Sharon shook her head. “I’ll come in with you. I need to use your bathroom before we start the car ride home.”
Gabrielle left the car in the illegal No Standing zone and the women ran up the flights of stairs to Gabrielle’s unit, a two-bedroom apartment she’d leased upon her return from Florida.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Gabrielle noticed her door was open and an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu assaulted her.
“Did you leave this door-”
“No. Definitely not.” She cut Sharon off and halted in her tracks, not wanting to go any closer.
“You’re sure? Because sometimes I forget to lock my parents’ house, you know?”
“I’m positive. I locked it.” After her last night in Stewart, Gabrielle had diligently locked her door whenever she left.
She met Sharon’s worried gaze. “I guess now’s the time to tell you my room at Mrs. Rhodes’s was broken into and ransacked. The person left a calling card in red lipstick.” Gabrielle tried to swallow but her mouth had grown dry.
Sharon raised her eyebrows. “Well? What did it say?”
“Jeez, Gabrielle, you should have told me,” Sharon chided, her voice rising.
“Shh!” Gabrielle placed a finger to her lips. “We don’t know if anyone is still in there.”
Eyes wide, Sharon nodded.
“Follow me.”
Slowly and quietly they made their way back down the stairs. From the safety of her car, Gabrielle once again called 9-1-1.
DEREK WAS GETTING TOO OLD for these kinds of scares. Gabrielle had just called and informed him about the break-in at her Boston apartment. This time her computer had been stolen, as well as notes and papers on all her books.
She’d called 9-1-1, for which he was grateful, but she’d avoided calling his cousin. Derek had a hunch she didn’t want to involve his family and he let it go. As long as she’d brought the police in, he was satisfied.
It was obvious to Derek that someone wanted to send her a message-and they weren’t going to let a little thing like distance stop them.
Clearly, she wasn’t safe alone.
She hadn’t asked Derek for anything, but he knew she had nowhere to stay where she felt safe. She wouldn’t put her parents in danger any more than she would put Sharon and her parents, or Derek and Holly in harm’s way.
He’d had one helluva time convincing her to move in with him until the person harassing her was found. But eventually she’d gratefully relented.
He gathered his family together. Uncle Thomas, Hank and Holly sat in his large living room and listened as he explained what had happened to Gabrielle over the past few days.
“So I’m wondering how you’d feel about bunking with Grandpa and Uncle Thomas for a little while?” Derek leaned down on one knee as he asked his daughter’s opinion.
Since Holly had just recently come to stay with him and they were just starting to build a relationship, he didn’t intend for her to feel displaced or unwanted.
“Par-ty!” Holly said, obviously not upset by the request.
Derek rose to his feet, ignoring the stiffness that reminded him he had stopped going to the gym since his move back home.
“Are you sure?”
Holly swung her head around to look at her grandfather. “Can I stay up late? Eat cookies in bed? Watch whatever movies I want?”
Hank winked at her.
Derek shook his head, amazed at her sunny outlook. Bless her, she wasn’t hard to get along with, Derek thought.
“That was easy.”
Hank shook his head. “Not so fast. I’m not sleeping in the same room with her. She snores.”
Holly giggled.
Once again Derek was reminded of what a good man his father was when it came to his granddaughter. He always knew how to make her laugh.
“So nobody minds?”
“Of course not. You know we can take care of Holly without a problem. It’s Gabrielle’s safety that’s important,” Uncle Thomas said.
“Thank you,” Derek said.
Hank muttered something under his breath.
“Dad?”
Hank raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“That’s what I want to know. What’s bugging you?”
His father leaned his elbow against the arm of the sofa. “Nothing.”
“Then what were you mumbling about?”
Hank frowned. “You aren’t going to like it.”
Derek raised an eyebrow. “Tell me, anyway.” He’d rather have things out in the open.
“I’m just thinking that Gabrielle wouldn’t be in danger if she minded her own business. Digging into other people’s lives isn’t a very nice way to earn a living.”
“Holly, let’s go take Fred for a walk,” Uncle Thomas said. Rising from his seat, he gestured for her to follow him.
“But…” Holly remained sitting until her uncle forcibly pulled her up. “Fine,” she said, grumbling, clearly not happy about being left out of the conversation. “You know Grandpa’s just going to tell me later,” she said, shuffling her feet as she made her way out the door.
Derek would have laughed if he wasn’t so intent on dealing with his father. He strode over to Hank, who had risen to his feet.
“I think it’s time we have this out once and for all,” Derek said. “What do you have against Gabrielle? Please don’t tell me it has to do with her career choice or the subject matter of her newest book.”
“Fine.” He exhaled a harsh breath. “It’s not about the book. It’s about her. And you.”
Derek narrowed his gaze. “You always liked Gabrielle. So what gives now? Especially since you haven’t seen her in over ten years?”
Hank stomped over to the window and glanced out at the yard between their two houses. “When she first came back, it was about the curse. I didn’t want her dragging up old issues that should remain dead and buried.”
“Not possible, but go on.”
“When I saw how many people showed up for her talk, I realized you were right about that. People are fascinated by our love lives, or lack of them.” Hank braced his hands on the windowsill. “I resigned myself to her writing the damn book. Because whether she does or not, people around here are still going to gossip about the Corwin men.”
Derek nodded. “Agreed. So…?” He prodded his father, wanting him to get to the point. “What’s your problem with Gabrielle?”
“She’s setting you up for another fall, that’s what.”
Derek had a feeling he knew where his father was going. To a place he’d been avoiding thinking about since his night with Gabrielle.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her and now she’ll be living with you. You’ll fall in love with her all over again and it’ll make what you went through with Marlene seem like child’s play in comparison.”
Derek’s head began to pound. “I won’t fall in love with her.” He clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides.
“Good.” Hank turned to face him. “I hope you mean that. You weren’t in love with Holly’s mom, isn’t that
