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“He threatened to hurt her if I left.”
“And yet you left.”
“Yes, well eventually he cared more for his other women, and less about me. It was like the bars came off the windows. He lost interest in me. I think he had a real thing for one of them. He asked for a divorce.” I give a choked laugh. “It was the best day of my life to this point.”
“Heasked for the divorce?” Reid asks, looking confused, his gaze shooting to Gabe’s, before returning to mine. “Why didn’t you ask for a fair settlement?”
“He told me if I did, he’d punish me in creative ways I couldn’t even begin to imagine. I couldn’t believe he allowed me to keepthe shelter but that felt safe. How could that possibly backfire on me? And yet, it did.”
“Okay, Abbie,” Reese says. “I think, for now, we’re close to wrapping up.”
Abbie. They all call me Abbie. Because of Gabe. Because he’s shaping my life in ways I don’t yet understand but I want to. I so want to. “Help Gabe stay out of this, Reese. Please. Put him first. He’s what matters to me.”
“I’m going to help you both,” he replies. “If I’m even needed. If we’re lucky this doesn’t go beyond some basic questioning. They may have their man. I know only what you know,” he says. “And that’s not much, certainly nothing official.” He pauses a split second. “I’ll make a preemptive call on my way back into court, but if you’re contacted by the police, tell them I’m your attorney and that you’re dating my brother-in-law. That lets them know I won’t let you talk and that I’m prone to being extra cautious on this one.”
“That’s great,” I say. “Thank you.”
“I’ll let them know that I’m representing your mother as well, for the moment,” he continues. “I need to meet her before I’ll say that goes beyond initial law enforcement contact. Fair enough?”
“Yes,” I say, relieved. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed,” Reese assures me. “Now. Aside from me talking to Gabe, which I can do later tonight, is there anything else I need to cover with you, Abbie?”
“Yes actually,” I say. “There’s something you need to know before you make a call on my behalf.”
Reese laces his fingers in front of him, settling in for more. “I’m all ears.”
But so are Cat and Reid. I glance at Gabe and he nods. “Tell him. Reid knows. Cat is under a confidentiality clause with Reese’s firm.”
Tell his siblings that I all but killed my ex? Of course. Why not let them hate me right out of the gate? “My ex was threatening Gabe. He was threatening my mother. Bottom line, I not only told Jean Claude Laurette that my ex stole from him, but I gave him proof by email. I knew Jean Claude was a dangerous man but I believed he’d fire him not kill him.”
“Telling Jean Claude about your ex stealing from him is not the same as contracting someone to kill him,” Reese assures me. “You’re fine.” He winks. “You have me.” He looks at Gabe, and almost nonchalantly, says. “Did you kill him?”
“No,” Gabe states.
“Did you hire someone to kill him?”
“No,” Gabe says again.
“Do you know who did?”
“No,” Gabe replies. “But if I did, I’d send them flowers and chocolate. He was a snake, as is Jean Claude.”
“A snake you and Reid worked for,” Reese counters.
“I worked for him,” Reid states. “Gabe wasn’t in that circle. It was me and my father.”
Gabe looks at Cat. “He’s involved, Cat.”
Cat frowns. “Who?”
“Dad. He’s doing legal work for Jean Claude again now that he left the firm and Jean Claude had investments with Abbie’s ex.”
“Oh God,” she whispers, eyeing Reese. “What if he did this to pin it on Gabe and Reid? As payback for pushing him out of the firm?”
“Your father’s a dick, baby,” Reese says. “But that hurts his legacy.”
“He’s already lost his legacy,” Cat argues. “A trapped animal in a corner shows his teeth.”
