Steele Hearts Redemption (12 page)

“I’m great Al, and the little monster is
definitely going to be a soccer player. He’s always kicking up a
storm in there. Especially when he hears his dad’s voice.”

“That’s so cute…..”

“Al, you could cut the bullshit now. Are you
calling to tell me you finally hooked up with Gabe and you wanted
to tell me before I read about you two in the tabloids?”

I almost choked on my own saliva as she
continued.

“I knew you were lying every time I brought
the subject up. I could tell from your voice.”

“I’m falling in love with him Tess….” There I
finally said it out loud.

A loud squeal came through the line.

“Tess, I’m here because I want to give what
we have a chance but I don’t see how this is going to work out. He
lives here and I live in New York. His life is so public and I love
my privacy. He has his life already sorted out and I’m still
struggling to find balance in mine.”

“Is the last part because you got fired from
the FBI?” she asked.

Wow, she was full of surprises. How the hell
did she find out?

“Ally, listen to me. I don’t give a rats ass
you got fired. I wish you had told me when it happened so I could
have been there for you, because that’s what sisters do. I’m not
going to say I don’t feel partly responsible because I’m guessing
whatever indiscretion you did was because of me. What I am grateful
for is it did lead to me and it washed away the guilt I’ve had to
live with for so many years. You and I, kid, we didn’t have it easy
in the family and love department but everything we’ve been through
led us to where we are today. We’re loved sis. We have the best and
strongest support system standing with us and if you say you’re
falling in love with Gabe then I know it’s the real deal. You would
never open your heart if it wasn’t. When we found each other you
gave up your life so we could be within walking distance of each
other. Now I want you to know if staying in L.A. with someone I
love as much as I love you means your happiness then do it. So what
if I have to hop on Connor’s jet once or twice a month to see you?
I would do anything as long as you’re happy.”

The tears streamed down my face. This was not
my hormonally charged sister talking. It was my clear, level headed
sister who loved me unconditionally.

“Thank you Tess.”

“I love you sis. So tell me is he taking you
to the awards show on Saturday?”

**********

“Would you stop fidgeting. You look beautiful
babe. You always do.”

“Thank you and you look smoking hot,” she
replied.

Her nervousness was making me anxious and
even though I’ve done the red carpet hundreds of times I couldn’t
seem to taper down my nerves today. I couldn’t care less about
myself. It was Ally I was nervous about. I wanted her here with me
but I also didn’t want her in a situation where she felt
intimidated. I wanted her comfortable and relaxed but from the way
she was fidgeting since we got into the backseat of the car, she
was anything but.

“Babe you don’t have to do this if you don’t
want to you know.”

She cupped my face with her warm hands and
turned me to face her.

“I want to be here with you. That’s important
to me. Yeah I’m nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before
and after tonight I know I could pretty much say good bye to my
privacy and that scares me but babe the only thing that matters to
me right now is you and I and if being here for you means exposing
myself to the world then so be it.”

If I wasn’t in love with her already, after
her little pep talk I would have to be a blind man not to be. I
kissed her as if she was my lifeline and I was drawing life from
her. How could one woman be so incredible and perfect. A knock on
the window interrupted us. Jonah, who was driving us tonight,
turned around and discretely coughed.

“We’re here guys.”

I looked through the window and saw Meg, my
PR manager and handler at these events standing there. She was
going to wring my neck for not giving her the heads up on Ally. I
only called her yesterday to tell her I was bringing a date but
gave her no further details. I opened the door and scooted in the
middle as I signaled for her to enter. She came in glaring at me
but her face softened as her eyes landed on the nervous Nelly at my
side.

“Ally, it’s so nice to see you again.”

They met the night Mr. Looney Pants Bernie
Wilson decided to break into my house. That morning Meg had
actually pulled me aside and said she liked Ally and flat out asked
if we were involved. Off course I lied through my teeth but now
here I was looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie
jar as Meg glared at me and looked at Ally like she was an angel.
Sometimes this woman scared me more than my own mother did when she
caught my brothers and I in some sort of delinquent behavior.

“Gabriel Steele….” she used that tone she
always used when she was annoyed at me “Why couldn’t you tell me
Ally was your date?”

“She’s not just my date Meg, we’re in a
relationship so what’s the big deal Meg?” I was beginning to get
annoyed with her.

“The big deal smarty pants is and I’m
guessing here so correct me if I’m wrong but this is your first
public appearance with Ally and you brought her into the lion’s
den. Every tabloid and reporter out there is going to want to know
about her.”

She was right. I didn’t really think this
through. I looked at Ally who was now a couple shades paler than
she was before. I knew she already considered the ramifications of
being out in public with me but to hear Meg agonize over it
magnified her concerns one hundred times more. I’ve always loved
what I do but this is one of those few times I didn’t see the
upside to being a public figure.

Ally cleared her throat and spoke for the
first time since Meg entered the car.

“I want to be here with Gabe, Meg, so tell me
what I need to do.”

Some of the tension I felt before eased of
me.

“Everyone’s going to ask who you are, what’s
your relationship with Gabe. They’re going to bombard both of you
with questions as soon as you step onto that red carpet and none of
it will have to do with the awards. For tonight both of you are
going to just smile and if asked simply say you’re in a
relationship. No details okay. Tomorrow we’re going to release a
statement to one of the more trustworthy entertainment news outlet
about Ally.”

