AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It took me a whole month to realize he wasn’t human. Karoly Kral was too canny to plaster his name on his hotels and casinos, and this was before the Dark Angels had become a thing. It’s not like I didn’t know vampires and dhampirs existed, but they were rich and powerful, and lived in New York penthouses or French chateaus or Singapore high-rises.
They didn’t wear shorts and baseball caps and hang out with smart but awkward twenty-one-year-old women.
Sure, Gabriel was different, but in a good way. His family obviously had money, but he didn’t make a big deal about it. Panty-melting good looks. And so into me I could hardly believe my luck.
By the time it dawned on me I was seeing a man with fangs and superhuman powers, it was too late. I was crazy in love with him.
* * *
On the seat beside me, Gabriel closed his laptop and put it away. My heart sped up.
Would he touch me?
Did I even want him to? He was angry and suspicious, not that I blamed him. If I were him, I wouldn’t trust me either. If he put his hands on me, would I be able to handle it without being torn apart by guilt?
But oh, it had been so long…
I shot him another glance. He met my eyes. His grass-green gaze seemed to penetrate clear to my soul.
I shifted uneasily. Why the hell had I pestered him about where we were going? It wasn’t even necessary.
The mic in my left earring was matched by the G.P.S. in my right earring. The security at Ruby’s had examined them, but they were apparently state of the art, because while the vampire on duty had taken my purse, she’d allowed me to wear the earrings into the club.
Which meant Andre and his thugs were probably right behind us.
The scotch sat heavy in my stomach. My mouth felt as dry as sand. I licked my lips. “Do you have any water?”
He touched a button, and the minibar slid out again. “Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” I selected a bottle of Evian and gulped half of it down before stowing it in the cupholder beside me.
The minibar was more like a minikitchen, with a couple of refrigerated compartments filled with drinks, ice, and sliced lemons and limes. Other compartments held both cold and warm snacks.
I fiddled with the bottles, checked out every compartment. Gabriel’s head rested against his seat, but I felt him watching me from beneath partially closed eyelids.
My skin prickled. The small space seemed to shrink even further. His heady scent was everywhere, teasing my nostrils, dredging up memories I’d tried to forget.
I took a slow breath and closed the mini-bar.
We were in Queens now. It was close to midnight, but the expressway was packed with cars heading out to Long Island. According to Andre, Gabriel owned a beach house in Montauk that he never took his women to. Andre had been sure Gabriel would take me to his Upper East Side penthouse.
Was it good or bad that he was taking me to his beach house instead?
I hugged my knees to my chest, digging my bare toes into the buttery leather seat.
The Krals kept a low profile, but they hadn’t become so powerful by playing nice. Karoly Kral was one of the most ruthless men in the world, and Gabriel was his eldest son and heir. And I was at his mercy.
I gripped my legs harder and buried my face in my knees.
I was inun bel pasticcio—a nice pie—as my Italian nonna used to say, a polite way of saying I was in deep shit.
Worse, Joey had been dragged into it. I didn’t know if I could ever forgive myself for that. Anguish squeezed my chest. By now, my parents must be frantic with worry. If only I could text them, let them know he was okay. But Andre hadn’t given me a phone, and even if he had, I wouldn’t have used it. He’d made it clear that Joey’s freedom—and maybe his life—depended upon my complete cooperation.
We pulled off the highway. I set my bare feet back on the floor and sat tall, fingers interlaced on my lap, face smooth and unconcerned.
You can do this.
We passed through several small, pretty towns before reaching the outskirts of Montauk. My nape tingled with the certainty that we were being followed. But I didn’t dare sneak a look behind us—not with Gabriel’s watchful gaze taking in my every move.
