Page 23 of Salvation

I need to call Luke. Just buck up, swallow your pride, and dial his number, Hope. It’s fine. Everything is fine and he asked you to call him.

No, more like he demanded I call him when he left me standing in Gabrial’s living room as I called his name and he ignored me and walked out.

The look on his face…

I’ll never forget it.

Dammit to hell.

With shaking fingers, I unlock my phone and then open my recent calls. Luke is at the top. Taking a deep breath, I press the button and listen to it ring.

He answers on the third ring. “Detective Sanchez.”

Detective Sanchez?! He’s answering me like I’m just anyone calling? Maybe he answered without checking the screen.

I blurt out, “Luke… it’s me. Hope.”

He gets quiet and I hear something thump like his feet were propped up and they hit the ground. Then, he’s there. “Hey, Hope.”

He sounds flat. There’s no life in his voice.

Son of a bitch!

Swallowing to try to stem the tears that are suddenly in my throat, I try to speak around the lump. “H––Hey.”

Shit! He asked you to call and you’re calling. That’s it. So just see what he needed since it was apparently strictly professional.

Taking a deep breath, I try again. My voice is just as flat as his this time. “Hey. You told me to call, so I’m calling.”

I hear him sigh on the other end of this torturous call. His voice is softer as he says, “Yeah, I did. I tried to call you a few times yesterday afternoon. When you didn’t return them, I decided to just talk to Gabrial…”

Yeah and that’s when he showed up at Gabrial’s and saw me in just his shirt.

I squeak, “Look, about that… I–– I’m sorry… I didn’t know…”

He cuts me off gruffly. “Stop. Don’t apologize to me about your relationship with Gabrial. I shouldn‘t have walked out like that. I’m sorry, Hope. I know that it upset you, but well… it was a little more than I was prepared for…” His voice lowers and he says, “Look, I’m not talking about this right now. I’m at the station and I need to ask you some questions about Gabrial. I hate that I have to, but I’m investigating something, and he’s involved. I need to come by. Is now a good time?”

My breath catches in my chest as I realize the implications of what it is he’s saying. He’s investigating a case… a murder… and he thinks Gabrial is involved.

No Hope, he doesn’t THINK Gabrial is involved. He knows he is! It’s why he showed up last night and you HEARD part of their conversation.

Gabrial admitted to you he knows where the woman is…

You have to tell Luke. It’s the right thing to do.

Though isn’t that a betrayal of Gabrial?! He specifically asked, no told, me to keep the information he shared with me to myself.

Nodding though Luke can’t see me, I say through parched lips, “Yeah, now is a good time. I’m at the shelter.”

He says, “Okay. I’ll be there in just a bit,” and hangs up.

Laying the now silent phone on my desk, I drop my head into my hands and squeeze my eyes tightly shut as I breathe deeply.

This is bad. Gabrial has done something and this time… whatever it is… it’s bad. Luke is actively investigating him, and I may have information that can help Luke’s case against Gabrial.

What the hell am I supposed to do here?!

I’m so tired. After Luke left Gabrial’s last night, and our talk, I slept fitfully. I went right to sleep, but I awoke a few times with a jolt and was disoriented. I had night terrors filled with death and blood. Everything was dark and the figures in the dreams were hazy, but there was blood. A lot of blood along with darkness and a shimmer of light. I don’t remember the details, but I know whatever it was terrified me and I awoke around 4AM covered in sweat and gasping for breath as if I’d just run straight from the devil himself.

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