Reprisal (19 page)

The smell of chloroform invades my nostrils, closing my throat. I can’t breathe and suddenly
I’m choking on air. My mind starts spinning and as the darkness overwhelms me, I fall to the
floor, gasping for my next breath. My heart rate increases and my limbs go numb. I can’t move
and my face is wet. I pull a weak arm up and brush the stickiness off of my face. Blood. Oh my
God! I press my hand to my temple, feeling the gash that has ripped open as my face planted
hard on the concrete. Lights are flashing in my eyes and I struggle to focus. “What in the hell
happened?” I whisper as I look around the dungeon.

I scan the room and see him. My father, lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. I crawl on
my hands and knees towards him, dragging the chair that I’m tied to with me. Why? I don’t know,
but I have to see him. I need proof that he’s dead. I grab the man’s head and roll his face towards
me. “Why daddy why?” I cry out, the tears stinging the cuts on my face. I brush the hair out of
his face, but then his face morphs. My eyes blur and a swimming feeling overwhelms me. I can
suddenly no longer hold my head up straight, but I manage a glimpse and see that it’s actually
Gabe. “Gabe? No!!!”

Sobs tear through me, my chest heaving and I struggle to suck in oxygen. My body goes into
panic mode and I start to shake uncontrollably. My body convulses and trembles as I curl next to
his body, resting my head on his bloody chest. “Oh God! I’m sorry, Gabe! I thought....I
thought.......” I take another deep breath, “I thought you were someone else......I never......shit,
oh God I never meant to hurt you!” My tears dropping on to his chest. I hear sirens in the
distance and I pray silently, that they are coming for us. I force my body to relax and press my
cheek against Gabe’s warm skin. Wait, he’s still warm. I jerk my eyes up and look at him, a dull
throb snaking through my head. My vision blurs a little and as I focus on his body, I realize he’s
breathing. “Gabe?” I cry out.

I turn to my right side, to get a better focus on him and gently press my fingers against his
neck. A pulse. It’s weak, but I feel it. I look around his torso looking for a phone so I can call 911. Thankfully it’s in his pocket and with shaky fingers I dig it out. But before I can
press ‘send’, I realize the sirens are getting louder and louder. Then they suddenly stop, the
silence causing a void in the room.

The door to the dungeon flies open on a slam and I scream in fear. “HELP ME! PLEASE!” I
plead with whoever has just come into the room. He could be another bad guy, but at this point I
don’t care. If they can help Gabe........

My body is pulled away from Gabe as a uniformed officer sinks to his knees next to Gabe.

“Get a medic in here stat! We have an officer down!” I hear him bark in to his radio as I’m
pulled off of him. Two EMTs come in and someone is hovering over me asking me questions, but I
can’t hear him. All I can hear is the cop and the EMT calling out vitals and other information.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” I vaguely hear, but I can only nod my head.

I watch the EMTs work on Gabe, talking to each other and barking out orders. I hear one of
them call out for a defibrillator and I feel my body start to shake again. A hand touches my
shoulder and I pull away, “NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!” I scream as I watch in horror as the EMT tries
to revive Gabe.

“Clear!” He shouts as I watch Gabe’s body jerk upwards, his chest rising and his head
rolling back. The EMT looks at a small monitor before pressing the paddles to his chest again.

The electrical surge that blasts through his body jerking him up again. After a third time, the
monitor shows a straight line running across it and the EMT drops his head, shaking it back and
forth. “Call it.” He says as he stands and walks away, taking his rubber gloves off as he
disappears.

“No!! Wait! He was still alive a few minutes ago! Please! You can’t give up! Gabe,
NOOOOOOO!!!” I scream and cry as I try to crawl to his lifeless body in front of me. But strong
hands pull me back. I fight with him, jerking my arms out of his hold, wrestling with a man three
times as strong as me.

