Blue Fire. A Gabriel Brown Alaskan Bush People story.

Chapter 2

The police officer stood beside your bed and took notes on a small pad. Your heart ached with embarrassment and you didn't want to say anything with Gabriel in the room but he didn't seem to want to leave you. He was such a nice guy and you hated that he had gotten involved with you even this far. Your life with Brady was ugly and you felt so angry that you had let him get so much control over you.

Gabriel nervously chewed on his lips as your eyes shifted from looking at him to looking back to the police officer.

"And how do you know Brady?" That was the question that hurt the most.

"He was my boyfriend. My fiancée." You turned your gaze to the large window as you spoke. The proposal had been lame and he had told you rather than asked you to marry him. You had been too afraid to say no so you had nodded your head and given him the fake smile that kept his anger at bay.

It was morning and your hospital room window faced the deep green tree-lined hillside. At the sight of the lush evergreen trees, the urge to run was so strong in you that your toes moved involuntarily under the covers. You could hide so easily in all those dense trees. You had lived off the grid for months. You knew you could do it again. The Alaskan bush was a place you had come to love as you hid from Brady and from the world. But for now you were still trapped in the hospital bed having to answer questions that made you want to scream with frustration.

"Do you know why he would want to attack you like that?" The police officer asked the questions with a hint of boredom in her voice. Apparently you weren't her first case of domestic abuse of the day.

"Because he's a psychopathic ass?" You said more to shock her than anything else.

The startled laugh from Gabriel surprised you. He was so angry at what he had witnessed that you couldn't believe he would laugh at that. But his blue eyes were shining and you saw a glint of metal in his mouth as he smiled.

"Hey! Are those braces?" You whispered loudly and turned your head to look directly at Gabe.

Why hadn't you noticed those before? You were probably still trapped in those clear blue eyes of his to notice anything else. But when you fixed your gaze on him, the police officer also turned around to stare at him. He suddenly turned bright red and dropped his eyes.

"Yeah." He mumbled with his head down. "I'd better go." He spun around and headed for the open door to the hallway.

"Gabriel. Don't leave!"
Your frantic whisper made it seem like you wanted to apologize for embarrassing him. Or that you decided you needed his comfort after all. But the truth was completely different. When you glanced out the door to the hallway, you were stunned at the sight of Brady standing stiffly by the nurse's station, his features cool and calm. But you knew that look. It was the calm before the storm and you couldn't let Gabriel walk into that.

"Can you close the door?" You whispered to Gabriel and gave him a tiny smile.

"Sure." He slowly closed the door and stood with his back against it, unsure of himself now that you had called out his shiny secret.

Motioning with a finger for the Police officer to come closer, you spoke quietly, hoping Gabriel wouldn't hear your words.

"Brady is standing right outside. If you go now you can catch him. But if he knows you are onto him, he'll run. And he'll hide. You'll never be able to find him until it's too late to help me."

But Gabriel heard everything and before you could yell at him to stop he tore open the heavy door like it was made of paper and ran straight up to Brady, grabbing him roughly by the front of his shirt.