COUNTERPOINT
An original romantic serialFrom Alina Adams the author of "When a Man Loves a Woman" (DELL 4/00), "Annie's Wild Ride" (AVON 8/98), "Inside Figure Skating" (METROBOOKS 11/00 & 9/99), "Thieves at Heart" (AVON 12/95) and "The Fictitious Marquis" (AVON 6/95)
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CHAPTER 25
Confused, Victoria looked around her on the Sausalito Ferry, asking, "Robin? Where are the other passengers?"
"I drowned them." He stretched out atop a white, vinyl deck-chair, crossing his long legs at the ankles. Dressed in a casual, cream, linen suit over a beige polo shirt, Robin looked every inch the chic, sporting yachtsman. The only problem was, they weren't on a yacht. They were on the Sausalito Ferry, a commuter vessel built to transport hundreds of East Bay residents into downtown San Francisco. Yet, here it was, six o'clock rush hour, and Robin and Victoria appeared to be the only ones on board.
Initially, he'd wanted to charter a yacht for them to watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. But, when Victoria cringed at the extravagance, Robin grumbled, "I'm trying to spoil you, love, and you're not helping," and offered a more plebeian alternative -- the Ferry. "There, that's dreadfully working class, isn't it?"
Victoria said, "No. Really. Where is everyone?"
Robin cupped Victoria's hand, and pulled her down into the deck-chair with him. She acquiesced without a fight, snuggling against him, resting her head on his shoulder, just below Robin's chin. They linked fingers, and Robin brought the conjoined hands to his mouth, kissing each of her digits, whispering between pecks, "I went to the ticket-booth before we departed, gave them my credit card, and requested that every passenger who wants to buy a ticket for this particular ferry, be given cash cab fare home."
Victoria's mouth dropped open. "You didn't!"
"I wanted to be alone with you."
She'd thought he no longer held the power to astonish her with the largess of his gestures. She'd thought wrong.
"Oh, Robin." She buried her face in his chest. "What am I going to do with you?"
He lifted her chin with one finger, meeting Victoria's eyes. "Do I get a vote?"
She cuddled against him, and sighed. Silently, they watched the sun set, painting the sky in ruby, orange, and purple streaks, then sink behind the ocean with an imaginary sizzle, leaving them enveloped in the silver night. Robin kissed the top of Victoria's head. He said, "You really are amazing, you know that?"
She looked up at him. "I'm not doing anything."
"I know. That's the amazing part. We are not doing anything. And I don't think I've ever been happier."
"Oh." Victoria bit her lip and looked away.
"What?" He sat up, straddling the deck-chair, shifting her so that they were now face to face. "What's wrong? What did I say?"
She shook her head. "It's hard to explain. Whenever somebody claims they're happy because of me, I get very nervous."
"Why? Not that anyone's ever said it to me, mind you -- but, I always assumed it was a compliment."
"It's pressure." She slid her hands on top of Robin's knees, stroking them absently. "What if I do something to disappoint you? What if I let you down? I don't want to be solely responsible for someone else's happiness, because I couldn't live with myself if I also became solely responsible for someone else's unhappiness."
Now, it was his turn to glance away, to contemplate the water and wonder what to say next. "You've got nothing to worry about, love, I promise. You'll never let me down."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
"It's very simple." Robin reclined his forehead against hers. "It's frighteningly simple." He kissed Victoria's forehead. "It's painfully simple." He kissed the bridge of her nose. "You make me happy." He nuzzled her upper lip. "I know you could never make me unhappy." He nibbled her lower lip. "I can feel it." His tongue explored her mouth. "I can taste it."
She surrendered to his kiss, knowing that Robin hadn't grasped fully what she was saying, but desperate to accept the last promise he made her. "Everything is going to be all right, love."
It was after midnight by the time Robin dropped Victoria off. He followed her upstairs and into her apartment, explaining it was the least a gentleman could do. The red light was blinking on her answering machine when they walked in, and Victoria compressed it automatically. Gabriel's voice crackled after the beep, and Robin made a face, rolling his eyes. Victoria slapped his arm playfully, and he smiled in return, to show he was only kidding.
"Vicky? It's me. Listen, sweetheart, here's the thing. I've sort of been arrested...."
At ten minutes before one a.m., the few policemen not napping at their desks, were somnambulistically rousing the coffee machine. None of them were prepared for Victoria Morgan to sweep inside the squad-room, demanding to see her brother.
Lieutenant Pekarek picked sleep out of the corner of his eye, and mashed it between his fingers, studying the result with curious fascination, before focusing his attention on Victoria. He said, "No can do. Gotta wait till morning."
"You mean you want him to spend the night in here?" Victoria covered her mouth with one hand, and looked helplessly at Robin.
He addressed the lieutenant, using a tone of voice that always worked on parking attendants and surly wine stewards. "What's Dr. Scott charged with?"
Pekarek leafed through a mound of paperwork, pulling out a manila folder and skimming the sheet inside. "Insurance fraud."
"What does that mean?" Victoria demanded.
Pekarek shrugged. "My guess would be fraud. With insurance."
"Thank-you so much," Robin said. "You've been no help at all." He tugged on Victoria's elbow, pulling her out of official hearing range, and volunteering, "There's obviously nothing you can do here right now. Let me drive you home, and, in the morning -- "
"You don't understand. I can't leave Gabriel like this."
"It's only for one night. We'll call a lawyer in the morning and set his bail."
"No." She raised both arms, refusing his efforts to calm her down. "I've got to get him out. He can't stay locked up. He's," she hesitated, knowing that Gabriel would despise her for betraying a confidence, but needing to make Robin believe how desperate their situation was. "He's violently claustrophobic. He's been that way since he was a kid and Terrence used to lock him in the closet. He nearly lost his mind locked up at juvenile hall. He'd pull stunts like slash his hands or beat his head against a wall so they'd have to remove him to the infirmary, where there were windows. We can't leave him here. It's a matter of life and death."
Victoria's lips trembled, and her eyes wouldn't cease darting. She looked ready to cry, swallowing convulsively, moist-red rimming her lids. But she also looked ready to fight, both fists clenched, chin thrust out defiantly, resolved to dismantling the precinct bar by bar, if necessary, to protect Gabriel.
Robin made up his mind. Giving Victoria a quick hug and what he hoped was a reassuring smile -- what did he know about it, he'd never cared if he reassured anyone, before -- he pronounced, "Okay, desperate times call for desperate measures. So, I'm going to play the most desperate, demeaning, humiliating card I have." He took a deep breath. "I'm going to call my father."