I’m placed on a stretcher and wheeled out of the room, my nose instantly clearing with the
fresh air outside. But my nose is the only thing that is clear. I’m sobbing, my body jerking and
heaving.

“Syd
ney, wake up babe. I’m here, it’s okay.”

I hold my breath, because I hear a male voice, strong and clear in my head. I wait to hear it
again, because I can’t be sure I heard it in the first place. But nothing, I must have imagined it.

The tears again start to squeeze out of my eyelids, and the shaking comes back.

“Sydney, baby. Wake up.”

I pause again, my mind now drifting between fantasy and reality, warm light seeping between
my eye lids. I take a deep breath and force my eyes open, fearful of what I’ll see. I blink away
the cobwebs and finally focus on the beauty that is right in front of me.

Gabe

“Welcome back, baby.” He whispers to my cheek as he gently presses his lips against my skin.

“Gabe?” I choke out with a weak voice.

“Yeah, baby. It’s me.”

“Oh my God, you.......you’re.......” I suck in a breath.

“Alive, sweetheart. I’m alive, and so are you.”

He moves back a little to allow me to focus and I see his beautiful face. I try and lift my right hand to his face, but I can’t move it. It’s taped up or something and.....I realize I have another hand.

My left hand slowly comes up and I press my palm against his face, his eyes my focal point.

“Gabe?” I ask again, not believing what I am seeing. “Am I dreaming?”

“Not anymore, babe. I’m right here.”

I brush my thumb along his stubble covered cheek, my eyes roaming over his face, his nose,
his lips. I scan his body and see the bandage over his shoulder and chest and realize his shirt is only half on.

“You were shot.” I breathe out, my fingers now trailing along the bandages on his shoulder.

“Just a flesh wound. I’m fine.” He says as his eyes close.

“But you.......shit, I don’t know. Tell me what happened?” I ask.

“Later babe, you need to rest.” He says as he sits back in his chair.

“You’re sitting here bandaged up like a mummy and I’m in a hospital bed, and you won’t tell me what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” He asks.

“Some of it. Did he.....?” I ask, not sure I want to know the answer.

“No, thank God. I stopped him before that happened. But we can talk about all of that later, right now you need to rest. Agent Morrison will have questions for you later and we need you rested and focused.”

“Agent Morrison?” I ask.

“Yeah, my boss.”

I ponder that thought for a moment, because I thought Matthews was his boss.

He smirks at me, his lips curling in a devious way.

I look at him with questioning eyes, but I don’t speak.

“I quit the NYPD.”

I try and sit up, but there are so many wires crossing my body that I’m afraid to move. He reaches down and presses a button, rising the head of the bead.

“You quit? Why?”

“We’ll talk about that
later.” He stops as someone walks into the room. My eyes don’t leave his and we stare at each other, a connection being made with only our eyes.

A nurse makes her way to my bedside, wheeling her portable station with her.

“Oh, hi Doctor DeCarlo. I didn’t realize you were awake. I’m Angie and here to take your vitals, then I’ll notify Doctor Kane that you’re awake. How are you feeling?” She asks as she wraps the blood pressure cuff on my good arm. I nod at her, but don’t answer her question.

She finishes and types it all in on her station and then leaves, “Doctor Kane will be in shortly.” She smiles as she pulls the door closed.

I look over at Gabe, his head laid back and his eyes closed. He looks exhausted. “Gabe?” I whisper, not wanting to wake him up if he’s asleep. He opens his eyes and lifts his head, looking at me with sleepy eyes.

“Yeah, babe. You okay?” He asks as he sits up.

“I think so. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”

“No way, not until I know you’re okay.”

“I’m fine Gabe. Thanks to you.”

His eyes flash and he smirks at me. “You’re one tough lady, Doctor
DeCarlo.” He says as he comes over to my bedside, pulling his chair with him. He sits down and takes my hand. “But you never should have run off without me.”

Oh, so he’s sticking around to lecture me huh? Well........

