His eyebrow arches. “And why wouldI—”
“Because Maksim Korsakov chased me through the woods!”
And I don’t know which part of him wanted to fuck me and which part wanted to kill me.
Silence.
Gabriel leans back in his chair, fingers steepling beneath his chin. His eyes gleam with interest. Dangerous interest.
“Did he now?”
I nod, trying to catch my breath. My ribs ache. My hands won’t stop shaking. The adrenaline is crashing hard now, leaving nothing but exhaustion and the bone-deep certainty that I just made everything infinitely worse.
“You’ve been ignoring my commands.”
“I know, but I didn’t have anything.”
Gabriel studies me for a beat. “Tell me everything, now.”
So I do.
I tell him about the apartment break-ins, the breakfast, the diner, Mrs. Hardinoff’s. I tell him about the clothes, the drive, the woods. I leave out the part where Maksim’s mouth was on mine. Where I tasted his blood. Where something dark woke up inside me that I don’t have a name for.
Gabriel listens without interrupting. When I finish, he’s quiet for a long moment.
“You stole his car,” he says finally.
“I borrowed it.”
“You punched him in the face and stole his car.”
“He was going to—” I stop. Swallow. “Yes.”
A smile spreads across Gabriel’s face. Slow. Predatory. The kind that makes my skin crawl.
“This is perfect,” he breathes.
My stomach drops. “What?”
“Don’t you see?” He stands, moves around the desk. “You’ve gotten under his skin. Korsakov doesn’t chase girls through the woods for fun, Ayla. Hewantsyou.”
“He wants to kill me—”
“No.” Gabriel shakes his head. “If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead. He wants toownyou. There’s a difference.”
I take a step back. “I’m not going back.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Gabriel—”
“This is exactly what we need.” He’s circling me now, like I’m prey he’s already caught. “You’ve become interesting to him.Valuable.He’ll come for you. And when he does, you’re going to let him catch you.”
“No.”
His hand moves fast—grabbing my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “You don’t get to say no to me, Ayla. Not when your friend’s lives are on the line.”
My friends.
