Corrupted Queen - Nicole Fox Page 0,36
remember how excited she was when she started seeing Killian, the brightness in her voice as she told me about the daring stranger who wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was all a lie, and he had been rotting her from the inside out this whole time.
“Which brings me to my next point,” Gabriel continues smoothly. “You are obviously still a target for those loyal to the dead Walsh, which means that Harry is too. Neither of you are to leave this estate without me, or at least four guards. And you may only leave for trips I deem essential.”
“No!” I cry, jumping to my feet. “I’m not doing that again! All I’ve done for months now is hide and run. I want my life back.”
I was so hopeful when Gabriel let me go see Clara—hopeful that I’d be able to return to some level of normalcy, that we were brewing a kind of trust between us. I missed my independence, and having that sliver of it dangled in front of me and then ripped away fills me with panic.
Will I ever get to wander through the streets again? I miss the simple things most—browsing through my neighborhood’s bodega, sitting with Harry in the park on a sunny afternoon, grabbing a drink after work with Clara. Those days are gone now, those privileges revoked.
Gabriel rises to his feet and walks around the desk, towering over me. “This is not a negotiation, Alexis. I will not risk anything happening to you or my son.”
“I can agree to your terms for Harry, but you have to let me decide for myself how much danger I’m willing to risk.”
He gives a short shake of his head. “No, I don’t.”
I glower up at him, throwing the full weight of my anger into my stare. My fists clench at my sides, chest heaving with my breaths.
“You don’t care about me,” I snap. “You just want to own me and control me. It’s sick and I won’t stand for it.”
I expect him to bite back some cruel retort, or maybe even to kiss me, but the last thing I expect Gabriel to do is to rest his hand on my cheek and look deep into my eyes.
For a second I think he’s going to say something nice. Hell, maybe I’m even about to get a second apology.
But then Gabriel’s gaze narrows and he leans closer, breath tickling my lips. My stomach flutters.
His voice is low and firm. “You will abide by my rules, Alexis. And because of that you will stay alive and unharmed.”
He releases my cheek and steps back around the desk. The dismissal is clear.
My heart is pounding so hard that I’m sure he can hear it. I swallow and try to think of something to say—anything—but the truth is that I’m so turned on from his proximity and the deadly authority he spliced into his command that my brain has short-circuited.
Why does he have that effect on me? How is that fair? I’m a woman who values her independence and free will, and yet a thrill runs through me from toe to tail every time Gabriel tells me what to do.
Worse, he knows it.
The house is quiet. I left my room five minutes ago on the pretense of getting a late-night snack, and I know I don’t have long before one of the guards comes looking for me. The only thing I’m hungry for is the truth, and I’m determined to get a taste of it tonight.
I have spent a few evenings sneaking around the mansion, trying to overhear conversations when Gabriel is at home, and noting down his absences when he is not. I’ve been keeping as detailed a record of his comings and goings as possible, though it is difficult when I am under what feels like constant scrutiny by the staff. I suppose it’s my own fault for escaping once before. I wonder how many people were fired—or worse—following my last disappearance.
The purpose of my sneaky nighttime strolls is mainly to search the house for clues while I am not being observed. I have browsed all the bookshelves, opened all the cabinets and drawers, and peeked behind all the picture frames. So far I have not found anything that connects Gabriel to the purple heroin trade, but I didn’t expect it to be that easy. Gabriel would not put anything incriminating where I could stumble across it.
The mansion’s few locked doors on the other hand …
One of these doors