LN Cronan

Bared to You, page 147. Â First night Gideon and Eva sleep alongside one another (when he took her home with him to make up for the fact he's taken her to his f*** pad.) Â This night would also be the first time she'd witness one of his nightmares ... in comparison to the later ones, less severe. One of the ones in which he is in the role of victim (so possible actual flashback) rather than aggressor (metaphorically working out his rage). Â First words Gideon says:Â "Don't touch me ... Get your f***** hands off me!" Â Yep, I definitely think today's unsettling image with a creepy hand is meant to represent Gideon's rapist.

 From the little Gideon has been willing (thus far) to tell Eva about concerning Christopher Jr., he's dangerous and Gideon has tried in vain in the past to control him -- everything from threatening him to throwing money at him. Nothing has worked, and so Gideon has switched to damage control mode.  Yes, Christopher ought to fear his big brother. Sounds like he doesn't, though. That alone is a red flag to me Christopher Jr. might be more than a wee bit crazy.

 Perhaps Christopher Jr. is responsible for arranging Brett and Vidal Records being at some sort of event in Times Square, a peek at which we got in a snippet. Perhaps set it up in a way to get Eva there unknowingly -- and set up a paparazzi ambush.  Here's my reasoning behind the theory: Gideon owns more shares in the company that anyone else but it appears he's not involved in the daily running of the company -- his stepfather, Christopher Sr., and brother, Christopher Jr., are the records company executives in the Vidal family. The garden party in Bared to You suggests that Gideon avoids Vidal Records events period, not just any sort of gathering at the Vidal mansion (a place he avoids like the plague). We also know that Christopher had been the one to invite Eva (and Cary) to the garden party. Last we saw of Christopher, he'd had lunch with Eva, was wondering whether Eva asking him to lunch had anything to do with Gideon getting back together with Corrine -- and ended lunch with telling Eva he'd like to take her out. Since then, Christopher probably has found out Eva is Golden. So as a two-fer, get Eva near photographers both in the presence of Christopher and of Brett -- maybe resulting in multiple party photos out there on the gossip circuit, some with her and Brett, others with Christopher and her. All of them speculating that Eva's now surrounded by men and obviously happy without Gideon.  In any case, I'll bet Christopher was shocked to see Gideon show up. And this could be bad -- for Gideon and Eva as a secret couple -- in the general vicinity of the scheming Christopher Jr. in charge of some sort of PR event crawling with photographers and journalists.  Ooooooo the possibilities .....

 Gideon was probably terrified of facing Eva again -- he had to have been if he was having trouble maintaining his iceman exterior. Ireland barely knows her brother, so for her to be able to perceive he was nervous is pretty remarkable. She may have just written it off though as nervousness about meeting Eva's father.  Sylvia explained that the reason Gideon didn't cancel on Friday's dinner was he feared Eva would never forgive him. Well, Gideon already had been doing things for days that Eva might not be able to forgive anyway.  Timeline: The last time Gideon had been in the same room as Eva had been more than 24 hours before, when he refused to even look her in front of other people at that meeting on Thursday afternoon. Last time they spoke was on the phone later Thursday afternoon, when he told her he'd meet her at Dr. Petersen's office and also promised he and Ireland were coming to dinner on Friday. He didn't show for therapy, nor did he call her afterward Thursday night to explain. She didn't even bother to call him in response either. And neither one of called the other on Friday. The very suggestive photo of him and Corrine ran Friday on Page Six of the New York Daily news along with a press release about the Thursday night party. He must have been terrified she'd already seen it -- and what might happen when he walked in to her apartment. He may have guessed (correctly) she was hoping he wouldn't even show up.  Then to see her dancing with her Dad, the loving family relationship -- and a parent who happened to be a cop. What if Gideon didn't get away with what he'd done - what if despite his planning, the cops did catch him? Even if he did get away with it, how long would it be before Gideon and Eva would dance again? Would they ever? Would she ever forgive him for being so cruel to her? What if running through Gideon's mind was the image of Eva in a wedding gown dancing with her father at the reception? And some other man, not Gideon, was Eva's brand new husband?

