Page 63 of Blood and Thorns (Twisted Ever After #1)

Arabella

Unfamiliar voices were arguing, my brain fuzzy as I lay against something soft. I forced myself to remain still, my breathing calm even as cotton coated my tongue.

“Shouldn’t she be up by now?” Gabriel growled, and I couldn’t help but flinch. “I was promised she wouldn’t be harmed.”

Shit.

Fingers brushed through my hair, and I jerked back. My wrist screamed in pain, metal screeching against metal as I tried to pull free from the handcuff keeping me locked tight.

“You’re finally awake. Good.” Gabriel sat at the edge of the bed, his torso bare other than a bandage wrapped around his waist. “I was worried.”

My stomach turned cold, the handcuff around my wrist cutting painfully into my skin as I tried to press myself further against the wall. “Gabriel–”

“Madame a dit qu'elle ne devait pas avoir d'invités,” a man dressed all in black interrupted. “Elle doit rester–”

“Can’t you see I’m fucking busy?” Gabriel sneered, never taking his attention off me. He had heavy circles beneath his eyes, and yet his gaze was razor sharp .

The man’s lips pursed before he nodded, closing the door behind him. It did very little to muffle the loud music coming from below. Loud enough I felt the vibrations through the bed.

“Now, are you going to behave?” Gabriel asked, the lethal threat of his voice hitting me like a whip. “You know I don’t want to hurt you, baby.” Scratches marked his arms where I’d caught him, and a bruise darkened his jaw.

I barely managed a nod, not moving a muscle as he reached across and undid the handcuff. I immediately pulled the arm to my chest, my wrist already darkening with a bruise.

“Where am I?” I asked, the words more of a croak.

Reaching over to the nightstand, Gabriel grabbed the glass of water. When I hesitated, he smirked. “Stop being dramatic; it’s not drugged.”

Still, I refused. “What have you done, Gabriel?”

“I’m saving you, like I said I would.” He placed the glass back on the nightstand, but it toppled, shattering against the floor. “Now look what you made me do!”

Quietly cursing, he rubbed at his jeans as the water spilled, and I quickly glanced around.

I was in a bedroom, the walls painted in deep purples, with a large bed and an expensive-looking frame.

The window outside showed a landscape that definitely wasn’t London, the sky dark enough to see the glittering stars.

Where the fuck was I?

“You couldn’t just come with me, could you?” he snapped, his movements frantic. “No, you had to fucking fight it, and now she’s involved.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” I whispered, jerking back when he jumped to his feet. “I didn’t mean it.”

Gabriel instantly calmed, just like he did every time I’d apologise in an argument.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ve even forgiven you for shooting me, and luckily it was a through and through, missing everything important.

” His smile was crooked as he knelt back on the bed, leaning over me. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”

His lips touched mine, and it took everything in me to remain still. To not fight and claw as revulsion swept through me. I even allowed him to deepen the kiss, for his tongue to explore my mouth as I forced myself not to bite down.

Pulling back, he pinned me with a heated look. He ripped at the T-shirt, the fabric tearing.

“Gabriel, please don’t!”

“Don’t?” he growled, grabbing my hands as I tried to push him away. “Do you know what I’ve had to do to get you here? You should be more grateful that I risked everything to save you.” He straddled my waist, his weight knocking the breath from my lungs.

“Gabriel…”

He squeezed my wrists, the bruise aching as he pressed his thumb purposely into the mark.

“I am grateful!” I lied. “I’m sorry.”

“Prove it.” His eyes narrowed on mine.

I wriggled beneath him, trying to get him to let go. “Please Gabriel… Stop!”

His expression darkened, his hands releasing my wrists, only for one to grab my breast, and the other to dip between my legs. I kicked at him, shoving with all my strength.

“Ara…” he hissed, trying to hold me down.

I hit at his wound, my knee knocking against the bandage on his lower stomach with as much strength as I could. He screeched, rearing back. The bandage immediately spotted red, his blood growing against the white.

“You stupid bitch!” He raised his fist, my head bouncing back against the bed from the impact when he struck. “This is all your fault! Why couldn’t you have just chosen me?!”

Pain shot through my skull, my arm coming up to block the next blow when a guard pulled him back.

“Madame has asked for your presence,” he commented, his eyes cold when they met mine. “I suggest you both make yourselves presentable.”

The borrowed black silk dress clung to my body, goosebumps prickling my skin as the night air stroked as if it could soothe my apprehension. The music had stopped, leaving a strange quiet but for the shuffling of shoes and quiet murmurs in a language I didn’t understand.

