Chapter 12

<Gavin Forrester>

"Gavin, Gavin?" A female voice, whom I soon recognize as Victoria, shouts and continues pounding on my apartment door.

I stand up and rub my eyes, shoving my arm in my robe as I walk towards the door.

"How the hell did you find my apartment?" I ask in an irritable tone.

"My dad's the police chief and there's this thing called the 'Yellow Pages'..." Victoria chuckles and hands me a cup of coffee.

"I don't like you tracking me. I thought we agreed that I'd just pick you up." I mumble and take a drink of coffee.

It's bitter with nothing added in, just the way I like it.

"I know, I know, but after you took me back to my actual house last night I decided it would only be fair if I got to see where you live." Victoria tilts her head and gives me an innocent smile.

Gosh, I hope I put all of my 'work' away.

"Okay, I guess it is somewhat fair." I roll my eyes a little and open the door for Victoria.

She walks in and takes a seat on my couch. I shut the door and lock it, just in case someone decided to follow her.

"Where'd you get this coffee?" I ask, taking a seat next to her.

"This little coffee shop in the Bronx." She looks around my apartment and takes a sip of her coffee.

"What is a society girl like you doing anywhere near the Bronx?" I smirk, putting the cup between my lips.

"Promise you won't tell?" She looks at me seriously and I nod, just because the look in her eyes is scaring me.

"I'm all ears, but just spit it out; you're scaring me, babe."

"I was mad at Carter last night so I went snooping on his phone."

"When are you not mad at Carter?" I ask in a humorous tone.

"Very funny, but I found a few texts that bothered me." Victoria bites her lip, like she doesn't want to continue.

The drug dealer, please be the drug dealer.

"The texts were referring to this guy and girl. Apparently the guy was assigned to murder the girl but he couldn't handle it just yet and the person texting Carter was pissed off about it... Why is anyone texting Carter about murder?" Victoria's eyes widen and I wrap my arm around her shoulder.

Damnit, Talon why do you have to invade everything?

"I don't know...I mean I barely know Carter." I reply smoothly, thankful for the coffee to distract me.

"I know, it's just weird. I mean I thought I knew him and now he's caught up in some sort of murder operation. Maybe that's why he's always disappearing at night..." She says thoughtfully.

"No, he's just out getting wasted."

"You say that like you know it for sure." Victoria winks and shifts so she's facing me.

Tell her, you can't lie straight to her face...

"Victoria, I..." I bite my lip, my brain finally catching up with what my mouth is about to do.

"Yes, Gavin?" She smiles sweetly, waiting for me to say something.

"Do you want me to throw out your coffee for you?" I mutter in a rushed tone as I stand up.

"Sure," She eyes me suspiciously and hands me her cup.

I walk out to the kitchen and drop the cups in the trash can, drawing in a deep breath. I open up my liquor cabinet and eye the bottle of whiskey. It would give me all the courage I need to tell Victoria what those messages mean. Then again I'd probably be so drunk that it'd all come tumbling out and she'd have the cops after me before I even finished my explanation.

"You okay, Gavin?" Victoria calls from the living room.

I slam the liquor cabinet shut. If I'm going to tell her, then I'll be a man and do it myself.

"Yeah." I give her a smile and return to my seat next to her.

"There's another disturbing part of those messages." She bites her lip again and stares down at her lap.

"Yes?" I say and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

"They said that some guy named Gavin was assigned to do this crime." A tear enters her eye and my heart literally stops. "What's your job, Gavin?"

"I, I..." I stammer, unsure of how to phrase what my occupation is.

"I don't want an excuse." Victoria mutters defiantly.

"I don't want to give you an excuse. With carter around, you deserve some truth..." I rub her shoulder and take in a deep breath. "I used to be a bounty hunter for the government but then I got tangled up with some really bad criminals. Now, I kill off whomever they desire dead." I close my eyes, hoping I didn't say what I know I just said.

"So you do murder for hire?" She asks in a small voice.

"Essentially, but just for my boss...I get it if you don't want to see me now, most people wouldn't." I stand up and tighten my robe.

"No, Gavin, I'd never do that...I'm just surprised but I don't think I'd be able to function if I gave up seeing you." She chuckles and then surprises me by grabbing ahold of my hand.

"I'm glad, you just have to promise me something..."

"What?" Victoria pouts, earning her a smirk from me.

"You can't shut me out; I don't want things to be awkward between us...I've experienced that before and it's not fun." I tilt my head in a pleading way.

"Okay," She holds out her pinky and I lock mine with hers. "Pinky swear." She confirms.

~~~~~

"We're here," Victoria bellows as I pull into a park in front of Tiffany and Co on 5th avenue.

"I can't believe you're dragging me here; this place is where manly pride goes to die." I roll my eyes and pull the key out of the ignition.

"Real men buy women jewelry from Tiffany's." Victoria states simply and steps out of the car.

"Fine, I'll suffer through this but only for you...I wouldn't do it for anyone else." I wink and grab her hand.

"See, things aren't awkward at all and it'll seem less daunting if you don't view it as suffering." She gives me a smirk before we enter the store.

The store is only slightly breathtaking. There's tall light fixtures and the walls are white. Glass jewelry cases line the walls and attendants walk around the room, helping customers. The space is very open and upscale with splashes of robin's egg blue all around. It's the kind of place I would get bored in very quickly but the kind of place a girl would spend all day getting lost in. Damn, we're going to get lost here...I'm stuck here for the whole day.

"Isn't this exciting?" Victoria coos as she gazes upon an expensive looking necklace.

"Sure," My eyes widen when I look at the price of the necklace. $10,000. Who has that kind of money?

We continue to walk throughout the store which takes a long time because Victoria must stop to admire every piece of jewelry on the premises. I yawn a little but the light in her eyes reminds me of the day we went to the art gallery. I've noticed that her eyes light up whenever she looks at things that make her happy. I can only hope that someday her eyes will light up the same way when she looks at me.

"This is a princess setting," Victoria grins as she points at the small ring in front of her.

I look at it and feel a small smile tug at my lips. I love seeing her happy, even if it means spending the whole day in this God forsaken jewelry store.

