Looking Behind the Mask: Second Chance Series - Book 2

by Joan Davis

  Gabriel continued, “I left immediately for San Francisco. Conner took care of things with my sister. I didn’t even wait for her to be buried,” Gabriel said bleakly. “I hired a private investigator and former San Francisco detective that Conner recommended. I fed him all the information we knew. As a result, when I arrived he already had several promising leads. We found the warehouse and confirmed that they were shipping containers out soon. We spotted the numbered container my sister had given me. Guards stood around it night and day, and they would check inside it periodically. We coordinated with the police and they planned to raid the warehouse on the third day after I arrived. The P.I. and I sat on the warehouse and noticed a lot of activity the morning before the raid. It looked like they planned to move earlier than expected.”

  “I knew something was wrong and that Lela’s life was in danger, and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I snuck down to the dock and took out the two guards that were patrolling the container we had been watching. When I opened the door of the container I found Lela and five other little girls who were all unconscious. I couldn’t wake any of them. By that point the police had started moving in and began raiding the place. I knew it was too quiet and that I needed to get Lela away from there. As soon as the police got to the container, I grabbed Lela and started running. Gun fire started immediately and pinned the police down, but I kept running anyway. I made it back to safe ground and laid Lela down inside the P.I.’s car. I noticed blood on her clothing and I thought she had been hit. It was the last thing I remember after I woke up a week later in a San Francisco hospital. Apparently, I had been shot three times, once in the back, once in my shoulder and once in my leg. The P.I. notified Conner and he called my parents in Wyoming and Lela’s paternal grandparents. They all flew in to be with her while I recovered.”

  “Maximus Dunn got away,” Gabriel said bitterly. “He somehow found out about the raid and left before the police could apprehend him. He is on the run. I’ve made it my business to make his pathetic life as hellish as possible. I found out where he keeps his money and the authorities froze every asset I could locate. Every time I get a lead on his location I notify law enforcement and have pulled every string I have to make sure he has barely any place to turn. With all that, he has still alluded capture. The police keep telling me all his assets have been frozen and it will only be a matter of time before they catch him. It has been three years, and that bastard is still on the loose,” Gabriel said in disgust.

  “I’m really sorry about all of this, Gabriel, but I don’t really understand what any of this has to do with me,” Honor said.

  “I know you get the fact that after everything that’s happened that I will do anything to protect my family, especially Lela.”

  Honor nodded and clinched her jaw.

  “How did you get that tattoo, Honor?” Gabriel demanded softly.

  Flinching, Honor just continued to stare a Gabriel stonily.

  “Honor, I know everything. I know about your abduction and escape and the tattoo, everything. I just got back from San Francisco,” Gabriel confessed.

  “Don’t, Gabriel,” Honor said warningly and she stood up. “My past is none of your business. What the fuck did you do, have me investigated?”

  “It is, if you’re involved with Maximus Dunn,” Gabriel bit out, ignoring her question. He lunged to his feet and came towards her.

  “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t know anyone named Maximus Dunn. I never even heard that name before you said it tonight,” Honor said angrily.

  Gabriel ripped into the manila envelope and several pictures spilled onto the coffee table and floor. He grabbed one and held it out to Honor. As soon as Honor saw the subject of the photo, Gabriel saw the color leach from her face. She grabbed her stomach as if she had been punched.

  Slowly, Honor raised her gaze to Gabriel. “What have you done?” she rasped in a tortured voice. Unshed tears pooled in her eyes.

  “So you do know him? This is the man that took you, isn’t it?” Gabriel asked hoarsely. The pain he saw in her eyes was like a physical blow.

  “Shut up Gabriel! You have no idea what you’ve done,” Honor shouted. Fear made her skin crawl. She wanted to scream with rage and pain. “I hate you! Why would you do this? Why? What possible reason could you have for doing this? You had no right! You bastard!” Honor screamed. All the emotions she had buried for last thirteen years flooded through her body. It was an overwhelming bombardment of pain, fear, shame and anger, and she unleashed it all on Gabriel. She wanted him to hurt just like she was hurting, she wanted him to pay for what he’d done.

