Page 81 of Concealed

“So, do you have any food?”

Well, except for dinner.

A laugh-sob escapes as some of the tension eases from my shoulders. “I have Moroccan chicken in the slow cooker. I’m sure Wyatt won’t mind sharing.”

Gabe is still in his uniform, so he must have immediately left work and come straight here even though I told him it was okay.

Tears fill my eyes because after the way I’ve treated him and everyone else in my life, I don’t deserve him. But I’m sure glad he feels otherwise, and I’m determined to make it up to the people I love.

When Gabe smiles, the kindness in his warm brown eyes makes me melt. He’s just trying to distract me and keep me busy, but it’s working.

Now that he’s here and I don’t have to be hyperaware of every noise, I turn the radio back on and prepare a heaping plate of chicken and quinoa straight from the slow cooker.

He sits on one of the stools in front of the breakfast bar while I slice up a baguette. It’s so nice to have another person in the house to slow my racing thoughts. Being alone too much can really mess with someone’s head.

“Do you want some wine?” I ask. “I could use the bottle with a straw.”

Gabe chuckles. “I have to drive back, so I’ll pass. But you should definitely go ahead. It’s been a hell of a night for you.”

I pour him a glass of ice water and then a big glass of pinot grigio for me. “Have you talked to Darren much?”

I already know the answer – Gabe is one of my brother’s closest friends. It kills me to have to ask Gabe about my family when I should be in contact with them myself, but right now, I don’t have a lot of options.

And I want to know everything about them.

“We talk almost every day,” Gabe confirms. “We need a plan to get you out there to visit them.”

The dry white wine is exactly what I needed to relax, and I take another big sip.

“Wyatt said I’ll have to press charges. Not that it will do anything.”

“We have to try,” Gabe says. “It’s the only way to get your life back. We need to fight back, not hide, or else Matt is going to control you forever.”

“I know. I needed to hide for a while, though, and get my head on straight. But I’m ready to join the real world now. And I’ll follow the process to do it, even if I think it’s pointless.”

“Your parents’ annual Labor Day barbeque will be here before we know it. Let’s target getting you home for it.”

It’s the perfect weekend. The official end of summer gathering gets everyone together before regular life ramps back up again, the slower pace of the summer about to become a thing of the past.

Hopefully, I’ll be working in September and life will be busier, but I’ll make a point to visit them every month either way.

“That would be perfect,” I agree.

“Why are you so convinced the cops won’t help you?” Gabe asks.

He’s a smart man, and he’s figured out there’s more to the story. Even if I did get a bunch of dud cops the last time that I reported Matt, I know it’s unlikely I’d get stuck with them again. It wasn’t about them in particular.

The thing is that it doesn’t matter who gets assigned to my case.

No one is going to charge Matt.

As much as I want to believe the plan will work and that good will win against evil – that is what’s supposed to happen, after all – this is my actual life and not a movie. The good guys don’t always win, and sometimes the bad guys have an unbeatable edge.

“You know Wyatt’s dad is the mayor of LA, right?” Gabe asks. “As much as they hate each other, his dad would still step in if Wyatt asked.”

But I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t want to put Wyatt in a position where he’s indebted to his father. It’s not fair.”

Gabe gives me a knowing smile as he continues to devour the food in front of him. “Something tells me that Wyatt would think you’re worth it.”

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