~~~~~

It's been a few hours since my experience at Tiffany's and now I'm once again seated in the front seat of my car. I took Victoria home so she could change into something nicer for dinner. I promised her I'd be there around 6, the time she said Carter usually leaves for his nightly drinking extravaganzas.

I look at the clock on my dash as I pull up in front of her house. It's a few minutes after 6 which should mean that Carter is already gone. However, the car I saw him driving in the Bronx is still parked in the driveway, no driver in sight. I let out a long breath and tap my fingers on the steering wheel. I turn towards her front door and see her step out onto the porch. Depressingly Carter follows her out. Gosh, I hope he doesn't catch sight of me.

I turn back and see him red in the face, yelling at her no doubt. I hate that she'll have to marry that creep and stay with him for the rest of her life. I watch as she yells right back at him. He clutches onto her arm and she tugs it away forcefully. Tears streak her cheeks as she stomps off towards my car. I unlock it and she slips inside.

"Drive." Is the only word she utters to me as she tugs her coat tight against her body.

"I'm sorry if I'm causing problems between you and Carter. I'm sorry you keep getting hurt and have to sneak around him..." My voice trails off as I pull out onto the busy New York streets.

"Gavin, don't worry about it. If I didn't want to do it, I would've stopped a long time ago." She pats my hand as I continue driving.

We pull up in front of a nice Italian restaurant and I help her out of the car. She's wearing a short purple dress and a pair of painful looking stilettos.

"How do you walk in those things?" I chuckle as we walk through the front doors of the dimly lit restaurant.

"Ciao! How may I help you sir?" A woman holding a stack of menus smiles towards me.

"Reservations for Forrester at 7." I smile back as she leads us down a row of tables.

She stops at a booth in the back of the restaurant, setting down 2 menus. I help Victoria take her seat and then sit down across from her. I don't touch the menu and instead stare across the table at her.

"Already know what you're going to order, friend?" She drags out the last word in an obvious attempt to annoy me.

"Victoria, you know how I dislike that word...You say it like I have no hope of becoming more." I chide and open up my menu.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm stuck marrying Carter no matter what." Victoria looks at the back of her menu before setting it down.

"I can change that in a heartbeat...just say the word." I wink as a waiter comes to serve us.

~~~~~

I take a sip of my wine as Victoria continues to tell me stories about her time at college. I listen intently and stare into her eyes. She's so beautiful. Her eyes sparkle as she smiles, just naturally. Her smiles aren't forced, she's just a naturally happy person. It's infectious almost.

"Gavin, Gavin? Are you even listening?" Victoria sighs as I come back to reality.

"I'm sorry. You're just so beautiful that I get a little lost sometimes." I wink and lean back as she rolls her eyes.

"You're so cliché, my friend." She flicks my hand from across the table before leaning back as well.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I bought you something earlier today." I smirk and fish around in my pocket for the Tiffany's box.

"Gavin," She sighs. "I thought we were..."

"It's a friendly gesture, Victoria." I stand up and walk over to her side of the booth.

She lets me sit down and I make her close her eyes. I take the box out of my pocket and set it in her open hands. Her eyes widen when she sees the robin's egg blue box and she opens it. I swear Victoria melts a little when she sees the infinity pendant necklace, nestled all snug on the red velvet of the box.

"Gavin it's beautiful." She gushes. "Put it on me?"

"Okay," I smile and take the necklace out of the box, unclasping it in the process.

I brush her hair over one of her shoulders and clasp the necklace around her neck, letting her hair fall over her back once again. She turns around so I can see it.

"You look beautiful in it." I grab her hand and hold it gently.

"Thanks but is this really something 'just friends' do?" She narrows her eyes at me and I give her a sheepish look.

"I told you, whenever you want, we can be more...I'll be waiting and that's not going to change." I smile and watch her cheeks tinge pink.

"I'm lucky to have someone as amazing as you, Gavin." Victoria places her lips on my cheek, surprising me.

I grin, feeling at peace. She loves me, even if she doesn't want to admit it and that's all I could ever ask for.

~~~~~

"I'll see you again extremely soon." Victoria blows me a kiss as she walks up to her huge front porch.

I wave to her and wait until her mother lets her through the front door. I drive back down her street and pull into traffic, fighting to stay awake. I look out of my rearview and see a pair of headlights following me.

I continue driving until I reach my apartment parking garage. I pull into my park and get out of my car. The car attached to the pair of headlights can now be made out. It looks almost like, but no it couldn't be...or could it? If I'm not mistaken, I think Carter Jacobson's car might've followed me home from Victoria's. Damn, he's a jealous little murderer, isn't he?

I decide that it's probably not worth confronting him. I walk up to my apartment and let myself in the front door, practically collapsing on the couch. I manage to make it to my bed and then I'm out like a light, not knowing what's going on in the parking garage right below me.