Chapter 10



Gabriel heard the sound of crying coming from the room across the hall. He swung his feet to the floor and tied his robe around him before going to see what was wrong. He stepped across the hall and opened the door quietly in case Amie was sleeping. He was sure the sobbing came from Amber.

The first thing he noticed was that Amie's bed was empty. He flicked on the light and looked at the bed set up on the other side of the room. Both of the young girls looked at him. Amie smiled, and Amber wiped the tears away from her face with the back of her hand.

Gabriel sat on the bed and put one arm around the young redhead's shoulders. "What's wrong?" He asked even though he knew. He also knew she needed to be asked, so she would talk.

Her voice trembled. "My daddy killed my mama." And she broke down into tears again.

Gabriel drew her body into his arms, comforting her. "It'll be all right. He won't get away with it. Shhh. It'll be all right. Everything will be all right." He had already begun to think of her as their daughter even though the paperwork hadn't even been started yet. 'Stupid red tape.'

"But he killed her! He's my daddy, and he killed my mama. And she only loved him. Not what he said she did. Only loved him. No one else. Not what he said. She didn't." Amber looked up at Gabriel, her eyes clouded over with tears. "She wouldn't do that. She loved him."

"I believe you, Amber. Don't worry, I believe you. Do you think you can get to sleep now? Maybe we can talk about it in the morning."

She nodded her head. Amie jumped off of the bed and jumped into her own. Gabriel pulled the covers over Amber then bent down to kiss Amber's forehead. "Everything will be all right. I promise you that."

He walked over to Amie's bed and tucked her in again. She reached her arms up and hugged his neck. "You're the best daddy. She'll feel better with time. Her heart's sick right now though. But she'll get better."

Gabriel kissed her forehead. "You are too wise for your age, Amie. Now get some sleep, my beloved angel."

"Night, Daddy."

When he returned to their room, Renee sat up in their bed. "Is she all right?"

"Sometimes I think you're picking up on Amie's abilities."

Renee shook her head. "I woke up when you got out of bed. I heard her."

"I don't know, Renee," he answered her earlier question. "She saw her mother murdered. Saw her father do it. And I think she always loved her father even if he did beat her. I don't know if she'll ever get over it." He put his head in his hands, and Renee crawled across the bed to him.

"Maybe Meghan should talk to her." She put her hand on his back. "She might be able to help."

He nodded then turned to her. "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why would he do this?" Tears were running down his face. "Why wouldn't he love his family enough. Why would he want to hurt them like this?"

"I don't know, Gabriel. I don't know," Renee replied, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close to her. "Some thing's just don't make sense. We just have to show her that's not the way everybody is. It's the only way to end the cycle."

His mouth covered hers, his tongue separating her lips. She untied his robe, and sliding her hands over his shoulders, she threw it to the floor. Renee laid back on the bed, her hands on his back, and brought him with her. "I need you, my love," he whispered as her hands moved to the waistband of his boxers to remove them. As soon as they were off, his body covered hers. She arched her hips to meet his as he slid inside her warmth.

*******

He watched as Amber climbed out of the car and hugged the man who sat in the driver's seat. Anger boiled up in him as he watched four other kids climb out of the car. "He has his own family yet he thinks he can take over mine as well," he growled. "I'll show him."

He relaxed against his seat and looked out the window as Gabriel drove off after dropping the kids off at school. He glanced down at his left hand and twisted the ring off of his finger. His wife was dead now. He had killed her. "She deserved it," he reminded himself as he tossed the ring into the backseat. "Stupid bitch can't get away with cheating on me." His mind never took into consideration that he might just be paranoid.

They hadn't had another kid in ten years, and then one day she just announces that she's pregnant. His first thought was that it wasn't his. Once that thought was planted in his head, nothing could root it out. Then she goes against him and tells their daughter she can do something he'd already said she couldn't. After beating his wife severely for that, he'd gone to bring their daughter home, but was arrested instead. 'Not only is she a whore, she's a disobedient whore.'

That had been the last straw. He was sure she'd had a hand in his arrest. In fact, she'd probably sent those two men there just to stop him from punishing his daughter. When she'd paid his bail, he decided to get even. He hadn't meant to kill her. Just scare her into submission. He just wanted to have control again. 'If her bitch of a sister hadn't interfered.' Yeah, that's it. It was her fault. Not his. It was never his fault. Now some other man thought he could raise his daughter. "I'll show them. I will get her back. And he will pay for his interference."

*******

"Hello, Amie." Niamh bounced over to her friend as soon as she stepped through the classroom door.

Amie laughed. "What did you have this morning?"

Niamh shrugged. "The usual. Caffeine, caffeine, and more caffeine."

"Can't believe your dad let's you drink that in the morning."

"He does."

"Exactly."

They both laughed, and Amber smiled from behind Amie. If she'd joked about her dad like that and he found out, she wouldn't be sitting for a while. But she'd realized Gabriel wasn't like her father.

"Who's that with you, Amie?"

"This is Amber. We know her, remember."

"Oh yeah. You're the one who's always sitting at the tables at recess. Why don't you ever talk to anybody?"

"I didn't wanna be yelled at," she replied quietly.

"Why would you be yelled at for talking to other kids?"

"Daddy always said not to talk. He said kids should be silent."

"Amber, you don't have to worry about that anymore," Amie told her. "You remember what my dad told you. Forget everything you dad told you. He doesn't control you anymore."

