“Apparently Natalie had a flash drive of photos and videos hidden somewhere. She tried to Fed Ex it to The Washington Post.”
“What?” Julia screeched. “It’s going to be on the Internet. It’s going to be in the newspapers. Oh my God. Oh my God.”
She buried her face in her hands and began rocking back and forth.
Gabriel reached out to touch her shoulder. “Not so fast. Jack intercepted it. He wants to know what he should do with it.”
Julia dropped her hands. “Tell him to destroy it. Ask him to find all the copies and destroy them, too.”
“Are you sure? He can delete the photos involving you and send the rest. They’d get what they deserve.”
Julia pulled the sheet up to her chin.
“I don’t want revenge.”
Gabriel’s eyes glinted dangerously. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I’ve moved on. I rarely think of them and I want to keep it that way. I don’t want to watch their lives implode and know that I’m responsible.”
“You wouldn’t be responsible. They’re the ones responsible.”
“I’m accountable for my actions.” Julianne’s voice grew steely. “I don’t understand why Natalie is doing this now, after you and Jack sorted her out.”
“Simon is marrying someone else.”
Julia’s eyes grew round. “What?”
“I expect Natalie is hoping his fiancée will leave him if his past is exposed.”
Julia seemed shocked. “He finally dumped her. I would have thought he’d keep her on the side, but perhaps his father told him to cut her loose.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me. The election is next year.”
“Now there’s a wedding.” Julia shook her head. “Nothing like a little matrimonial window dressing to make the campaign appear more family friendly. I just wish Natalie would leave me out of it.”
“You’re in it. At least for now.” Gabriel’s mouth settled into a grim line. “I think it’s safe to say that Jack will be paying Natalie and her apartment another visit. What do you want me to tell him about the flash drive?”
“Ask him to destroy everything.”
Gabriel huffed in frustration, running his fingers through his hair.
“They don’t deserve your mercy.”
“His fiancée does, whoever she is. She’ll be humiliated.”
“She’s a stupid girl if she’s involved with him.”
Julia winced.
“I was a stupid girl once.” Her voice was so soft, Gabriel had to strain to hear her.
“You weren’t stupid; you were manipulated. Come on, don’t you want them to suffer?”
“Not this way.”
He rose to his feet, placing his hands on his hips.
“I do! Think about what he did to you. Think about what she did. They made you suffer for years. They nearly destroyed you!”
“But they didn’t,” she said quietly, to his retreating back.
He walked toward the window and moved the curtains, staring out over Central Park.
“I broke his jaw, and it still didn’t give me satisfaction.” Gabriel examined the bare, snow-covered branches of the trees. “I wanted to kill him.”
“You acted in self-defense. If you hadn’t come to my rescue . . .” She shuddered in remembrance of the day she was almost raped. “But what you’re asking me to do isn’t self-defense.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “No. It’s justice.”
“We spoke once, about mercy seasoning justice. We spoke about penance and forgiveness.”
“This is different.”
“That’s right. Because even though I could demand justice, in this case, I decline. To quote one of our favorite novels, to God I respectfully return the ticket.”
Gabriel snorted. “You’re misquoting Dostoyevsky for your own Franciscan purposes.”
Julia smiled at his indignation.
“I know you’re angry with me for not wanting to punish them. But, darling, think of his mother. She was kind to me. This will kill her.”
Gabriel didn’t take his eyes from the trees.
“You threatened to go to the press yourself.”
“To tell them the truth, not to share the pictures. And only if Natalie gave me no other choice.”
Gabriel’s right hand formed a fist, which he brought to rest against the window, resisting the urge to punch through the glass.
It wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t fair that someone as sweet as Julianne was neglected by her mother and father and left to a cruel and manipulative boyfriend.
It wasn’t fair that Suzanne Emerson was left to cling to the scraps her lover fed her, while he lavished love on his family.
It wasn’t fair that Grace and Maia died while others lived.
It wasn’t fair that Tom and Diane were expecting a baby with a damaged heart.
No, the universe wasn’t fair. And if that weren’t lamentable enough, when the opportunities came for justice, Franciscans like Julianne turned the other cheek and spoke of mercy.
Damn.
He closed his eyes.
She’d turned the other cheek to him.
As had Grace.
As had Maia.
With a deep sigh, he focused his attention on Assisi and what had happened to him when he visited the crypt. God had met him there, but not with justice. With mercy.
“Call your uncle.”