—her car broke down, needed repairs, and she couldn’t even afford food,” Gabriel pleaded. “What was I supposed to do, let the mother of my children starve? She promised me she’d only use the card for essentials.”

Emily’s eyes blazed with anger. “I’ll tell you what you were supposed to do. You should have talked to your wife about it before handing her the card!”

“I’m sorry.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away before he could touch her. “I made a mistake.”

“Yeah, you did.”

Gabriel sighed, continuing his explanation. “When she started running up the bill on frivolous stuff, I confronted her and asked for the card back, but she refused to return it. I ended up paying off the balance multiple times and even threatened to close the account if she didn’t stop. Eventually, I had no choice—I had to close it.”

“You still should have told me. I tried to use the card. It declined. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?”

“I’m sorry. I forgot that you had that card. I take care of all the bills. I never thought you would find out.”

“And that makes it okay?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

---