She’d been too upset to notice the bruise herself until now. It wasn’t large but it was dark purple where Keiran had dug his thumb into her. Thankfully, it was on the underside of her wrist and hard to see.
Gabrielle snatched her hand back. “Um…I’m not sure,” she said, darting a look at Damien and seeing his eyes sharpen.
“You’ll have to be more careful in the future,” Keiran said with fake concern.
Her mother moved closer and picked up Gabrielle’s hand to check the inside of her wrist. “Keiran’s right. That’s a nasty bruise, darling.”
Gabrielle could feel heat creeping into her cheeks. Her mother would be shocked to know that her nephew had put the bruise there. They would all be shocked. She found it hard to believe herself.
Keiran gave a light chuckle. “She tripped the other day and would have fallen if I hadn’t saved her,” he lied. “She always was a bit of a klutz.”
Caroline frowned. “I don’t remember that, Keiran.”
“Me, neither,” Russell said with a scowl, and Gabrielle’s heart jumped in her throat. Her father was looking at Keiran with slightly narrowed eyes. Did he suspect the truth? Oh God, she hoped not. It would lead to dangerous secrets being exposed.
Her mother’s face cleared. “How about I make us some iced tea?”
Gabrielle quickly forced a smile. “That would be lovely, Mum,” she said, all at once knowing that Keiran had tripped her up the other day. It hadn’t been an accident.
Keiran smiled at her mother, but Gabrielle thought he looked a little nervous now, as well he should. “Yes, that would be perfect, Caroline.”
Gabrielle swallowed hard as her mother left the room with a spring in her step. Her father was still frowning slightly, but it was Damien whom Gabrielle was worried about now. His eyes were on Keiran with a lethal calmness that seriously worried her. She had the feeling he had caught onto what Keiran was doing.
Damien didn’t know how he managed to get through the next half hour. He hoped to God he was wrong, but his gut was telling him differently. Tension coiled inside him.
“Okay, Gabrielle,” he said once they were home. She’d been sending him wary glances on the way, and he’d done nothing to put her mind at ease. He wanted her to spill all, and he wanted no procrastination. “Tell me. How did you get that bruise?”
Seconds crawled by. She shot him an anxious glance. “Um…bruise?” she said, not fooling him for an instant.
He jerked his head at her hand. “The one on your wrist there. Or should I say the one under your wrist?”
“Oh, that one.” She shrugged as she placed her handbag on the sofa. “I can’t remember.”
“Keiran knew it was there,” he pointed out.
One delicate eyebrow rose. “What are you implying, Damien?”
They both knew she was hiding something. “Keiran was being a smart-arse about it. He doesn’t do that for no good reason.”
“That’s just Keiran being Keiran.”
He held back his irritation at her delaying tactics. “The thing is why did he feel he had to point it out?”
“How do I know?” she challenged, but there was something in her blue eyes telling him she wasn’t nearly as defiant underneath. There was a hint of fear in her eyes.
His gut knotted more. “I think you do,” he said silkily.
She squared her shoulders. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Yes.” He stared hard, letting her know he wasn’t about to give up. He would find out what all this was about if it was the last thing he did.
Suddenly her shoulders slumped just a little. “Damien, please let things be.”
He expelled a harsh breath. “Jesus, did Keiran really put that bruise on you?” Even though he’d suspected, it was a different thing knowing for sure.
She wrapped her arms around herself in a defensive gesture. “Yes, Damien. He did.”
A knifing pain sliced through his chest. “I’ll kill him,” he rasped, taking a step toward the door.
“No!” She stepped in front of him. “What’s the use now, Damien? Let it be.”
He stopped, looked down at her face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it didn’t seem much at the time.”
He swore. No one should put up with physical abuse, and certainly not from a weak-willed coward like—
“I wouldn’t listen to him this morning, you see,” she said, cutting across his thoughts. “He grabbed my wrist too tight, that’s all.”
He gave her a glance of disbelief. “All? He was gloating. He did it deliberately.” Something occurred to him. “Hell, he was gloating over you tripping up, too. Did he trip you, Gabrielle? The truth please.”
She winced. “I…I think so.”
Damien’s jaw clenched. There was more to this than she was saying. “Why wouldn’t you listen to him? What was he saying?”
“Nothing. It was just about work,” she said, but her eyes darted away again, making him increasingly uneasy.
“You should have told me. If he did it once he would do it again.”
“I kept thinking he wouldn’t.”
“Not bloody likely,” he rasped.
She sighed. “I know.”
All at once he realized something else. Gabrielle had no trouble standing up to Keiran before. So why wasn’t she standing up to her cousin over this? What did Keiran have over her? There was only one way to find out.
