Page 14 of The Captive Missing

“Jason claims he set you free, legally speaking, which is true. He then states you made your own deal with the FBI and are under witness protection, which they have stipulated is also true. The only problem is, no one has been able to track you down under your new identity. Even your case handler, who attempted to contact you with the subpoena, has been unable to find you.”

“I didn’t know.” Val looked sadly into Elaine’s drawn face. “He never told me.”

“We all understand why he’s willing to sacrifice everything to keep your whereabouts a secret.” Elaine’s eyes darted to Gabe. “But to rot in jail for another man who he has helped in so many ways…”

Elaine let the last sentence fade as Bee leapt again to Gabe’s defense. As the two women resumed their heated battle, Val shifted to watch Gabe.

Through it all, he had remained silent. Sitting straight in his chair, his face was impassive. The only tell he provided was a slight tightening along his jaw.

Val flashed back to their earlier conversation, the things he said now had a new layer of meaning. Gabe had known the entire time what was going on with Jason. The loud music, the angry attitude, it was not so much in response to the arrival of Lillian and Elaine. It was the knowledge of a looming decision. The end of his free life. The beginning of more years spent at the mercy of Cambric, pleasing others, killing his true self.

Would he exchange his entire life to do the right thing by Jason? That is the question Gabe had been wrestling with. That is the horror he’d been remembering. The horror he experienced at the hands of Sharon.

Val’s gaze was fixed on Gabe. She watched as he finally came to a decision. For the briefest moment, a crease of unending pain filled his face. But in a blink, it was gone, disappearing into a carefully blank expression. An expression that was well-practiced. An expression Val herself, knew all too well.

“I’ll go.” Val spoke out suddenly, causing all other voices to drop away. “I’ll go instead of Gabe.”

Chapter 7

“What?” Gabe shifted to stare at her, his eyes narrowing.

“I’ll answer the court’s subpoena. I’m free. Cambric has no hold on me. I witnessed the agreement between you and Jason so I can testify on Jason’s behalf. On top of that, he isn’t harboring you anymore because you’ve almost paid him back right?”

“I can’t let you do that.” Gabe shook his head fiercely. “You can’t risk Jace, the danger is too great.”

“The summons is for Val,” Elaine reasoned, her quick mind working ahead. “If she answers it as Val, then her identity as Kelly is still protected. Val has no children, no record of a birth, no nothing. Jace will be safe and so will she.”

“No.” Gabe stood, his broad shoulders tense, muscles shifting beneath his shirt. “I promised Jason that I’d keep her and Jace here.”

“But that was before they put him in jail,” Bee reasoned, reaching out a hand to tug at his wrist. “It makes sense. They can’t do anything to Val and if we keep Jace here, then no one can touch him.”

“No!” Gabe jerked his arm from her grasp. “I will go. It’s the right thing to do.”

“It’s the stupid thing to do.” Bee’s voice pitched in anguish. “Val going is a good solution!”

Gabe whirled away. Turning his back on all of them, he strode deliberately out of the room and onto the deck. The wide door slammed shut behind him, rattling the glass panes in its frame.

At the table, the four women looked at each other, but said nothing. The angry words that had been hurled between Elaine and Bee were now forgotten. The tide had suddenly shifted. Things were not the same.

All along the table, the array of candles flickered and withered, forming tiny pools of melted wax in their blue-tinged glass bowls. Hands wringing beneath the table, Val wondered how soon she could leave. How long would it take them to get a hearing? To get Jason released? God how she wished he was here to tell her she was making the right move. But he wasn’t here and without her help, he wouldn’t be for a very long time.

Lillian was the first to rise and begin clearing dishes. Stolidly she gripped glasses, plates and platters and made trip after trip to the kitchen. Val knew in her own home that this was likely a rare occurrence. The Durands kept a full staff, as did the Riggs, herself and Jason included. It was only Bee and Gabe that were the hold-outs.

They both seemed so determined to be alone together, or maybe it was mostly Gabe who had refused to hire help. No servants, he had said once, but refused to elaborate.

“I didn’t realize Gabe was paying Jason back.” Elaine stood slowly and reached for the empty bottles of wine.

“Yes, he only has a handful of payments left,” Bee confirmed.

“I’m not sure how far it will go,” Elaine resumed. “But if he could pay if off entirely then maybe our lawyers can make the argument Jason no longer ‘owns’ Gabe. Does he have enough money?”

“I’m sure he does.” Bee paused, gazing down into her own empty glass. “But I’m not sure he’ll agree to make the final payments if we want Val to go in his place. He might hold out on us.”

“Well, can’t you pay it?” Elaine asked.

“I don’t have any money,” Bee replied, causing Elaine to huff indignantly.

“What about your settlement from Cambric?” Elaine was talking about the cool ten million that The Agency was forced to pay out for the illegal trafficking of Veronica Durand.

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