Standing casually at the edge of the roof, Gabe grinned at her. The moon turned his dark blond hair gold.
‘I’ve been looking for you.’
25
Leaping to her feet, Allie stood with her back against the chimney.
‘Gabe…? What the hell?’
Her heart was pounding, her lungs had compressed until her breath trickled through in short, quick bursts. Not enough to give her the oxygen she needed. Not enough to think.
‘Nice to see you, too,’ he said.
He was athletic and tall, all blond hair and muscles. Smiling coldly as he tossed a pebble up in to the air and caught it with ease. Even so, knowing what she knew about him, Allie couldn’t believe she’d ever thought he was handsome.
She was looking at a viper in human form.
She cast a desperate glance across the empty roof, as if help might suddenly appear. But she was all alone. Just the way she’d wanted it.
‘How did you find me?’
His grin widened. ‘You should turn on the lights in your room, Allie. I was this close to you.’ He held out his hands so only a tiny gap of air separated them.
A chill ran down her spine, raising the fine hairs on the back of her neck.
She thought of all the shadowy corners of her room – he’d been in one of them, and she never knew.
He tossed the pebble in the air again, watching her with a knowing look.
‘I thought about killing you then, while you were cry-babying it all over your desk. But then you went out the window.’ He caught the pebble. ‘And that gave me a better idea.’
Allie couldn’t seem to get her mind to work properly. Fear had frozen her synapses.
This can’t be happening. He can’t be here.
He was in a farmhouse with Nathaniel. None of this was remotely possible.
How did he get in? she asked herself, as she fought to stay calm. We sealed the gate.
Gabe tossed the pebble aside. Allie heard the faint clatter as it hit the tiles and rolled down and over the edge. She never heard it hit the ground.
‘This is getting boring,’ he said, an irritated look on his face.
She had to talk to him. Distract him. Somehow she had to make enough noise so somebody could hear them up here.
She thought through the things she’d learned from the guards. Nine’s derision for the boy who called himself Number One.
Use that.
‘What do you want, Gabe?’ She adopted a cool attitude, hands on her hips. ‘Does Nathaniel even know you’re here? I thought he was keeping you on a short leash after you screwed up in London.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Screwed up? What the hell are you talking about, Sheridan? I was perfect. Ask your grandmother how perfect I was.’ A malicious smile spread across his face. ‘Oh wait. She’s not around anymore.’
She was too scared to get angry.
‘I got the impression Nathaniel kind of thought that was the opposite of perfect,’ she said. ‘It seemed like he thought you messed up.’
He snorted a laugh but she could see the tension in his shoulders.
‘Nathaniel doesn’t know how to thank me for solving his problems,’ he snapped. ‘That guy has issues.’
‘Really?’ Allie struck a sympathetic note, although it made her stomach churn. ‘I guess he was a little unfair.’
‘He’s a tosser,’ Gabe said. ‘But he won’t be here for long.’
What did that mean?
The more Allie thought about it, the more this didn’t make sense. Dom’s team had been listening to Nathaniel’s guards nonstop. They weren’t planning any operations.
Nathaniel had Carter. He was working a trade. It didn’t seem logical that he would send Gabe now to attack her. He needed her to sign those papers. Surely, this kind of confrontation was the last thing he’d want.
She stared at Gabe who was reaching behind his back.
‘Gabe,’ her voice came out barely above a whisper. ‘Does Nathaniel know you’re here?’
Later she would never remember seeing him move. Sylvain had always said ‘Gabe is the best of us.’ And it was true. He was fast. So fast.
One minute he was standing by the chimney glaring at her. The next he was behind her, pressing the cold blade of a knife against the skin of her throat.
‘I don’t answer to anyone.’
He whispered the words, his lips pressed against the sensitive flesh of her ear, his breath warm against her skin.
She couldn’t move. She hated that he was touching her. But the sharp edge of the blade dug into the vulnerable skin of her throat, rendering her powerless.
‘This is crazy,’ she said, swallowing hard. ‘If you hurt me Nathaniel will kill you. Raj will kill you.’
He stroked the knife lovingly against her throat. The blade seemed to scald her skin.
‘I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to kill you, Allie. And then I’m going to kill my boss.’
There was no hesitation in his voice. No sense that what he was doing would have ramifications he couldn’t imagine. No doubts. He seemed to find all of this utterly reasonable.
The part of Gabe that should stop him from doing deadly things was missing. Killing her would be simple for him.