Chapter 24

SPOV

I couldn't believe that we were on the move again. Okay, I could understand leaving the boat and to be honest I was glad about that. Who knew that I'd feel seasick on a damn boat on a creek, certainly not me. Then again, I'd never spent any time on any type of boat to know. The small cottage that we were driving away from had been ideal. As far as I could tell. It was secluded in a quiet area with comfortable beds and furnishings. Hell, there was even a gym for Gabe, well when he was there. Millie and I had fun at that cottage. Doing our workout in the morning, playing boardgames or cards outside on the terrace and then finishing the day by watching films. But no, Gabe had been more than insistent that we had to move.

I was still annoyed as I sat on my own next to a window in a bus. Gabe was behind me somewhere, deep in conversation with Millie. In fact he sounded and looked serious. No, I wasn't privy to exactly what they were saying, but was aware as Millie suddenly dropped onto the seat next to me.

"I hate him"

Uh oh, sounds like Gabe was laying the law down with Millie and she didn't like what she was hearing.

"What did he say that's got you so annoyed?"

Because I hated it when I was in the middle of two people falling out. I didn't want to have to take sides.

"He's sending me away"

"Where?"

Was my immediate response as I turned to look at her. Where would Gabe send her that was safe? Oh no, was he going to do the same with me?

"He wants me to go live with his family. I know that's what he talked to grandma about, and I do want to live with them, but I also want to stay with Gabe"

That was news to me. He had a family other than Millie and his grandmother? In some ways I could understand why Millie was upset. She'd just reconnected with him after years of not seeing him, but on the other hand, I suppose that Gabe was worried about her safety.

"He probably needs to know that you're safe so that he can sort out the bad guys. Besides it'll fun to get to know his family"

As Millie rolled her eyes at me, I could sense that her annoyance was beginning to deflate. She knew that I was right, but I could empathize with how she was feeling. I hated to be told what to do even if it was the sensible thing to happen. Hadn't Ranger tried to control me like that. Hell, if men would just discuss things with us then life would be so much easier.

"So what do you know about where you're going?"

Hoping that once Millie began to talk then she'd feel better with what Gabe had said.

"Well, they have a little boy. He'll be five years old now and he's so cute"

"Gabe is married?"

Just came out because I had never even considered that. Gabe had never mentioned it, but then why would he. It wasn't as if we'd had any personal conversations and it wasn't something that I would ask. Phew, thank God that I'd never been attracted to him. That might have been embarrassing.

"Yeah, six years ago. Leona seems really nice, and I know that Gabe is happy with her, he loves her"

I caught my breath as she said that. It was such a simple statement, but it had me feeling so sad. Not for Gabe or his wife and son, for me. I thought of the men who had said that to me in the past. Dickie said it when he thought that other people were listening, but he only did it for effect in boosting how people saw him. Then there was Joe. At first, I was surprised when I heard him say that he loved me, and I really thought that he meant it. But then he'd say it when we'd argued or when he didn't want me to do something. Looking back now I could see how he used those words as a way to control me. There was only one man that I wanted to hear say it and mean it in terms of a forever love.

"Why the sad face Steph? You have that gorgeous man"

Yeah right, I wish.

"It was so romantic what he said to you"

I was sure there was a frown on my face because I wasn't aware of any gorgeous man saying anything romantic to me. Hell, I would have remembered that.

"Te amo incondicionalmente y estoy lista para nuestra algún día"

Okay she was spooking me out now. Had one of those men where I'd found Danny and met Millie seen me and said something about me?

"He said, I love you unconditionally and I'm ready for our someday. That is so romantic"

"Who?"

Because I knew that I wasn't aware of hearing those words. But then, if they were said in Spanish I wouldn't have understood.

"That dark, good looking man that came to the house and was with you on the boat"

I opened my mouth to say that she was wrong, but the problem was that I wanted to believe her. My mind tried to recall the phone calls between us, and I suppose that he had been more open with me. Was Ranger actually ready to take our friendship to the next level. Sheesh, I hoped so.

I felt as depressed as Millie had been a few minutes ago. Because of Gabe I was travelling further away from Ranger. Tonight, when we got to wherever we were going then I'd call Ranger. I wasn't sure what I'd say to him but had plenty of time to figure it out.

I must have dozed as we travelled but it was my head hitting the window as we stopped that woke me up. Looking around I had no idea where we were other than we were in a very large building. I never had a chance to really look around before Gabe had hold of my hand. All that I was aware of was my feet hitting the marble floors and the glare of sunshine as we stepped outside. Oh wow, this was a very busy place with lots of traffic and people. Not what I expected, especially when I noticed a bus parked opposite us with Washington DC open top sightseeing written on the side. Oh shit, is that where we were? Why would Gabe have us coming here? I never got a chance to ask before I was bundled into the back of a green taxi.

Millie was sat next to me her eyes like saucers as she looked around. I had to admit that for her being in the capital it must have been one hell of a culture shock. It certainly was for me, especially when we pulled up in front of the Hilton Hotel. I stood in awe, as Gabe registered, taking in the grandeur of the place. A long ride in the elevator ended with us being shown into a room by the baggage porter who of course waited until Gabe had given him a tip. It wasn't a room though, it was a suite with a large lounge area and couches. I walked over to the window amazed at the view of rooftops and a large domed building that seemed to stand taller than the other buildings.

"U.S. Capitol building. It houses the U.S. Senate & House of Representatives"

Came from Gabe who was stood next to Millie. Maybe being here wouldn't be as bad I thought because there was so much to do and see here. I could show Millie all of the sights.

