The Fall Of Jacob Del Garda (3 page)

The next morning Jacob lay on his back on damp grass sucking air into his screaming lungs, his legs were trembling and his heart thundered so hard against his ribs he wondered if he was going to have a heart attack.

A wheezing Josh Erichsen collapsed next to him. Apart from the dawn chorus, all that could be heard were the groans of two super fit men who’d pushed the physical boundaries of their abused bodies.

"Christ, what in the name of God was that all about?" Josh demanded, swiping sweat from his eyes. "You nearly killed us this morning."

Jacob couldn’t help but grin at the whiney voice. Their early morning runs had taken on a competitive edge with the results so far a steady win for Jacob, but he had to admit Josh gave him more than a run for his money. Wincing at the way his black T-shirt was clinging to his body weighed down by sweat, Jacob stood and held out a hand to help Josh to his feet. They jogged through the entrance to the Ludlow Hall spa, shouldering through the doors of the changing rooms.

Jacob grabbed a thick white towel. "I have a lot on my mind," he admitted as he stripped down to his skin.

Josh toed off his running shoes, undressed, then beaned him with narrowed eyes.

"No kidding. What’s up?"

Jacob liked Josh. Josh was a talented architect and one of the good guys. Once their little misunderstanding about Janine Faulkner had been cleared up, and Josh had accepted that Jacob had no romantic interest in the gorgeous woman Josh had his eye on, the pair were firm friends. And after two months of running together every single morning at the crack of dawn that friendship had slid into best pals territory. However, Jacob wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about the reason why he hadn’t slept a wink and had run this morning as if the hounds of hell were on his heels.

They hit the showers.

By the time they were dressed for the day, Josh was going on site and wearing ancient jeans, a button-down blue chambray shirt and work boots. Jacob wore his signature bespoke suit. Today it was navy with a pristine white shirt. While he knotted his silk tie, Jacob came to a decision.

"Do you have time to join me for breakfast?" he asked his friend.

Josh slid him a level look, but he nodded. "Sure. I need to replace the fluids and pounds of fat I lost this morning."

Gabriella jerked awake, heart racing as she blinked to bring the unfamiliar bedroom into focus.

The pillow next to her didn't hold Jacob's scent, there was no indent of his head.

Every night she dreamed of how their lives might have been. But last night had been different. This time the Jacob in her dream still looked breathtakingly gorgeous, tall, hard muscled, with glossy hair the colour of jet. But his dark grey eyes had stared at her with something like menace. And that sensuous mouth held a trace of cruelty.

Sitting, she shoved back the heavy weight of her hair, felt the damp perspiration on her forehead. Along with the tell-tale weakness in her limbs, and the horrible disorientation as her vision blurred.

Fatigue was becoming an issue.

And a couple of bruises were taking too long to heal.

She knew she needed more sleep, but forced her aching body out of bed.

Gabriella stood, stretched, and tried not to give into a relentlessly creeping despair.

'We won't panic until we need to'
- that's what her doctors had said. Today was Friday and her sister was arriving in a couple of hours. Together they would learn the results of the blood tests next Wednesday. Five days. However, the slight swelling of glands in her armpit, her neck, and her groin, told their own story.

Little changes were happening in her body every day. She couldn't tolerate extremes of temperature, loud noise, and now her body rejected certain foods and drinks.

She'd had the same hollow feeling in her gut for weeks.

The feeling that she was dying, slowly.

Padding into the vast en-suite bath, she poured herself a glass of cool, clear water straight from the tap. And avoided looking at the woman in the mirror. What was the point of over analysing the weight loss, the dark circles, and the fear of the future she'd see there. She drank, all the time telling herself to relax and keep calm. She inhaled, and to distract herself, again marvelled at the wonderful sense of space and the scent of waxed oak.

The double A-framed, two story cottage was fabulous. For Gabriella it was a badly needed sanctuary from the outside world. The structure nestled in the green hills rolling high above Ludlow Hall and the estate. Nico Ferranti had been more than kind, ensuring that she had everything she needed for a productive shoot with the couple of the moment, Coco Monroe and Rafael Cavendish, and a successful vacation with her sister.

Dressing in loose jeans, a T-shirt, and pulling on hiking boots, Gabriella slid open the heavy glass doors to the covered deck and shivered. Before she left to pick up Sophie at Heathrow, she had time for a quick walk. Snagging a soft fleece, she wandered out into the beckoning dawn.

The air was cool and smelled of pine trees, damp earth, and the last of summer's roses. Bright green blades of grass were dripping with crystal globes of dew as she picked up the pace. She didn't have time to waste. Life was for living. Every sunrise a blessing to count. And she smiled as a couple of young squirrels, playing tag, darted across the path, raced up a towering tree, leaping from branch to branch.

And she wondered what Jacob was doing right this minute.

Was he happy?

From what Sophie had told her, it sounded as if he hadn't yet moved on.

A soul-deep guilt and fear for what she had done to him was one of the things that prevented Gabriella from eating and sleeping properly. She'd abandoned the world she knew, and the man she loved, to follow her dream. And to save him from heartache and an uncertain future.

Did walking away make her selfish?

Did following her dream, to be a photographer, make her a bad person?

Her bank account was more than substantial. Thanks to a modelling career that had been blessed by the gods, she owned luxury properties in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, which she rented out for hefty sums. These days, she didn't spend much. After all, she didn't need much. But one of the things she urgently needed to do was to talk to her lawyer, to get her affairs in order.

Just in case.

It was a step, a final step, that she'd put off for far too long.

The thought of it made her want to scream and cry and rant and rave at fate, even at God.

But what was the use of that?

