Page 78 of His Prince
I don’t fucking let him leave.
We sit like that, holding onto each other until we finally pull away, the water growing tepid around us.
Neither of us speaks about it, words slipping away with the water rushing down the drain. But we both change in the closet, our eyes meeting almost shyly before we glance away. Only to repeat that over and over again.
There aren’t words.
It feels like there will never be words for what this means.
“You sure I need to go down there, boss?” Gael asks me as he fiddles with the cigarette behind his ear.
“Are you questioning me?”
“No…”
“Go down there and tell me where it leads.”
My bodyguard hesitates a moment, and I honestly consider shooting him. He’s wasting my time. I need answers. And I need them now.
“I’m a little afraid of the dark, boss.”
“Carry the fucking flashlight. Now go before I put a bullet between your fucking eyes.” I point at the hole in my bedroom floor, and Gael’s Adam’s apple bobs.
“Yeah, okay.”
And then he hops down into it, lights a cigarette, and I watch intently until the glow of his flashlight disappears down the narrow passageway.
As I wait for him to return, I stand there, mind spinning, wondering who created these tunnels. Was it my grandfather before he died? My father? But why would they keep it a secret from me? Could it have been Katarina?
I don’t fucking know anything anymore.
I asked Ivan earlier today, and he shrugged it off, telling me he has no idea what I’m talking about. So whoever created these kept it secret from both of us.
My eyes turn toward the edge of the bed and I stride toward it, bending down to pull that rusted box from its hiding space. I need to know what’s inside it.
Only when I reach for it, it’s not there.
Who the fuck took it? I’ll murder them. No, I’ll give them to Georgiy and let him peel their skin off. Slowly.
I’m cussing up a storm in Russian when Gael returns, his skin smeared with dirt and cobwebs hanging from his clothes. The cigarette is gone, and he lights another one with a slightly trembling hand.
“Bane was right. It leads to the outside gate.”
“Did you know about this?”
Gael shakes his head as he hops back onto my floor, leaving bits of dirt scattered on my pristine floor. Nina is going to have my hide for this.
“Only knew about the one leading from your office to our place.”
“Fuck. Ask the others and report back to me. Immediately.”
“Yes, boss. And uh, don’t tell Angel I’m smoking in the house.”
He turns on his heel and almost runs from the room, and I watch him go, needing more answers.
I peer down into that tunnel and then hop down inside, grabbing the flashlight Gael left, and decide to see for myself. Maybe I’ll find my answers down here. Anything to bring to light what the fuck is going on.
I move forward, my arms brushing against the walls as I walk. I can’t see more than ten feet in front of me, but I know that this leads out to the front gate. My steps falter for a moment, my gaze catching on something on the floor. Bending down, I pick up a bracelet. My heart thunders in my ears, my breath catching.