Page 59 of Gabriel

“I’m not,” Amara protested.

Elira didn’t pay her any mind.

“Yes, she is.” Elira pinned me with a look as if she was proving a point. “I knew it the minute she spent an hour picking earrings for dinner. You don’t accessorize for kidnapping unless you’re emotionally compromised.”

I glanced up at the cuffs biting into my wrists, then around at the two women in the room. Both could probably kill me with a teaspoon and would argue over who would get the honors.

The absurdity of it hit me all at once as I muttered, “Lucky me.”

Somewhere deep in the back of my brain, Luis’s voice echoed, warning me that I was fucked. And honestly? I was starting to feel like it too.

Amara

After leaving Gabriel handcuffed, I made my way back into the cramped office with Elira at my heel, somber and silent. Once inside, I turned around and looked at her.

“What the hell was that?” I hissed.

She blinked. “What now?”

“Something’s off, Elira. I know you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure what you’re suggesting. Yes, we warned Gabriel off, but that shouldn’t be anything new. Jet and I are your older siblings, and your safety is our responsibility.”

I scoffed. “Because I can’t take care of myself?”

“No, because you’re family.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Okay, then explain to me what you’re up to.”

Her shoulders tensed, but her expression never changed. “I’m not following.”

“I can understand you warning Gabriel to stay away from me, but throwing around words like ‘shagging’? I don’t get it. Seriously, what the hell is going on?”

Elira shrugged. “Maybe I had a change of heart.”

“Maybe?”

She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Well, the guy has been relentless for years. It must mean he cares for you, and I can admit, maybe he isn’t so bad.”

My mouth parted in shock. “You can’t be serious.”

“You like him, Amara.”

She wasn’t wrong, but Elira wasn’t the kind of person who changed her mind easily, and it seemed off that she would so readily decide that Gabriel was right for me. Especially now, after getting that message from Jet.

That familiar uneasiness flickered to life while I watched my sister, but before I could dwell on it, Elira broke the silence.

“Tell me you’re not attracted to him and don’t feel some… I don’t know… some romantic feelings toward him,” she insisted. “I saw how you were flirting with him at the restaurant. I’ve never seen you like that before.”

This sudden switch in Elira didn’t sit well with me and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was more to it than just her acceptance.

“Okay, let’s say—hypothetically—that I like him.”Like himseemed to be a slight understatement, but that wasn’t the point. “And whatever this attraction is, it was around for a while. Yet you and Jet threatened him to keep his distance, but suddenly now you’re okay with it.”

She let out a heavy sigh and threw herself on the chair. “Like I said, Amara. I came to my senses. Why do we have to dwell on the errors of the past?”

“Hmmm,” I hummed.

I was all for moving on, but there was still something off, and if my instincts were to be believed, I wouldn’t learn whateverthatwas from Elira. Not today, anyhow.