 Speaking of Deanna, something struck me yesterday -- what if Christopher Jr. might also be the one prompting her, in addition to possibly Dr. Lucas?  Eva's intuition immediately jumped to Lucas, because twice in the past, the guy has made nasty accusations about the connection between Gideon's money and the way Gideon treats women. But Eva glossed over the rock star remark.  But it's Christopher Jr. who likely would be among the first to make the Brett/Eva connection. Vidal Records' PR department would be doing daily monitoring of media reports regarding its artists, and if Christopher reads the daily internal summaries, he could have picked up on the Florida radio station interview where Brett talked about Eva. That interview happened Sunday -- now it's Wednesday, and Deanna's ambushing Eva.  There definitely had been some sort of past connection between Lucas and the Vidal family. What if there is some sort of present-day connection between Lucas and the family, such as Christopher Jr.? Both men despise Gideon -- including having serious jealousy issues about Gideon's sexual magnetism.  Wouldn't Christopher just love the chance to twist Gideon's tail about Eva and another man. Especially if Christopher has found out -- because Magdalene decided to confront Christopher over the tape -- that Christopher was caught red-handed being a total snake. I can see Magdalene going after the b******.  Even if Magdalene never told anyone else, Christopher knowing that Gideon had video proof would make Christopher squirm. The video that would horrify their mother if she ever were to find out -- darling little Christopher screwing and screwing over a longtime family friend, the daughter of Elizabeth's best friend and perhaps Elizabeth's dream of Magdalene becoming her daughter in law some day. That tape would ruin everything.  Just knowing Gideon holds that power would infuriate Christopher, despite the fact the chances are slim Gideon would ever use it against him with their mother. Gideon already holds the financial power to financially ruin the Vidal Records empire on a whim. Now to hold personal power to disgrace Christopher himself .... AGH!  So a little payback time -- paparazzi sooner or later (probably sooner) catching photos of seriously sexy socialite Eva Trammell with seriously hot rock star Brett Kline. Gideon's name would get dragged into it ... a blow to his professional image (one of his record label's own artists banging his ex) and a blow to his manhood (his ex banging another guy instead of pining for Gideon.) Tarnish Gideon's image.

Re-Read a Chapter a Day -- Today is Chapter 15 of Reflected in You  This chapter starts Thursday morning (day 31) and continues through Friday evening (day 32 and the fifth day of their estrangement)  Key plot developments This is one of the pivotal chapters thus far in the Crossfire series. Eva finally found out Nathan had been in New York recently -- and had been found dead Friday morning.  The shocking news came Friday evening when a pair of NYPD detectives showed up at her apartment to question her. In progress at the time was the family dinner she'd planned so that her father, in town for the weekend, could meet Gideon. The cops had been looking for Gideon too, and finding him there, started questioning him too -- and so Eva found out that Gideon was somehow connected to Nathan. Thursday, Gideon had deliberately hurt Eva yet again - this time to her face by all-but-ignoring her in a business meeting, then by blowing off their weekly couples therapy appointment. Shortly, Eva would learn where he'd been instead. Later she would learn why.  Favorite quote or paragraph needed from each of us, for Sylvia, after we've re-read the chapter. If "favorite" is the right word, because we're in the very darkest part of the story now.

Chapter 14 of Reflected in You - The Readers Guide  This chapter covers Wednesday (day 30 since they met and day three of their estrangement) and continues to sometime before dawn Thursday (day 31).  Key plot developments Dr. Lucas ran into Eva at the hospital Wednesday morning -- and took the opportunity to poison her mind against Gideon. Eva sent Gideon an anguished email Wednesday night about how much he was hurting her by seeing Corrine again. In the middle of the night, Gideon let himself into her room and comforted her by making love to her for hours -- but wouldn't stay until morning.  New characters None in this chapter  The deteriorating situation with Gideon -- and one final night Wednesday -- another day, another fight with Gideon, the second day in a row he was furious she was defying his efforts to control her every move. She left the Crossfire for lunch again, and he flipped. Another evening, another no-show by Gideon -- and another attempt by Eva to reach out. He'd rebuffed her on the phone Monday night because he was in the middle of taking Corrine out to dinner. Tuesday night, he rebuffed her again, because he had someone with him at home -- Corrine, Eva was convinced. So Wednesday night, Eva didn't bother calling - she sent him an anguished email about how much he was hurting her by spending his time with Corrine. Eva told him she was so desperate now that she'd beg for scraps from him -- and she hated herself for that. She had come to hate the fact she loved him. He showed up at her apartment in the middle of the night to say with his body what he couldn't say with words. But rather than be comforted by the lovemaking, Eva wept that he was tearing her apart, that he wouldn't talk to her -- that she can't live with the situation anymore. He begged her to trust him .... and in words that would haunt her later that week, said " ... it has to be this way." (Page 250) What he meant, but couldn't explain, was that the estrangement was to protect them both from legal blowback of what he was going to do in under 24 hours from then - kill Nathan. In hindsight, Eva believed something else -- it was one last get-it-out-of-his-system f***** her, in the pitch dark, because he couldn't bear the sight of her body anymore, and thus the only thing she thought held them together, sex, was gone, and with it, the relationship was gone forever.  What Dr. Lucas claimed Wednesday morning was the final morning that Eva awoke in Cary's hospital room (he'd be transferred home later that day.) Dr. Lucas ran into her in the hospital cafeteria early, and learned the reason she was there was because Gideon "... threw his money around and made arrangements .." for her to be with her injured roommate. Lucas' viciousness about Gideon got Eva's back up, and she demanded to know what was the reason behind the feud with Gideon -- what preceded Gideon hurting Lucas' wife. It took Lucas by surprise Eva knew about Gideon having deliberately hurt Anne Lucas -- and was even more surprised Eva was still with Gideon. "He's doing the same to you. You look exhausted and depressed. That's part of the game to him, you know. He's an expert at worshiping a woman as if he needs her to breathe. Then suddenly he can't stand the sight of her .... You've experienced what I'm talking about. He's going to continue to play with you until you rely on his mood to gauge your own. Then he'll get bored and dump you." (page 241) Unfortunately, Lucas lit up Eva's insecurities, because by then, for days Gideon had subjected Eva to an emotional rollercoaster - the wonderful weekend in North Carolina followed by coldness for days. Lucas' opinion of Gideon is that he's a narcissistic sociopath and misogynist who uses money to seduce women and then sex to control them -- a master manipulator and a dangerous man capable of just about anything.

