I lock the door and return the gun to its hiding spot. The envelope burns in my hand as I turn it to confirm it came from the DNA testing service we use.
I don’t think I’m really a Rockford. Not by blood, at least. Not where it counts.
I avoid the envelope for hours, unable to touch it beyond holding it at arm’s length. It sits on my coffee table while I shower, while I choke down a sandwich, and while darkness falls outside my windows. The paper gleams white in the dim light, an accusation without words.
Finally, I sit at my kitchen table, the envelopebetween my hands, stomach churning as clarity washes over me.
Gabriel’s betrayal had been real. Accessing my sealed juvenile recordwasa violation. But in the cold light of day, with Jade’s words about revenge still ringing in my ears, I see the difference between what Gabriel did and what I’ve done.
Gabriel accessed my records out of fear for my safety and not knowing enough to protect me. Misguided, yes. A violation of trust, absolutely. But rooted in protection, however warped.
This envelope, on the other hand, holds a secret Gabriel had trusted me with, his deepest insecurity and pain. And I weaponized it. Not to protect him or myself, but to wound him where it would hurt most.
This isn’t justice. It’s vengeance. And it’s the same violation I’m furious at Gabriel for committing, only worse, because mine was intentionally cruel.
I lurch to my feet, the chair scraping across the floor. My stomach turns as I walk toward the trash can, envelope in hand. But leaving it there is too careless. If it fell into the wrong hands and the information made it to the news channels...
I grip it with both hands, preparing to tear it to shreds, and pain flashes across my thumb. I jerk myhand back, watching as a thin line of red beads up from the slice left by the torn edge of the envelope.
I wait for the familiar quiet to follow.
It doesn’t come.
Before I can react, the sound of knuckles on wood freezes me in place.
Three knocks, hesitant this time, with pauses between each one. Not the business-like rap of the Blue Note runner.
My heart lurches. If it were Micah, come to confront me, he’d use his key. Same with Rowan. That leaves only one possibility.
I open the door with the envelope clutched in my hand, torn edge facing my chest. Gabriel stands in the hallway, and the sight of him knocks the air from my lungs.
He looks destroyed, his hair unwashed and sticking up in odd directions, dark circles carved beneath his eyes, clothes wrinkled like he’s been sleeping in them for days. His shoulders slump forward, stripped of his easy confidence.
For a moment, we stare at each other, the silence between us thick with words neither of us can bring ourselves to say.
“I realize I’m the last person you want to see.” Theunforgiving hall light reveals how worn he looks despite the tan. “But I couldn’t leave things the way they were.”
I grip the doorframe with my free hand, needing the support.
“I accessed your records to figure out if someone from your past could be a threat,” Gabriel continues, his words tumbling out in a rush. “Not because I wanted to expose you or use the information against you. I should have told you as soon as I got the file, or just come to you for the information. That was my mistake.”
He runs a hand through his hair, leaving it more disheveled than before. “Sebastian detected unusual activity around your legal identity. Someone was digging, pulling information from sealed databases. We needed to know what they found so we could protect you. That’s why I petitioned for access.”
He squares his shoulders. “I never read the details of what happened to you in juvie. I swear, Saint. I only skimmed for information about potential enemies.”
His eyes drop, landing on the torn envelope in my hand, and confusion puckers his brow, followed by shock as the blood drains from his face.
“What is that?” Gabriel asks, unease underscoring the question as if he already knows. “Is that what I think it is?”
My fingers tighten around the envelope, the torn edge digging into my palm. I try to form words, to offer an explanation or denial, but my mouth opens on silence.
The truth sits in my hand, undeniable.
Gabriel’s expression fractures with pain, betrayal, and disbelief all at once. His breathing changes, each inhale shallow and quick as he sways on his feet.
“You tested my DNA.”
The truth of what I’ve done crashes over me in waves. While I stood in righteous anger over my exposed secrets, I violated his with intentional cruelty.
