Chapter 54
The cup rattled on the saucer. Clink. Clink.
That was mostly because my hands were shaking like I had just chugged ten energy drinks.
I stared at the black liquid. Black Coffee. No sugar. No cream. No joy. Just dark, bitter bean water.
It is Gabriel's favorite.
I stood outside our bedroom door. My heart was doing jumping jacks in my throat.
Huhu.
I screamed at him. I pushed him!
I am a bad wife. I am a rude wife. I am a wife who might get grounded!
I took a deep breath.
"Okay, Aleesha. Operation: Apology is a go."
I turned the knob. Click.
I pushed the door open.
The room was dim. The only light came from the bedside lamp.
And there he was.
Gabriel.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed. He had taken off his suit jacket, but he was still wearing his black shirt and trousers. He was sitting perfectly still. His elbows were resting on his knees, his hands clasped together. He was staring at the floor.
He looked... lonely. And scary. Like a statue in a graveyard.
He didn't look up when I entered.
Gulp.
He is definitely mad. He is fuming! He is plotting to send me to a boarding school for rude wives!
I tiptoed into the room. Creak.
I walked to the nightstand. I placed the coffee cup down.
Clink.
I stood there. I looked at the back of his head. His hair was slightly messy (probably from running his hands through it in frustration).
I wanted to say sorry! I wanted to say "I love you!"
But my throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls.
What if he shouts? What if he ignores me? What if he says, "Pack your bags, Aleesha"?
I looked at the door. Maybe I should run? Maybe I should hide in the closet?
I looked back at Gabby.
I looked at the door again.
"Speak."
The single word cut through the silence. It wasn't loud. It was calm. Deep. Commanding.
I jumped a little.
He didn't turn around. He just knew I was there. (Of course he did. He is a Ninja-Logistician).
I sniffled. Tears started to leak out of my eyes again.
"Gabby..." I whispered.
I couldn't help it.
I threw myself at his back.
I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind, burying my face in the crook of his shoulder. I hugged him tight, squeezing my eyes shut.
"I'm sorry!" I wailed. "I'm sorry for pushing you! I'm sorry for screaming! I'm sorry for telling you to shut up!"
I felt his muscles tense under my arms.
"I didn't mean it!" I sobbed into his shirt. "I just... I got upset! Because you wouldn't stop asking questions! You were interrogating me like a bad guy! And I panicked! And... and my mouth just exploded!"
I sniffled loudly.
"Please don't be mad! I made you coffee! It's black! Like your soul! I mean... like your shirt! Please forgive me!"
I waited.
Slowly, very slowly, Gabriel moved.
He reached up. He grabbed my arms.
For a second, I thought he was going to pull me off.
But instead, he guided my arms down. He pulled me around the bed until I was standing between his spread knees.
He looked up at me. His face was unreadable. His eyes were dark pools.
He took my hands and wrapped them around his waist.
"Hug me properly," he murmured.
I didn't need to be told twice!
I crashed into him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest. I could hear his heartbeat. Thump. Thump. It was steady.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled into his sternum.
I felt his large hands land on my waist. His thumbs rubbed circles into the fabric of my pajama top. It was a possessive, heavy touch.
"It is my fault," Gabriel said quietly.
I looked up, blinking away tears. "Huh?"
"I pressed you too hard," he said. His voice was rougher than usual. "I asked too many questions when you were clearly distressed. I drove you to a breaking point. That was... poor logistics on my part."
My heart melted.
He took the blame! He admitted he was annoying!
"You were very annoying," I agreed softly, pouting a little. "You were like a mosquito with a microphone."
A tiny, barely-there smile touched his lips.
"I suppose I was."
I looked at his lips. They looked soft.
I stood on my tiptoes.
I pressed my lips to his.
It was a soft kiss. An apology kiss.
Gabriel hesitated. Just for a split second. He went still, like he wasn't sure if he should kiss me back.
But then, he sighed against my mouth. His lips moved. He kissed me back, slow and deep. His hands tightened on my waist, pulling me closer until there was no air between us.
It felt... desperate. Like he was trying to verify that I was still here. That I hadn't run away.
We broke the kiss. I rested my forehead against his.
"Coffee," I whispered. "It's getting cold."
Gabriel let out a breath that tickled my nose.
"Right."
He stood up (taking me with him for a second before setting me down) and lay back on the bed, leaning against the headboard.
He reached for the cup on the nightstand. He took a sip. He didn't even wince at the bitterness.
I crawled onto the bed. I scooted over until I was pressed against his side. I wrapped my arm around his torso and rested my cheek on his chest again.
I closed my eyes.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
This heartbeat. This warmth.
Your husband.
Eli's voice whispered in my mind.
He executed them.
I squeezed Gabriel tighter.
No, I told the voice. Impossible.
Murderers don't apologize. Murderers don't drink coffee in bed with their wives while wearing pajamas. Murderers don't smell like sandalwood and safety.
Gabriel is good. He has enemies. That's all.
But... the doubt was like a splinter. A tiny, invisible splinter in my brain. It hurt every time I moved.
I need to get the splinter out. I need to know for sure.
I need to prove he is innocent.
