“Then come upstairs. And let me show you what happens when you stop running.”
We get out of the car, and I follow him into the house, into his bedroom, into something I know I’ll never be able to run from.
Even if I wanted to.
CHAPTER 15
THEA
Gabriel leads me by the hand up a private staircase.
We reach a large door, and he pushes it open, revealing a space that’s unmistakably his.
Dark wood furniture, charcoal walls, and a massive four-poster bed that dominates the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto the property. Through them, I can see the sweep of Midtown off in the distance. There’s even a fireplace in the corner with a fire crackling softly.
He shuts the door, keeping my hand in his. But as he begins to guide me to the bed, I find myself not wanting to move.
“Gabriel…”
He releases my hand, slips out of his suit jacket, and tosses it onto the back of a nearby chair. Then he turns to me, his eyes burning with want. The sight nearly blots out my thoughts again.But I stay where I stand.
“Gabriel.” My tone is a little firmer. “We need to talk.”
“Later.” Off comes his bow tie, tossed over the chair next to the jacket.
“No. Now.” There’s a hardness to my words that I didn’t intend. “This—tonight—all of it. You keep saying that I’m yours. And I said it, too. But I’m not. I can’t be.”
He turns, goes still. “Thea?—”
“I want my freedom. I want to leave, to go back to my life, to…” I trail off, not quite sure how to finish the sentence.
“What life?” His tone is quiet but harsh. “The one where you cleaned toilets for minimum wage? The one where you lived in a shoebox and ate ramen three nights a week? That life?”
“It was mine.”
“It was barely surviving.”
“And this?” I gesture around the room. “This is yours, all yours. You bought me. I’m not even a guest here—I’m an item you purchased, one you can dress up and parade around like some kind of trophy when you want to impress people. And you expect me to just accept it?”
He says nothing at first. He’s weighing his words carefully, like he always does.
“You’re safer here.”
“From what, Kolya?” I laugh. “I don’t even know who he is. Why would he want to hurt me? Because he’s bitter that you outbid him?”
In that moment, Sylvie returns to mind. Kolya bought her. Is she okay? Where is she? Is she even alive?
I push the thoughts aside. They’re too painful to even consider.
“Trust me, you’re safer behind these walls.”
“No. I’m a prisoner behind these walls.”
“You’re protected.”
“I don’t need your protection!” My voice cracks. “I need my freedom. Let me go, Gabriel. I’ll disappear. I’ll leave the city, change my name, whatever you want. Just—please. Let me go.”
He crosses the distance between us in two strides.