Chapter 129 - The Man who Darkens the Threshold (1/2)
The trouble with things finally being out in the open is that you tend to think of the nastiest possibilities all the time. And tonight, as Claire put down the receiver, she realizes this might truly be a long night.
Gabriel paces the room, scratching his chin, staring at blank space.
”What do we do?” she says.
”Nothing,” he says. ”He will come to us. And that's when we'll try to sort things out.”
”You're not thinking of resorting violence, aren't you?”
Gabriel laughs, despite the situation. ”Of course, not! This is my brother we speak of.” Then he stops mid-stride as a thought strikes him. ”Although if push comes to shove, I'm afraid I have to do something utterly drastic…and embarrassing.”
”How do you mean?”
”There's only one person in the world who can straighten him out. And I'm deathly afraid to let her come into the picture. So as much as possible, I would like to solve this between the two of us.”
”Are you talking about an old girlfriend? His first love?”
”Oh, no,” Gabriel says. ”I speak of Matilde, our mother.” Gabriel cringes at the mere mention of his mother. ”I don't want her getting involved. As much as possible, I don't want her to come into the picture—our picture, with what he have now—and…should I say, sour the thing I have tried so hard to sweeten.”
Claire slumps on the sofa. ”But Miguel seems unstoppable.”
”I believe he can still see reason,” Gabriel says. ”He's just…in love with the wrong person.”
She says nothing. She wonders what she's supposed to do in the hours, days, weeks ahead, with Miguel's specter always in the periphery of her vision. Is he stalking her, watching her every move? She doesn't feel safe anymore, even in the confines of this swanky penthouse suite. Miguel seems to have become such a wild card, and she's not sure what he's going to do next—and next time she might not be so lucky, or feisty enough to repel him. Yet, somehow, in the depths of her heart, she's still hoping Miguel really would see reason.
Gabriel is on the phone speaking to people, and from what she hears, he's talking to some of his trusted bodyguards, whom she has never seen. Dale once said that Gabriel's bodyguards are instructed to be as invisible as possible. ”He doesn't want a show of force,” Dale said. ”But he's not naïve, either—he knows the world can be a pretty fuċkėd up place. So he needs the help of certain individuals to ensure his safety. And you can be sure, Miss Claire, that his people are also ensuring your safety.”
Claire remembers Dale's words now, and wonders what happened to those so-called bodyguards yesterday morning, when she was ȧssaulted? Where the heck were they when Miguel was grabbing her? When she had to resort to her own inner courage to repulse him? She fights the urge to be upfront to Gabriel about it, but maybe it's more appropriate to discuss some other time. Right now, their heads are full of toxic things, and they could really use some breathing space.
”I'll have to go back to my place,” Gabriel says as soon as his chat on the phone's over. ”I need to take care of some urgent business.”