Leaning over me she looked at Ally and
continued

“It’s up to you what we put in it. What you
want the public to know about you. That way you’re not an enigma
and it’s very unlikely anyone’s going to go digging into your life.
I’m sorry about all this but Gabe’s isn’t just some average Joe. He
is one of the biggest celebrities on the planet and known for his
confirmed bachelor ways, throw in the fact that he never walks the
red carpet with anyone but his mom and he hasn’t been linked to
anyone for the past year well……” she winded down her speech.

“You see where I’m going with this?”

Ally nodded her head and it was time for
flight or fight.

“I want to be here, so lets do it.”

I really do love this woman. Jonah turned
around and smiled at us.

“Want me to drive up now?”

Gabe stepped out first, turned to me and
extended his hand. I felt like I was in a fairytale. I took it and
scooted out of the car as he helped me out. I could already here
the reporters yelling out to him but he did a good job of ignoring
everyone. With my hand securely tucked into his Meg guided us
around a crowd and onto the actual red carpet. Gabe’s fans went
crazy when they saw him, screaming out his name. he smiled and
waved before bending over to whisper something to Meg. He then bent
and whispered in my ear.

“I’m going over to say hi and sign some
autographs for my fans. Meg will stay at you side okay.”

I smile and nodded and shooed him away to do
his job. I stood in awe next to Meg as she pointed out some of
Hollywood’s A-listers. I have never been surrounded by so many
beautiful people but I have to admit I didn’t think any of the men
were half as hot as Gabe. I turned around to look at him and saw
the genuine smile on his face as he signed autographs and spoke to
his fans, even posing for a few pictures with some. A young woman
standing a few rows behind in the crowd caught my eyes. Something
about her looked familiar from a distance but I couldn’t put my
hand on it. Nothing about her was outstanding but the shape of her
face and her features were so very familiar. As if sensing I was
looking at her she tore her gaze away from Gabe and looked directly
at me. A sneer covered her face and I felt a chill came over me.
I’ve seen that look before. From the corner of my eye I saw Gabe
waved to his fans and began walking over to me. I turned to him and
smiled before quickly looking into the crowd again. The face I was
looking for disappeared. All my FBI training and all my senses told
me something was not right. I quickly dismissed my paranoia as Gabe
slipped his arm around me and led me into the lion’s den.

Hours later we tumbled into bed, drunk on
each other. The evening was surprisingly a fun evening. Gabe only
left my side when he had to go on stage to collect two awards that
he won for his last blockbuster movie and even then I enjoyed the
company of the people who sat at the table with us. They were big
named producers, directors and actors but by the way they treated
me I felt as if I belonged there. Of course their reaction to me
probably had to do with the way Gabe treated me and from the onset
they realized I was more than just a date. After the awards show
the evening progressed to an after party and by the time I was
snuggled into Gabe’s arms in the backseat of the car my mind was
solely focused on ripping off his clothes when we got back to his
house and having my naughty way with him. As we tumbled onto his
bed I knew he wanted the same thing. The sex was frenzied and hot
to say the least and as I caught my breath after what was probably
my fifth orgasm I knew I was without a doubt completely in love
with Gabe.

**********

I woke up gasping for air from the nightmare
I had. I looked over at Gabe and from the even rise and fall of his
chest I knew he was contently sleeping. The familiar face from the
crowd haunted my dreams. It was blurred yet that sneer was plain as
day. The other faces in the crowd morphed into the same face but as
familiar as it was it was still a stranger. Then the strangest
thing happened. That stranger’s face turned into Alexis’s snarling
face. She was pointing at me and laughing, laughing as said “I’m
coming for you”. I couldn’t understand why she wanted to hurt me. I
looked at every face, searching for answers but all I saw was
Alexis. I felt like I was being suffocated by her evil laughter and
sneer and needed to escape her but everywhere I turned the faces
were that of the strangers that morphed into Alexis’s. Then one
face stood out. It was my mother’s. I opened my mouth to ask her
for help but nothing I say could be heard over Alexis’s laughter.
Then silence. It was my chance to ask my mother for help but before
I could she pointed at me and screamed “Traitor, my own flesh and
blood, traitor.”

All the faces that turned into Alexis’s
started chanting, “Traitor, traitor, traitor” and in that moment I
felt I was drowning then

I woke up gasping for air.

Knowing it was useless to try and go back to
sleep I quickly checked the time before quietly crawling out of
bed. It was a little after nine on Monday morning and I prayed to
God the person I was about to call had the time and privacy to
talk. I snuck into Gabe’s study and made myself comfortable behind
his desk before dialing Max’s number. Max was one of the few
friends I made at the FBI offices back in New York. The file on
Alexis also happened to land on his desk and without technically
breaking any rules he kept me apprise on the hunt for her. So far
she’s left nothing but destruction in her wake but regardless she’s
done a good job of covering her tracks. Maybe it was the stranger’s
face or simply my paranoia but regardless I needed to know what
progressed had been made since I last spoke to Max.

“Come on pick up you big knucklehead,” I
muttered into the phone.

“Who’re you calling a knucklehead, chocolate
thief,”

A voice said over the phone, scaring me. Okay
maybe I was a little jumpy after my nightmare.

“It was one time and I was doing you a favor.
Everyone agreed you were getting a little pudgy around the middle
there bud.”

Off course that was a lie. Max took pride in
keeping fit, although from the way he was always shoveling junk
down his throat you’d think he didn’t care.

“That’s because I was suffering from Zoey’s
pregnancy cravings. I gained almost fifteen pounds during that
pregnancy but it was worth it when my precious son was born.” He
sounded wounded as though he was looking for sympathy.

“And you don’t think the weight gain wasn’t
hard on your wife?” I asked, riling him up just a little bit.

“Hey as soon as Max junior popped out she was
back to her original weight within two weeks.”