Page 109 of Brutal King

27

SOFIA

It’s been two days since I’ve heard a word from Gideon. Sure, the last time we spoke and he told me he might be gone a bit longer than expected, I told him that if he ever did come back, he’d have to sleep with one eye open.

I didn’t mean I’d actually try to kill him again. Maybe.

“Still nothing?” Andie, Gavin’s girlfriend asks.

“Nothing.” I sigh. “He’s punishing me for threatening his life.”

“Oh.” She hands me the plate of dinosaur chicken nuggets I asked for. Since Gideon doesn’t consider them healthy, they’re not allowed on my diet. And Gavin is so dead set on keeping his promise to Gideon about my safety, that he’s eradicated anything remotely tasty from my menu.

Lucky for me, Andie’s curiosity when she spied me coming into the hotel got the better of her. She desperately wanted to meet me. So, she snuck into my suite/prison. We became instant friends and now she sneaks food I actually want to eat when she comes to visit. This morning it was Pop Tarts.

“What?” I ask when she stares at me for a long time.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You know you can.”

She comes to sit beside me and snags one of my nuggets. “I’ve told you about Lola.”

“Yes,” I say, wondering where this is headed. Lola is Andie’s daughter. Although Gavin has taken over the role, he’s not her biological father. Lola’s father had been a gangster from Los Angeles that raped Andie.

Andie chews on her lower lip, as if she’s struggling to formulate her question. “Did… The baby… Did Gideon rape you?”

“No.” I answer without hesitation, because I don’t want her to get that impression.

“But, he’s holding you against your will.”

I let out a long breath. “He is. But he’s never forced me to do things.” God. The things we’ve done. The thingsIhave initiated. “Gideon would never hurt me in that way.”

“Do you love him?”

That surprises me. I want to answer as quickly as I did before. A resound no. I want to tell her that I hate him. That I wish he were dead and that I could go home to Briar House.

But as I sit here, desperate to hear from him, I realize that I can’t say any of those things. Instead, I say, “I don’t know what I feel anymore. I just want…”

A small cry escapes me. What do I want? I want to hear his voice. I want him to call me Little Bird. I want to fight with him. To have sex with him. To wake up in the middle of the night and not miss him!

“I just want him to call me,” I say. “Damn him for screwing me up like this.”

When did he become this important to me? He shouldn’t be, and yet, he’s vital to my wellbeing.

Andie reaches for my hand. “Do you want me to ask Gav if he’s heard from him?”

I nod. “Please.”

“Okay.” She gives me a gentle smile. “I’ll go look for him now.”

An hour passes. Two. The Red is a big hotel, but it shouldn’t be this hard to find someone. Unless Andie did find Gavin, but whatever she found out is bad.

There it is. I finally allow myself to think the worst. Ever since I was old enough to know what the men in my family were involved in, I’ve been afraid that something would happen to them. Now, that same fear that’s clutched at my chest is making it hard to breathe. This time, it’s for a man I should want dead, but fear I might die without.

Ugh! How did this happen? How did he worm his way into my heart? I fist my shirt and tug, wishing I could tear that traitorous thing from my chest.

I’ve been pacing the sitting area so long my feet have begun to hurt. I can’t wait any longer.

---