His Marriage Trap (16 page)

“Dammit Gabby!” he hissed and she jumped at the angry tone.

“Just tell me,” she insisted but he shook his head.

“Just give me a few more days and I can tell you everything but right now I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to,” he said which just made her madder.

“All I want to know is why you can’t tell me? And what does this have to do with Callie?” she asked but he remained tight lipped and wouldn’t say another word. It was the first time since their honeymoon that they went to bed mad and though she longed for him to gather her close during the night, he didn’t touch her.

Gabby didn’t sleep well and she was awake the next morning when she heard Nik getting up. Realising that she couldn’t go on like this she got up as well and waited until they were both dressed to confront him. He didn’t seem to be in any better mood than he was the night before.

“I’m giving you one more chance Nik. Just tell me what’s going on,” she urged but he ignored her request and ran a hand over his eyes instead.

“Let it go Gabby.”

“That’s the problem Nik. I can’t let it go. Ever since we’ve been back you’ve been pulling away from me and I don’t understand why. You said that you wanted us to be honest and have a proper marriage and children yet you can’t even be honest with me now,” she told him and he sighed.

“I’m not pulling away from you. I just have some serious stuff going on at work and that has to be my priority at the moment.”

Nik seemed to realise his mistake at the same moment she realised she was sick of being cast in second place next to everything else in his life.

“I didn’t mean that,” he said but they both knew he did.

“I can’t do this anymore Nik. I can’t stay here with you knowing that you’re lying to me,” she admitted and he froze in place.

“What exactly are you saying?” he demanded and she let loose a sigh.

“I’m saying that until you can tell me the truth I can’t stay here,” she said and his eyes narrowed.

“Are you threatening to run away again?” he demanded and she shook her head.

“I’m not threatening anything and I’m not running away. I just can’t do this. You wanted me to be all in and I am but you’re not,” she said.

“I’m all in Gabby,” he said but she shook her head.

“I can’t handle the lies and until you can tell me the truth I can’t stay here. I thought that when we got home we would be providing a united front and working together but instead I barely see you and it feels like I’m in this alone,” she said and he stared at her as terror gripped him.

“You’re not in this alone. Please don’t leave me,” he begged but Gabby couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m not leaving you. I’m just taking some time away. When you can tell me the truth then I’ll come right back,” she promised and then she turned and walked away.

It killed Gabby to leave but she knew she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t keep living with this shadow over her and she needed some time alone to think. She wasn’t lying to Nik when she said she wasn’t running away. This was different to last time. She didn’t want her freedom and she didn’t want to be away from him. All she wanted was the honesty that he had promised her.

Gabby used work as a distraction for the next couple of days and she spent her days counselling people and her nights laid in the hotel bed just staring at the ceiling and missing her husband. Nik called every day but they mostly exchanged pleasantries and didn’t delve in to anything deeper. Each time he called and didn’t tell her the truth it killed her a little bit more. She had believed him when he said he loved her but if that was the case then why wasn’t he fighting for her?

It was on the fourth day away that Gabby saw Fiona for the first time since she’d returned from her honeymoon. The girl looked nothing like the broken shell that she had the first time she’d stepped in to the office. In fact she positively glowed with happiness.

She revealed that she had used the money Gabby gave her to get herself a real home and had even found herself a job. The neighbourhood where she was moving had their own child-minding service and the lady who owned Fiona’s house had asked her to work for them when she had found out about her situation. Fiona hadn’t hidden anything about her past but the woman believed in second chances and had discussed it with all the women whose children they cared for. All the women had been through various backgrounds and they understood what getting a second chance meant. It was a great comfort to Fiona that she would be able to provide for her child and that she wouldn’t have to leave the child while she worked. Everything seemed to be going well and Gabby was pleased that she helped. It made her feel better that even though she hadn’t been able to save any of her own family she had been able to save someone. It gave her hope that maybe things would be alright for her too.

That night Gabby was just slipping beneath the sheets when there was a knock at the door. Convinced that it was Nik she ran as fast as she could and flung the door wide only to stare in dismay at the last person she would have expected to see there.

“Callie?”

“I needed to talk to you,” Callie said as she swept in to the room and closed the door behind her.

“What’s wrong?” Gabby asked. It was the first time that she had ever seen the other woman look less than her best. Her hair was all over and she had mascara streaked down her face as though she had been crying.

“You have to talk to him for me. He’s acting completely unreasonable and I don’t understand why. I’m having his child and he’s trying to get me put away,” Callie sobbed and Gabby frowned.

“Talk to who Callie?” she asked and Callie turned on her so abruptly that she had to take a step back.

“Nik of course. He acts like there’s nothing between us but there’s something. I did it all because I love him,” Callie said while Gabby tried to figure out what she was actually saying.

“Did what?” she asked and Callie smiled at her.

“I took the money because he would never love somebody like me. I had to be like you. I knew if I had the money then we could run away together,” she said. Gabby was starting to get seriously worried. Callie’s eyes were darting all over and she was exhibiting some strange behaviour. She wasn’t sure what was going on but Callie obviously wasn’t in her right mind.

“What money?” she asked as she tried to stall for time and Callie grinned at her.

“It was Paul’s idea. He knew how much I wanted Nik and he said that all I had to do was give him some codes so he could get the money for me. He told me what I had to do to get rid of you and it all worked,” she confessed and Gabby froze in her tracks.

“You wanted to get rid of me?” she asked and Callie frowned.

