Denouement (The Darkness Series Book 3) (26 page)

Nora couldn’t have been more shocked if he said he’d flown to the ranch on purple pigs. The man beside her was…Marcus? With a Gabe face? And the real Gabe, he’d been kidnapped? Locked away all this time while she’d been here playing house with their enemy? No, no it couldn’t be true. She shook her head vehemently. “That’s crazy. That’s so crazy.”

The Gabe at her side nodded agreeing with her. “He’s a madman, baby. Look at him. Come on, we need to get you out of here before something bad happens.” He tugged on her arm, but she refused to move.

The longer she stared at the Gabe by the door, the more something tingled. There was something about him. Something that was calling to her. It was almost as if her heart was waking up again and pointing at him, telling her that was her lover returned to her. Could it really be true? She started to take a step forward, her brows furrowed when the door opened and Quinn came in, Greta on her heels.

Both of them stopped dead, taking in the scene. Quinn recovered first and moved to the center of the room, whipping her head back and forth between the two Gabe’s. “One of you is my brother and I want to know which one it is right the fuck now,” she demanded, planting her hands on her hips. “This is some seriously fucked up shit, you guys. You,” she pointed to Gabe by the door. “Tell me what’s going on here.”

The real Gabe rolled his eyes. “You always were a pain in my ass, Quinlan,” he answered. Quinn’s eyes widened and right there everyone in the room knew. This was the real Gabe. The man that they all loved. Just with that one easy-going reply, he reminded all of them of who he was and just what they had been missing while living with Marcus these past couple years. He may have looked the part to perfection, but you can never become someone else completely. He lacked the caring attitude and loving demeanor to actually totally pull it off. There had been doubts by many of them and now it was obvious they had been right to think that way.

Quinn pulled a handgun from the back waistband of her jeans and aimed it at Marcus. “That’s my brother. So who the fuck are you?”

Marcus didn’t respond. He pulled out his own gun and before Quinn could fire, shot off two rounds. Mayhem ensued and everyone starting screaming. When the real Gabe finally let out a loud whistle, Nora and Quinn both shut up. Laying on the ground with a pool of blood seeping out from under her, was Greta. She’d jumped in front of Quinn and taken the bullets meant for her.

Nora knelt down next to her and put her hands on her chest. “Oh, Greta, no. No, no. Call for help,” she said to Gabe as Quinn raced to the kitchen for some towels to help stop the bleeding.

Greta clasped onto Nora’s hand and pulled her closer. “It’s—it’s okay,” she rasped, struggling to get the words out. “Marcus is my—my son,” she admitted. Nora sat back on her heels in shock. “I didn’t know he’d done this. I didn’t know this was him here. Please—please believe me,” she stared hard into Nora’s eyes begging her to see she was telling the truth. “I have a daughter. Must protect her from Marcus. Please it’s all I ever did was protect her from Marcus. Now you—you have to do what I can’t any longer. Please promise me,” her grip on Nora’s hand tightened painfully as she tried to make her understand why she had stayed in Marcus’s employ for all those years. “Promise me you’ll keep her safe.”

Nora didn’t know how many more revelations she could take, but there was no denying that the woman that had become like a second mother to her was telling the truth. Added to it the fact that she’d just saved Quinn’s life. She couldn’t deny her dying wish. “I promise, Greta. I will find and protect your daughter. I swear it.”

Greta nodded and managed a half smile before her hand went limp and her eyes rolled back. She was gone. Tears rolled down both Nora and Quinn’s faces as they stared at Greta filled with regret. Nora knew that she must have suffered horribly keeping herself away from a daughter she clearly loved so much in order to protect her from Marcus. Looking around, she realized he was missing.

“He got away,” Gabe told her. “I’ve called the police and an ambulance, they will be here soon. I’ll find that fucker, don’t you worry about it.”

Nora stood and stared at Gabe unsure what to do. Part of her wanted to rush into his arms but the larger part of her was filled with such shame. How could she have not known it was him? How could she not have realized the man in her bed was not the same man she’d grown up and fallen in love with? What kind of person doesn’t recognize their soulmate? As a result, the real Gabe, her Gabe had been kept prisoner for two years. Two years away from her and Caleb. She couldn’t even fathom it—it didn’t seem real. Would he hate her now? Take the children and leave her? And Greta—what would she tell the children about Greta?

Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and she didn’t know what to do. Gabe made the decision for her and yanked her into his arms, burying his face into her hair. “I missed you so damn much. So much, Nora. It was fucking torture being away from you. I know that you think this is your fault, but it’s not. I’ve waited two damn years to get you back and I’m never letting you go again. Never.” His lips met hers and it was like their first kiss all those years ago. There was no doubts in Nora’s mind, no feeling that she was doing something wrong. This felt right, Gabe was her home and she finally had him back again.

Quinn sniffled and called for attention. “Okay, you two, I’m sorry but let me hug my fucking brother.” Nora laughed and moved back just in time for Quinn to launch herself into Gabe’s arms, her own winding around his neck. “You fucking dumbass. Getting yourself abducted. Just wait till I tell Mom and Dad,” she teased.

Gabe rolled his eyes. “I missed you too, Quinlan.”

Sirens could be heard in the distance and they knew that help was on the way. It would be a long road for them but Nora knew that above all else, they loved each other. Marcus might have gotten away, but once Theo came home; Nora was certain they’d be searching for him, eager to make him pay for what he stole from them.

Gabe set Quinn down and kissed the top of her head. “I know we have a lot to deal with right now and I’m so damn happy to see you both. But before I get caught up with the cops telling them my story all night, could someone please take me to see my son?”

