Marvin swiped at the tears streaming down his face and stopped in front of Gabrielle. Pain and grief marred his face as he shoved a paper into her hands. “I think he wrote this to you.”
“What?” Gabrielle asked, then opened the crumbled paper.
Sebastian looked over to see what was written on it and felt ice flood his veins. The jagged words read: You will always be mine.
Chapter15
Waves crashed along the beach, washing over Gabrielle’s legs, then receded back into the dark black abyss of the ocean. Each time, she imagined the water took away tiny bits of the frustration bubbling within her and calmed her soul. In the dark of night, it was impossible to tell where the ocean ended and the night sky began.
Her heart fluttered as she glanced at Sebastian. He sat a few feet away from her. Arms wrapped around his legs that were tucked against his muscular chest. He rested his chin on his knees and looked at her like she was the only woman in the world. Goosebumps peppered her skin from the intensity of his gaze.
“He won,” Gabrielle said.
Those were her first words since they’d left the Rakestraw Blake Center. She’d been consumed by her thoughts, watching the rough waves as Sebastian navigated the speed boat from the Aerie Islands to St. Felipe. He hadn’t pressured her to talk when they arrived. After securing the boat to the dock, he’d held her hand and guided her away from the car waiting to take them back to King Estate. Instead, they meandered along the three-mile stretch of beach toward the beach cottage. The beach had always been her refuge. She welcomed the long walk to process her thoughts, despite the early hour of morning.
“How can you say that?” Sebastian asked.
“Because he wanted to see me before he died. I know it. The way he looked at me. It was like he’d gotten what he wished for. He’d gotten his last dying wish. The last words between us.”
You will always be mine.
The jagged message scratched into the hospital notepad by Damian before he flatlined.
Even in death, he wanted to hold onto her.
Damian Hester’s dying wish was that she would never be able to move on from what happened between them. They both knew she’d played a part in driving him to do the things he’d done. He never wanted her to forget that.
Sebastian stretched his legs out on the sand as another wave crashed over them. As the water receded, he rolled over to his side and said, “Sounds to me like you have the last word. You’ll continue to have the last word every day you live. That’s the one thing he can never take from you. He wanted to end your life. But you coming back home was the trigger for the end of his. To me, that’s a W for you. Not him.”
Gabrielle rolled over onto her stomach. Sebastian mimicked her move, erasing all distance between them. Like magnets, there was no force strong enough to pull them apart. She liked the idea of being connected to Sebastian. Even if it was only for this one night. His unconditional support had bolstered her and helped her to make it through all the challenges she’d faced from the moment she arrived home. She’d always be grateful to him for that.
“Maybe I’m being irrational,” she said, turning her head to look at him. “I thought watching Damian die would be an epic, liberating moment. But when it happened, I didn’t feel anything.”
“Because you were already free. You’d freed yourself long ago, but you didn’t realize it. Like you always say, you carry within you everything you need to face another day.”
“You’ve watched my talks online?” Gabrielle asked.
Sebastian shrugged, a sheepish grin spreading on his handsome face. “A few. My point is Damian doesn’t matter to you anymore. He stopped being important to your life a long time ago. Sure, you were dreading the day he was released from prison. Who wouldn’t? But he had no power over you. That desperate note he wrote you doesn’t change a damn thing.”
“Aren’t you the wise one? Why didn’t you say this to me before we went to the Rakestraw Blake Center?”
“I tried, and it didn’t work. You insisted on going, and I tagged along to ensure you got what you wanted.”
“Even though you knew it wasn’t what I needed.”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“I think you were. You seem to get me, which is weird considering—”
“You grew up hating me?”
“I don’t hate you anymore.”
“No?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow as the moon illuminated his face. His eyes turned darker, smoldering with a desire he didn’t bother to hide. The intensity of his gaze was enough to push her barely contained lust for him over the edge.
She wanted to kiss him.
He seemed to want to kiss her more.
