Chapter 28

Iturn on the television as I fold and put away my laundry, not bothering to change the channel when the news comes on. I don't intend to watch it. I just like the background noise. My mind constantly drifts to wondering what Gabe is doing. He never really tells me what he's up to, just that he has to do something for his brother.

I'm not sure if I'm better off knowing the details or not. Thing is… I have a vivid imagination and I've watched a lot of mobster movies. Whatever it is he's doing, I know it's not safe. I don't care that it's on the wrong side of the law. That's not my issue with his line of work. It's the danger that comes with it.

The possibility he might end up behind bars.

It's completely selfish of me. I don't want to have to live without him. Which is ridiculous. We've only just started dating. But I can't change how deep I've fallen for him. I've been telling myself that it's okay. That it's just a job. No different if he were to work in a retail shop. I'm trying to separate the Gabe he is for his family from the man he is around me. It's not easy to do, but that's what I have to do to stop myself from spiralling into panic or self-loathing. From hating the idea that I'm capable of loving someone who can do the most unthinkable things. Like murder.

At the same time the word pops into my head, the news reporter repeats it on the screen. I look up and read the headline.

Man murdered in heinous act.

Not just any man, but a man from Kiah's suburb. I remember rolling over last night and Gabe not being in the bed. I thought I'd dreamt it. I realise I didn't when I hear the victim's name. Kiah's stepfather. Deep down, I know Gabe did this. I begged him not to do anything. And he ignored my wishes. He went and killed a man just for touching me.

Don't get me wrong. Kiah's stepfather was a piece of shit. The world is not going to miss him. But Gabe killed him because of me. Panic rises to the surface, and my heart starts racing.

I can't do this. I just can't.

I run into my closet and pack a bag. I need to get away. I can't look him in the eye and know what he's done. That he's lied to me. That he's going to keep lying to me. How could I have been so stupid to believe him when he promised to tell me the truth?

Don't kill for me. It's not that much to ask for. At least I didn't think it was. I don't want that on my conscience, and I don't want it on his either.

I open my laptop and bring up the airline's website. My fingers shake as I book a flight to Perth. I don't know why I picked it. I don't know anyone there. I just want to get as far away as I can, so I can think.

What if it wasn't him? It could have been anyone.Did he really go somewhere last night?

I try to think back and can't recall if I dreamt that he left or not. It's not like I can call him up and ask: Hey, Gabe, did you kill someone by chance last night?

I pause as I'm checking out of the website. How did he know who hurt me? I didn't tell him it was Kiah's stepfather.

I run out of my room and over to the window that looks out onto the street. It takes me five seconds to spot the car. A blacked-out SUV parked directly across from my building. The numberplate is what gives it away: DB11. Same as the rest of the nameplates owned by the DeBellis brothers.

How long has he been having me followed?

Running back into the bedroom, I pick up my bag. Shove a cap over my head and a big pair of sunglasses on my face. Then I call for an Uber instead of taking my own car. Waiting just inside my apartment building until I get the notification that the car is here. I run out and jump in the back seat. I'm hoping whoever is in that SUV doesn't notice I've left the building. The last thing I want is for Gabe to find out I'm leaving the city before I can even get on the plane.

The whole ride to the airport, I feel like I'm looking over my shoulder. I don't see the SUV behind us. Though that doesn't do anything to settle my nerves. I'm doing everything I can to not fall apart. My heart is ripping out of my chest.

Can I really leave like this? Can I be okay with never seeing him again? Am I overreacting?

He killed someone for touching you, Daisy,I remind myself.

I need to do this. I will not add to the blood already on Gabe's hands. I will not have people's deaths on my conscience. I can't.This is my own fault. I knew I should have stayed away. I'm not like Eloise. I can't separate the man from the crimes he commits. I can't believe I was so stupid as to give him my whole heart. Not that I had a choice in the matter. It was his for the taking, and he took every last bit of it.

I feel a tear roll down my cheek as I line up to check in for my flight. I can do this. I have to. If I turn around and go back home now, I'm giving him a green light to do whatever he wants, regardless of my feelings on the matter. I'll end up losing myself. I know that. I'll become a shell of a woman I was, someone who lets a man dictate her every move.

I'll become just like my mother.

I don't want to be like my mother. I don't want Gabe to do these things because of me. The thought of losing him forever, though? It makes me physically ill.

I step up to the counter and hand my identification to the woman standing behind it. "Rough day?" she asks.

"You could say that." I don't elaborate. What is there to say? I just found out when my boyfriend says he'd kill for me, he means it quite literally?

I check in my bag and grab my ticket before I walk through security and over to the gate. I lower myself onto a seat and look around. I feel like I'm being watched, but no one is even glancing my way. My hands are shaking and my stomach is swirling.

What the hell am I doing?

I can't turn back. I repeat this over and over again in my head for the millionth time. I know I can't turn back, but I want to. I want to go to him. I want him to tell me he didn't do this. And I want to believe him when he lies to me.

"Going somewhere?" His voice has my head snapping up. He's here. Gabe is standing right in front of me. His hands in his pockets. His face devoid of emotion. But his eyes… They're darker than I've ever seen them before.

"I am," I tell him while pushing up from the seat so he's not looking down at me anymore.

"Where?"

"Gabe, don't make this harder. You have to let me go," I whisper.

"I don't have to do shit. Where are you going, Daisy?" he asks.

I shake my head. "I just need time. I need to think."

"About?" He tilts his head to look at me, like he can dissect me piece by piece without ever touching me. And maybe he can. Because I can feel my resolve waning.

I look around. At anything and anyone but him. And realise people are starting to watch us. "I saw the news, Gabe. I know what you did."

"Come here." He sighs as he pulls one of his hands out of his pocket and holds his arm out for me. My body betrays my mind as I step into his embrace. His arm wraps around me. "I'm sorry. I can't lose you, Daisy," he says.

I look up at him, and he covers my mouth with his palm as something pricks my side. I try to push away but he holds me close. "What did you do?" I ask as soon as he loosens his grip on me and removes his lips from my mouth.

"I can't lose you. Come on, let's go home," he says.

I take a step backwards, and dizziness washes over me. Gabe wraps an arm around my waist and urges me to place one foot in front of the other. "Gabe, what's happening?" I ask as the room starts to spin.

"I'm taking you home."

"I can't," I whisper, and the next thing I know, I'm being lifted into a car.

"Drive," Gabe calls out to someone in front of us.

And I close my eyes, no longer able to keep them open.