Page 39 of Master Heimdall
Onion Breath released me and the two of them left the room. This was it. They would phone their boss and when they told him I didn’t know anything, they would either torture me or kill me, or torture and then kill me.
Where are you, Gabe? I pretended he could hear me and mumbled everything in my heart and mind, ending with asking for forgiveness for not accepting his rules and as a result, leaving myself vulnerable and open to attack.
I strained to hear the conversation in the other room, but all that came through was the faint buzzing of voices. I heard glass breaking. What the hell? I tried to stand, but with my feet tied, I fell forward and with no hands to break my fall, I hit the floor hard. When I heard an explosion from the other room, I rolled myself back behind the couch, praying it was the good guys, my guy.
I promise to be a good girl. I promise to be the best sub in the world to my man, just please God, don’t let me die.
I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard footsteps come into the room.
“There she is.”
That sounded like Lincoln. I opened one eye and saw Lincoln standing above me wearing a big grin.
“Hey, princess, fancy meeting you in this dung heap. Over here, Gabe!” he hollered loudly.
I managed to smile up at him and then Gabe reached for me and scooped me up in his arms, and immediately, I began to cry. He held me tightly to his chest and carried me outside. Placing me on the hood of the car, he cut away the rope binding my arms and feet.
“I’m so sorry, Gabriel,” I said once he was done and held my tear-filled gaze. “Thank you for rescuing me.” He didn’t say a word, but as he placed me in the safety of his car, and buckled the seat belt across me, I could see the effects of the strain I’d put him under. I cried harder as we pulled away, leaving Lincoln and the rest of the team behind to deal with the aftermath.
Gabriel drove straight to the hospital, even though I told him I was fine. He gave me a look that told me to tread lightly and after that, I didn’t say anything to counter his directions. In a way, I was trying to prove I was capable of listening even though I had my own opinion about what was going on.
He must have called ahead because when we arrived, I was hustled into a private area, two of our men already there standing guard. “Does this mean the threat isn’t over?”
“No, Rose, this is what security looks like. Someone went after my woman, and I’m doing what I need to and ensuring nothing else goes wrong.”
I blushed, embarrassed by his words, and for the first time in my life, didn’t know what to say in return.
After hours of every test imaginable and a host of questions asked more than once, I was ready to go home and soak in a tub. The anger and fear from earlier had morphed for me into a desire to share my heart with the only man who would ever hold it, Gabe. But other than his comment about being his woman and security, he hadn’t spoken a word, remaining quiet during the question and answer period with the cops, except for when the conversation turned to the rescue operation. The way he told it was so cut and dry, that the policeman taking his statement didn’t have any questions afterward.
If I was allowed to keep my job after today’s fiasco, I would take a page out of Gabe’s playbook where saying nothing is more. When we were finally allowed to leave, Gabe carried me to his vehicle.
“I can walk,” I said but snuggled into his chest. He responded by gripping me tighter until we were in the car. Finally alone, I tried again to apologize.
“I’m so sorry for not listening to you, Gabriel. I fucked up and I know it. I was so angry at the way you ran away and left things. It’s no excuse, I realize that but, please know that I’m really sorry for everything.”
Gabe didn’t utter a word to me, neither accepting or denying my apology and I felt off-balance even more than earlier. Why wouldn’t he respond, even if it was to tell me we were done, were through?
He buckled me in and got behind the wheel. The trip to our apartment was spent in silence, giving me plenty of time to soak in misery. I’d totally screwed up with the only man I’d ever want anything serious with. How could someone so smart be so stupid? I leaned my head against the cool window and shut my eyes as silent tears continued to leak and drip onto my chest. It was over, it was clear from his behavior. I was grieving when he parked the car.
I was silent when he lifted me from his vehicle and pressed the button for his penthouse, instead of my apartment. If this was a sign that he would forgive me, I’d accept any punishment he dealt me. For a moment, hope sprung in my heart and the tears abated. When the elevator closed and we were alone in his apartment, he placed me gently on my feet. Still in my flats, I was over a foot shorter than him but the size difference didn’t hinder me from caving to desperation. “Please, Gabe, say something.”
“I love you!” he shouted at me.
I froze. He loved me? His stance, and expression said it all, he needed to feel me as badly as I needed to feel him. I ripped off my shirt and toed off my shoes while he stripped, even faster than me. Flesh crashed against flesh, and I knew fate had driven us into the other’s arms. How else could two stubborn people who needed a huge calamity to finally admit their feelings for each other come together?
His large hands encompassed my ass cheeks and he squeezed them, lifting me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist and lock my ankles. Our lips crashed together, his tongue pillaging my mouth with a desperation I’d never felt before.
Pulling back, I said, “I love you, too.”
Chapter Nineteen
Heimdall
I’d remained stoically silent during the medical checkup and only spoke when asked a question. I could tell Rose was upset with my lack of communication, but I was barely keeping it together and had every intention of claiming her when we were done with all this bullshit.
I would claim her fully before this night was through and never again would I go through what I’d gone through today. I wanted to punish her for being so cavalier with her safety. I imagined her pinned to my bed until she promised to never do anything so stupid again.
She would be fully mine and allow me my crazy. Hell, not only allow it, but thank me for it, or so help me… I was losing it again. I needed to calm the hell down before I did something I’d regret. She shifted when I pressed the elevator for my floor instead of hers. That’s right, my naughty sub, you’re going home with me where you will learn to obey.