Chapter 40: The Best Of Circumstances

Tessa didn't see Gareth again.

By morning, the story of her kidnapping and rescue had hit the media. Reporters, eager to capitalize on the Monroe name and the sensational aspects of the story, descended on the motel. With so many different agencies involved in the arrests, it was impossible to determine who leaked the information about where Tessa was staying. Under Barry's watchful eye, she was hustled out under heavy security and flown back to New York on a private jet.

The reunion with her family was not without some tension. Their initial relief at Tessa's safe return soon gave way to a more predictable course of action. Her father and brother alternated between heated debates of whether the FBI should have contacted them sooner and recriminations over their own failure to keep closer tabs on Tessa.

Her mother, who was still in France, lamented that the story, with all its lurid conjecture, had made headlines overseas. Tessa was grateful when her brother had suggested that their mother remain in Europe until the publicity died down in the States. Though she knew her mother cared, there were certain things Madeline Monroe did not deal with well.

At her father's urging, Tessa took up temporary residence at the Monore mansion in the Hamptons. It was a walled estate that now had twenty-four-hour private security.

Tessa's first weeks home passed quickly as she was interviewed several more times by the FBI. None of the agents she met was familiar. And while part of her longed to enquire about Gareth, she couldn't bring herself to ask. She longed for him till the point where it hurt, which she didn't quite yet understand. How could she have fallen so hard for him so fast?

The question of whether the person she had fallen for even existed weighed heavily on her, and the fact that he hadn't attempted to contact her added to the confusion.

Dane Hayes was a myth.

Gareth Thomas was a stranger.

She started seeing a counselor. While part of her resented the fact that she needed help to readjust, part of her rejoiced at being able to unburden herself to someone nonjudgmental. She'd learned about Stockholm Syndrome and how to deal effectively with the nightmares about Matt Michael's murder. She was also working through the shock, denial, and anger associated with traumatic events.

Only one subject remained taboo: the lingering, wavering feelings she had for Gareth. They seemed too personal....too private.... and she wasn't ready to have them wiped away with a term like white-knight complex.

Not when she suspected she was pregnant with his child. Tessa looked out the bedroom window at the neat expanse of lawn. It was the end of August, and she was still in the Hamptons. She would have been in Boston, getting her store ready for its fall opening. Instead, she'd been forced to close her shop temporarily after it and her townhouse were vandalized. The break-ins occurred shortly after her return from Montana. While the police had no leads, they felt both acts were random, crimes of opportunity fueled by the newspaper reports that she was staying out of town. As much as she'd hated closing her shop, it was one less thing to deal with. And right now, she'd had all she could handle.

She stared down at the box in her hand. A pregnancy test kit. In mere minutes, she might know the answer to a question that had been bothering her since the first day she'd been freed.

Was she pregnant?

She sighed. She couldn't put off knowing any longer. According to her calculations, she should have had her period in early August. In the beginning, she tried to convince herself that she was late due to stress. She kept thinking she felt the onset of cramps, but denial wore thin after the first week, replaced by a single, burning question.

What would she do if she were pregnant?

She dismissed the idea of abortion immediately, knowing she'd keep the child despite the repercussions. There would be fallout. She'd be ostracized. Her family would oppose her decision, as would her friends. They would view the pregnancy as an unwanted, unwelcome side effect of her captivity. Because none of them knew the truth about her relationship with Gareth.

A lump formed in her throat. Even she didn't know the truth of it. In reality, Gareth was probably no more prepared to deal with an unplanned pregnancy than she was. She thought back to their last night together. She could have already been carrying his child then----

A knock sounded on her door.

Flustered, Tessa slid the box into a drawer and quickly shut it.

"You have a call from a Mr. Barry with the FBI," the maid said. "Do you want to take it?"

Tessa nodded. She hadn't talked to Barry since she'd left Montana. Maybe he had a message from Gareth.

"Hello, Barry." She knew she sounded breathless.

They exchanged pleasantries, then Barry cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Her stomach clenched. Had something happened to Gareth?

"Hector Sanchez was released from jail on a technicality," Barry continued.

Her relief was instantly torpedoed by disbelief. Sanchez was free? "How could that happen?"

"The search warrant for his plane wasn't signed at the time the search was executed. Evidently, there was a miscommunication between a couple of agencies."

"But what about the other charges?"

"He made bail and already skipped the country. We can't touch him."

Tessa immediately thought about the women who, following Sanchez's arrest, had been tracked down and freed from 'private ownership.' She'd read the articles about them. Some were torture. All were raped. And now, like a cruel joke, Hector Sanchez was free. Where was the justice for them?

"Can he be extradited?"

"Doubtful, but we'll try. It makes me sick to think we were so close to nailing him, that one of my men literally gave up almost two years of his life to catch that man."

Barry was talking about Gareth, of course. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "How is he?"

Barry looked at her, knowing exactly who the 'he' referred to.

Silence preceded guarded words. "He's been busy. As you know, there's a lot to be done on this case. And he's trying to reclaim his personal life. He walked away from everything he owned, his family---"

"Family?" She closed her eyes, trying to picture Gareth at home with a loving wife. She couldn't. She could however, picture him as a father, just as easily as she could see him as a lover. A boyfriend.

A new and sickening scenario presented itself. What if Gareth had left a special someone behind? Perhaps he had only slept with her in the line of duty. A pregnancy would be unwelcome news indeed.

"Gareth has a father and sisters," Barry continued. "They know he does undercover work, which doesn't make it easy when he disappears as he did."

A father and sisters. She recalled the things he'd told her in Montana, realizing that he had never mentioned specific details, like family, and hadn't really shared anything personal, which made her regret having told him the smallest details of her own life. The fact that she knew nothing about him sharpened the sense of deception. He'd talked about living in Pennsylvania, being in the Army. Both were probably fabrications, part of his cover. She'd known Dane Hayes. A fictional undercover caricature. When would she get it through her head that Dane didn't exist? He was a fantasy. Vapor. Smoke.

"I didn't mean to pry," she said finally.

Barry sighed. "You understand why he hasn't contacted you, right? It's not appropriate under the best of circumstances for two witnesses on the same case to spend time together."

The inference was clear. Best of circumstances didn't include witnesses who'd shared an intimate relationship. Or witnesses who might be pregnant.

Tessa thanked Barry for calling and hung up, her thoughts straying to the test kit she had stashed in the drawer. She already knew the answer the kit would reveal. What she didn't know was how-, or when---or if--- she'd tell the father.