Page 48 of Monstrous Urges

“What’s going on, Taylor?”

I blink. “How should I know?”

“Not the server thing,” he sighs. “I mean with you.”

I swallow. “W-what do you mean?”

“I mean I averted my fucking eyes but I still saw the video. You wanna tell me why you felt like streaking through the parking garage of the Soho Grand last night?”

I look away in embarrassment.

“I told Alistair, I took an Ambien?—”

“First of all, you don’t take sleeping pills.”

“How do you know?”

He rolls his eyes. “More importantly, Alistair said you didn’t bat an eye when they said you stole a fucking car.”

“Which I didn’t!”

“But you weren’t shocked at the allegation. Or, not shocked enough. Talk to me, Taylor. C’mon.”

I take a deep breath and then exhale. “Fine. I’ve been…” I shrug. “Sleepwalking, okay?”

Gabriel cocks a brow, glancing at me as we stop at a light. “Sleepwalking.”

I nod.

“Just small stuff mostly. Reorganizing my tax returns, making a snack and not cleaning up. Crap like that.”

I don’t mention going into the office the other night. And I definitely don’t tell him that I know what I saw on that video that seems to have disappeared.

It was me.

No bullshit. No lookalike. I mean, sure, the video is grainy. But that was me driving a fucking stolen Lambo last night. A stolen Lambo that was apparently found neatly parked outside the Lincoln Tunnel without a single fingerprint in or on it. Anywhere.

Gabriel frowns as he accelerates through the green light. “Work stress?”

“Who knows.”

He sucks on his teeth as he glares at the road. “Look, I know you don’t like to talk about your personal life?—”

“Gabriel…”

“Are you still seeing Steven?”

He’s not wrong. I never, ever talk about my personal life. Maybe I touch on it with Fumi; she’s my gal pal. But I hardly ever go there with Alistair and Gabriel.

“Nope,” I say tersely. “Steven’s gone.”

He clears his throat. “May I ask…”

“Yeah, but I won’t tell.”

“Did he hurt you?” he asks quietly, with a slightly disturbing edge to his voice.

I shake my head. “No. And I’m over it.”

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