AUTHORS NOTE: First published on the site in November 2017.

This story has been given a complete overhaul, hopefully all removing typo's and errors I missed the first time around, the main story remains intact and has not been altered other than to remove errors & omissions.

oooOOOooo

When book 4 eventually came out I was surprised that it didn't answer any of the questions previously raised in the first three books and actually only seemed to produce a whole lot more and appeared to be more of a recap on what had already happened. Having said that, I was keen to read book 5, as I like to finish what I have started and to find out the answers to the questions previously raised.

When it did eventually appear and I did read it, to say that I was completely underwhelmed and totally disappointed would be an understatement. I was pretty shocked at how nothing whatsoever was really answered satisfactorily, the characterisation seemed to go to pot, and as it went on it really felt like someone else had written it.

None of the questions raised throughout the quintet of books appeared to be brought to a conclusion, with the exception of why Monica was the way she was, but I thought that the explanation given was beyond ridiculous and farfetched. It was also so full of plot holes, it raised even more questions than it answered, the biggest one being, if you have stolen someone's identity do you really go and give your daughter their surname? I would say the answer to that is no, so why did she give her daughter the name of a man and family she despised? Then there is the fact that we were told that Monica made a point of marrying rich and powerful men, she made a career out of being a trophy wife, which was said more than once through the series. Now here's the thing with that, rich and powerful men tend to attract publicity, a point which Ms Day pushed repeatedly for Gideon, but not it seems for Richard Stanton who I would assume would have also attracted his own substantial share of media interest considering the description she gave him as 'mega financier Richard Stanton who had the reputation of the Midas touch' so with his position making him and his family familiar faces in the media, I would say again that, that is something which you wouldn't really want, if you are trying to keep a low profile because you have stolen someone's identity.

Other questions which weren't answered or were raised due to the fact the author seemed to forget what she had previously written, during this story were: Weren't we told repeatedly throughout the entire series that Gideon only had sexual encounters in the hotel room he kept? At one point in an earlier book Gideon himself clarified the fact he sometimes didn't even have sex, but just sexual contact, but it was always in the hotel room. When Eva accused him of having a quicky with Corinne in his office in book 2 he threw back at her that - wouldn't he have taken her to the hotel? So that being the case, then how the hell did a photograph come to light of him having a threesome in a public club? What the hell happened with Landon? if you are going to introduce a brand new character so late in the day, there has to be a damn good reason for it and it has to be leading to something big and important, and we were led to believe that there was going to be something huge happen, but then it didn't, it just fizzled out and in the end was simply dismissed. What about Tat/Cary, the baby and Trey? That was just pushed aside and dismissed in the end with no real conclusion. Why was Detective Graves so compassionate towards Eva and keen to protect Gideon even though she was pretty certain her hunch about him killing Nathan was correct? That was never fully explained or explored fully. Finally, the epilogue was completely pointless with no answers, and to have an epilogue which was set a few days after the end of the main story was (in my opinion) ridiculous.

To be completely fair though, it wasn't a total car crash, as some other concluding books to a series which I have previously read have been, there were good parts throughout both books 4 and 5. So, bearing all that in mind, my mind has been working for a while on what should have happened, how things should have gone down, how the unanswered questions should have been answered and how the series should have ended. I have recently read the whole quintet again and pinpointed the areas which (in my opinion) need addressing. I have taken the story back to the end of the third book and done my version of the ending from that point, as I think that is where it started to fall apart, and it could easily have been wrapped up with book 4. I will say though, that some parts will mirror the official books, because as I have already said, there were some good parts in both books 4 and 5, but this is how I think it 'should' have ended. Enjoy!

I do not own the Crossfire Series of books or its characters.

COMPLETELY WITH YOU

CHAPTER ONE

We are standing near a plane emblazoned with the Cross Industries logo at a breezy airport, it is late in the evening and yet it's still almost unbearably hot, the only saving grace is the warm wind which is whipping around us. The air maybe warm but it does nothing to quell the chill emanating through me at this moment, and the ache which I am feeling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of boarding the plane and leaving behind the man who is standing next to me, even though it is only for a weekend.