B
rady swept a
hand over his face and looked up from his seat at Gwyn’s bedside as Theo came in the door with another cup of coffee for him. He accepted it gratefully and then stood after Theo jerked his head towards the hallway. Weariness plagued him. He’d hardly slept since the moment he’d been informed Gwyn was missing. Now that she’d been found, it was an even bigger worry watching her go through surgery after surgery to repair the damage done. Her injuries were non-life threatening, but it would be a long road to recovery for her once she was released from the hospital.

Her arm and the internal bleeding were the worst of it although they were also keeping an eye on her left knee and a baseball sized bump on the back of her head, likely caused from being hit with a bat. Each time she moved in her sleep, she whimpered in pain and it was like a slice to Brady’s heart. This was his fault. He never should have left her alone. He should have put his gun to Mila’s head the second he saw her instead of wasting time negotiating. This whole thing could have been avoided if he’d only done things right.

“What’s up,” he asked Theo. “I don’t like leaving her side for too long.”

“I know, I know, man. Look I don’t know how to say this so I’m just going to fucking say it, okay? Marcus was wearing a Gabe face.” At Brady’s blank look, he tried again. “You know, like how Leatherface does in the Texas Chainsaw movies? Like that. No well not quite. You know that movie Face-Off—more like that. He was wearing a Gabe face like that,” Theo grinned, happy to have found a better comparison.

Brady glared at him. “Would you please make some damn sense? What the fuck are you talking about? Leatherface and Face-Off, you’ve lost your damn mind,” he muttered.

Theo frowned and tried again. “The day we rescued Caleb and Hope. Marcus shot the real Gabe and has held him hostage this whole time. He had plastic surgery, dude. He had plastic surgery to look like Gabe and he’s been impersonating him this entire time. The real Gabe just escaped last night and in a huge showdown, Greta was killed protecting Quinn.”

Brady blinked several times. “Let me get this straight. So there are
two
Gabe’s right now?”

“Technically, yes. But really only one because Marcus and his Gabe face escaped.”

Brady hit him on the arm. “Would you stop saying Gabe face. You’re fucking me up here.” Theo shrugged his hands in the air.

“He has a Gabe face. I call it like I see it.”

“So Greta is dead and Marcus escaped. What the fuck else is going to happen? I can’t believe all this shit. So is Gabe, the real Gabe, okay? How did he escape?” Brady asked.

“Oh, it was badass. He took out all the guards and that fucker, Dr. Daniels. Although it looks like he might have gotten away alive as well, again. Anyway, I just thought you should know. Gabe and Nora are just taking some time to themselves is what Quinn told me, spending time with the kids.”

Brady nodded, letting it sink in. This all was one hell of a clusterfuck. “Anything from West and Sam?”

“Yeah. They are packing up and then picking up Aubrey and should be here in a couple hours. She really needs the distraction and helping clean up after the fire at the diner will be good for her I think. Besides, no one should be left alone until we find this fuck,” Theo answered.

“Agreed,” Brady said. The mention of the diner fire had his shoulders sagging. Joan and Mr. Bartlett had pulled through as well as the other citizens that were dining in there that day, but Earl had been trapped in the kitchen and unable to get out due to the course of the blaze. Despite the fast response time of the emergency rescue and fire department, he had succumbed to his injuries and died. Brady wore his death around his neck like a ball of lead; Mila’s words echoing in the distance,
the potential innocent lives lost
. He hadn’t even been able to bring himself to go and see Joan yet, who was still admitted due to some minor burns and smoke inhalation, which he knew made him a coward.

“Listen, I’m sticking around until we catch this fuck. Nora has the real Gabe with her now in Norton Springs and I really want to see this thing through. So don’t worry about anything. Just focus on being here at Gwyn’s side until we hear something.”

“Thanks, man, I appreciate that. I’m going to get back in there if you don’t mind. Keep me posted on when they arrive.” Brady went back inside Gwyn’s room and resumed his vigil at her bedside. The guilt at seeing her like this was slowly eating away at him. “I swear I’ll be a better man for you, sugar. I’ll be the one to take the pain away instead of the one to cause it.”

“Have you lost your marbles?” Gwyn rasped. Her throat was dryer than the desert and she could still only open one eye, yet she had her one good one trained on him, glaring. “You’re the love of my life, you bonehead. Stop that crazy talk right now or I’ll kick your ass.”

Brady burst out laughing and gently kissed her bruised lips. “Welcome back, my love.”

*     *     *

Aubrey, West and
Sam drove together to Durham Heights. Aubrey was both looking forward to the change of scenery for a couple of days and feeling guilty about running away from dealing with her sister’s death. With each day that passed, she slipped deeper into melancholy. The hole that Autumn had left behind in her heart was never going to heal. She missed her so damn much that it physically hurt. While losing any loved one is never easy; losing a twin is a pain that can never be described. They had been part of each other’s lives since creation. Two halves of the same whole. Her death was a void in Aubrey’s life that would never be filled; that she would never accept.

West had been wonderful at keeping in touch with her and sneaking over to see her when he could. They’d only been successful twice, but she’d needed his comfort more than she knew.

They pulled up to the diner and Sam and Aubrey got out to go inside while West drove to Brady’s place to drop off their gear. He was going to swing by the hospital and give them an update and then would be back to help the two of them start the clean-up. Opening the door, Aubrey walked inside and immediately her chest closed up and it became hard to breathe. Grief filled her as she thought back to when she was trapped in the library fire and how Autumn was even unluckier and was trapped with a bomb. Realizing this was a terrible idea, she turned to flee and slammed into a hard chest. Thinking it was West, she snuggled in. When his arms didn’t encircle her like they usually would, she looked up and a scream trapped in her throat as she saw the ski-mask.