I really should’ve learned French.

“This way,” the guard said, his gravelly tone urging me forward even as he held a hand to the gun on his hip.

The house was elegant, with gold accents and large tapestries. Thick rugs decorated the tiled floors, my bare feet making no noise as we passed down several corridors to a set of glass double doors.

Gabriel waited for me there, but I refused to look at him. He’d put on a shirt, covering his bandage, but I knew he didn’t have time to change it as blood had seeped through to the fabric.

The guard opened the door, his arm sweeping out to the balcony that appeared to curl around the side of the opulent house.

Stepping outside, I gazed at the grounds, the house surrounded in a thick forest. The moon was high in the sky, but the way was illuminated by the warm glow of candles protected from the wind by glass.

The garden lights cast a soft glow, revealing figures moving several floors below.

They were tidying up, gathering what looked like scattered napkins and empty glasses. Tables and chairs were being collected and stacked neatly against the surrounding hedges, as if clearing the remnants of a party.

Turning the corner, I noticed a woman stood with the moon as a backdrop, her gaze on those below. On hearing our steps, she turned, a cigarette to her lips. She was beautiful, with her elegant gown and pearls around her throat. Her dark red hair was dyed, but even aged her face was memorable.

Her smile barely curved her lips, a hollow gesture stripped of warmth that was almost welcoming if it wasn’t for how her eyes narrowed.

They froze me in place, as if she was already debating what to do with me.

The same woman from Sebastian’s photograph. Margot Laurent.

“I don’t see it,” she said, glancing over to Gabriel as she breathed out a line of smoke. “I don’t see the obsession.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were grabbing her?” Gabriel snapped, his voice sharp with fury as he dragged me to the edge of the balcony, the balustrade coming to my waist. “You’re supposed to keep me in the loop. I’m meant to know every step of the plan.”

“And you were supposed to take down Sebastian, yet here we are.”

“What the fuck did you want me to do? Sebastian’s empire is airtight. It didn’t matter how hard I looked; I couldn’t find anything concrete to stick without getting caught. I’ve already turned someone close to them. These things take time.”

One of the guards stepped closer, crowding us further against the stone balcony until the edge dug against my back.

“Tu peux partir,” Margot said, dismissing the guard with an elegant flick of her hand before returning to Gabriel. “ Un petit garcon si incompétent et si pathétique . You couldn’t even shoot him right . ”

“I was trying not to hit Arabella,” Gabriel continued with a sneer, resentment vibrating from him. “Besides, you said you wanted him alive.”

“Hmm.” Margot turned her attention to me, her smile turning cruel. “Ah yes, Arabella. You have no idea how much you’ve interfered.”

“Ara’s mine. That’s what we agreed,” Gabriel growled. “I destroy Sebastian’s reputation, and I get to keep her.”

“Yet you failed,” Margot snapped back, blowing out more smoke. “You came to me, Detective. I agreed because you weren’t afraid to get your hands dirty. You told me yourself you’d do whatever it took to deliver results, take Sebastian down so long as your name stayed clean.”

A muscle in Gabriel’s jaw feathered, his teeth clenched tight as he grabbed my upper arm in frustration.

“But I’m sure your boss would be very interested to know how flexible your morals have become,” she continued with a manipulative purr. “Oh, that’s right. You’ve been suspended, all because of your desperation to get her back.”

I went to step away, his anger radiating from him in waves when Gabriel’s fingers dug deeper. “Where do you think you’re going?” he snarled.

He pushed me slightly, the old stone crumbling at my back until my upper body hovered over the side.

“Gabriel!” I cried, my nails clinging to his wrist as he held me suspended above several stories. The wind picked up, whipping violently, almost as if it was trying to suck me over .

“This is all your fault,” he spat. “All I wanted was to make you my wife. But now you’ll have to settle on being just another one of my holes.”

“Fuck you,” I hissed, wincing at the bruises forming beneath his grip. “I’ve never been yours.”

He pulled me back over until I was flush against his chest, my heart thumping against my ribs as I tried to twist out of his hold. “You’ve always been fucking mine.”

I fought with everything in me, my panic at the height and the foreboding wind giving me strength to hit out.

Gabriel let out a puff of air as I aimed for his wounded side once more, his grip loosening enough so I could shove him until it was his back that pressed against the edge.

It creaked beneath his weight before crumbling entirely.