Gabriel was reading his book on his flight back to Lancaster when his emergency phone beeped. He always has his emergency phone on standby when he is flying, and whenever it beeped, it’s always for a good reason. He opened it immediately, it was Peter. He asked the flight attendant to call Peter from the airplane phone.
“What is it Peter?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sir, but I thought you should know … there’s a man here to see Ms. Knox and they went up to her suite … he said he was her … husband.”
Gabriel fell silent, his heart raced, “If they’re not down in 20 minutes, send someone up to check on them.”
“Very well, Sir.”
“Thanks Pete.”
He was flying back to Lancaster for a meeting with Eduard Payne’s representation, a business deal he had with his company. Eddie couldn’t be there because he said he was dealing with his pending divorce. He clenched his jaw.
He opened the laptop in front of him, hoping that Jamie’s camera was still uncovered. It was. The camera had no mic so he couldn’t hear what they were talking about.
She was crying. Eddie had his arms around her, his hands were inside her shirt, he was pressing his face against hers. It looked more like a lover’s quarrel, he was married to her for four year, he still was. Gabriel felt a burning sensation inside his chest, Eddie’s mouth was all over her, he tried to kiss her … he succeeded a few times, she looked away but she didn’t show much resistance.
Gabriel was breathing faster. He leaned forward to get a closer look. He kissed her again, she looked away. “A kiss is sacred to me,” he remembered her saying it that night. Eddie was persuading her into something. What is he trying to do? Get back together?
His stomach tightened as he watched Eddie lay on the bed. Then he saw her avoiding his kiss again, she pulled his hand away. Gabriel took his phone and called Peter. “Send securities to her room … right now,” he said firmly. “Get that man out of my property, I don’t want to see him near Ms. Knox again.”
“Right away, Sir.”
He fidgeted on his seat, Eddie was pulling up her skirt and had his mouth on her breast. She was covering her chest with her arms, she was resisting, but he was pinning her down strong. She was pushing but he didn’t budge.
Gabriel clenched his hand into a fist. Why are they taking so long?
Eddie was pulling her panties down, her legs were kicking when something startled them.
**********
The loud bang on the door interrupted them. They looked at the door.
“This is security! Ms. Knox, please open the door!”
“Security?” Eddie was puzzled.
She pushed him away and stood up. She pulled up her panties, straightened up her shirt and skirt. “You need to leave … you’re not allowed to be in here … get on with the divorce Eddie,” she wiped the tears from her cheeks and fixed her hair.
“Ms. Knox … if you don’t open this door immediately, we will open it without your consent,” the security announced.
“I need those tapes, Jamie … you’ve got to help me.”
“I can’t help you with that, you will get them when the divorce is final … please, be done with it, it’s over Eddie.”
The door locked was being opened and four security guards entered the room, followed by Peter. “We have orders to enter this room by force, you need to leave this premises, Sir,” one of the guards said and took Eddie by his arm.
He pulled his arm back, “Don’t touch me! I’m leaving,” he muttered.
“Are you okay, Ms. Knox?” Peter asked.
She nodded, she looked at Eddie. Their eyes locked for a moment, a confirmation that it was truly the end of their marriage.
“Take care of yourself, Jamie … and be careful,” he said before leaving the room. It wasn’t a threat, it was a loving message for her because they didn’t know what Gabriel Love was all about. Neither of them knew what’s really going on, the fact that she was pregnant with Gabriel’s baby was going to make everything a whole lot more complicated.
“Can you have someone turn down my bed, Peter?” her voice weakened from the stress, she was distraught by what she almost did on that bed. Even though she didn’t want to, she almost succumbed to her needs.
“Of course … is there anything else you would like me to assist you with?” Peter looked concerned.
“No … I’m fine, I’m just gonna stay in my room for the rest of the day … if anyone needs me in the conservation, please tell them I’ll be down there in the morning.”
The meeting with Eddie drained her physically and mentally, she had no idea Gabriel had made threats against him just to help her get the divorce she was owed. Maybe Gabriel cared about her more than she thought. But he never mentioned to her about those tapes. Was he really using those tapes just to get Eddie to finalize the divorce? Or will he use it for other purposes like Eddie suspected?
Whenever she was with him, she always got that warm vibe from him, he was gentle and kind. But he didn’t get to be that rich and powerful from being gentle and kind, she thought. He was a ruthless businessman, she was sure. He had his way to get what he wanted, just like how he had threatened Eddie with the tapes.
Eddie was probably doing something disgraceful in those tapes that he was scared of if they leaked. He wasn’t innocent, she heard about his collections of underaged girls after they seperated from the talk in the dark. She never cared much about it because she thought they were divorced. It must be true what they said about him and it disgusted her. “Look at the mess I’m in now,” his words repeated in her head as if it was her fault.
She hugged her knees in the bathtub, the warm water around her eased some of her sores. Her mind floated back to that gorgeous light brown eyes that could cut through her soul. How he made her blush just by staring into her eyes. His deep soothing voice in her ears.
She knew he had something to do with the rescue. The hotel security said they had orders to enter the room by force. His orders. He was watching her every move. She used to feel violated under his close watch. But the incident proved it had saved her.
After what happened, she really wanted to see him.
After that scare, she could really use a hug from that tall, handsome, beautiful man that smelled like a dream.