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Layla looked down at their hands, at the matching wedding bands that Gabbriello picked up on the strip, and her heart thumped hard in her chest. She was now a married woman. She looked up at him and he was already staring at her.
“Everything will work out.” He said before giving her a soft pick on the lips.
They headed back to the airport and were home by midnight. Gabbriello and Layla walked into his penthouse.
“Make yourself at home. I have some work to do in my office. You don’t have to wait up for me.” He kissed her on the forehead and walked away.
“What the fuck just happened”? She mumbled to herself. The last twelve hours had been a world wind. If you told her when she woke up today that she would be married by the time she went to bed, she would have laughed in your face. She took a long hot shower and when she returned to the bedroom. There was an array of sleep wear laid out. She chose the satin shorts with a matching tank top and climbed into his bed. Her thoughts instantly went to Samantha and a tear slid down her face as she tried to get some sleep.
* * *
After working in his home office for about two hours, Gabbriello took a shower and walked back towards his bedroom suite. He stopped in the doorway, leaned against the doorframe, and watched Layla sleep. What was it about her that he was so drawn to? From the moment he touched her hand, he felt a spark that went straight to his soul. He knew he needed to know who she was and the more he was around her the more he knew he wanted her in his life.
Gabbriello realized killing her was not an option, so he did the next best thing, he married her. Now he needed to get to know his wife. Gabbriello smiled as he removed his towel, grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms from the dresser and climbed in the bed next to his wife.
CHAPTER 18
Samantha’s body was released to her family on Friday, just in time for the family’s funeral arrangements for Saturday afternoon. Layla arrived early at the funeral home. Pictures of her cousin were scattered on the walls, and they placed a variety of mementos on the surrounding tables. Layla scanned the items and noticed Samantha’s medals from high school, showing she had graduated with honors, her old cheerleading uniform, and her locket she always wore that was given to her by her mother for her sixteenth birthday.
“She was beautiful.”
Layla looked up behind and saw Gabbriello standing there in a black suit and tie. “Yes, she was. You’re early.”
His hair was slicked back, and this is the first time Layla has seen him clean shaven.
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Yes, I wanted to get here early to see who would be here. I have a feeling her killer may show up. But more importantly, I wanted to make sure you were okay. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. I’m glad you came early,” Layla said as she looked away from the table and saw a few family members enter the room. “Do you have any idea of who it might be?” Layla whispered.
“Gabbriello,” Layla heard an unfamiliar voice.
Layla looked to her right to see a man approaching them. He had boyish blonde hair and blue eyes that were swollen from tears.
Gabbriello embraced the man with a hug. “Jeffrey, this is Samantha’s cousin, Layla. Layla, this is Jeffrey. He and Samantha were together.”
Layla shook Jeffrey’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t know Samantha had a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, well, she was never one to share that much of her personal life,” Jeffery said. “Thanks for coming, Gabbriello. I really appreciate it.” Jeffery paused.
“Please excuse me. I see a few family members I need to speak to. I will be right back,” Layla said before walking away.
They both watched her retreating back.
“Have you heard anything?” Jeffery asked.
“No, not yet. I’m working on it, though.” Gabbriello’s dark eyes scanned the room as the crowd of people grew.
“Man, what if this is only the beginning and whoever it is could pick us off one by one?” Jeffrey could not hide the worry in his voice. “It could be Big D getting back at us.”
“You need to relax and focus on Sam today. Let me worry about Big D.” Gabbriello said.
“Okay, thanks, man.” Jeffrey looked over at the closed casket in the center of the room and walked towards it.
Once he was out of range, Layla walked back to Gabbriello. “He seems like he really loved her.”
Gabbriello nodded. “Yeah, he did. She loved him, too. I don’t think Jeffrey had anything to do with her murder. Besides, he’s squeamish around, blood.” Gabbriello remembered the first time Jeffery was with him when he killed someone. Jeffery got sick and threw up. After that, Gabbriello tried not to include him in the dirty work.
More people migrated into the room as the funeral was about to start. Layla looked over at the crowd of people dressed in black with puffy red cheeks and handfuls of tissues. She was surprised at how many people showed up and pay their respects.
