Chapter 6 - The Woman Gabriel Could Not ControlGabriel wanted Elena moved into his mansion.
Elena refused.
He suggested a secure apartment.
She refused that too.
He proposed a hotel floor guarded by eight men.
“No.”
“A house outside Chicago.”
“No.”
“A private compound in Wisconsin.”
Elena stared at him.
“Do I look like I'm entering witness protection?”
“You look like someone who was shot at forty-eight hours ago.”
“Nobody shot me.”
“They attempted to.”
“Technical distinction.”
“A ridiculous one.”
They argued inside her office while Carmine watched from the doorway with visible amusement.
Finally Elena pointed toward him.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because nobody argues with him.”
“I've noticed.”
Gabriel glared.
Carmine immediately stopped smiling.
Elena folded her arms.
“I am not abandoning my patients.”
“You can work remotely.”
“I run a neonatal unit.”
“You can direct the staff.”
“From Wisconsin?”
“It was one option.”
“It's a stupid option.”
Gabriel stared at her.
Carmine quietly left.
Smart man.
“Elena.”
“No.”
Gabriel approached.
“Matteo knows who you are.”
“He knew before.”
“He knows you identified him.”
“So?”
“So you are no longer collateral damage.”
Gabriel's voice hardened.
“You are a target.”
That silenced her.
He continued more softly.
“I cannot protect you if you refuse every precaution.”
Elena looked at him.
“You can't protect everyone.”
His face changed.
She immediately regretted saying it.
Gabriel looked toward the window.
“No.”
His voice became distant.
“I learned that early.”
Elena approached.
“Gabriel.”
“My mother.”
He did not look at her.
“Carlo's victims.”
“Gabriel.”
“Men who worked for me.”
His jaw tightened.
“My sister almost died because she loved someone I hated.”
He turned.
“And now you.”
The last two words were quiet.
Elena's anger disappeared.
“I'm still here.”
“For now.”
She stepped closer.
“So are you.”
He looked down at her.
Neither spoke.
Elena finally sighed.
“Compromise.”
Gabriel waited.
“I'll move into the foundation's residential suite temporarily.”
“Not secure enough.”
“You can increase security.”
“Already done.”
She blinked.
“You already did?”
“Yesterday.”
“You are unbelievably annoying.”
“I've heard that recently.”
“Frequently?”
“Mostly from one woman.”
Elena tried not to smile.
She failed.
Life settled into an unusual routine.
Elena worked.
Gabriel investigated Matteo.
Isabella spent every possible moment beside Leo.
The baby continued gaining strength.
At seven weeks old, he reached two pounds.
The nurses celebrated with cupcakes.
Gabriel pretended not to understand why anyone celebrated two pounds.
Elena caught him photographing the scale.
She said nothing.
Late one night, she found him sitting alone beside Leo's incubator.
Gabriel had removed his jacket.
His sleeves were rolled up.
One finger rested through the access port.
Leo's tiny hand had wrapped around it.
Elena stopped outside the room.
The image affected her unexpectedly.
Gabriel noticed her reflection.
“You're staring.”
“I'm observing.”
“Is that the medical term?”
“Yes.”
She entered.
“He likes you.”
“He has poor judgment.”
“He's related to you.”
“Exactly.”
Elena smiled.
Gabriel looked at Leo.
“He's stronger.”
“Much.”
“When can Isabella take him home?”
“Not soon.”
Gabriel's expression fell.
“He needs to grow. His lungs need time. He needs to maintain body temperature and feed without assistance.”
“How long?”
“Possibly several months.”
Gabriel nodded.
Elena sat beside him.
“You're good with him.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I know nothing about babies.”
“Most babies don't care.”
Gabriel looked toward her.
“Did you always want children?”
The question surprised her.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“My life hasn't exactly followed a plan.”
“Mine either.”
She laughed.
“Your plan probably involved fewer hospitals.”
“Significantly fewer.”
Silence returned.
Comfortable this time.
Then Gabriel said, “My father wanted me married at twenty-five.”
Elena looked at him.
“To whom?”
“Anyone politically useful.”
“Romantic.”
“He wasn't.”
“Why didn't you?”
Gabriel's mouth tightened.
“I didn't want a woman becoming another weakness someone could exploit.”
Elena understood what he wasn't saying.
“And now?”
Gabriel looked directly at her.
