my work, saying how great I am. But really, he just wants my body.’ Nausea bubbled up in her. ‘He’s nothing more than a glorified stalker.’
It was as if they’d been hypnotising her and suddenly she was back in the real world. What had she been thinking? How could she have allowed herself to be tempted?
She knew how. They’d been working on her. Trying to brainwash her.
Well, it wasn’t going to work.
‘I want to leave now. Where are my clothes? I want my SIM card too.’
Eden looked slightly panicked. She glanced up at the wall, towards what Ruth had assumed was a smoke alarm.
‘Is that a camera?’ Ruth asked. ‘It is, isn’t it?’ She gazed up at it. ‘Are you watching me now, Gabriel? Have you been spying on me the whole time, like some disgusting peeping Tom?’
‘Ruth, you’re making a big—’
She pushed Eden away and pointed a finger at what must be a camera. She raised her voice. ‘Let me tell you something, Gabriel. I will never sleep with you. I will never even touch you. You’re a fucking creep. You’re not going to induct me into this . . . this sex cult.’ She sucked in a deep breath. ‘You’re nothing more than Charles Manson with a fancy apartment. And if you think I’m going to let your diseased dick anywhere near me, you’re insane. Now let me the fuck out of here.’
She waited. Eden shook her head, like someone who had just watched a co-worker call their boss an asshole.
The door opened.
Gabriel came in. Ruth heard Eden gasp beside her, and Ruth herself took a step back, because he looked furious. Capable of violence.
‘You’re an ungrateful bitch, Ruth,’ he said with a tremor in his voice. ‘Do you know how much trouble we went to, to get you here? How much trouble you’re still causing? You’re staying here. You’re going to fulfil your destiny.’
‘My destiny? What the hell are you talking about?’
But he didn’t answer. Instead he grabbed hold of her by the arm and bared his teeth in her face. He was shaking with anger. She tried to pull away but Gabriel held on to her like a vice. He dragged her across the room and pushed her on to the bed.
‘Get the others,’ he said to Eden.
Chapter 35
I ran towards the door, intending to slide the deadlock across.
It was too late. The door swung open to reveal the dark-haired man standing there. His hand moved inside the blazer he was wearing.
I spun and scrambled into the living room, shutting the door and grabbing a chair, which I tilted and jammed beneath the handle. I looked around desperately. The knife I had taken from the kitchen was still in my backpack. But where the hell was my backpack? I had no time to find it. The man was rattling the door. The chair would only hold him back for seconds and, this time, Callum wasn’t here to save me.
Then I saw it. The fire escape that zig-zagged up the outside of the building. Access was through the window. As the man kicked at the door, I grabbed the window frame, praying it would open easily.
It did.
I stepped out on to the fire escape at the exact same moment the chair fell away and the door crashed open. The man came through and raised his gun. It was still the afternoon. If he shot me, it would surely attract attention from people on the street. But I wasn’t thinking about that. I was too scared to think much of anything at all.
There were steps going up and down, but I had an image in my head from movies I’d seen, of people escaping across New York rooftops, so I went up. I didn’t look back, just continued to climb as fast as I could. The iron steps were slippery from a rain shower that morning, and I almost lost my footing, desperately grabbing the railing.
I reached the next platform and glanced down to see my pursuer coming out through the window.
There was one more platform above me, on the top floor of the building, then a final staircase that led up to the roof. As I reached the last platform, he said my name, just loud enough for me to hear. I froze for a second, looking straight into my pursuer’s eyes as he raised the gun again. He had a clear shot.
‘There’s nowhere to go,’ he said, coming up the steps towards me. At the same