Meant to represent Gideon's rapist? Perhaps that's why the hand, with the dirty bitten fingernails -- meant to be unnerving? Â How far will his passion drive you over the edge -- over the mental edge, leaving lasting trauma? PTSD - just how bad? Because Gideon's got it bad, his nightmares show. Â Granted, the second male in the picture appears to be a young adult. To put a young teen would be both too obvious and far too controversial -- perhaps even pushing a legal line for the use of underage models. These are real people in that photo posing for the photographer -- the image is meant to be symbolic.

 Can we sign up for sex education classes from Gideon? Pleaseeeeeeee  Supposedly, he knows a thousand ways to make a woman come. Or so he bragged to Eva early on, offering to show her.  It wasn't enough, though, to convince her to immediately sign up for lessons.Â

LALALALALALALALALALALALALALA  That's me mentally resisting spoilers  LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA  !!!!

 Hi Rogue,  I can answer the first question, about the possible status of the murder case (I used to be a journalist specializing in the court beat.)  As for everything else, it could go a number of different ways. I've got my pet theories, but we're only days away from the one set of ideas that count - the one's in author Sylvia Day's head.  Unless and until police make an arrest, a criminal case is considered "unsolved." So it remains an "open" investigation that theoretically, police could continue to investigate sometime in the future, looking for more evidence. For most crimes, a case cannot remain open forever though. After a certain number of years pass (this varies) the so-called "statute of limitations" runs out. Once the time has run out, it's no longer possible to charge someone. So the case is over forever. However, there is no statute of limitations for murder cases. There's no deadline by which the cops either have to make an arrest or close the case -- technically the case can stay open for decades as investigators hope for new evidence. In actual practice, though, unless the police have enough evidence to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt to a jury, the police and prosecution are leery about arresting someone. Because they get only one shot to win a trial -- and if the prosecution loses, the defendant cannot ever be charged again. Defense lawyers can appeal guilty verdicts against their clients, but prosecutors cannot appeal not-guilty verdicts. The U.S. Constitution forbids it.  That said, the only 100% sure way for the case against Gideon to go away would be if a jury found him not guilty because the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt he killed Nathan.  The real-world way it likely would go away, though, is that the prosecution lacks enough evidence to win a trial so they'll decide to not even charge him. Plenty of real-world cases actually end this way -- the authorities know who committed the crime but cannot prove it to a jury.  My theory is the prosecution will lose the ability to use it's most important evidence against Gideon -- his motive -- because the police (Detective Graves) gathered it by violating someone's legal rights (Eva's - Graves questioned Eva without her lawyer present despite the fact Eva clearly invoked her right to have a lawyer.) If that evidence becomes "inadmissible" it cannot ever be used. What's more, the illegally obtained evidence can sometimes poison other new evidence, making it inadmissible too. And if the most important evidence is gone forever, what'll be left won't be enough to win a trial. So Gideon will go free.

 You got it right, Gabri!  And with Corrine, it's her own bed she'll lie in -- not Gideon's, not ever. She won't even get through his front door let alone into his bedroom. And Eva didn't fall for that trick about Gideon supposedly being in Corrine's bed that morning, either.  HAH!

