Lead the Way (11 page)

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              Ryan watches the whole thing through a telescope from across the street.  He watches what appears to be an argument take place.  He wonders who this mystery guy is.  Things have changed in the past five years.  This is not the guy that was in the courtroom with Eva every day during the trial.

              He is intrigued.  He decides that he must know more about this mystery man.  When the mystery man appears to be leaving, Ryan decides that he must follow this man and see where he is going.  He hopes that the mystery man will lead him to his house.  He may have to use this mystery man in the future to complete his plans.  The mystery man may have to become collateral damage.  Everyone in Eva’s life is a pawn to him.  They are just pieces on a chessboard.  Used and discarded at his whim.

Ryan steps over the elderly woman, as he makes his way to the apartment door.

He glances at the elderly man with a bullet wound in the center of his forehead.  Unfortunately, they were collateral damage.  Their deaths don’t affect him much.  They were old anyway.  They lived full lives.  Their telephone hasn’t rung once since he barged his way inside their apartment to their surprise.  It seems no one will miss them. 

The only problem is they will begin to smell soon.  He will have to figure out a new plan.  He needs to be able to watch Eva in her apartment.  He doesn’t sweat it, he’s a resourceful guy.  He will come up with a new strategy and he will execute it with precision.

              Right now though, there has been a change in plans.  He will follow this mystery man and find out every bit of information he can about him.  He wants to know who this man is and how he managed to worm his way into Eva’s life.

              He packs up his telescope and rushes to his car.  He sits in his car and waits for the mystery man to pull out of the parking garage.  He loves these cat-and-mouse games.  There is nothing like hunting your prey.  He loves the watching and the following the best.  He loves exercising self-control and waiting for the perfect time to pounce. 

He will sit, watch, and wait.  He’ll make the proper moves at the proper times.  This time around there will be no screw-ups.  He will not spend another five years in jail.  This time things are going to go down right.  Not only will things go right this time, but this time, Eva is going to find out who he really is.  This time, she will learn the truth, before she takes her last breath on this earth.

Chapter 9

              Gabriel drives to Rosa’s in silence.  Usually he can’t drive without the tunes are blaring, but the thought of music annoys him.  He doesn’t understand what happened with Eva.  He thought that they had a good night.  They definitely connected.  When he held her in his arms, it felt right.  Her body fit perfectly against his. 

He especially liked being there to calm her fears.  He likes playing the part of her protector.  He likes being there when she needs someone.  He likes being needed by her.  He wants to keep her safe.  He didn’t realize how much until now.

When he walks through the door, Rosa is standing at the kitchen sink.  “Hi, how was your day?  Wait a minute, why are you home?  Aren’t you supposed to be with Eva?”

“Auntie, she sent me home.”

“What?  Why?”

“We had an argument.”

“An argument?  What in the world could you two possibly be arguing about?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, I obviously don’t have anywhere to be.  Start talking.”

“Okay,” Gabriel says, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table and sitting down.  “Well, last night I forgot my bag and I went back to Eva’s to get it.  The security guard just let me up without calling Eva.  When I got into the apartment, I found her hiding in the closet.  She was scared to death.”

“Why in the world would she be hiding in the closet?”

“Some Detective called her and told her that Ryan, what’s his name, got released from jail.”

“He what?”

“Apparently he’s paid his debt to society.  The Detective called to let Eva know because, I guess, when they cleaned his cell there were notes or something about Eva.”

“Notes?”

“Yeah, I guess the Detective thinks that Ryan might come after her.”

“Oh my God.”

“Yeah so, when I let myself into Eva’s apartment, she thought I was Ryan, so she hid in the closet.”

“Poor girl.  She must have been so scared.”
              “She was.  I could clearly see that she was terrified, so I offered to spend the night.”

“That’s where you were.  I was wondering what happened to you.  I thought you must have met up with some of your Navy buddies.”

“Well, in the middle of the night, Eva had a nightmare and she was scared, so she came and slept with me in the guest room.”

“She slept with you?”

“Not slept in the biblical sense, Auntie.  We simply just slept.”

“Gotcha, and?”

“In the morning we kind of kissed.”

“You kissed?”

“We kissed and I thought everything was fine, and then boom, she completely turned and kicked me out.”

“Did she say why?”

“Nope.  I tried to get her to talk to me, but she completely shut me down.”

“Mi hijo, you know what’s she’s been through.”

“I know.  I don’t hold anything against her.  I just wish that she would talk to me, instead of flying off the handle and shutting me out.  I thought that after everything that we’ve gone through in the past couple of weeks, that she would know that I am not the enemy.”

“Eva is a confused girl.  You know that she hasn’t been with a man in five years.  Have you tried calling her?”

“This all just happened.  I tried calling once, but she didn’t answer.  I thought it would probably be best if I just left her alone for a while.  The only problem is I’m worried about this Ryan guy.”

“When Eva is angry or upset, she does like to retreat.  I do think it’s a good idea to let her have some time alone to think.  Eva is a sensible girl, most of the time, so just give her some time.  She will come around.”

“I hope you’re right, Auntie.  I really like Eva.  I think that she’s an amazing woman and I think that we are good together.  I think that I can see a future with her.  I honestly think that we could go somewhere.”