The man, who is at this moment, gripping me tightly in his arms, seemingly unable to let me go. I look up into those amazingly brilliant blue eyes, and all I see radiating from them is sadness and fear, and it's killing me to see it. I know for a fact that Gideon doesn't want me to go to California without him, I know this because I feel the same, I don't want to go without him, but I have to, this is something I have to do.

He had insisted that we took one of his planes, rather than fly commercial and as we stand here at the airport, all I can think of is that I want him with me. I try and push those thoughts from my mind before they overwhelm me and I beg him to get on the plane with me because I know he will and for what I have to do, he really can't be there. I have explained to him why I wanted, no, why I needed to go with Cary, and why he shouldn't accompany us, I've explained to him how I am planning on telling Cary and possibly my father as well that we are now married, and both he and I know that is a conversation I have to have alone.

I've also told him how we want to see Dr Travis and how at the moment Cary is a complete mess and needs me. With everything that is going on in his life at the moment with Trey, Tatiana and the baby he is overwhelmed, and as a result he is struggling, and when Cary struggles he self-destructs, he needs me, I am his safe place, and if I am honest, I am harbouring an enormous sense of guilt at the fact I haven't been there for him recently, as much I should have been.

There is also the biggest thing I need to do while I am in California and that is going to confront Brett about this whole sex tape, video thing, and it is best Gideon isn't around for that one, especially after his reaction when I had told him of my plan to see Brett while I was in San Diego, he had immediately thought I would be running off with Brett or something, my mind fills with memories of that conversation last night...

"Gideon," I say carefully.

"Hmmm" he replies, he is relaxed and we are lying in the bed wrapped around each other, I know I am potentially spoiling this idyllic moment but I need to tell him.

"Erm... when I am in San Diego, which as I have already told you is predominantly to spend time with Cary and try and get him stable again…" I pause.

"And tell him we are married" Gideon puts in, gripping me tightly.

"Yes, and telling him we are married," I agree.

I pause again a moment and I touch his chest, "but there is something else I need to do" I say hesitantly.

Gideon looks at me questioningly and waits patiently for me to explain, I start getting anxious as I know as soon as I mention my reason the response isn't going to be positive.

"Spit it out Angel, tell me what you need to say," he says.

I take a deep breath and swallow hard and look him straight in the eye, those beautiful astonishingly blue eyes and I feel my hand curling into a fist on his chest, "I have learnt that Six Ninths are going to be there doing a show, and I have arranged to see Brett to speak to him."

I stop and wait for the reaction, because I know for certain that there will be one.

I feel him stiffen considerably at the mention of Six Ninths and I rub my hand up and down his strong arms to try and offer some sort of comfort.

"You're telling me that is a problem," he says coldly.

I turn to face him, and see his eyes have turned icy, but I keep his gaze as I shake my head and answer him.

"No it's not a problem," I say firmly not wanting this to get out of hand.

"Don't lie to me," he says sharply.

This makes me angry, "Hey, I'm not lying to you, I am being open, honest and truthful with you, I need to know if Brett knew about that damn tape, I need to ask him face to face, so I can look him in the eye and find out for certain one way or the other" I say firmly.

Before he can reply to that I speak again.

"Just remember that I didn't have to tell you this Gideon, but I did because I don't want any more secrets between us" I add, as I try to grab the moral high ground.

"I knew they were going to be there, I own their damn record label," he says coldly after a moment's silence, he looks at me again.

"Will you tell him you are married?" he asks after another pause, his tone is almost challenging me to refuse and say no.

I try not to bite and make this escalate any more than it already has and I simply nod, I'm still a little taken aback that he knew they were going to be there and was clearly waiting to see if I would tell him.

"Of course I will, if it comes up" I say, but I regret saying that immediately as I see his eyes harden and he stiffens.

"Meaning what exactly?" he spits.

I start to lose patience with him, "Don't be like this, please Gideon. If Brett starts again about us being together I will tell him that we are married" I say trying desperately to sound reasonable and I wait for him to respond.

"I don't like this, I don't want you seeing him," he says stubbornly.

