“Yes, it’s true,” I reply.
“Oh my God.” She lets out a relieved sigh. “That’s good. I was hoping you would.”
“You were? Why?”
“I just think that maybe he can help you somehow. He has more resources than we do, Toto.”
“Well, he can’t,” I snap, crossing my arms in frustration. “I only told him because I think he deserves to know the truth. But I won’t let him get involved…”
“I’m already involved,” Gabriel interjects. “Whether you like it or not, Victoria. And Alanna’s right, I can help you. You just have to trust me. But first, I have something important to tell both of you.”
I turn my attention back to him though I’m far from ready to let this subject drop.
“After you told me everything last night, I couldn’t sleep. This morning I had a friend run some background information. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to locate Eleanore, because it seems she is pretty good at hiding herself. And she has the means to do so now that her father’s passed away.”
“Of course she has money now too,” I groan. “That’s just icing on the cake.”
“A friend of mine is checking into it,” Gabriel continues, looking so hopeful I can’t say anything to rain on his parade. He’s grossly underestimating how good Eleanore is at this, just like everyone always has.
“But he did find something else this morning,” he says. “Something important.”
Alanna and I glance at each other, holding our breath while we wait.
Gabriel’s eyes dart towards Alanna as he explains. “Your husband Mitchell, well I don’t exactly know how to say this… but you don’t have to worry about him anymore. He was killed in the line of duty two years ago. A routine traffic stop that went badly.”
Wrong or right, his words fill me with relief. But something is off, because Alanna doesn’t look relieved at all. In fact she doesn’t even look surprised. She hangs her head in shame, and my stomach somersaults at the implication of that guilty expression.
“I already knew,” she whispers weakly.
“What do you mean you knew?” I demand.
I don’t want to believe that she would keep something like this from me. That she could lie to me like that.
She looks up at me with pleading eyes, silently begging for my forgiveness. “I couldn’t tell you.”
“But why?” I croak.
She casts an irritated glance in Gabriel’s direction as if this is his fault somehow. “I should have known you would have found out.”
“How could you not tell me this, Alanna? We’ve been running for years and…” Suddenly it hits me. The realization that Alanna doesn’t need to run anymore. All of her problems are solved. That’s why she let herself fall in love with Nathan. Why she’s been trying to convince me to stay.
“Oh, God.” I sink into my chair. “How long did you think you could keep this charade up?”
“I don’t know,” she says weakly. “I wanted to tell you, but I could never find the right time. I owe you my life, Victoria, I couldn’t just walk away from you. And I knew if I told you, there was no way you would let me keep running with you.”
“Well you were right,” I say softly. “I won’t let you run with me anymore. This is good news, and I’m happy for you, really I am. But it changes nothing for me.”
Alanna shoots a desperate glance at Gabriel, panic seeping into her features. He walks up behind me and cups my shoulders in his strong hands, managing to soothe me with even the slightest of touches.
“Victoria, I’m going to help you,” he insists. “And you will let me. We both care about you, and nobody is going to let you leave here by yourself. You don’t have to do this anymore. I can protect you.”
“No, you can’t!” I raise my voice in frustration. “You just don’t get it. She will kill you, Gabriel. She’ll kill Alanna, and anyone else who’s in her way. I cannot involve either of you. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it has to be.”
“I want you and Alanna to come stay with me,” he says softly. “You’ll be safe at my apartment.”
Alanna glances at me, her eyes imploring me to take up his offer.
“I don’t know,” I say, knowing full well that isn’t going to happen. “I need to think about this first. Everything’s moving too fast.”
Gabriel sighs, probably expecting nothing less from me. “Fine. You have two days to wrap your head around it, but you will be coming with me. I won’t give in on this Victoria. But in the meantime, I need you and Alanna to come with me this afternoon because I’m teaching you both how to shoot.”