“Paul wanted me to get close to Nik. He’s the only one who cared about me. I know that when Nik sees this baby he’ll want to take care of us both,” Callie said and Gabby knew that she had to do something. She didn’t know what was wrong with Callie but she suspected that she was having a mental breakdown and when someone was this far gone you never knew what they were capable of.

“Let me call Nik. He’ll make everything better,” Gabby said soothingly and Callie nodded.

“I knew that you’d help. I knew you’d understand how much Nik and I love each other,” she said.

Gabby grabbed her phone and dialled Nik as quickly as she could. She needed him to calm Callie down before she flipped and did something she’d regret. He answered almost immediately.

“Gabby? I was just going to call you. I finally have the all clear to tell you and I have so much to tell you,” he said and Gabby winced. He would choose now to want to reveal everything.

“I have something to tell you too. Callie is here with me,” she said and there was a pause on the other end.

“Gabby get out of there right now. She’s dangerous,” Nik said and she heard him saying something to someone in the background.

“Nik she wants you to come here. She wants you,” Gabby said. She tried to keep her voice level and soothing but Callie must have picked up on something because she suddenly shot forward and grabbed the phone out of her hand.

“Nik honey? Don’t worry. I’ll make everything okay,” Callie said and Gabby stared wide-eyed as she suddenly produced a gun from behind her back and pointed it at Gabby.

“What are you doing Callie? I’m on your side,” Gabby soothed but Callie shook her head.

“He told me that you were against me. If I want Nik then I have to get rid of you!” Callie screamed and Gabby dove to the side just in time as the gun went off. She ran as quickly as she could towards the en suite and screamed when the gun went off again and shattered a vase. The glass flew everywhere and a piece of it struck Gabby in the leg but she didn’t slow down as she flung herself in to the en suite and locked the door behind her.

“Come out of there!” Callie screamed and Gabby moved to the side of the door just in time as another gunshot sounded and a bullet thudded in to the door.

“Callie please. I’m on your side,” Gabby pleaded but Callie was too far gone and she kept shouting about how much she loved Nik and how they were meant to be together.

It seemed like forever before there was the sound of the front door being kicked in and then all she heard was Callie’s screams of rage, gunfire and then silence. Gabby froze as she strained to hear what the hell was going on. She didn’t want to leave the safety of the en suite until she was sure that she wasn’t about to be shot.

“Mrs Kostos?” a voice asked and Gabby almost collapsed in relief at the sound of the man calling to her.

“Yes?” she called.

“You can come out now. We have Callie in custody,” he called and Gabby cautiously unlocked the door and peeked round. She was relieved to see that there were several policemen in the hotel room and that Callie was being led out of the room. She stepped out of the room and smiled in relief as Nik was suddenly pushing his way towards her.

“Nik,” she breathed and then everything went dark and she heard Nik curse an instant before she crumpled to the ground.

Gabby awoke slowly. She felt groggy and everything hurt, especially her leg. Opening her eyes she was surprised to find herself in a sterile environment.

“Gabby?”

She turned her head and smiled at the sight of Nik sat next to her. Slowly the events of the evening trickled back in to her head and she felt tears forming as she thought of poor Callie. She might have hated the woman but it was awful for someone to have that level of breakdown and she obviously had been suffering for a while but instead of helping her someone had been taking advantage of her.

“I love you,” she told Nik. It seemed the most important thing that she could think of at that moment and he leaned over to kiss her. He looked dishevelled and obviously hadn’t slept in a while.

“This is all my fault. God, when I saw you collapse I thought….” He trailed off and Gabby smiled as she placed her palm on his cheek.

“It wasn’t your fault. Callie was obviously a very disturbed young woman,” she told him and he groaned.

“How can you be so nice about all of this? I lied to you when I promised I wouldn’t and it almost got you killed,” he said.

“But I’m still here and I can forgive you all your lies as long as I finally get the truth,” she told him.

The doctors came in then to check her out and they explained that the glass had caused her to lose a lot of blood which was why she had passed out but that she should be fine and they wanted to keep her in overnight. They also informed her that she was pregnant which she had somehow suspected already. Both she and Nik were thrilled by the news though they wished that it had occurred under different circumstances.

Once they had left Nik took his turn explaining things. He told her how he had put in a call while they were on the Island to have Callie terminated from the company. But then on that last day he had received a call that had changed everything. Apparently the police were keeping a close eye on Paul Weston who had a history of embezzling though they had yet to catch him. Callie had been his partner in crime though she’d had no idea what she was actually doing. Paul had used her desire for Nik and twisted her in to someone unrecognisable. It had been during the process to terminate her that they had noticed her password had been used on several occasions to access confidential files and that money had been missing each time her password had been used.

The reason he’d been having so many late nights was because he had to catch Callie and Paul in the act. He had made them believe that there was a special project with a lot of money for the company. They hoped that given enough temptation they would steal from it. Nik had only been allowed to involve essential people and he hadn’t been allowed to tell her anything for fear that she would become a target. The only other person who had known was Luca.

Paul had made his move that afternoon and the police had arrested him almost immediately. Callie had managed to give them the slip but they’d had no idea that she would be heading to Gabby.

Gabby was just glad that everyone was okay and that finally Nik had told her the truth. She could understand the pressures that he had been under with the investigation but she just wished that he had told her. She wouldn’t have done anything to jeopardize the investigation and she probably would have been more alert to the danger rather than letting Callie in to her room because she didn’t know she was a danger.