The lump in my throat refused to dislodge as I drove toward the local mall. “I think there’s a store that specializes in that type of thing.”
We spent the next two hours laughing as we opened cards and finally agreed on cute ones for the early years and funny ones for the later years. I chose a pale-pink stationery with matching envelopes. Gabriel was getting tired by the time we made it to the van. He leaned over and kissed me. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I started the van and backed out of the parking spot. “I should be thanking you. You’ve given me a way to be a part of Emma’s life that I hadn’t even thought of.”
“Remember what I told you I wanted from you?”
I shook my head, eyes facing forward. “You were usually angry with me.”
“I said all I wanted was to see you smile the way you did before Salyer. I got that today.”
Mist clouded my vision, and I blinked it away. Gabriel had leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. A memory flowed though my mind. I wonder what Rivers would think if I told him how much he reminded me of the deranged serial killer who’d destroyed my life.
I slammed on the brakes. “I know who Joshua is.”
“This changes everything.” Max was booting up his computer. “We capture Salyer and Rivers and lock the bastards up for the rest of their stinking lives.”
“And it makes perfect sense on how Salyer was able to fake his background checks and other things. Rivers would have been able to do that easily and screw up any DNA found.” Karen stood behind Max, her arms around his neck.
“I think I’ll lie down for a while.” Gabriel popped two pain pills into his mouth, washed them down with water, then walked toward the stairs. “We can talk about the rest of this in the morning.”
I grabbed my packages. “I’ll join you.”
He waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, and we climbed together.
“It could change things for you,” he whispered.
“We can talk about that later.” I placed an arm around his waist and let him lean just a little on me. “You need to rest, and I have a lot of writing to do.”
“We don’t both have to die.”
“I know.” When we reached the top of the steps, I let go. “I’m going to grab a pen.”
I closed my door and leaned against it, fighting back tears. Though I’d watched my father die, watching Gabriel slip away was even harder. I could feel the pain. He no longer talked about killing Salyer, and I wondered if that had weakened his will to live. “I need you to live, Gabriel,” I whispered. “In case I fail.”
I hid away the rest of the day in Gabriel’s room, watching him sleep as I signed and sealed cards and wrote letters. It was nine o’clock before Max and Karen insisted I eat something even if Gabriel didn’t.
Max wasn’t going to let me not talk. “I researched Rivers. Pretty good setup, but I was able to get around it. Says he graduated from Harvard, so I went in and checked the rosters. There’s a Joshua Rivers there, but it’s not the Rivers we know. The guy probably isn’t even a psychiatrist or a doctor. The parents listed are fakes too. How do these guys get by with this stuff?”
“Wagner. He hired Rivers. We only have forty-eight officers, so why did we need a psychiatrist on staff?” I toyed with the chicken and ate a bite or two.
“Here’s what I’m thinking.” Max flipped a piece of paper in front of me. “We call Sampson and get a major group ready to descend as soon as we get Emma free. I know it still leaves you and Gabriel vulnerable for a second or two, but these guys aren’t dumb. Faced with that kind of gunpower against them, they’ll give up.”
Would you die for her? “Christian might have, but Joshua won’t. He’s living for one thing, and that’s to kill me.”
“Then we walk into his office tomorrow and blow the bastard away.” Max ran a hand over his face. “Damn it, Dakota, I can’t lose you now.”
“You lost me a long time ago, Max, the second Salyer placed me inside that cage. I can’t do anything that would risk Emma.” I stared into his eyes. “And neither can you.”
The doorbell rang, and I stood up. “That’s for me.”
The hooded figure was standing in the shadows, and I joined him there. He handed me an envelope. “Everything just the way you wanted.” He picked up a rifle case. “Barrett M82, which is a semiautomatic. If your guy knows what he’s doing, he can’t miss. Plenty of ammo in the case. I put an extra detonator inside. Just remove the safety, and it’s ready. You need anything else, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and disappeared before I could turn back to the door. Max was waiting just inside. “That’s for you. I think you’ll know what to do with it.”
Max unzipped the case and pulled out the assault rifle. “Any reason to believe I might have to use it?”
“We’re dealing with Salyer and Rivers. I’m not leaving anything to chance.” I bent and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m depending on you.”
“I’ve got your back, partner.”
Gabriel was awake when I entered the room. I opened the envelope, studied the drawing, and passed it to him. “You need to memorize the locations.”
He nodded. “I thought we were doing this tomorrow night.”
“That was before I knew Rivers was involved. There’s still a chance he might change the location.”
Gabriel studied the drawing. “Marry me.”
“What?”
He grinned. “I didn’t stutter. Marry me.”
“We can’t. We don’t have time to get the blood work and a license.”
“I’ll call Don, and he’ll push it through. We’ll set the wedding for tomorrow at four. Invite a few of your friends, Don, some of the old crew from the police department, and Josh Rivers. We’ll hold it in the garden out back.”
My mind was reeling. “Why Rivers?”
“He knows I’m dying, so he won’t care if he kills me or not. If we get married in front of him, you’re glowing with happiness, and I kiss you the way I plan on kissing you, he’ll hate me as much as he does you. Rivers will be there tomorrow night.” He stood up. “I don’t think I can get up if I get down on my knees. Dakota Dale, will you marry me?”
“Why, Gabriel?”
“Marriage is supposed to be until death. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.”
“Yes, Gabriel Browne, I’ll marry you.”
41
A whirlwind of activity followed our announcement. Mrs. Sanchez immediately started planning the reception, while Karen started looking for an open flower shop and ordered a ton of flowers. “You need a dress, and Gabriel needs a tux.” She was tugging at her hair. “I need a notepad.”
“Max, can you take care of the guest list? Keep it small. I don’t think I have a lot of friends left here.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Rings.” Karen looked up, her eyes wide “Where are we going to get rings?”
Gabriel laughed and reached into his jacket pocket. “I’ve got that covered. My grandmother’s wedding ring.” He opened the box to reveal a small gold band. “Not too fancy, but it means a lot to me. You’ll need to try it on.”