Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (22 page)

15

GABRIEL

I
keep having the nightmare. I’m the one covering a passed out Karlie. I am the
one hurting her. I am the one ruining her. I have ruined her. I have done what
I hoped not to do. She’s called and texted. I have not answered. I have left
her unanswered for days. She is confused. She doesn’t know what happened. When
she woke up not feeling well, I had the driver take her home. She was so out of
it she didn’t have the energy to react. Scarlett made sure to send Chad and
Noel away. They haven’t been home since that night while she keeps the door of
her room open and walks through this house like she is invincible because she is.
She’s waiting for me to react. If I react then I will break; if I break then
she will reap the benefits. That is what she wants. That is what she needs to
feed her soul. The soul that is barely there. I knew what she was capable of. I
always knew. I knew from the moment I met her because in that moment I laid
eyes on the little girl through the window when my father dropped me off here,
I was both frightened and enchanted by her. She reminded me of my mother. A
strong woman with a bright smile. The opposite of her. The better her. That’s
what I thought at thirteen. I was an idiot.

           
“Where
have you been?” Karlie comes to me in a dark coat and light jeans. She’s made
no effort to conceal her dried up tears. “Why haven’t you texted me back?”

           
I
asked her to meet me on the steps of the Met. Our usual meeting spot. Her tone
gets a little louder and the few people walking by on this cloudy day look at
us. I stand up and lead her to the far left where no one is walking by.

           
I
stuff my hands into my jacket pocket, avoiding eye contact. Should’ve worn my
sunglasses. Maybe I didn’t so she would know how hard this truly is for me.

           
“I
did text you.”

           
“Don’t
fucking bullshit me, Gabriel.” She shoves me. “Don’t you dare do that! Not to
me.”

           
I’m
trying to keep the I-don’t-give-a-fuck face on, but it’s really hard and if I
look into her eyes, I won’t be able to do it. “What happened that night? I
passed out after a damn ginger ale. Then I wake up and I feel… I feel like…”

           
“Why
did you go there? You know it wasn’t my birthday?”

           
“Because
I wanted to show her that I wasn’t scared of her.”

           
“Congratulations,
you succeeded… and so did she.”

           
“What
did they do to me?” She grabs my collar. “Tell me!”

           
“You
don’t need to know,” I calmly say. “You don’t need to know nothing but that you
and I are through.”

           
I
didn’t know eyes could open up more, but they do
—
to a point where they
practically hang out of your skull. She lets go of my jacket and steps back as
I clench my jaw and look her straight in the eyes. “We are over.”

           
“They
did it, didn’t they? Say it. They… they raped me.”

           
“You
can have Harvard too so you won’t have to see my face ever again. I’ll also be
transferring schools.”

           
“Say
it!”

           
Her
scream hits my face along with her hand.

           
“Forget
about me. Forget about everything.” I grab her hands and pull her close to me.
Her tears stream down her face and so do mine. “Your life is going to be so
much greater and more amazing and filled with nothing but love… without me in
it.” I push her back and quickly head down the steps.

           
“Gabriel!”
she cries out as I walk away from her.

KARLIE

“Can
I say something without you getting angry?” Hugo asks me. I was in the middle
of telling him how it all ended. The night I passed out and the last time I
ever saw Gabriel.

           
“Go
for it,” I permit him.

           
“My
brother wasn’t worthy of you,” he says. “If anything like that ever happened to
Juliet… I’d kill them. I’d kill her.”

           
“I
think that’s the whole point. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to kill everyone
and… I guess he saw that as the only other option. So he gave up and broke my
heart.”

           
“Maybe
he did kill someone?”

           
“Referring
to what August heard? Yeah, maybe… but now the question is who?”

           
“I
have no idea. I never even thought murder would end up in the mix really. And I
guess the real question is who would he want to kill over her? Whoever it is,
they must’ve did damage or… she fucked with his head.” He rubs his temple.
“Just thinking about the way she could’ve done it fucks with my head.”

           
“Well,
maybe you need to stop.”

           
“And
maybe you should open up that envelope.”

           
He’s
referring to the white envelope on the table addressed to me from the lab that
tested the DNA of me, my kids, Hugo, Noel, and Chad. The envelope has been
sitting there for about three hours. When I got it, I called Hugo and he came
straight here. I sent the kids with ma, Anika, and Cody to the Shedd Aquarium.
I also think Juliet’s friend Jaz and Poppy went with them. Hopefully my kids
won’t come back asking why they kiss a lot.

           
“Karlie,”
Hugo’s hand covers mine and I look at him. “We know what the answer is.”

           
I
sit back and put my hands on my forehead. “No, we don’t. Anything could happen.
What if Scarlett messed with the test? The damn girl’s like the government.”

           
“True,
but I have it on clear confirmation that Scarlett or anyone she knows has not
been involved in this.”

           
“I
do too. I mean it’s very possible, but predictable of her. She’s not
predictable.”

           
“No,
but these results are, so open them.”