  “Damn it, Honor. I have to protect Lela. I can’t let that animal near her again.”

  The tears finally spilled over and Honor sobbed, “You think I would hurt Lela, that I would have anything to do with a disgusting animal like him?” Honor looked down at the picture that had fallen to the floor and shuddered. Nausea suddenly overwhelmed her.

  “No, Honor, I don’t,” Gabriel said knowing it was true. She could never be involved with Maximus Dunn. “Don’t you see? It was too much of a coincidence. I had to know if the same man who took Lela and had my sister killed was the same man who took you all those years ago. He is still out there. I had to know,” Gabriel said torment and pain in his eyes.

  Swallowing hard, Honor jerked away from Gabriel when he attempted to touch her and slapped him hard across the face, and then did it again. “Do you think I care about what you want, what you need?” Honor raged at him as she watched his face redden where her blows had landed. “You had no right. Do you hear me? You had no right to dig this all up again. You fucking bastard!” Honor said as deep wracking sobs tore involuntarily through her body. They took her breath away and Honor began striking at Gabriel with her fists, wanting to physically hurt him.

  Gabriel allowed Honor to pound her fists against him, but fearing she was becoming hysterical he wrapped his large arms around her. “Honor, please stop. Please listen to me. I didn’t do this to hurt you. I can’t let Maximus Dunn hurt another person I care about. I can’t do it. I have to be able to protect you. I’m so sorry about everything that happened to you from then until now. I swear that I would take it away if I could.” Gabriel pulled Honors thrashing body closer trying somehow to sooth her, but her screaming sobs went on and on. The pain in her voice was heartbreaking.

  Honor thrashed against Gabriel. The pain was overwhelming and uncontrollable. She began gasping with each gut wrenching sob. “Oh, God, why did you have to do this? Why couldn’t you have just left it alone? I can’t take this again. I can’t take . . .” Honor’s couldn’t breathe and darkness started to close in on her.

  Gabriel held Honor away from him as she began to gasp for breath. “Honor, just breathe,” Gabriel urged, but it was too late and he caught Honor as she passed out. Swearing, Gabriel swung her up into his arms and took her into her bedroom and laid her on to the bed. He ran to the bathroom and wet a wash cloth and brought it back. He began wiping it over Honor’s overheated face. “I’m so sorry Honor. Please, forgive me,” Gabriel whispered over and over to Honor, but she remained unconscious. Eventually, Gabriel took off of Honor’s shoes and pulled the bedding out from underneath her and gently covered her. He walked over to the big, plush chair in the corner, sat back in it with a sigh and watched Honor sleep.

  Hours later Honor slowly opened her eyes and stared up at her bedroom ceiling. All of it was right there in front of her. She remembered everything. She turned her head and looked over at Gabriel. He lay sprawled in the chair by the window, sleeping. Honor laid back and stared silently at the ceiling and waited for him to wake.

  Thirty minutes later Honor heard Gabriel stir and once again turned her head and watched him. He met Honors eyes and sat forward. “You need to go get Lela,” Honor said.

  “Honor, Lela is fine. I don’t want to leave you,” Gabriel said soothingly. “I want you to understand.”

  “You need to go get Lela. She nee
ds you now. You have to be there for her. I’m fine and I don’t need you to stay with me. Go get Lela,” Honor said, staring at Gabriel. “I’m just going to sleep a little more, so you can leave. Lela is probably up and wondering where you are. She really missed you while you were gone. Destroying my life. Go get her.” Honor rolled over to lie on her stomach; she put her arms around the pillow and closed her eyes.

  Gabriel watched Honor for a few minutes before getting up and going into the bathroom to wash up. When he came out he stood staring at her. “I’m leaving to go get Lela, Honor, but I’ll be back later,” Gabriel promised and quietly left.