I sigh and rub my eyes, "Gideon, I have to, I have to know, you have nothing to worry about, I love you, I chose you, I married you," I say holding up my hand and waving my finger with the huge diamond ring sitting on it at him.

He shakes his head, "There is something between you two, and it's something I can't put my finger on, what is it?" He asks.

"Nothing!" I exclaim and then sigh, "I will admit it is a bit confusing for me, because how Brett is behaving now, well, he is behaving how I wanted him to back in the day when we were together and never did, and it's giving me a bit of a head trip, but it makes no difference, because I love you" I wait and see his face harden.

"Don't look at me like that," I say as he glares at me.

"You'll have to forgive me, I am listening to my wife tell me that she's confused over another man" he hisses.

"Jesus Christ Gideon! You are twisting my words, it's not like that," I say and I try to untangle myself to gain a bit of distance between us, but Gideon just holds on tighter and pulls me closer.

"Does he turn you on Eva, is it his voice? Is it his tattoos?... His dick?" He hisses in my ear.

"Stop this" I yell and push his arms to try and free myself.

He relentlessly hangs on to me, "You said yourself, Eva, he treated you like shit, but just because he is now behaving how you wanted him to back then, does that make you forget, does he give you something you need that I'm not giving you?" he says.

I pause in my attempt to struggle free and look at him, with those words he has told me the basic truth about why he is reacting the way he is and I look him in the eye and I see it, although his voice is hard, I can see the fear and vulnerability in his eyes, that he is trying desperately to hide, but instead of reassuring him, my anger gets the better of me.

I stare at him in shock, "Have you completely lost your mind? Of course, he doesn't! Please don't be like this Gideon – you have nothing to worry about, I love you, so stop being like this," I say trying to keep myself calm so I can reassure him rather than just shout at him.

"I'm being remarkably civilised considering how I am feeling at this moment," Gideon says and that does it, my temper snaps.

"So tell me what you are feeling, do you think I am going to fall into his arms and forget all about you?" I say.

"That is what you did at the concert, I caught you kissing him... do you remember that night because I do?!" he throws at me, I stare at him in shock at the way he threw that night back in my face.

I shake my head "You bastard, why are you throwing that back at me again? You said you'd forgiven me, you said it was over!"

I glare at him and he does look a little uncomfortable now but the fact he isn't saying anything is making my anger rise even more. I poke my finger in his chest and get right in his face.

"If you want to bring up that night again then fine, we will, for the record what you didn't see that night was the moment when I first saw Brett, do you know what I did when I first laid eyes on him?" I ask, Gideon stares at me clearly shocked at my outburst and he shakes his head.

"I ran Gideon, I ran, not towards him, I tried to get away, I didn't want to see him, that is the reason why I didn't want to go backstage when we took Shawna and Arnoldo back there, that is why I wanted to go out to the car, because I didn't want to see Brett, so when I walked outside and there he was, I ran, but he caught me, and he kissed me, he kissed me Gideon, he made the first move, yes I admit that I kissed him back but it was only for a moment, I realised what I was doing and I pushed him away, and you saw me do that, you saw me push him away, as that was when you were charging at him," tears start to fall down my cheeks and I bat them away angrily.

I take a deep breath and look him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry I hurt you before, and I hate that you are upset now, but I don't want him, I swear I don't want him and I need to do this, I need to face him and I need to ask him about the tape, I need to know, and I don't need you crucifying me for it." I wait, tears still falling down my cheeks.

I watch as he visibly sags and starts stroking my arms.

"Angel" he whispers, "please don't cry, I'm so sorry, I just… I just feel like I'm hanging on the edge of a cliff and my grip is slipping... my grip on you," he says.

"So you tear at me to hold on, why don't you believe that I'm not going anywhere, I love you, I chose you, I married you, you have to trust me on this," I say...

My mind comes back to the here and now, I think I had managed to convince him last night, or it could have been the early hours of this morning, so, he knows why he shouldn't be there but it doesn't stop him needing to be there, and it also doesn't stop me wanting him with me either.

