“Feelings? I fucking love you. That doesn’t blind me. That gives me laser focus on what’s important—protecting you at all costs.”
“Not if the cost is your life.” Gabrielle snatched the cord from the wall, her finger hovering over the call button. “You should go.”
“You think it’s that easy? Go away, Sebastian, and I leave. You know me better than that.”
Gabrielle swiped at a tear cascading down her face. “None of this is easy. There’s nothing that I want more than to grab you and hold on to you forever. But I can’t. I won’t be the reason that maniac turns his sights onto you.”
Sebastian stroked a finger along Gabrielle’s face, but she forced his hand away.
“Seby, this is too much for me. I’m fucking freaking out right now. I’m scared to death for myself. For my family. For you. I can’t deal with this. Having you around makes everything that much harder, don’t you see? I need you to give me a little space. No, a lot of space. There’s no way I can be in a relationship now. Even when Tony is caught, it may be a long time before I can, and that’s not fair to you.”
“Stop. You’re upset. I get it. But don’t tell me—”
“I’m not ready for this,” she said, waving her hand between them. “I sure as hell can’t deal with it while I’m trying to fight a stalker. My only priority is to protect the people I care about from being hurt because that bastard is after me. That’s my only focus. There’s no space for anything more.”
“You’re saying there’s no space for me in your life? I’m glad that works for you, but it does nothing for me,” Sebastian said, his heart breaking into a million pieces. “What if it’s fucking impossible for me to stop loving you? To stop wanting to be there for you. To be with you. What do I do then?”
“You figure something out. You’re a PISCO, remember? Make it your damn mission to get over me and do it quick,” Gabrielle said with finality.
The pain in her face told him more than her words.
She was at her breaking point, and his attempts to push her would only make this worse. He couldn’t bring more heartache and stress to her life. He loved her too much to do that, even though the alternative was about to kill him.
“Fine,” Sebastian said, then took a long deep breath. “But I need you to do one thing for me before I go.”
“What is it?”
“I need you to say the words.” He had to know the real reason she was pushing him away.
“What’s the point—”
“Because I fucking need to hear you say it. I need to know that I didn’t make any of this up. That it was real. We were real. Even if just for a short time.”
Gabrielle bit her lower lip as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her breaths were shaky as she shook her head.
“Please, Gabs …”
She swallowed, then reached for his hands.
He placed his hands in hers, squeezing them tightly, as he gazed into her gorgeous brown eyes for perhaps the last time.
“Seby, I love you … with all my heart and soul. I love you.”
Chapter45
The floor-to-ceiling bookshelf dominated the wall, filled with hundreds of books surrounding dozens of framed family photos. Gabrielle ran a finger along the edge of one shelf, stopping at one picture she’d never seen before.
Her father, dripping wet and dressed in swim trunks, tickled her mother, fully clothed in a couture sundress, as she laughed with glee on a white sand beach. The photographer captured the expressions of pure happiness on their sand-covered faces. A moment in time from a life filled with pure devotion and love. She lifted the picture in the frame and turned to look at the back of it, wondering when the photo had been taken.
“Surprised to see you in here,” Serena said.
Gabrielle turned to see her sister entering their parents’ three-room suite. Serena was regal in a simple white sundress. A stark contrast to the baggy jogging pants and oversized t-shirt Gabrielle still wore after being released from the hospital last night.
“Me too,” Gabrielle said. Her plans to avoid the house like the plague had been derailed by the PIIB special agents. They’d made it clear the safest place for her to be until the stalker was caught was her family home. The lead special agent believed the significant number of family and staff on the property and the heightened security were the perfect deterrents. Tony Brooks’s previous attacks had been successful because she’d been isolated with a limited number of people around her. A critical mistake made by Brad and his team.
“Do you know when this photo was taken?” Gabrielle handed it to Serena.
Her sister took it. A bright smile spread across her face as she gazed at their parents’ photo.