  After hearing Gabriel’s truck leave, Honor laid still for a few minutes more before dragging herself out of bed and heading to the shower. Once she had bathed and dried her hair, Honor made her way back to her bedroom and dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. She made her bed and then went to the closet and pulled out a large suitcase she had recently purchased. She packed up some of her clothing and personal items and zipped the suitcase closed. She then stood at the kitchen counter and wrote out checks to pay all her monthly bills.

  Honor called and left a message on Buck O’Leary’s work phone letting him know that she had an unexpected emergency and would be out of town for the next several days. She told him she would understand if he felt like he had to let her go because of it and to do what he needed to do. Next, Honor made sure the house was secured and all the lights were off before grabbing her small back pack, suit case and the stack of outgoing mail and headed outside. She put the mail in her mailbox and lifted the flag to notify the postman of outgoing mail. She then placed her suitcase in the back of her truck and secured a tarp over it. Honor got in her little red truck and drove out of Dalton, North Carolina.

  Several hours later, Honor turned down a street of a quiet residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The houses were all beautifully kept and the lawns well-manicured. They bore very little resemblance to the worn down, shell of a house where Honor had spent many of her teenage years. Pulling into a driveway, Honor turned off the truck and tiredly made her way to the front door of the house. She knocked and waited. When it opened Mama Leone stood there. She took one look at Honor and opened her arms wide. Honor stepped inside the house, dropped her small back pack and fell into Mama Leone’s arms. She had come home.

  *****

  CHAPTER 6

  Sam Knight sat back in his office chair as he watched a furious Buck O’Leary storm about his office. “I want to know what happened, Sam. Something had to have happened.”

  “I keep trying to tell you, Buck. Nothing happened. Honor came to the party, stayed for most of it. She seemed to have a great time and then she left. I don’t know what else to tell you,” Samson said for the tenth time.

  “Oh no, I know something had to have happened. That girl was perfectly fine on Friday before your party, and then on Monday I get a message on my phone saying she was leaving town because of an emergency. I checked her house with the key she gave me just in case she ever locked herself out. I can’t tell if anything is missing or if she just left everything behind. Damn it, I want to know what happened. It’s been four days, Sam, and she hasn’t even called me. I’ve left a dozen messages on her phone and still nothing,” Buck said in frustrated anger.

  Sam sighed and said. “Look Buck, I don’t know why she left. Maybe she did have an emergency. Maybe she just needed to some time off. Regardless, we can’t do anything about it. Paul is doing a pretty good job filling in for her right now. We are not behind, so just relax and give her some time. I’m sure she’ll call you soon. In the mean time we still have work that needs to get done,” Samson hinted with a raised brow.

  Buck grabbed his hardhat off the desk where he had slammed it down earlier. “Work isn’t all I’m worried about. This is not like Honor. She doesn’t just disappear. I’m worried about her. She’s like a daughter to me,” Buck said gruffly.

  The trailer door flew open with a crash and Gabriel came inside and pinned Buck with a hard stare. “I need to know where Honor is, Buck.”

  Buck took an aggressive step forward. “Maybe I should be asking you that question, Gabriel. Everybody knows you’ve been sniffing after that girl since she first got into town. What the fuck did you do to make Honor leave?” Buck asked belligerently.

  “What goes on between Honor and me is none of your damn business, Buck. Just tell me where she is,” Gabriel said, an implied threat clearly in his voice.

  Sam cursed and lunged out of his chair and got between the two irate men. “Gabriel, Buck doesn’t know where Honor is. She left a message on his phone on Sunday saying that she had to go out of town unexpectedly. That was four days ago and as far as I know, no one’s heard from her yet,” Sam said and then he turned to Buck. “You need to get back to work. I will call you if I hear anything.”

  Buck continued to glare at Gabriel for a few seconds before he put his hard hat on and left the trailer, slamming the door.

  Sam retook his seat behind his desk and stared at his long-time friend. “Take a seat Gabriel, you look like hell,” Sam said.

  Gabriel ran a rough hand over his exhausted face before falling into one of the two chairs that sat in front of Sam’s desk. His expression was closed and sullen.

