“After I left the PISCOs, I was lost,” Sebastian said, then paused. Why the fuck was he about to spill his guts to her? “Anyway, your mom hired me on to the Hullabaloo security team. A few months later, she asked me to be her personal bodyguard.”
“You spent a lot of time with her?”
“Enough to know how much she loved you. She regretted sending you away. The distance seemed to keep growing between the two of you. She just couldn’t figure out how to fix it,” Sebastian said, remembering the conversations he’d had with the King family matriarch over the years. If Bernadette’s children knew how much she loved them and considered them in all her decisions, they would be more forgiving of her unique parenting style.
Gabrielle stared at him in disbelief. “If only she knew that it was as simple as an apology. That’s all I ever wanted, but my mom wasn’t the kind of person to admit she’d made a mistake. And don’t get me started about my dad.” She shook her head as if wanting to be rid of the memories.
“There’s still hope that you could get that apology.”
“Not sure it matters anymore,” Gabrielle said, shrugging as she hugged her arms tightly around her body.
Sebastian kicked himself for burdening her when she had more pressing matters to deal with, namely Damian Hester and Quattro. Changing the subject, he said, “I’ve had a friend monitoring the web for any more unauthorized photos of you. Looks like they are coming down, and we don’t see any other sites popping up with photos. That’s a good sign. Has anything unusual happened to you overnight? Cryptic texts? Phone calls? Posts on your social media page?”
“No, nothing,” Gabrielle confirmed. “Hannah and my lawyer are also tracking those, and so far, everything is getting back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be since I have a parole hearing to attend next week. What do you think will happen to Damian? Shouldn’t his fight with the prison guards cancel any chance he has of getting parole?”
“It should …” Sebastian said, then paused.
“Let me guess. Quattro could have the parole board in their pocket and help him get released anyway.”
“They’ve done it for other prisoners. Especially if Damian claims the guards provoked and lured him into the fight. We won’t know until he gets out of ICU.”
“I need to see him,” Gabrielle said, stepping closer to Sebastian.
The scent of her jasmine perfume mesmerized him as he stared at her.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Gabrielle insisted. “I’m not crazy. I think it’s important for me to tell Damian directly that I will do everything in my power to ensure he stays in prison. I want him to know I’m no longer afraid of him.”
“He’s in a fucking coma.”
Gabrielle exhaled. “They say coma patients can hear when you talk to them.”
Sebastian frowned.
She threw her hands in the air. “I don’t expect you to understand why I need to do this. Why I need to face him even if he can’t hear me. But I do.”
“Gabrielle, you can’t stroll up to the hospital, sign the visitor log and see a maximum security prison inmate. Especially not the one who kidnapped you. Even if the warden allowed you to see Damian, it would still need to be cleared with his family,” Sebastian said.
“No way they’ll let me see him.”
“And I don’t think you should. It might not be as satisfying as you think it will be.”
“It’s not about getting satisfaction out of telling him off. He’s trying to play games with me. Sending me a message by releasing those photographs—”
“Wait, Damian did that? How do you know?”
“Because he took the photos without me realizing it. They were on his computer. I saw them when he kidnapped me. He’s the only one who had those photos, and he put them out there to try to rattle me. To show me he could still wreck my life,” Gabrielle said. “I haven’t been in the same room with Damian since Brad found us in the shed behind his house. There was no trial. No way for me to get the closure of saying all the things I wanted to say to him. It doesn’t matter if he’s in a coma or not. I need to be in the same room with him and tell him that his plans didn’t work. I’m ready for him and will fight him to the end. I have to do this for me. Not for him.”
A swell of pride rose within Sebastian at her strength. With a call to Adonis and a few hours to give him time to make arrangements, Sebastian knew he could get Gabrielle in to see Damian Hester at the Rakestraw Blake Center. He shouldn’t help her, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“I can help you get in to see Damian.”
“You would do that for me?” Her face lit up.
He didn’t understand why he was going against his better judgment to help her, but when she looked at him with those gorgeous brown eyes full of courage and determination, he couldn’t resist.
“It won’t be strictly legal, and there’s some risk to it.”
“Would you get in trouble? I don’t want to do anything that would get you in trouble. You’ve helped me so much already.”