“Eva would be lucky to have you, Mi hijo.  I think that she will realize that.”

              “If anything happens to her, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

              “I think Eva will be fine.  She lives in one of the safest buildings in the city.  Ryan Collins is going to have a hard time getting to her.  Just let her calm down and then try to approach her again.”

              “You’re probably right about the building, but I would feel better if I were there with her.”

              “It’s going to be okay.  Let me cook you some breakfast.”

              “Thanks, Aunt Rosa.”

* * * * *

              Eva listens to Gabriel’s voice message.  It is probably the tenth message that he has left that she hasn’t responded to.  She paces around the apartment.  She’s been doing that a lot lately.  She’s been having trouble sleeping and she’s uncomfortable most of the time.  She hasn’t been able to write more than ten words a day.  Her mind has been so preoccupied that everything she writes comes out sounding like gibberish, complete garbage.  She can’t stop thinking about Gabriel and she can’t stop thinking about Ryan.

She can’t sleep because she wonders if Ryan is going to come and kill her.  She’s called Detective Sims, but he doesn’t have any answers.  They haven’t found Ryan and they have no idea where he is.  It’s as if he has disappeared off the face of the earth.  Apparently, there is no record of him anywhere. 

It’s been five days since she’s seen or talked to Gabriel.  He’s been calling, but she’s been refusing to take his calls.  She’s not entirely sure why she won’t talk to him, but she can’t bring herself to answer the phone.  She doesn’t know what to say to him.  She thinks that it’s mostly pride that keeps her from taking his calls.  Deep down she is really embarrassed by her behavior.  She shouldn’t have treated Gabriel the way she did and she knows it.  He didn’t do anything to deserve being kicked out by her.

              She knows now that what she did was mainly out of fear.  Her fear of rejection outweighed all sense.  She knows that she owes Gabriel an apology.  Judging by his voice messages, he isn’t holding anything against her.  The words that he says during his messages are all kind and full of worry.  He just wants to talk to her, and really, she wants to talk to him too.

              Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door.  A feeling of fear shoots through her.  Why didn’t the security guard call her?  She’s scared to look through the peephole, so she calls through the door.  “Who is it?”

              “Eva, it’s Gabriel.”

              “I don’t want to talk to you.  Go away.”

                “Eva, come on, this is stupid.  We’ve fallen out over nothing.  This doesn’t make sense.  Please let me in.”

              “What do you want, Gabriel?”

              “I just want to talk to you.  I’ve been so worried about you.  I just want to make sure that you’re okay.”

              Eva contemplates whether or not she wants to let Gabriel in.  She does want to see him too.  She decides that enough is enough.  She decides that she is going to go with her heart and not worry about outcomes.  She unlocks the door and opens it.  When she sees him, she feels worried.  He looks like he’s had just about as much sleep as she has.

              He immediately wraps her up in a hug.  “Eva, I’m so glad to see you.  You have no idea.  I’ve been going crazy.”

              “You have?”

              “Of course.  You’re all that I’ve been thinking about these past few days.  You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to come over.  My Aunt Rosa told me to give you space, so I did.  You have no idea how many times I got in the car to come here and then stopped myself.”

              “Look Gabriel, I’m really sorry for the way that I treated you.  I’m messed up, you know that.  I thought that you were using me and I didn’t want to get hurt.  I had someone leave me already because of my illness.  I just didn’t want to go through that again.”

              “Eva, I’m not the type of guy that plays games.  I hate nothing more than a guy that leads a girl on.  If I didn’t have feelings for you, I wouldn’t act like I do.  I would never do anything to hurt you.  You can trust me.”

              “I’m sorry.”

              “Don’t be sorry.  Just know that my feelings for you are genuine.  Whatever you feel, just come to me and talk to me.  Don’t shut me out.  It does neither of us any good.  We just wasted five days not speaking when we could have dealt with the problem right away.”

              “I know.  I promise that in the future I’ll just be upfront and speak with you, instead of running away.”

              “Eva, l just want to hold you.  I just want to touch you.  I didn’t know if I was ever going to get the chance again, and now that I’m here, I just want to be close to you.”

He leans down and kisses her gently.  Eva stands on her toes to and kisses him back. 

“I’ve missed you,” she says, in between kisses.

              “I’ve missed you too.”

              Gabriel lifts her up and carries her into the bedroom.  So many emotions are going through her head.  She knows what’s about to happen, but is she ready for it?  She is so sick of letting her fears rule her life and ruin it.  She decides that whatever happens between her and Gabriel in this moment, she is going to let it.  She is going to enjoy this moment and she is going to let Gabriel make love to her.

              “Eva, do you want me to stop?” Gabriel asks, as if he can read her mind or sense apprehension.

              “Don’t stop.  I want you to keep going.”

              “Are you sure because we don’t have to do this,” he says, kissing her neck.

              “I want this.  Trust me, I want this, more than you know,” she says, running her hands through his hair. 

He looks at her for one last confirmation.  She nods her head, giving him the green light.  There is no turning back.  She doesn’t want to.  She wants this experience to happen and she doesn’t care what the consequences are.  Gabriel is a good guy and he cares about her.  She trusts that when he says he wouldn’t hurt her, he means it.