"Millie, we need to go now"

Turning I looked at Gabe wondering what he was talking about. Go where? Millie, well I watched as she opened her mouth to say something, but one word had her closing it.

"Please Millie"

Seems that she wasn't the only one who could succumb to that word. It didn't mean that I wasn't going to be confronting Gabe though. As soon as Millie disappeared to find the bathroom, I was stood with my hands on my hips in front of him.

"Really, we just got here. Surely, she can have a few days here, she doesn't need to leave now"

I must have impressed him with the attitude or maybe the look that I was giving him because he backed up a step and held his hands up. Huh, as if that was going to work.

"Steph, we had to leave the last house because there was someone watching it. I need to get her somewhere safe. She's booked on a flight from Dulles airport. It's big enough that we can get lost in the crowds. Don't fight me as well Steph"

I could hear the desperation in his voice, maybe he didn't want to have to fight with me as well. Okay, so my arms relaxed at my side as the fight went out of me. Why hadn't he told me why we'd left the cottage? So I wouldn't be worried, I suppose. What was worrying me now was how had anyone found us?

"Order some room service, I'm not sure how long this will take"

Millie reappeared but before she went to pick up her bag she was in my arms.

"I'll miss you"

"Me too"

Was all that needed to be said before she turned and followed Gabe out of the door. I wiped the tears from my cheeks because I would miss her and knew that I would probably never see her again. Deciding that I really wanted to freshen up first I walked through into an enormous bedroom. The bed must have been a king size bed and had a soft satin cover with deep red pillows scattered by the headboard. There was a walk in closet that held a couple of white robes and then there was the bathroom. Hell, it was bigger than the bedroom in my apartment and it was white. From the walls to the floors with gold fixtures and deep red towels. I was in heaven. I took a long hot shower, making use of the complimentary products before drying and pulling on my last clean set of pajamas.

Back in the lounge area I read through the menu for room service deciding to indulge in their lasagna with garlic bread. I felt that I deserved it after all of the healthy food that I'd been eating and as Ranger would say, today wasn't a temple day. Once ordered I unpacked the small travel bag that I had with me, placing the clothes on a chair while I looked for my phone. When the bag was empty, I was at a loss as to where it was. I checked through the zipped pockets and even through the stack of clothes but couldn't find it. No way had I left it behind, so where the hell was it?

I was interrupted with the arrival of my meal so as I sat at the glass dining table savoring the taste I was looking out over the city. It had gone dark while I'd been in the bathroom so now I was seeing the city at night, lights illuminating what I presumed were historical and important buildings. I was lost in the view for several minutes when a knock at the door brought me out of my trance. My immediate thought was that it must be Gabe coming back so I was keen to answer the door.

I hadn't expected to see one of the hotel staff stood there and felt quite embarrassed stood in the doorway in just a robe.

"Ma'am. This was left for you"

I was looking at a plain brown box in his hands. Nope, not going to take that. It could be something that was bad for my health. I had never received a box that didn't have body parts or threats inside, so why would this be any different?

"Ma'am?"

"Err, do you know who left it?"

Not sure if he would know. Did it mean that someone had found me? I needed for Gabe to get back here, like now. He'd know what to do.

"It was couriered from the airport. There's a letter on the side"

The man took one step forward and placed the box on the floor before he walked away. Sighing I used my foot to slide the box over the carpet so that I could close and lock the door. My heart was beginning to speed up as a lot of ugly thoughts went through my head. Should I just ignore it until Gabe came back?

Okay, I was too curious to just look at it so decided that there couldn't be any harm to reading the letter. At least then I'd know what I was up against. I slowly peeled the envelope from the box and then returned to sitting at the table. The address on it was the room number and the name of the hotel, no name, no clues. Carefully opening it my eyes saw my name at the top but were looking at the name at the bottom. Gabe. That had me starting to read the contents, my temper flaring as I read through the message.

Dear Steph.

There are things that I need to do and can only do them if I know that you're safe. The question that you asked me so long ago grew over time and I need to find out if there is any significance to it. You asked if my boss knew that I was going home and I answered that a colleague might have worked it out. That's the lead that I'm looking at, but I don't want them to know that you are with me.

The hotel has been paid for four weeks and there's money in the box, so that you can relax and enjoy the sights that Washington has to offer. Be careful.

Gabe

He'd left me. He was chasing down leads on his own. Millie was hopefully on her way to wherever his wife was and would be safe, so he'd left me thinking that I was safe staying here. Damn him, I could have helped him if he'd only shared more of his story. Would I ever discover what his secret was? Possibly not, but it wouldn't be for the lack of trying and Ranger would help me. Ranger, I wanted to call him but without that phone I wasn't sure how to do that. I had never looked at the number on the phone because it was the only one in the contact list. I didn't want to call Rangeman because I wasn't sure where Ranger was in trying to work out what that man Oslow was up to.

Oslow, I hated him already because he was the reason that I couldn't talk to Ranger. Did I want to stay here for a few days, or should I catch a train back to Trenton? I looked over to where some of my things were sat on the couch and was looking at my laptop. I hadn't bothered with it for weeks so it would need charging up. An idea began to form in my mind as I sought out the cable and plugged it into my laptop. That box was calling to me so now knowing that its contents were safe I used the knife that I'd been eating with and carefully cut through the tape that was keeping it closed. Inside were wads of money, more money than I'd ever seen before. I couldn't keep this. This belonged to Gabe and his family.

I was too tired to make any decisions so after storing the money in the safe in the bedroom I knew that I needed to sleep. Tomorrow I would decide what to do, though in the back of my mind I think that I already knew.