“I couldn’t find you, Sydney. Within seconds you vanished and........” His throat catches.

“Within seconds you were gone.”

“SHHHH, I’m fine now Gabe.”

“But you almost weren’t,
Syd. God, when I came out of my house and you were gone.....” he chokes back a sob, his eyes glassy with tears he’s struggling to hold in. He drops his head and swipes a stray tear off of his cheek. “When I couldn’t find you.........” and he begins to sob, his upper body shaking and trembling.

“Gabe.” I whisper. “I’m so sorry Gabe. I should have never.....”

“No, you shouldn’t have, but......” His eyes softening and his head shaking. “But it’s over now. You’re fine, I’m fine....we can move on, get past this.”

“But is it really over Gabe? I won’t be able to get past it until I know what happened. The guy.....he told me he was my brother. Who was he really?” I ask.

He stands up and walks to the window, looking out on the world below.

“His name was Stephan
DeCarlo.” He says. “He was a victim of your father’s crime spree years ago, just like Samantha and Sophia. His mother drowned in a pool of her own blood when your father strangled her with barbed wire. Then he tossed her in to Lake Michigan. She had already delivered Stephan and your father had no more use for her. Stephan was raised in foster care and was a tattoo artist in Chicago.”

He stops and takes a deep breath, then turns to face me.

“He started studying Criminal Justice at Chicago State, which gave him access to sealed records. Apparently he had a friend in the records division of CPD as well, so he studied his father diligently.”

He looks up at me, waiting for me to ask questions.

“How did you find all of this out?” I ask.

“Stupid idiot.” He chuckles. “He carried ID with him, correct ID instead of a fake one. He never tried to hide who he was, and was raping and killing these young girl
s. The first two were your half-sisters.”

“Revenge?” I ask.

He nods.

“But the third girl, was she.......”

“No, that was his actual girlfriend. He needed another victim.....”

“To make sure I was number four.”

He nodded.

“Shit.”

“Yeah, but that’s not all.”

What else could there be? Before he can continue a man walks in carrying a file. “Doctor
Decarlo, I’m Doctor Kane. How are you feeling?” I nod at him but my mind is reeling from what Gabe told me.

“I’m going to go get a cup of coffee,
Syd. I’ll be back.” Gabe says as he leaves the room.

The doctor checks me out, and I finally find out the extent of my injuries. A grade three concussion, dislocated shoulder and multiple contusions on my knees, wrists and head. But I’m told I’m going to be fine and can probably go home in a few days. He tells me I was dehydrated which was why I’m still here with an IV plugged in to my arm. “Once you’re re-hydrated you can go home.” He says as he smiles.

He heads towards the door and then turns back to me. “That man’s in love with you, I hope you realize that. He’s not left your side all night.” And he smiles before leaving the room. He hardly said anything while checking me out, but then he says that? Internally I shake my head, cause I know there’s no way Gabriel Torres is in love with me. It’s too soon, and too much has been going on. But then that internal head shaking turns in to a smile. A weak smile at that, but I can definitely feel my lips curling up just a little.

I lean my head back and press the button to lower the bed. I’m exhausted and I close my eyes to sleep. But my mind is in a flurry with all that I have consumed over the last few days. The sights, the smells, the pain. And fury, I realize I’m furious. At who or what, I have no idea. But I’m angry. Why did my family have to be so fucked up? My own father and brother, a brother I never knew I had. One that was just as deranged as my father.

I wrap my hand around my neck to massage the tense muscles and my fingers graze on a sore and tender area behind my left ear. Probably just one of my many contusions the doctor mentioned. But as my finger rubs the tender area, I realize the skin is raised. I rise the bed up again, so that I’m sitting and then twist my aching body sideways. My feet it the floor and I grab the IV stand, using it to hold myself up. It’s a futile attempt as the stand starts rolling and my legs can’t move fast enough. I grab on to the side of the bed and steady myself, calmly waiting for some strength to come back in my legs.