93. Riley
NINETY-THREE
When I letmyself into Gabriel”s house, the place is silent. Eerily so. I expect Reese to come pitter-pattering in on his little dog feet, but then I remember it”s the night he spends with the housekeeper so she can take him for grooming early in the morning.
Which means it”s likely that it”s only Gabriel and me here in the house. Well, and the bodyguards. But they”re almost invisible, flitting around the property and making sure everything”s secure.
I glance down the hall toward the office and see a light on inside. He”s still working, at this hour? It”s close to eleven at night. Kicking off my heels and leaving them on a mat near the door, I push a breath out of my nose and march toward the office. As I get closer, it becomes apparent that Gabriel”s not in there, because someone”s whistling.
Gabriel never whistles.
I poke my head inside. Andre”s there, sitting on the leather sofa. Papers are strewn across the coffee table.
”Hey,” I say.
He looks up with a frown. ”Oh, hi. You okay?”
”Yeah, why?”
”Well, Gabriel”s in a mood. I was wondering if you had a fight or something.”
Moments of our weird weekend in New York flash through my brain. ”No. We didn”t.” I like Andre, but I”m not going to confide in him about my relationship issues.
”Well, maybe it”s because of his father, then.” He reaches for a paper. ”It”s got to be a shock that he”s getting out of prison so soon. None of us expected Don Greco to be released in this decade. And especially not for good behavior.”
Andre chuckles, as if he”s relishing a private joke.
I open my mouth, then close it. His father”s getting out of prison? Why don”t I know about this? ”Yeah,” I say slowly.
Andre shakes his head. ”And the fact that the state”s making him live in Florida, well, I doubt if Gabriel anticipated that. He”s going to have to move in here. That”s going to really be a bummer for Gabriel, since he likes his solitude. You”re the only one he can tolerate for any long periods of time, and Gabriel and his father don”t always get along. There”s no other...”
Probably because my eyes are bugging and I”m gaping, Andre stops talking.
”Wait. You didn”t know? You weren”t aware that his Dad”s about to be a free man?”
I shake my head.
”Oh, shit.” He sucks in a breath. ”Please don”t tell him that I said anything, okay?”
I don”t answer because the anger is rising in my chest and I need to see Gabriel, now. ”Where is he?”
Andre must sense my rage. ”Maybe it”s nothing, maybe there”s no problem, maybe?—”
”Where. Is. Gabriel.”
”Outdoors, by the pool. I think. That”s where he was headed about an hour ago.”
”Thanks.” I stomp out, determined to find out what”s going on. My heels clack against the polished stone floors, and I yank open the door to the outside.
I grow more and more pissed as I search for Gabriel. Finally, I find him in the outdoor bar area. He”s lying on the lounger, wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.
I sink into a chair opposite him.
”Hey. How”s Cath? Have you eaten?” He asks this like everything”s normal. When it definitely isn”t.
I lick my lips, uneasy. It registers that he hasn”t gotten up to kiss me.
”When were you going to tell me that your father is getting out of prison?”