However, I also know this isn't healthy and we have to spend some time apart and this is a good example of one of those times where we both have to be strong and do what we need to do and trust each other to do the right thing.

I am pulled from my thoughts by the deep voice at my ear, "You will call me when you land," he demands, staring straight into my eyes, I nod and press a small kiss to his lips.

Immediately, I am pulled into a passionate embrace and Gideon takes over the kiss and he pulls me close, pressing my body flush against his. I wrap my arms around him letting him devour me and the kiss lingers for what seems like an eternity. We are both panting, gasping for breath when we finally break apart, and he rests his forehead against mine.

"I'm really not happy about this Angel," he says quietly.

I reach up and cup his jaw with my hand, I watch as he closes his eyes and leans into my touch, nuzzling against my hand. I marvel at the fact I am able to produce this sort of reaction from him and that I am capable of making him feel the way I do.

He opens his eyes and continues to speak, "I understand what you have to do and I know you have to do it, but I don't like the fact you will be the other side of the country from me for a whole weekend."

He grips me even more tightly, almost too tightly as he says this, giving me no doubt of just how much he resents this separation.

"I know, I'm not ecstatic about it either but I have to do this, and you have to trust me, I'm your wife, and I love you, I choose you every time," I say earnestly.

I watch his reaction as he thinks about what I have just said, and his eyes dart to my finger which displays the ring he gave me when we married on the beach in the Caribbean, a ring which to everyone else is an engagement ring, the symbol of an as yet unfulfilled promise of marriage, but it holds a far deeper significance to us, this ring is the physical evidence of the deeper, permanent grip Gideon has on me, and seeing him looking intently at it tells me, he is reassuring himself that he still has that unbreakable hold on me, that he isn't falling off that cliff he talked about last night, I lift his hand to my mouth and press a kiss to his wedding ring, wordlessly letting him know that he has me and that I am not going anywhere.

Eventually, he smiles and nods at me. I take this small gesture of acceptance, albeit a grudging one, as an opportunity to break away and head towards the steps of the plane, where Cary is leaning casually, waiting for me to join him, because if I don't do it now I will crumble and I won't go.

Gideon follows me and looks straight at Cary as we approach him.

"Take care of her" he demands sharply and he stares at Cary looking for his response.

I know Gideon isn't overly happy about my relationship with Cary, he has never said anything and he has even offered Cary the guest apartment adjacent to his fifth avenue penthouse so that when I move in with him, Cary will still be able to be a major part of my life, but I believe that he merely tolerates him, because he knows he is important to me, and for that I love him even more.

Cary wraps his arm around my shoulder, "Goes without saying" he says with a grin.

He turns to me, "Ready baby girl?"

I nod and with one last look at Gideon, we board the plane.

As we enter the plane I notice Raul sitting quietly in the corner, at first I am surprised to see him there, but then when I consider it I know that I should have realised Gideon wouldn't want me to be apart from him without some sort of link to him present to watch over me.

I quickly send a text to Gideon, letting him know I've seen Raul and that am not totally happy about it.

So you've also sent Raul to babysit me?

He is there to help protect you is the almost immediate response.

I shake my head,

Don't you trust me? I retort.

His reply to that is immediate.

I do trust you but I need you safe, just pretend Raul isn't there.

I sigh, pick your battles Eva, I think to myself, and I respond with that in mind.

Ok, I love you x

A moment later Gideon's reply comes through, and I smile as I read it the single word which signifies so much.

Crossfire x

We are about an hour into the flight when I finally pluck up the courage to speak to Cary and tell him about Gideon and me being married. My reason for it is because I am sitting with my laptop creating a social media profile. For years, fear of Nathan finding me again had always made me shy away from such things, having the shroud of anonymity as protection against my former step-brother and rapist.

"What are you doing baby girl?" Cary asks, his words slurring a little from the travel sickness pills he had taken which were now clearly kicking in.

"Setting up a social media account, and deciding exactly what I want to share with the world," I say as I send Gideon a friend request.

I smile as almost immediately he responds, accepting the link and then I get a similar request from him stating he wants to announce that we are 'engaged' rather than just simply 'friends'.

