Page 87 of Guarded Knight

Then, a knock at the door.

I wait. Wait for footsteps that don’t come. For breathing. For a voice. But all I hear is a throbbing whoosh in my ears.

The silence is a soundless scream.

The doorknob rattles, and I jump again, holding the arms of the chair like I’m on a roller coaster and I can’t wait to get off.

I watch the doorknob as if through a telescope and it’s the only thing in my view.

It turns slowly, and the sound scrapes across my spine. Then the door groans on its hinges like something out of a nightmare.

It isn’t locked. It doesn’t have to be for him to be trespassing, and as Gabriel said, if the hunter didn’t make it easy for prey to get in the trap, they wouldn’t catch anything.

I freeze. The breath turns to stone in my throat. The door inches open another fraction. Then another. My body won’t respond. It’s like I’m watching from somewhere outside myself, too detached to run, too afraid to even flinch. This isn’t adrenaline. This is dread. Heavy. Paralyzing.

I have to remember this isn’t a cabin anymore. It’s a stage. And Gabriel, masked and waiting in the wings, is the one pulling the strings.

A rush of air sweeps in from the crack in the door. Cold. Damp. Sharp with pine and something metallic… like blood.

I don’t blink. I don’t even breathe. There’s no point. Behind me there is no exit, no way out.

For one terrible, splintering second, I wonder if Gabriel’s too late. If I’m alone. If I’m about to be swallowed whole.

Then Cameron finally appears in the doorway.

His eyes land on me. Wide and wild.

“You’re here.” He steps into the room. “All I want is closure…” He takes one more step, then two, closing the space between us. “…and to tell you that…”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Gabriel explodes from the shadows.

Camouflage. Balaclava. A weaponized ghost.

Gabriel’s hand slams over Cameron’s mouth. He yanks him backward so hard his feet lift off the floor. He’s dragged farther into the cabin and pinned against the wall so fast, he barely manages a grunt. Gabriel slams the door shut behind them. One smooth motion, efficient and brutal.

Cameron lets out a blindsided cry when Gabriel twists his arm, locking it behind his back.

Anton’s through the door a second later, gun drawn.

I’m still frozen in the chair as Gabriel zip-ties Cameron’s wrists and forces him to the floor.

He pats him down. “Don’t move.” Gabriel’s tone is lethal.

I gasp. My hand flies to my mouth, trembling now, but not with fear. With relief so violent it makes me dizzy.

Gabriel turns. Pulls off the mask. His eyes find mine.

He crosses the room in two strides. Drops to one knee in front of me.

“You okay?”

I nod. “Yes. I mean… he didn’t do anything…” My own words hit me as if they’ve come from as far away as an alternate universe let alone my own body.

“He didn’t try to hurt me…” I reassure Gabriel because he looks like he’s about to burn the world down and throw Cameron into the flames.

I glance over. Cameron is white as a sheet.

He’s unarmed. He looks truly terrified. He’s not the stalker I built up in my mind. Right now, he’s nothing more than just some grown-up frat boy, sprawled on the floor, whining about his rights. Just like the Cameron I knew. The one I broke up with.