 Hey Gabri,  Nothing Eva can do to that w**** will equal the h.e.l.l. Corrine will have brought down on herself having foolishly bet everything and lost -- lost everything, because Gideon won't even be a friend anymore. Even if she goes back to Europe, she's still facing a future of being blindsided by photos of Gideon, given how much of a celebrity he is. And of never knowing when she's going to come across photos of Gideon and Eva Cross in the years to come.

 She is a total bad a.s.s. -- love this observation!! And even though their relationship was over, she had decided to strike back at people who were responsible for him being so damaged that (so she believed at the time) they'd never work out as a couple.  It is possible they could have found their way back to one another, had the truth about Nathan's killing been kept forever secret. But it was equally as possible that she was going to move on with her life. Even before she found out he'd taken Corrine to that hotel, Eva was already contemplating a break in the relationship and had discussed the possibility with Dr. Petersen.  What she didn't want was for the relationship to break her. Which it was in danger of doing so. When faced with what she believed was proof Gideon was cheating, it was the final straw.  Some distance did give her new perspective to see just how strong she could be. And on her own, she faced down Corrine Demon instead of continuing to believe with all certainty Gideon cheated on her (Eva).  But Gideon was right to be terrified by the end of Reflected that she obviously didn't trust him and apparently wasn't going to wait for him either. One of the bravest things he did was also one of the most desperate -- to finally start letting her into his darkness. He figured out his trust problem was the real dealbreaker, not her insecurity/jealousy problem. Eva was still contemplating a future without him, even though she knew now he hadn't cheated. He still hadn't let her in -- and he was still putting her through h.e.l.l.  So it's going to be great to see New Eva with Gideon. Because it's going to be a whole new set of rules. When she's got her clothes on, she's in charge -- and he's gotta learn to love it.

 We don't know when Nathan died, that's true. We do know the body was found Friday morning. The cops said that at Eva's to her in front of everyone in the room - her Dad (whom they knew was a cop), Gideon, Cary and Ireland.  But I think the time estimate from the medical examiner is sometime Thursday evening. Why else did Graves bust her b*** to see if she could find a hole in Gideon's alibi for that portion of Thursday. And why did Gideon in the first place create such an elaborate public ruse -- actually seriously cozying up to Corrine for a press photographer -- for that portion of Thursday? The plan: to automatically rule him out as having been anywhere near Nathan's hotel that evening.  Sylvia has indicated Graves is smart. I think it's safe to say much -- but not all -- of what Graves has surmised is what happened. But she must have gotten some things wrong -- and it also is possible she misled Eva about other things. So we may have some plot twists about exactly how Nathan was taken down.

 Actually, excellent point, Julie, one that just clicked with me -- by that afternoon, the alibi process needed to already be underway.  The cops didn't ask Eva (and Gideon) where they were Thursday night -- they asked her to tell them where she was Thursday.  Because time of death estimated the next day was going to be an educated guess with wiggle room of a couple of hours. They both needed to have all their time accounted for beyond just the 6-9 p.m. window of the party. The safest thing to do would be to account for Thursday starting in the afternoon and continuing into the wee hours of Friday morning.  Eva's entire day at the office could be accounted for by witnesses, as could Gideon's. Eva was driven from work to Dr. Petersen's then from the doctor's office to home - witnesses able to account for her every move from Angus to the home nurse with Cary. The question is, of course, Gideon's night -- we know only about the fact the party was held from 6-9. I think he left the office with driver Raul, picked up Corrine, went to the party, had Corrine driven home .... and then, what? Late business meeting? Too risky to go straight home alone yet.Â

   My theory is that Dr. Petersen prescribed the sleeping pills to see whether they would be enough to Gideon from being able to act out (i.e. turn aggressive) in his sleep, thereby giving the breathing room needed for the therapy to start working on the underlying issues.  The medication didn't work, because Gideon attacked Eva a second time. After that, Dr. Petersen recommended to Gideon that he not sleep in the same bed as Eva, advice that Gideon decided to take.  I think, though, that Gideon might be willing to risk sleeping in the same bed as Eva again once she knows what's behind the nightmares (and so he no longer needs to fear what he might say or do while asleep, fearing something that slips out would drive Eva off.)  Because Eva is not helpless. The only time she's actually used her Krav Maga skills was the second time Gideon attacked her (Cary had intervened the first time.)  If she can convinced Gideon that ....  Now that he's shared his deep secrets and knows she's not going to leave, he need no longer fear what he might say in his sleep Because she has the physical skills to defend herself against anything he might do in his sleep, he does not need to fear victimizing her.   .... then I think she can convince him it's safe for him to share a bed with her -- and with that, share a home with her, share a life with her.