★
I woke up with a plan. A genius plan. A dangerous plan.
Gabriel went to work early. He kissed my forehead while I was pretending to sleep (so sweet!).
Once the Aston Martin left the driveway, I sprang into action!
I brushed my teeth, put on my "Serious IT Student" glasses (they are fake, no prescription, but they make me look smart), and marched down to the Library/Home Office.
Sean, the wizard in the hoodie. The guy who "fixed" Stephie's video.
He was typing on his laptop. Green code was flowing like the Matrix.
"Sean!" I announced, slamming my hands on his desk.
Sean jumped. He spun his chair around.
"Whoa! Mrs. Muratori!" He adjusted his hoodie. "You scared me. Need... uh... printer paper? New ink?"
"No," I said, adjusting my fake glasses. "I need knowledge."
I pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
"Teach me to hack," I commanded.
Sean blinked. He looked at me like I had just asked him to teach me how to fly a spaceship.
"Hack?" he repeated. "Hack what? Like... a Facebook account? A game?"
"Everything!" I waved my hands. "I want to be a Super Hacker! Like you! I want to bypass firewalls! I want to decrypt encryptions! I want to... enter the mainframe!"
Sean smirked. A suspicious, amused smirk.
"Why the sudden interest, Aleesha?" he asked, leaning back. "Did you forget your Netflix password again?"
"No!" I blushed. (Okay, I did forget it last week, but that's irrelevant!).
"I just... I want to improve my skills!" I lied. "I am an IT student, remember? And I lost my honors for a bit, so I need to catch up! I need to be top of the class!"
I looked at him with big, innocent eyes.
"Please, Sean? Teach me the dark arts of coding!"
Sean narrowed his eyes. He looked at my pink notebook. He looked at my desperate face.
"You're not planning to hack... anyone specific, are you?" he asked slowly. "Like... say... the Boss?"
My heart stopped.
"NO!" I shouted too loudly. I shook my head so vigorously my glasses fell off. "No no no! Why would I hack Gabby?! His phone is boring! It's just logistics! I promise! Cross my heart and hope to die!"
I did the cross-motion over my chest.
Sean stared at me. Then he burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright," he chuckled. "I believe you. You couldn't hack a toaster even if the instructions were on the side."
"Hey!"
"Okay, sit down," Sean typed something on his keyboard. "Lesson one. This is a computer."
★
HOURS LATER
Huhu.
I rested my head on the desk. My brain was melting.
"Why is it so hard?!" I whined.
The screen was full of text.
"It's not like the movies!" I complained. "In the movies, they just type fast and say 'I'm in!' where is the 'I'm in' button?!"
"There is no button, Aleesha," Sean sighed, sipping his energy drink. "You missed a semicolon on line 45. Again."
I looked at the code. It looked like gibberish.
I have been here for four hours.
That's it.
How am I supposed to hack Gabriel's encrypted, military-grade, protected phone if I can't even make a calculator app?!
"This is impossible," I groaned.
"It takes years, Mrs. M," Sean patted my shoulder. "Maybe stick to crochet? You're good at that."
I glared at him. "I will master this! You'll see! I will be the Queen of Code!"
But inside, I was panicking.
My goal isn't just to learn. My goal is to get into Gabriel's phone. I need to see his messages. I need to see if he talks to bad people. I need to see if there is any mention of... of Eli's parents.
I'm not spying because I want to catch him doing something bad.
I'm spying because I want to prove he is good.
I want to look through his phone and find nothing but shipping receipts and texts to me. I want to clear his name in my own head so I can sleep without hearing Eli's voice.
But at this rate, I will be eighty years old before I crack his password!
Clack. Clack.
The front door opened.
"Boss is home," Sean announced, checking the security feed.
"Oh no!" I jumped up. "Delete everything! Close the window! Don't tell him I was learning to hack!"
"Why?" Sean raised an eyebrow.
"Because... it's a surprise! For... for his birthday! I want to hack a digital birthday card!"
Sean rolled his eyes. "Sure. Whatever you say."
He closed the program.
I grabbed my pink notebook and ran.
I reached the foyer just as Gabriel walked in.
He looked tired. He was loosening his tie.
Usually, when he comes home, I have a moment of hesitation now. A flash of Eli's face.
But I pushed it down. Squash.
"Gabby!" I chirped.
I ran to him. I hugged him around the waist.
"Welcome home!"
Gabriel looked down at me. His expression softened. The tired lines around his eyes smoothed out.
"Aleesha," he murmured. He kissed the top of my head. "You are energetic today."
"I had a productive day!" I beamed, hiding my trembling hands behind his back. "I learned... things!"
"Things?"
"Yes! Academic things!"
I hugged him tighter. I buried my nose in his shirt. He smelled like the city and sandalwood.
I will prove it, I promised myself, closing my eyes. I will learn the code. I will check the phone. And I will find nothing.
And then we can be happy forever.
"Are you hungry?" Gabriel asked, rubbing my back.
"Starving!" I lied (my stomach was in knots). "Let's eat!"
I led him to the dining room, smiling my brightest smile.
I am a wife. I am a student. And now... I am a spy.
A very bad spy with 1% skill, but a spy nonetheless.