As Gabriella made her way back to the gorgeous cabin, she mulled over her Will. Apart for a few donations to charity, Sophie was the main beneficiary of her estate. She'd leave Tobin Gillespie her Manhattan apartment, he'd always loved it.

And as she entered her bedroom and stripped before she entered the bathroom a little voice asked her. And what of Jacob?

What would she leave him, apart from heartache and pain?

Two hours later, Gabriella couldn’t stand still.

She paced the international arrivals hall of Heathrow airport and scanned the bleary-eyed passengers pushing groaning luggage trolleys.

Dressed in skinny blue jeans and a T-shirt vest of white cotton she ignored the interested stares, the double-takes, from every male with a pulse. The attention went with the territory of being a model whose face had appeared on every billboard and magazine on the planet.

But since her signature long blonde hair was hidden under a peaked cap with the glossy tail pulled through the back and she wore no make-up, they weren’t sure if she was who they thought she was. Thank God.

The decision to lick her wounds in England was not one she’d taken lightly.

If you could afford them, strict privacy laws were in place in the United Kingdom. And she’d needed privacy, to go about her business without the paparazzi breathing down her neck. Although with the advent of smart phones, the public were joyful snappers these days, too. Human beings did not respect another's private space, but what could she do about it? Her lawyer had put in place an injunction on her behalf and enforced it with vigour. If any newspaper published photos or any personal information about her, they’d be in trouble. And since she’d kept a very low profile, so far the press had respected the rules. Her break-up with Jacob was old news. He'd refused to comment. And so had her agent. As far as the world was concerned, Gabriella was taking a break. They just had no idea that the break from the limelight was a permanent one.

Again, she checked her watch.

What the hell was keeping Sophie? Her flight had landed from Nairobi thirty minutes ago.

An ear-piercing whistle turned heads, including her own, and there was her older sister by thirty seconds.

Gabriella couldn’t help but smile.

Flashing tanned endless legs, Sophie Dolman strode through the arrivals hall.

Her strawberry blonde thick hair was cut in a short, choppy crop. And Sophie’s narrow wrists jangled with dozens of bangles made of fine silver. Ten pounds heavier than Gabriella, and half an inch taller at five foot ten and a half inches, she wore suede Tod’s moccasins the colour of dark chocolate with a huge matching bag slung over her shoulder. Dressed in a khaki short skirt and white cotton sleeveless shirt, which showcased lean, toned arms, she looked fabulous.

But it was the gleam of pure joy in her dancing hazel eyes that brought tears of happiness and relief to Gabriella’s.

She’d missed her sister so much.

Sophie grinned at Gabriella’s wide-eyed stare when she spotted a besotted porter, struggling with a lumbering trolley loaded with three huge suitcases. Then she dropped her bag at her feet and grabbed her twin in a bear hug.

Gabriella gazed into eyes identical to her own and noticed tears clinging to dark spiky lashes.

Sophie’s hazel gaze searched hers.

And seemed satisfied with what she found.

"I think you're looking better." Her sister’s voice was a stronger, deeper version of her own with a slight transatlantic drawl, which she’d picked up from spending time in America during her studies. Gabriella had begged Sophie to stay close to her in the United States to finish her degree. However her sister’s disastrous love affair with Tobin Gillespie had put paid to that plan.

"I’m feeling fine," Gabriella said.

Typically, Sophie took control and put her arm through hers.

"Yeah, but you’re too skinny. Come on, let’s get out of here."

Gabriella hung on tight.

She hadn’t seen her twin for over six months.

They both led full and busy lives and she swore an oath right there and then that they’d never be separated for so long again.

Life, as she well knew, was too short.

"Nice wheels," Sophie drawled.

The uniformed driver settled them into a shiny black Mercedes four wheel drive, loaded the luggage into the trunk, and tipped the porter. Nico Ferranti had organised the vehicle for Gabriella’s use during her stay and they sat in the back as it whisked them to Ludlow Hall.

Since the sun was rising through an early morning mist and most of the city was just waking up, the journey took no time at all.

And since Gabriella had arrived and unpacked the day before, the car took them straight to their cabin in the hills.

Once the driver unloaded the luggage and they were alone, Sophie turned in a circle on the covered deck overlooking a fresh water swimming pool carved out of rock.

The scorching record breaking summer had slid seamlessly into a record breaking early autumn. From up here they could see miles upon miles of trees in full vibrant leaf. This year the fall was going to be spectacular.

"Wow, this is really cool. The gardens are gorgeous and I love the view from up here." Sophie sank into a modern wicker chair, stretching out endless legs and ran a critical eye over her sister. "Your hair's grown. With that ponytail, you look about sixteen."

Gabriella set down a tray on the table containing a bowl of fruit, a pot of coffee, and a basket of warm bread rolls. She'd thought of cutting her hair, just in case, but in the end decided to let it grow while she still had it. A hand that trembled a little slid through the heavy tail and flipped it over her shoulder.

Sophie’s long fingers hovered over the fruit for a while until she plucked the grape she wanted and popped it into her mouth.

Life threw people curves when they least expected it and Gabriella knew Sophie would be there for her as long as she needed her.

"Thank you for coming," Gabriella said.

Sophie held out her hand.

Gabriella placed her hand in hers.

Squeezing her fingers her big sister tilted her head, beaned her with a look.

"I would have been here sooner if you’d told me," she said then gave her an exaggerated sigh. "I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with you. I’ve taken a leave of absence. No. Don’t give me that face. I’m long overdue time off." Then Sophie leaned in, her too sharp eyes keen on Gabriella's face. "You’re not alone in this, Ella. And you’ve internalised the whole damn thing, haven’t you? You need to talk about it, and not just with me."