Chapter 16
Violent? Maybe…Vicious? Nah
Yasmin
Over the next couple of months, I had been lulled into a false sense of comfort with Gabriel. He became a gentle giant that I think I had begun to love; causing me to completely forget the fact that most people considered him to be a vicious human being. In truth, I had never really seen him do anything that could be coined vicious.
Violent?... Maybe. When he killed the man who had tried to attack me, I guess I could say it was done in a violent way. Not necessarily vicious. He’d successfully kept that side of himself hidden from me, but I guess all things must come to the light. And I was soon to be introduced to the vicious side of my husband.
A night I will never forget.
Now looking back on things, I could confidently say that one of the main factors that played a key role into me being lulled into that false sense of comfort was my husband. He had put my worry to rest on whether or not I was a wanted murderer by explaining to me that I had not killed Mayor Davenport.
At first, the only thing I could do was sit and blink up at him dumbfounded. He had called me into his office a week after I came clean and told him my story. I sat in one of the chairs across from his desk, feeling as if I was having an out-of- body experience.
“I don't understand what you mean. I killed him, I saw him take his last breath!”
Gabe picked up a remote control off his desk and aimed it at the wooden cabinet. The doors slid back to reveal several TV monitors. I was surprised to see that he had his whole house under surveillance. I thought he left that to his small security crew that was stationed in the basement, which oftentimes was so quiet I forgot they were there.
He pushed another button and the big screen in the middle that had the stock market on it changed into a press conference. I got up and slowly walked to the screen, not believing my eyes for one second.
Mayor Davenport stood behind a podium, warning the people of Sweetwater about a storm that was coming their way.
“No, this can't be right. What day was this filmed?” I asked, not looking away from the screen.
“This morning.” Gabe calmly stated from his chair.
I shook my head as I nearly put my nose to the screen, looking for a mark, or a bruise—anything. I needed something that would show me that I didn't just imagine what had happened the night of my pa-pa's funeral.
I turned to look at Gabriel. “I saw him die!”
“Come sit down baby.”
On legs that felt like they would give out on me any minute, I walked back to my chair.
“You could have very well knocked him unconscious and it looked as if he was dead.”
I shook my head vehemently. “Gabe, I swear, I killed him! You’ve got to believe me!”
His eyes narrowed as he studied me. Finally, he nodded. “I believe you. And I'm going to get to the bottom of this. But for now, let your heart be at peace. You’re not wanted for murder. You’re not even wanted on battery charges.”
I nodded, thinking about his words. For the rest of that week I kind of walked around in a state of shock; using my phone to re-watch that broadcast over and over again. I couldn't believe it. He was alive. He didn't even have a stitch, a bump, a bruise—nothing!
After I got over that shock, I was still too afraid to call. I Google searched the information about the farm to see if it was still in foreclosure; only to receive the ultimate shock when I found out it had been sold.
That hurt so bad that I locked myself in the bathroom and had a real good cry about it. I let down my grandmother and my pa-pa. That land had been in our family for over a hundred years.
I felt like a failure. I had panicked after hitting the Mayor and ran. He wasn't even dead. The first thing he did when he woke up on my floor was to probably buy the farm just to spite me. I sat on the floor in front of the tub with my knees drawn up to my chest.
How had this happened? I could have sworn he died. The gaping hole in his head had gushed out blood and what I thought was brain matter. No man should have been able to walk away from that. Then I remembered the way his head had moved, and the strange sound of his voice, and the clicking. I shivered.
Dear God, I can never forget that clicking noise that came out his throat. I frowned at the marble floor in front of me. Could it be that the Mayor wasn't human? I mean look at Gabe. He was human, but there was no question about it, that he was a human with extraordinary abilities. Could that be what's going on with the Mayor?
I sat there on the bathroom floor pondering over the crazy twist my life had taken until Gabe knocked on the door.
“Baby, how long you’re going to be in there?” His deep voice came from the other side of the door.
I tried to dry my eyes, but I just didn't have the will to see the job through. I didn't even feel like standing. I was so depressed that I just wanted to sink into the floor. I didn't even feel like talking. Not even to answer him.
“Yasmin!” He knocked two more times.
When I didn't answer, he shoved the door. To anybody looking, it probably looked like a gentle nudge. But combine a gentle nudge with Gabe's strength and it