“Right.” He sidestepped her and strode to the door. It was getting late but he couldn’t stay here a moment longer without wanting to carry her off to bed and dull the thought of Keiran from her mind. And from his own. But tonight it wouldn’t be enough.
“Damien, please,” she implored behind him. “This is madness.”
He continued walking. He was a man on a mission now.
“Damien, where are you going?”
He continued walking. “Guess.”
“Damien, don’t. Please let things be.”
He stopped briefly and looked back at her. “No chance in hell.” Then he walked out the door. He had things to sort out. And Keiran Kane was one of them.
Ten
G abrielle watched Damien leave, sick with anguish. How could she have told him about Keiran’s blackmail? He would have had to ask why.
And now he was on his way to find her cousin. What would he do when he got there? Would he actually hit Keiran? He’d certainly looked angry enough. Or would he be cool and calm and even more dangerous? Knowing Damien, it would be the latter.
Of course, Keiran wouldn’t hesitate to tell him about the miscarriage. He’d even tell him it was another man’s baby, though she could soon straighten that out.
What she couldn’t explain was not telling Damien about his child. How could she look him in the eye and tell him she’d lost the marvelous little creation he hadn’t known they’d made together?
She closed her eyes, her heart aching with pain. Damien was about to be blindsided, and she was about to lose the man she loved sooner than she’d expected. Dear God, she hadn’t wanted to stir up anymore heartache, but heartache was definitely on the agenda.
Somehow she dragged herself into the shower before changing into her nightgown and slipping into bed. And her anguish turned to a different kind of pain when midnight came and went and there was still no sign of Damien returning. She could have called him on his cell phone, but a sickening thought brought tears to her eyes.
Had he gone to find comfort in the arms of another woman? Cynthia perhaps? He’d never explained who exactly that “woman friend” was and what she wanted.
Her father certainly had turned to other women years ago. It’s what men did, wasn’t it? When things got tough they went elsewhere. Would Damien come home smelling of Cynthia’s perfume and with her lipstick on his collar? The thought ripped at her insides as she hugged Damien’s pillow to her.
When first light came her heart was heavy. Damien must know about the miscarriage by now. He hadn’t come home and his continued silence reflected that he didn’t want her to stay.
It was time to leave.
Oh God.
And how did she tell her parents she was leaving? She wasn’t prepared. They weren’t prepared. Perhaps she could say she had to go back to Sydney to help Eileen? Just temporarily, she’d say. That would give her father more time to recover from the stroke so that in a few weeks when she didn’t return, it may not be so hard on them. Not when they had each other now.
Okay, so it was a coward’s way out, but she really was thinking of her father’s health. She would do it this way and hope for the best for all of them. She couldn’t see Damien telling them about her miscarriage. He just wouldn’t do that to them.
But Keiran would.
She swallowed hard. Damn her cousin for putting her in this position. Well, if he wanted her out, then he would have to make a deal with her. If she left quietly, he had to keep quiet about everything to do with her losing the baby.
But her brief taste of victory soon disappeared when she remembered that she had to get through today first. She had to face her parents. She wouldn’t think about Damien right now. She couldn’t. One step at a time.
It was fortuitous, then, that she’d told her mother last week that she would come over and get some of her old things sometime. No time like the present. She’d go right now. She needed to keep busy, and if everything was about to cave in on her, she wanted some mementoes from her room.
Lord, this was going to be so hard, she decided, getting her empty suitcase out of the wardrobe, intending to fill it with all the things she hadn’t been able to take with her before.
Her mother’s eyes widened when she opened the door and saw the lone suitcase in her daughter’s hand. Caroline looked beyond Gabrielle to the Porsche parked in the drive behind her, then back at her daughter, her eyes confused.
Gabrielle pasted on a smile and wondered how she could keep on functioning. “I’m here.”
Caroline blinked as she tightened the belt around her silk bathrobe. “Darling, here for what?”
Gabrielle stepped into the house. “I thought I might get some of those things from my room.”
Her mother looked taken aback. “What? Now?”
Gabrielle hesitated. “Is it a bad time?”
“No, of course not. I just didn’t expect you here this early.”
“I’m sorry. I rise early.” She knew she should probably leave and come back later, but she wasn’t sure she would have the strength to do this again. “How’s Dad?”
“Feeling much better.”
“Terrific.” That was one good thing in all this mess. “I’ll just go up to my old room, then.”
Her mother closed the front door. “Stop in and see your father first. He’s awake,” she said, but her eyes were confused.
“Okay.” Gabrielle went to turn away, then spun back and gave her mother a hug. “Mum, I’m so happy that you and Dad are back together again.”