 Just one more snapshot to go -- # 22 on Friday.  Six more of the Penguin countdown pictures to go.

 Agree - part of his not looking at her is he couldn't bear to see her face. Same reason why he left the lights off when he'd gone into her bedroom the night before -- and why he slipped away after she fell asleep instead of doing what she begged "stay"  But I think part of his reason for going through with the meeting was to start spreading gossip at the Crossfire that he and Eva no longer were a couple. I think he felt he had to be "seen" with Eva in public once that week, and here was for Mr. Control Freak a setting he could completely control - a meeting at Crossfire Industries.  Lesser of two evils than having to feed gossip flames by slighting Eva in public somewhere staged for paparazzi pictures. Because Gideon was putting on quite a show as an insurance policy, should the cops decide to dig a little deeper than the party photo.Â

 Yep, Viagra pills are blue too ^^^^^  Snapshot #21 could very well be an inside joke about blue pills instead of something more ominous.

   Well if we're gonna shout out, I'm yellIing GIDEON - YOU CAN BE SUCH AN IDIOT SOMETIMES!!!!

 Certainly, his deliberate manipulations of Eva had the cumulative effect of abuse -- most especially the way he treated in that meeting hours before he took down Nathan. Gideon having blown her off repeatedly and publicly spending time with Corrine was bad enough, but how he treated her to her face in front of other people during an important work meeting was downright cruel.  Honestly, Eva ought to have uninvited him to dinner with her Dad and kicked him to the curb that day. Instead, she chose a viable option of trying to deal with it after work with him in their regularly-scheduled weekly session with Dr. Petersen -- a session Gideon blew off for obvious reasons (out partying with Corrine and in position to take Nathan down.)  He's lying by omission to Corrine and is coldly using her -- using her in front of the world, no less. He's a major celebrity, so after it's over, the end of the relationship is going to publicly haunt her even if she returns to Europe. I almost feel sorry for her -- ALMOST. She too manipulated Eva -- maliciously did so for very selfish reasons, to destroy the new relationship Gideon had with Eva so that the way would be clear for Corrine to chase Gideon down the second time in his life, this time dragging him to the altar.  Gideon fooling Corrine, through his actions, that she's really more than a friend, and Gideon letting the world think he and Corrine are fully back together (i.e. sexually) is karmic justice for Corrine having tried to fool Eva that she (Corrine) and Gideon were more than just friends.Â

 Excellent point, Mrs. C. -- Gideon's treatment for the atypical sexual parasomnia involves a combination of sleep medication plus therapy to address the underlying issues.  As long as Gideon and Eva need to keep their relationship secret -- so that the cops cannot gather any more evidence pointing to Gideon having motive -- they cannot resume couples' therapy. Perhaps part of the resolutions in the book involve Gideon and Eva resuming treatment as a couple -- and especially Gideon resuming individual treatment for his trauma issues.

 Good question.  Plus, how is she going to explain Gideon having been in her room the first night of Entwined? Because Cary overheard them the last time Gideon was in there. Perhaps Cary will sleep through it this time -- sleep because he's passed out from narcotics he's started abusing?  She's definitely not going to tell him the real truth about why she's back with Gideon. And if Cary thinks the situation is simply Gideon cheating on Corrine by sneaking around to f*** Eva, then things could get ugly.

 When he first was injured, he would have been put on strong doses of pain meds.  But now, weeks later, his physical recovery should be far enough along that he can start tapering off the dose and come off the medication.  That's the crisis point for drug addicts who are put into a medical position (injuries, surgery) where they are forced to take pain medication. Once it becomes no longer medically necessary to take the drugs, like all patients, the addicts are supposed to stop.  The complication comes if they continue to do so anyway. Then they start abusing the drug by taking increasing amounts.  Oxycontin is an incredibly addictive drug, so things could get ugly fast. Especially with someone who also drinks.  We know Cary does love to drink. The very first line of the Crossfire series involves him telling Eva they should head to a bar to celebrate.  Cary's partying continues to be a theme in both books.  One of the biggest themes in the book -- the whole brunette fixation, what does it mean? -- came up in chapter one of Bared. Our first hint was the brunette in the Crossfire lobby trying to drag Gideon's attention away from Eva.  What if Cary's propensity to party, which also comes up in Bared chapter one, also turns out to be our first red flag of something that will become major.  I'm very scared for poor Cary -- his life still in literal danger because of Nathan.