“I can’t have everyone staring at me, wondering . . . asking questions.”
“That would suck.”
Was that a smile on Gabi’s lips? Good God, Meg hoped so.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Someplace to start over.” She stood, the nightgown she’d worn for a week engulfed her tiny frame. “Someplace where I can scrub his image from my head. Where I can learn to respect myself again.”
Meg wanted desperately to tell Gabi that she didn’t need to prove anything. Yet, apparently, she did . . . if only to herself.
“A place where you can grab hold of your life and take charge.”
Gabi nodded. “Yes.”
Meg thought of the strong women in her life. Sam had built her business in the ashes of her torn-up family. Eliza lost her parents when she was young, survived it. Each of them had a crossroads in their lives and rose above adversity to come out on top.
“Come with me.”
Gabi blinked.
“To California. We’ll have to check with Sam about a job. We can always use help with Alliance.”
Some of the pain in Gabi’s eyes faded. “A job?”
“An occupation. Supporting yourself is empowering. You’ll be so busy you won’t have time to look out the window and dwell.”
“The social worker said I needed to face what happened in order to overcome it.”
Meg nodded. “And you will. In the meantime, you need to take control.”
“A job.”
Meg stood and took her friend’s hand. “A new life.”
Gabi took hold of Meg’s hand and squeezed.
And smiled.
That night, Meg packed her bags and found it was her time to stare out a high-rise window and debate her life.
What did her life even look like anymore? She’d spent over a month of her life buried in Val and his family. Kidnapping, drugs . . . bootleg wine. Everything had changed, and outside of the obvious, Meg couldn’t completely tell why.
Watching the light slowly fill Gabi’s eyes again reminded Meg that life was meant to be lived. The entire situation with Alonzo, Stephan . . . the drugs, could have had a fatal turn. As it was, the DEA seized the rest of the drugs in Val’s cellars. Two additional staff members had been flushed out and charges were brought against them. Stephan would spend a significant time in jail, and if he ever managed to get out, he’d most likely be a target for the Mexican drug runner who was still out there.
Then there was Alonzo. The man was barely conscious and half-dead when the Coast Guard fished him from the water. Meg held some satisfaction to know that Val shoved a fist into the man’s wounds, made him hurt just a little more. He’d made it into surgery, but the amount of holes from Rick, Neil, and at least two others from aboard one of the Coast Guard’s ships were simply too much for the ass to handle. He still clung to life, with little chance of breathing off a ventilator.
There weren’t many people that Meg truly wanted dead . . . but Alonzo was one of them.
He’d shattered Gabi, and it was going to take a long time to bring her back to the smiling, happy woman she was only a month ago.
The door to her room clicked and Val walked inside. His jacket was on his arm, his tie loose around his neck. He’d been burning daylight hours with rehiring staff, building his virtual defensive walls, and balancing his sister, mother . . . and even Meg.
“Hey,” she managed.
“Hey.” Val dropped his jacket on the bed and crossed the room. He pulled her into his arms and held her. He did that a lot, just held her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
“I-I packed.”
“I don’t want to think of you leaving.”
“My flight is at noon.” The lump in her throat made her choke. She wasn’t an emotional sap, so why was she on the verge of crying?
He drew away and kissed her forehead. “Ti amo, bella. We’ll figure this out.”
A sad smile emerged with his soft words. She never asked what they meant, just thought they were endearing, and from the tone, she felt it, too.
“Gabi is coming with me.”
At first, Val held his breath . . . then he sighed and pulled her onto the loveseat. “Is that smart? Shouldn’t she be with her mother?”
Meg held his hand, saw the pain in his eyes. “She needs to heal, Val. The island will be a reminder of him . . . of everything. In time, maybe that will change. A change of scenery, people. She needs to control her destiny and not be dependent on anyone other than herself now.”
Val didn’t appear convinced.
“She smiled today. After she made the decision to move away. She’ll stay with me. Sam already offered her a job. I think it’s the right move.”
“I want to argue, but think you might be right.”
“She can always come back, if I’m not,” Meg said.
He tilted his head, ran a hand over the five o’clock shadow that never seemed to completely go away since she’d told him she liked the look. He really was one of the most beautiful men she’d ever feasted her eyes on. Not seeing him daily was truly going to suck. Her heart broke a little more as the hours ticked down to her departure.
“Damn it, Val. I’m going to miss you.” She slapped a playful hand on his chest.
He captured it and kissed her fingers. “We might be apart by miles, but not here.” He tapped their joined hands to his chest.
“I don’t do long-distance relationships.” She swiped the moisture under her eyes. Damn mascara was going to make her look like a zombie.