Page 76 of Vengeful Lies

Badly enough that tears streamed down her cheeks.

Fighting off a round of chills, the tears felt like tiny ice blocks against her skin.

With a moan, she managed to push up onto all fours and somehow she managed to get to her feet.

For a second she swayed precariously, sure she was going to go back down. If she did, she knew she wouldn't be getting up again.

But she remained standing and staggered into the bedroom. Once she got on the bed, she could close her eyes and just wait for nature to take its course.

Only she didn't make it to the bed.

Her legs gave out halfway there and she hit the floor with a groan. No longer able to control her body she slumped down. The rough carpet rubbed against her wound making it feel like a thousand needles stabbing at her torn flesh.

A wave of heat crashed over her and she cried out against it as nausea swelled. If there was anything in her stomach, it probably would have come back up, but she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d eaten.

Sounds outside her hotel suite caught her attention. It sounded like raised voices arguing.

Confident her bodyguards would handle it, Gabriella blocked it out and stopped trying to fight against what her body was telling her.

It was time.

Her eyes slid closed, and she went completely limp.

For a second she was sure she heard footsteps getting closer.

Then someone called her name.

It sounded like Cade’s voice, which confirmed what she already knew. There was no way Cade would be there so she was hallucinating. Her mind blessing her with one final thought of the man she loved before she drifted away.

Chapter

Nineteen

September 20th

1:00 P.M.

His palms were sweaty as he got off the elevator on Gabriella’s floor.

Gabriella had always messed with his head but not like this.

Knowing she had feelings for him, although it had probably taken Cade longer to figure that out than it should have, meant he’d always felt a connection to her even if he hadn't done anything about his feelings for her.

But when he fired her and told her to leave, he severed that connection.

Now he felt off kilter.

Worse, he had a knot of anxiety in his gut that hadn't dissipated in the days since he’d last seen her.

As he strode down the hallway, he was at least pleased to see two men standing outside Gabriella’s suite. Dressed professionally, they both shifted their stance when they saw him approaching.

Good.

They were doing their jobs and protecting his girl.

Shame filled him, though, because he knewheshould be the one protecting Gabriella. If nothing else, he owed it to her for everything she’d done for Essie. But more than that, he cared about her, was on the way to falling in love with her, and he should always be there to stand at her back, her front, or her side, depending on what she needed from him in any given situation.

“I'm Cade Charleston, I work for Prey Security, and I’m Gabriella’s former boss,” he said as he strode toward them. Aware that with a huge bouquet in his hand, he didn't look like he was there in any official capacity, and while he had a twinge in his chest at calling himself her former employer it was true.

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