Gabi pointed to her aches and pains, let the doctor know that her captor had definitely drugged her. She wanted to omit her knowledge of the drug, but there wasn’t any mistaking the heroin that had ran in her veins. The doctor drew a few vials of blood and requested she go to the hospital should any of the lab results return with a failing grade.
Hunter met the doctor at the door. She overheard him asking the doctor about her health. Felt some satisfaction when he said she was probably fine. If anything pained her excessively in the morning, to report to him so they could run a few tests . . . take an X-ray or two.
She was drifting off to sleep in the comfort of her bed when she heard Hunter arguing.
“We have a few more questions and then we’ll leave until tomorrow.”
“Hasn’t she been through enough?”
“No one is arguing that, Blackwell.”
“It’s OK, Hunter. I just want to get this over with,” Gabi said from the bed.
Officer Delgado entered the room with Hunter.
Hunter helped Gabi sit up on the bed and tucked the covers around her.
“I’m sorry we have to do this, Mrs. Blackwell.”
She closed her eyes. “Let’s just do it.”
“Tell me what you remember.”
She started from the moment the car crashed. Paused briefly to ask about Connor. Hunter said at last check he was concussed with a few broken ribs, but he’d be back to normal in a few weeks.
Gabi replayed the moment when she knew she’d been drugged.
Hunter moved to the bed beside her and held her hand as she talked. “Then I met your dad.”
“He’s OK. At the hospital.”
Gabi nodded and continued.
She talked about the gun, the threats. How Diaz had no intention of letting her go.
She replayed seeing someone outside the window and the house filling with smoke.
“I knew the syringe held a lethal dose. He told me it did. I couldn’t fight him . . . it’s all I had.”
Officer Delgado wrote a note and looked up. “I can’t imagine anyone faulting you for his death. You managed to keep your wits, and that couldn’t have been easy.”
Gabi rested her head on Hunter’s shoulder.
“What happened next?”
“It was foggy. I couldn’t breathe. Someone was there and a mask helped clear my lungs.”
“Who was there?”
She shook her head. “I never saw a face. Black mask. Then Hunter was holding me outside.”
“You have no idea who placed a mask on your face?”
“I’d just escaped death, Officer . . . knew my assailant was dead. I wasn’t questioning my good luck and quizzing the man offering clean air.”
“It was a man?”
“Or a bulky woman. I couldn’t say for sure.”
Delgado blew out a breath.
The officer stood and extended a card. “If you remember anything else.”
Andrew and Delgado passed in the doorway.
“I brought soup.”
Three days later Gabi and Hunter sat beside Lori and a team of lawyers, half Hunter’s, half Samantha’s, and the district attorney.
Every detail on who Diaz was, why he had targeted her . . . her bank accounts, and the insurance mistake she would gladly pay in full if the courts would allow it, was spelled out.
It helped that the media had painted her the unfortunate socialite who had married a billionaire only to find herself kidnapped and held for ransom. There were three men dead and a few more recovering in hospitals . . . and Gabi sporting enough color on her face to make a supermodel happy.
In case the outcome wasn’t what they wanted, Hunter and his PR team had prepared a press conference directly following the meeting with the DA.
As it turned out, Diaz had been a vicious player in the drug community who had taken a hit when the shipment Alonzo Picano was responsible for went missing. Diaz was quickly recovering when Gabi switched the accounts. All that said, the DA said they would have to launch a full investigation, but he didn’t see any criminal charges being brought against her.
As for the insurance fraud, the DA held little jurisdiction, but would offer testimony on her behalf. With the return of the money, and the DA refusing to press charges, the chances of the insurance company getting anywhere was slim.
Gabi left the DA’s office on Hunter’s arm, their team claiming a holiday victory.
Instead of a press conference, the family and friends who’d gathered in her support followed them home.
There Andrew and a small team of people had prepared a preholiday feast.
Perhaps bought a preholiday feast was a better word. Not that Gabi cared. The thought was what counted.
“Why are we having a party today?” Hunter asked Blake when he noticed Samantha ushering children and a few nannies into a yet-to-be-furnished downstairs den.
“Appearances are important,” Blake told him. “I don’t really get it, but Sam insists.”
Hunter smiled and moved beside Gabi as they walked around the room. They thanked Judy and Rick for their support, and Gabi noticed Hunter’s predatory gaze when she hugged Judy’s brother Michael. “Thank you for coming.”
“If those sharks started picking on you, they would have had to deal with me.”
Gabi turned to Hunter. “Have you two met?”
“I doubt there are many left who don’t know who you are.”