“I thought you were psychically blocked…” Gabby said.
Sheridan was adamant. “Now that I’ve sensed the truth, I can’t unsee it. It makes too much sense. Who else would want me dead?”
Markus stood up and started pacing the room. “We can talk this over with the EOD. They can provide you with a security detail.”
“Please,” Sheridan pleaded, “don’t send me to DC. I won’t be safe.”
Gabby was turning all of this over in her head. “I thought you trusted the president.”
“Did I say that?”
“I guess not.” Sheridan had been flying to Washington before being unexpectedly diverted to Inner-G. Why would she go to Washington if she hadn’t felt safe?
“I didn’t know what was wrong before. Fate intervened on my behalf with Genesis.”
Gabby didn’t know what to say. Just a few hours ago, she’d woken up in this bed, wrapped in Markus’s arms. She thought she’d had everything figured out.
“Do you have any evidence?”
“I keep notes and records of my sessions on my phone. When I think back, he asked a lot of questions about Amanda.” She wrung her hands. “He kept asking if he could trust Amanda.”
“What’d you say?”
“I told him to stop thinking with his dick, do his job, and end it. He accepted my wisdom and said, ‘I know what I have to do.’”
Gabby was on the edge of her seat.
“I thought he meant divorce his wife or break up with Amanda. He meant end it permanently.”
Markus dropped his head to his hands. Quietly, he said, “Where are your recordings?”
“Just on my phone. I use Voice Memos. It’s nothing fancy, but it backs up to the cloud.” She reiterated, “No one knows.”
“Jesus F. Christ. Where’s your phone?”
“In the bathroom. I didn’t grab it.”
“We need to get the phone, and we need to tuck Sheridan awaysomewhere, even if it’s to keep her safe before the evacuation.” Gabby tried to talk slowly and calmly to de-escalate things.
Markus looked up. “I’m all ears.”
“I have an idea,” she said. “You’re not going to like it, but I think it’ll be perfect.”
1000 hours, main resort
Jasmine was only too happy to book two extra rooms at the resort, one for Gabby’s mother and one for her ex-husband. If anything, Jasmine looked a little too delighted, like she’d tuned in to an episode of Jerry Springer and was waiting for the brawl to break out.
“Your mother?” Jasmine had asked. “Andyour ex?”
Gabby had nodded beatifically. “They just couldn’t let me get married without being here to support me.”
Jasmine had clasped her hand to her heart. “That’s beautiful.” With a confused look, she had asked, “How does George feel about it?”
“George is delighted,” Gabby lied through her teeth and smiled like she was running for office.
After securing a safe place to stay, Gabby stormed through the door of the cottage. “Pack up, people. I got you all rooms.” They didn’t have time for talking through their feelings, so she said, “Mom, Phil—Markus and I joined a cult, changed our names, and we’re getting married. Down here, we are Gia and George. Gabby and Markus are dead. I don’t want to hear those names. I don’t want to hear any more questions about our decisions. Youare here through our good graces, and the minute you lose them, you will be uninvited.”
Phil loudly cleared his throat again and said, “What’s with the G thing?”
