Slipperless Series (Book #4)(24)

Gabe closed the fifteen feet or so that separated us.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Fiona.”

I looked up at him and reached for my charm bracelet, wrapping my hand around it. Gabe’s eyes followed the trail of my movement, until they stopped at my wrist. Just then, he looked at me once again.

“When you’re ready, we can talk. Okay?”

Tugging a strand of hair behind my ear, I looked into his eyes and fought the desire to cry once more. Instead I nodded, and raised my hands to my face, covering my nose and mouth.

Without a thought or care, I leaned in towards him, my shoulders convulsing with despair. For an instant, Gabe remained stoic, still. But, as my pain poured out onto his suitcoat, I felt the much-needed relief of his arms as they wrapped around me. We stood there without speaking, the only sound between us the utterance of my grief.

The worst part of it was, not only had I lost my grandmother, but I was all but certain I’d lost Gabe as well. For as I wept, and even as he hugged me close, I had little doubt that my usefulness to him was at its end.



GABE

I decided to give Fiona a couple of days to herself to deal with loss of her grandmother.

However, a decision had to be made one way or another about her continued involvement with the Link Protocol. Although it was going to be next to impossible to replace her and the role she played in it, I was running out of time and options.

And so, with that in mind, I headed across town in my limousine to pay her an impromptu visit. Once I reached her apartment, I knocked on the door.

After about ten seconds or so, I heard the distinctive sound of the chain rattle as Fiona unhooked it from the lock. Shielding her eyes from the brightness of the early afternoon sun, she looked up at me.

It was hard to describe her appearance.

It looked as if she hadn’t slept for days and had cried for at least that long. Without so much as a word of greeting, Fiona allowed the door to drift open. Afterward, she turned her back to me and began to shuffle away towards the kitchen. I followed her inside and eased the door closed behind me. I then walked into the kitchen, stopping just inside the entrance to it, where I stood in silence for several seconds.

“I would ask how you are, but I don’t suppose I have to.”

Standing several feet away from me in the middle of the room, Fiona hesitated for a moment before she turned to face me. As she did, her facial features wrinkled with ugliness. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and then all of a sudden she walked towards me, burying her face into my chest just as she had at the funeral home. I stood there holding her for almost a minute, until at last, Fiona sniffled and pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to do that. It seems like that’s all I’ve done for days.”

I shook my head. “It’s okay, Fiona. Don’t worry about it, and certainly don’t feel like you need to apologize.”

Fiona pulled her hair away from her face. Dragging her hands through it, she tucked two chunky strands behind her ears.

“Can I get you anything?” she sputtered, in a voice still hoarse from crying. “A cup of coffee or a glass of water? Something to eat?”

“No,” I replied. “I’m fine, thanks.”

As I spoke, Fiona sat down in one of the kitchen table chairs.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, not really,” she said, as she looked away. “There’s nothing to say, anyway.”

I nodded as she spoke. After a few moments, she looked at me once again.

“Look, Gabe. About leaving like I did, I…”

I raised my hand, waving her off. “It’s in the past, Fiona.”

A look of surprise came over Fiona’s face.

“So… you’re not upset?”

While there was a part of me that had frustration over it, I wanted to do the best job I could sticking to the promise I’d made to myself on the island. If there was ever a time to put my new resolve to the test, this was it.

“I just want to move forward, Fiona. There’s no sense in doing anything else.”

Fiona lowered her head and dropped her hands in her lap. “Okay. I am sorry though.”

“I know you are, Fiona.” I began, as I took a seat next to her. “I realize this may not be the best time to discuss the situation but… we have to. We’ve lost an incredible amount of time.”

“Gabe, I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what else you want me to say right now.”

I took a deep breath and interlaced my fingers, placing them flat on the kitchen table. “This isn’t about what you should say to me, Fiona, it’s… ”

She interrupted me. “Then what is it about, Gabe? I appreciate you showing sympathy, I do, but there’s a part of me that feels as if you have another agenda behind your visit.”