I pause and then accept the notification before I look up and meet Cary's eyes. Which are wide and his eyebrows are raised.

"Big step," he says.

I nod in agreement, I know that now Nathan is gone I don't have anything to worry about but I still don't want my entire life spread out for everyone and anyone to see, so I methodically go through my brand new social media account and set reasonably strict privacy settings so that I still feel that I have control over what I reveal.

I take a deep breath, and look towards Cary once more, "Gideon and I are married" I say, blurting out the secret I have wanted to share with him since we married on the beach.

His head whips up and he stares at me incredulously, "WHAT?!" he snaps loudly.

I see Raul glance our way at the hostility in Cary's tone and he simply watches us carefully.

"I said Gideon and I are married, when we went to the Caribbean last weekend we eloped, Gideon had it all planned and we just did it," I say waiting for the next response.

"What the hell?" Cary splutters.

"I love him, it was inevitable" I state a little defensively.

"It's too damn soon, you both have a boatload of issues, and separately you are struggling but together..." he trails off and shakes his head.

"I don't disagree, I thought it was too soon as well but Gideon believes it will make us stronger in the long term" I pause.

Cary shakes his head again, "all you will do is destroy each other. What about his nightmares? What about your issues? What about his grand canyon sized mood swings? What about..."

"Ok, I get it" I snap as I cut him off, "thanks for the good wishes, good to know you are happy for us" I add sarcastically but I know Cary is right, everything he has just said is what I had been thinking over and over since I agreed to marry Gideon, but then I remember what else I thought, that failure isn't an option... even it destroys us in the process?

Cary closes his eyes and rolls over, I know this news hasn't been received well by the way his body is ramrod stiff on the sofa, but I don't say anything. I leave him alone and let him come to terms with it.

"When are you planning on announcing this?" Cary asks, his back still turned away from me.

"We're not, you are the only one who knows the truth, as far as everyone else and the world is concerned we are engaged and will marry at Christmas, in reality, that will be a vow renewal for us, but it will be the public spectacle demanded of someone so public as Gideon."

I stop and stare at my ring, before continuing, "It was perfect Cary, it was just us, no media, no-one who meant us ill will, just me and Gideon on a beach declaring our love and commitment to each other," I stop again waiting for Cary's response.

I hear Cary sigh deeply and he rolls over to face me, "I get that part, all Cross has to do is sneeze and it makes the evening news, but I still think it's far too soon, and you know why but..." he stops and shrugs and I smile at him.

"I'll still always be there for you Cary, this doesn't change anything between us" I state.

I see him consider this and he nods, "I know, and same goes for me baby girl."

I feel myself sag with relief, Cary isn't happy about this, but he accepts it and I think he knows deep down that Gideon makes me happy and that means more to me than anything.

"Are you going to tell Victor?" Cary asks.

I shake my head, "I don't know, I am going to play it by ear, maybe I will, maybe not" I wait for his response to this.

He nods, "Ok, for what it's worth, I think you should," he says and with that, he rolls over again and moments later I hear his breathing alter and deepen and then I hear steady snores which indicate that he has fallen asleep.

I pick up my phone and send a text to Gideon.

I've told Cary we are married.

His response is immediate.

Are you still friends?

I smile and quickly tap my reply.

He'll come around, he has reservations and worries but he hasn't disowned me

There is a slight delay before I receive a reply to that one, and when it does come I gasp and tears fill my eyes, as I read the words he is so reluctant to tell me because he insists that they are inadequate for the way he feels about me.

I love you so much x

My fingers are typing a response before I realise what I am doing.

I love you too with all my heart and I am missing you already x

His response to that one is typically Gideon,

Turn the plane around then and come home to me.

I smile as I read it and shake my head.

This is getting a little too heavy so I change the subject with my next text to him to lighten the mood.

I am building my social media profile and I'm so happy to be 'your friend' – is it sad that I'm as happy to be your friend as I am to be your wife?

I type this, in reference to our social media link which we've now established. His response is almost instant.

No, I am just as happy to be your lover as I am to be your husband, and I can't wait to announce the fact I am the latter to the world x