“Now I'm discovering avoiding weaknesses doesn't prevent you from acquiring them.”
Her breath caught.
“Am I a weakness?”
“No.”
He reached for her hand.
“You're becoming something much more dangerous.”
Before Elena could answer, Carmine entered.
His face told them something had happened.
“We found Matteo.”
Gabriel stood immediately.
“Where?”
“Detroit.”
Carmine placed photographs on the counter.
Matteo leaving a warehouse.
Matteo meeting three men.
Matteo entering a black Mercedes.
“We can take him tonight.”
Gabriel reached for his jacket.
Elena stood.
“What does that mean?”
He looked at her.
“It means this ends.”
“How?”
Gabriel did not answer.
She stepped in front of him.
“No.”
“Elena.”
“If you kill him, somebody replaces him.”
“He has no brother.”
“That isn't what I mean.”
She touched the photographs.
“Matteo tried to manipulate medication inside a hospital. He used fake credentials. He coordinated with Vittorio.”
Gabriel watched her.
“He needed help.”
Carmine nodded reluctantly.
“She may be right.”
Gabriel looked toward him.
“May?”
Carmine corrected himself.
“She is right.”
Elena continued.
“Matteo is not the entire problem.”
Gabriel slowly removed his hand from his jacket.
“What do you suggest?”
“We make him come back.”
“How?”
Elena looked toward Leo.
“By giving him something he cannot ignore.”
Gabriel understood.
“No.”
“Listen.”
“No.”
“You wanted to fake Leo's deterioration before.”
“That was before someone shot at you.”
“We don't use Leo.”
“Then what?”
Elena took a breath.
“Me.”
Gabriel's face became terrifying.
“Absolutely not.”
“He already wants me dead.”
“No.”
“He thinks I can identify him.”
“No.”
“If he believes I'm leaving Chicago—”
“No.”
“Gabriel.”
He stepped close enough that she could feel the heat of his body.
“You will not make yourself bait.”
“It might be the only way.”
“I said no.”
Elena's temper returned.
“You do not own me.”
Gabriel froze.
The words hit something deep.
He stepped backward.
“No.”
His voice became quieter.
“I don't.”
Elena immediately felt guilty.
But Gabriel continued.
“You make your own decisions.”
He looked toward her.
“Even when they terrify me.”
That admission removed every argument she had prepared.
Carmine quietly examined the ceiling.
Gabriel rubbed his jaw.
“If we do this, we do it my way.”
Elena nodded.
“Fine.”
“Eight men.”
“Four.”
“Six.”
“Five.”
Gabriel stared.
“Five.”
“Deal.”
Carmine muttered, “This is the strangest negotiation I've ever witnessed.”
Both turned toward him.
He left.
The trap was scheduled for Friday.
Elena would appear to leave Chicago aboard a private medical transport bound for Milwaukee.
The route would deliberately leak through compromised channels.
Gabriel's men would follow invisibly.
Matteo would either take the bait or disappear.
Friday came.
At 6:15 p.m., Elena entered the vehicle.
Rain fell across Chicago.
Gabriel stood beside the door.
“You can still stop.”
“So can Matteo.”
“That wasn't what I meant.”
“I know.”
Gabriel touched her face.
“If anything feels wrong, we abort.”
“Okay.”
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
He kissed her.
Briefly.
Desperately.
Then stepped back.
The vehicle left.
For twenty minutes nothing happened.
Then they reached an industrial section near the river.
A delivery truck appeared behind them.
Marco spoke into his radio.
“Possible tail.”
Elena's heart accelerated.
The truck came closer.
Then another vehicle blocked the road ahead.
“Contact!”
Everything happened at once.
The medical transport swerved.
Gunfire struck the rear doors.
Security returned fire.
Elena dropped to the floor.
The vehicle crashed through a chain-link fence and stopped.
The rear doors opened.
A masked man reached inside.
Elena kicked him.
He fell backward.
Marco fired toward another attacker.
Then someone grabbed Elena from the side.
A cloth covered her mouth.
She fought.
A needle entered her arm.
The world blurred.
Her last thought was not fear.
It was anger.
The plan had failed.
When Elena opened her eyes again, she was tied to a chair.
A man stood across the room.
May you like
Matteo DeLuca smiled.
“Hello, Nurse Jenkins.”
Related Stories