  “Well, are we just going to stare at each other or are you going to tell me what happened. I know nothing occurred while Honor was at my house. Risa has grown fond of her, so I kept an eye out to make sure she had a good time. The only time I noticed anything off was when you approached her in the lake and she pulled away from you and got out of the water,” Sam said with an arched brow. “So do you want to tell me what happened after she left my house to go home?”

  “When I knew Lela wanted to stay with you and Risa another night, I left and went to Honor’s house to wait for her,” Gabriel said.

  “Why? For what reason?”

  “I told her about Diana and Lela, and then I confronted her about Maximus Dunn,” Gabriel said and ground his teeth when Sam let out a string of profanities and slammed his hand on his desk.

  “Damn it, Conner told me that you didn’t find any connection between Honor and Dunn. What the hell were you thinking? Jesus Christ, no wonder she left,” Sam thundered.

  Squeezing his hair between his fingers Gabriel said, “I had to know for sure. I couldn’t take a chance and let it go. I did that with Diane, and I lost her, Sam. She died because I didn’t listen to my gut.”

  Sam took a deep breath and tried to calm down. His stomach clenched with memories of finding out about what happened to Risa during her captivity. Even though Sam hadn’t wanted to know, something had driven him to find out everything he could in order to protect her. He understood why Gabriel had felt compelled to find out the truth. “You told Honor what you found out about her, didn’t you?” Sam asked in recognition of Gabriel’s predicament.

  Nodding, Gabriel winced at the memory. “First, I told her about my sister’s murder and Lela’s abduction and Maximus Dunn’s involvement. Honor didn’t react until I mentioned San Francisco. Then I told her that I knew everything about her past and I asked her about Dunn. She denied knowing who he was until I showed her a picture of the bastard. Jesus, Sam, her reaction, it was like I shot her. The look on her face tore me up inside. I know that bastard is responsible for what happened to her, but Honor is too terrified to say it.”

  “What about your suspicion that Dunn . . .”

  “There’s no way in hell she is involved with Dunn. I’m damn certain of that now. I tried to tell her that, but I don’t think she was in any condition to hear me.” Gabriel’s voice was tortured. “Sam, I did this. I drove her away and I’ve got to find her.”

  Knowing Gabriel wasn’t going to like what he had to say, Sam hesitated. “What you need to do is to give her time. Racing after her may make it worse, brother. You have your hands full with Lela. That little girl needs you to stay put as much as possible. She has to be your fi
rst priority at this point. Just give Honor time to deal with everything. Buck told me she didn’t take all of her clothes or personal affects, so I’m thinking she will most likely be coming back. You are going to have to be patient, my friend, and give her the time she needs to come to terms with all of this,” Sam said. He knew this advice was a hell of a lot easier to give than it was to follow.

  Gabriel sat staring at Sam for several moments before nodding with resignation. Sighing heavily Gabriel said, “I know you’re right, Sam, but you and I both know that patience is not a virtue I have when it comes to people I care about. How can I protect her if I don’t know where she is?”

  “Well, charging after her could drive her further away,” Sam said. “Get used to it my friend. Patience can turn out to be your best friend, trust me.”

  *****

  Honor spent the first two days at Mama Leone’s house sleeping, eating, and crying heartbroken tears with her head in Mama Leone’s lap. She settled into the guest bedroom after they retrieved her suitcase from her truck. Mama Leone made sure that Honor was comfortable and left her alone to sleep. The next day Honor ate the meals that Mama Leone prepared for her and later laid on the couch and cried in Mama Leone’s arms. Mama Leone never said a word. She just allowed Honor to do what she needed.

  On the third day, Mama Leone walked into Honor’s bedroom early in the morning and threw back the curtains so that sunlight filled the room. She looked down at a squinting, puffy-eyed, Honor and said, “The time for tears has passed. Get yourself cleaned up and meet me in the kitchen. We obviously have much to discuss.” Mama Leone sailed out of the room, her turquoise and purple caftan billowing out behind her.