Amber nodded her head. The three of them walked to their seats when the morning bell rang.

At recess, Amber started toward the picnic tables, but Amie ran up to her. "We're gonna play tag if you wanna join us."

"I don't know how, Amie. I never have."

"It's easy. One person's it, and they try to catch someone else. If they do, then that person is it."

"I don't know, Amie."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but it's fun."

Amber hesitated, and Amie moved away to where Niamh and two boys were waiting. Terrified her new friend was going to leave her, Amber ran to catch up. Amie smiled at her. "Keith, you're it," Amie said to a blonde boy. Then, they were all running.

*******

Gabriel walked up to the porch and stopped. "What are you doing here?" He asked the cop.

"Had a talk with Pezzeni about you. She said you tend to attract trouble. Thought we might stay here and keep an eye out."

"You think he might come here?"

Officer Guerson nodded his head. "You kept him from doing what he thought was his right to do. And he got thrown in jail for your interference. Now, you're gonna be raising his daughter. He'll probably see that as another interference. We're just trying to play this safe."

Gabriel nodded. "Thanks."

"We want to catch this guy, but we don't want anyone dying in the process. There'll be a police officer on guard at all hours. We won't bother you though."

Gabriel thanked him again and walked into the house. Renee looked up from the computer. She smiled at him then stood up and walked across the room. "Do you think Amber's all right?"

He shook his head. "She's far from all right. I'm sure she'll pretend she is. She's lived with his abuse for ten years. She won't get over that in a matter of days. It's going to take some time. We just have to be there to help her. We can't do it for her, but we can help her."

Renee nodded. "I thought I had issues with my father. At least he never hit me or shot my mom." She shook her head as if clearing it of some image or thought. "Meghan said she'd talk to her after school today. She at least knows what it's like to see a parent killed. Even though the circumstances were different."

Gabriel squeezed Renee's shoulders. "It will take some time, but everything will be fine. I'm gonna go work down in the shop for a bit."

He moved toward the basement stairs, and Renee returned to the computer.

*******

"When we got back to the hotel, Uncle Gabe and Aunt Renee left. Daddy started for the hotel but stopped when a man stepped out of the shadows. He stepped forward, protecting mom and Kevin and me," Meghan told Amber. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and one slid slowly down her cheek. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Daddy fought him, but the man killed him. Then, he killed my mom. He was gonna kill me and Kevin as well."

"What happened?"

"Uncle Ian saved us. I remember him threatening the man, but don't remember the words. He just came out of the shadows and knocked the man to the ground. Uncle Gabe said the shadows were his favorite place for lurking."

"Were you scared?"

Meghan nodded her head. "But Uncle Ian made me feel safe. And I didn't realize they were dead. I thought they could still come back. Aunt Renee explained to me that they couldn't."

"How'd you get over it?"

Meghan shook her head this time and whispered, "I didn't. I'm still not over it. I was only four. I only have very vague memories of them. That's what I hate the most. That I can't remember them. Aunt Renee and Uncle Gabe have been wonderful for the last ten years, but it's not the same. Amber, you never get over it, but the pain does fade over time. But it does take time."

"Why did he hurt my mama?"

"I can't tell you that, Amber. I don't know."

Amber wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks. "He called her bad names. Said he'd stop her from screwing around. He killed my baby brother too. He didn't even do anything. He wasn't even born yet! He didn't think it was his. I heard him yelling at my mama when they thought I was sleeping. Is that why he killed her?" She looked up at Meghan, her eyes red from crying.

"I don't know, Amber. Whatever his reason, it was wrong. He never should've hurt you or your mom. That wasn't right."

Amber pushed her chair back from the table and ran out of the room. They heard her footsteps on the stairs, then heard the bedroom door close, probably louder than she'd meant for it to be.

Meghan looked up at Gabriel. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I don't think so. You might have just pushed her farther than she wanted to go. She might see more now than she wants to. She was always made to think what he was doing was right. That she deserved any punishment he dished out on her. Now, she's seeing the opposite is true. She's probably confused. Amie's up there. She's probably better than any shrink would be for Amber right now." He glanced at the clock then said, "Go do your homework before dinner."

*******

Laurence Dennis pulled his car up to the curb and watched the house from the street. Seeing the police cruiser parked near the back of the house, he cursed into the empty air. 'Damn them,' he thought to himself. Why did the cops have to interfere. "I can't just go up there with them around."

He twisted the key in the ignition and peeled away from the curb. He needed to think of a new plan now. "This won't stop me. Think, that's all you need to do. Just think. You can get to him somehow. You can't let this stop you."

He had returned to where he was hiding out before he thought of it. "They won't always be around him. They don't follow him when he leaves the house. They just protect him when he's there."

He took out his gun and unloaded it. After cleaning it, he reloaded it and looked at it for a moment. "Friend," he said to it. "We're gonna have some work to do"

He laid on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "Mr. Interferer, you are gonna pay. I promised you that. I warned you to stay out of my business, but you wouldn't listen. Now, I'm going to make you pay. You'll learn your lesson by the time I'm through with you. Although it might be too late when I'm finished. And I will get my girl back."

He held the gun to his chest and stroked the barrel. "Yes, I'll get her back. No matter what it takes. You can't just take my little girl away from me. Don't worry, Amber, I will get you back."