AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t even know who it is, Gabriel,” she whispers, taking a step back. The pain in her eyes is evident. “You didn’t even tell me.” Her focus moves to the fire as the deception and reality hit her.
She paces the floor, twisting her hands behind her back. “Youknewthat there were issues. Youknewthat someone was making threatening gestures, and you didn’ttellme?”
It’s silent a moment, deathly silent apart from the fire that rages behind her. Adrenaline pumps hard in my veins, and I know I could have told her. I could have showed up, fucked her, and then the very next day informed her that I’d brought danger to her front door. My throat tightens. “This isn't how I planned it. I didn’t want to keep anything from you. It simply didn’t seem necessary.”
Outrage flashes across her beautiful eyes, and a part of me fucking loves the fight in her. The independence. But I’ll be damned if I worry her more than I need to. I’ll be damned if put her in danger for the sake of her being strong on her own.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Kiersten shakes her head. “Gabriel, whoever it is, I have my own—”
I step forward, closing the distance between us. We’re close, like any minute she could slap me or we could fall to the floor making love again. I don’t really know which. I just know that she’smine.“Kiersten, I’d rather die than let you leave my sight again.”
She’s silent, but her expression says it all. How it softens, how the flash in her eyes is of something else now. Something we had long ago.
“I want you to know, I’ll allow security because I’m not a damn idiot,” she tells me and swallows thickly, her gaze never leaving mine. “But I’m damn pissed that you kept this from me. I’m going to need a little space and a little time.”
The back of my teeth clench as I bite down on every emotion and thought that screams in my head. “As long as you are with me or my team, you can have as much space and time as you need.” Just as she objects, I cut her off, unwilling to negotiate or discuss it further.
“You’re mine, Kiersten,” I tell her. “You can be pissed at me, but you’re still mine, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect you.”
Hours later, in the middle of the night
“I need... space,”Kiersten murmurs, and I knew it was coming. It’s all too much, and the fragile memory of what we once had can only burn for so long before it’s snuffed out. In my silence, she adds, “I need to think.”
Part of me wants to deny her, to tell her that she’s not leaving my sight. But I would rather give her what she needs than force her by my side.
I nod and point toward the back, maintaining a calm exterior. “The bedroom on the left across from the main is made up for sleeping. The other is being used by Roland and his men as an office, but you can have privacy there.”
“No cameras?” she asks, and I shake my head, trying not to smile. “Promise?”
“I don’t need film of you to remember how beautiful you are,” I tell her simply, and Kiersten stops in the doorway, looking back at me. There’s the spark, the flame that burns dimly in the chaos. I see it in her eyes. I hear it in the silence.
Time passes, and I know she feels it too. Even if I’ve fucked up.
“Every day without you was torture,” she says softly.
With that, she leaves, and I try to think through things as I wait for Roland and Joshua to finish their sweep. There’s nothing else for me to do other than watch the videos again and again and again, searching for some clue that I’ve maybe missed before.
Hours pass through the late night, and there’s nothing there. Not a damn thing that’s helpful. When Roland comes in, I’m already exhausted, frustrated, and fucking pissed. The sun peeks over the horizon, and while that might be only slightly late for Kiersten after running Club X for years, I’m still not quite adjusted, let alone able to sleep. “What did you find?” I ask Roland as he stands in the doorway, a grim look on his face.
“The neighborhood’s been swept twice. Full crew on duty.” He runs a hand over the back of his neck. Lack of sleep darkens his eyes.
I can only nod in understanding before clearing my throat and thanking him for the update.
“I’m at the door,” Roland says. “Unless you want me somewhere else.”
With nothing to go on and exhaustion weighing me down, I decide sleep may be needed, although I have no idea how I’d be able to with the ruminating thoughts of what will happen when we find him, or worse, if this man gets what it is that he wants.
I can’t help myself... I listen in at Kiersten’s door. Just to check on her. Just to know she’s alright. The creak of the bed alerts me to tossing and turning. Slowly, I open the door.
The queen-sized bed is made up with a flannel sheet and comforter set from a big box retailer, and the walls are a plain pale blue. I suspect that the former owner used this as a kid’s room. As she lies on her side on the bed and her heavy breathing raises her shoulders, all I can think is that this room is certainly not fit for a woman like her.
“Kiersten?” I whisper, but she gives me the cold shoulder, turning over and staring at the far wall. Sighing, I come over and sit on the edge of the bed. “I fucked up, I know. I should have told you about the threat. I was just... it’s been twenty years, and I just got you back. I didn’t want to risk things.”
“But you did risk it,” Kiersten says quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