           
I
don’t know that I’m ripping open the envelope until the results are in my hand
facing me and I don’t even read any of the words except the blue one. The big
blue and bold letters.

           
“Positive
match,” I can barely get it out and Hugo leans his ear in smirking. “Positive
match in... between your DNA and the kids,” I read further. “It explains all
this scientific shit that basically says you are biologically their uncle and
therefore your brother Gabriel Mandrake is the father of…” I bite my bottom lip
in agony as the tears fall down and my hands begin to shake. “Oliver and
Suzanna Fairchild.”

           
“You
could always change it to Mandrake.”

           
I
laugh. “If they want to, yeah, and to tell you the truth, Oliver would probably
like that. He’ll feel like Oliver Mandrake is more of a resemblance to Bruce
Wayne than Oliver Fairchild.”

           
He
laughs a little. “Gabriel liked Batman too.”

           
“He
did?”

           
“Yes...”
Hugo realizes that even he remembers things about Gabriel that were once
forgotten. “He liked lions too. He was the lion in a
Wizard of Oz
play… and he liked um,” he snaps his fingers, “What’s
that candy? It’s chocolate and the name has to do with money.”

           
“A
hundred grand.”

           
“Yeah.”

           
“He
ate those all the time.”

           
“I
didn’t know that,” he sadly says. “Thought he outgrew everything.”

           
“You
know… I not only loved him but… I hated him. I hated him for not being there
for me when it all happened.”

           
“And
if he did kill himself… you will hate him even more, won’t you?”

           
That
thing inside of me. That hurt little girl screams again at his doubt.
 

           
“He
didn’t kill himself.”

           
“But
what if he did?”

           
“She
was there.”

           
“It
doesn’t mean he wasn’t the one to pull the trigger. That is Scarlett. Sometimes
she doesn’t have to lift a finger to get someone to hurt themselves.”

           
“Hugo,
just… be with me on this. Okay?” I beg him and he doesn’t push further. He nods
and says, “Okay.”

           
“Thank
you.”

           
“I’m
gonna go and meet Juliet then…” He rolls his eyes and groans.

           
“You
have to do this. It’ll help.”

           
“Then
to grandma’s house we go.”

JULIET

“I
didn’t know you had a car,” I say looking around the leather black interior of
his jet-black Lamborghini.

           
He
gives me a look. “This is not a car. This is a privilege. It is not meant for
the city where pollution and envious fools with clumsy hands can see or touch
it. And we’ve been in here for about forty minutes and now you say this.”

           
“My
mind was on other things like the time of my birth and the time I wanted a pink
Malibu Barbie beach house. You know why I wanted it?”

           
“I’m
sure you are about to tell me.”

           
“I
wanted to set it on fire. I always wanted to set something on fire and I found
Barbie and her dream materials so annoying that I dubbed them the perfect
firewood.”

           
He
smiles. “I must say even though it is not shocking, you do still surprise me.”

           
“Good.”

           
He
grabs my hand and kisses it. My head lies back on the seat and I look at him. I
love the way he wears everything. From his clothes to the confidence. His
swagger has a shine of its own and that’s one of the reasons I love him. I
never want to see it deteriorate.

           
“I’m
glad you asked me to come with you,” I say to him.

           
“I’m
glad you wanted to.”

           
We
pull up to the estate of Georgette Voncliff. It is the largest in Scarsdale.
All stone. Dark green shutters. A woman who looks to be in her thirties comes
out in a white kimono and pants once we get out the car.

           
“Hello,
Mr. Mandrake.” She shakes his hand and mine once he introduces me. “Madam
Voncliff will be so delighted you’re here.”

           
“That
makes two of us.” I nudge a sarcastic Hugo.

           
We
follow the woman, who I think is his grandmother’s home nurse. She leads us to
a screened in porch where glasses of lemonade and finger sandwiches are already
set out. Hugo and I take a place on the white couch. I help myself to probably
the best damn lemonade I’ve ever tasted and nervously wait with Hugo until his
grandmother comes down. She is as I expected. Gorgeous woman in her seventies
with beautiful, long white hair. Her eyes are blue. Her lips are thin and she’s
heading her way to us with the help of a cane and the nurse. She sits
comfortably in a wicker chair.

           
For
a woman who hasn’t seen her grandson for a very long time, she sure is calm and
unbothered. A smile creeps up as the nurse leaves us.

           
“Hugo,”
she says. “It is very lovely to finally meet.”

           
“I
suppose it is.”

           
“It’s
a shame August couldn’t come with you.”

           
“He
could’ve, but I thought it would be best I come first. I’m very cautious about
the people he meets.”

           
“I
heard he’s very accomplished with art. Mazes in fact.”

           
“How?”

           
“Your
father.”

           
Hugo
and I look at each other. “You still talk to my father?”

           
“Yes.
I do. I ask for updates on you boys. His updates are vague but still valuable.
Also I am still in contact with certain people. I’ve heard of your very
scandalous background… and your girlfriend, is it? Juliet Spears. You are very
beautiful.”