Devil With a Shotgun

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

<Gavin Forrester>

Ainsley and I let go the minute we hear the knob of her front door turn. My head tilts slightly as I look up at Victoria. Her cheeks are stained and pale like all of the life has been sucked out of them. I reach up and grab her hand. She clasps hers around mine tightly but doesn't make any move to sit down. Ainsley takes that as her cue to leave. She walks back into the house and closes the door quietly behind her.

"Gavin, he wants me to go back to New York. He came here to take me home." Victoria bites her lip and sits down next to me, ashamed tears running down her cheeks.

"I know." I whisper as my arm wraps around her shoulders and pulls her close to me.

"I don't want to leave you. He knows how much I love you but he still wants to take me away." She sniffles and wipes her cheek with her forearm.

"I know." I look off into the distance and try to think of the right words to say.

"Are those the only words in your brain right now?" Victoria snaps and turns to face me. "Do you want him to take me away? Do you want me gone?"

"That is the last thing I want, Victoria but what he told me seemed fair. It's true, every moment you spend with me, the bigger a target you become."

"I've made it pretty clear that I'm fine being a target as long as I'm with you." She crosses her arms and furrows her brows.

"That's not healthy. You shouldn't have to be a target just to be with me; you don't need to make that kind of sacrifice for me." I bite my lip and look down at my lap.

"I may not need to but I want to, Gavin." Victoria's eyes fill with tears and then she buries her face in her lap.

"Victoria, I'm just saying that things are getting worse. Talon is coming back and I know that if you went back to New York your dad would make sure that no harm came to you."

"So, you want me to leave." Victoria mumbles, her face still buried in her lap.

"I love you and the only thing I want is for you to be safe. Things down here aren't safe and I know most of it is my fault but I don't want you to constantly be in danger." I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and lean in close.

"Gavin, I'm a big girl and I can make my own decisions. I don't want to go and I don't want you of all people to force me to leave." She glares at me and sits up straight.

"I'm not trying to but your dad said he could clear things up in New York and I can clear up things down here and then we can be together."

"If I leave you then who's to say I'll ever see you again?" Victoria bursts into tears for the third time tonight and I feel extreme guilt settle in my chest.

I dig through my pockets until I've found what I'm looking for. I pull out the jewelry bag from the store in town. It still has her necklace in it because I've never really found the perfect time to give it to her. I dump the contents of the bag into my hand and then I close my fist.

"I don't know if we'll ever see each other again; hell, I don't even know if I'll wake up tomorrow but I do know that I love you with all my heart and I'd do anything to make sure we get to be together." I state and grab one of her hands, dropping the necklace gently inside of it.

She fumbles around with it until she realizes what it is and then her eyes grow wide.

"You bought this for me?" She sounds surprised as she unlocks it and admires the pendant.