Page 64 of Targeted By Vengeance

“My name is Simone Nichols, and I’m here to talk to you about what happened the other night.”

His brows came together. “You were there? No, you…you couldn’t be. Simone would never associate herself with a murderer. She’d never-”

“Back then, I never would. But, now…” I lowered my eyes. “Things are different.”

“No.” Moisture glossed over his eyes. “No, you’re not Simone. She died. I know she did. I helped lower her casket into the ground.”

“Did you ever see the body?”

He blinked, freeing one of the tears. “They…they couldn’t preserve it because of the…because of the explosion and the fire and…”

I slowly rose from my seat. “They lied, Gabriel. I didn’t die. I’m right here.”

“I don’t… I don’t believe you. Simone…Simone would never leave me like that.”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” I took a few steps towards him. “Gabe, it's me. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m here…I’m alive.”

He flicked the security latch off his gun. “Prove it.”

Nodding, I pushed the top of my sleeve off of my shoulder. I turned slightly to show him the tiny angel wings tattooed on the back of my right shoulder. Isabelle had an identical tattoo on the back of her left shoulder. Memorials for our deceased parents we’d gotten one night when we were drunk and sad.

His face crumbled at the sight. “Simone,” he whispered, more tears falling from his eyes.

“Yeah.” I lay a hand on the mouth of his gun, pushing it down. “I’m here.”

He stared at me for a moment, taking me in and counting all the differences since the last time he’d seen me. “Oh my god,” he whispered. He flicked the latch off his gun and tossed it on the ground.

I almost yelped as he gripped my arms and flung me against his chest.

Squeezing me too tight for comfort, he buried his face in my short hair and sobbed. “You’re here,” he croaked. “You’re really here.”

I melted into his embrace, savoring the security of his arms around me. It’s been so long since I’ve had one of his hugs. I’d almost forgotten how much healing I often did in them. “God, I missed you,” I whispered, some of the tears I’ve been holding back slipping out from the prison.

“I missed you too.” He kissed my head. “More than you can imagine.”

We stayed like this, holding each other and crying, for what felt like minutes, but was probably much longer. By the time we finally pulled away, both of our cheeks were drenched from tears and our eyes were bloodshot. We shared a laugh as we raised our hands and wiped the others' tears at the same time. Still in sync after all this time.

“Where have you been?” Gabriel asked. He glanced over my body. “Have you been eating? You look thinner. I can make you something.”

“One of your famous quesadillas would actually be really nice right now.”

Gabriel grinned. “Ah, La Casa de Gabriel is always open for you, señorita.”

I couldn’t help but smile as he tugged me into the kitchen.

He made me sit down and sip on a glass of water while he bustled around the kitchen to make our food.

I nearly moaned as I bit into the crispy tortilla placed in front of me. Though simple, the combination of chicken, cheese, salsa and sour cream never failed to hit the spot.

“Is it good?” Gabriel asked.

I nodded. “Tastes like home.”

He nodded, his smile dimming. “Where have you been, Simone?”

“Traveling,” I said with a shrug.

“I’m serious. Where did you go? Why haven’t you come back until now?”