Page 21 of Warrior

Poised on the edge of giving it to me, he stops.

“What are you waiting for?”

His eyes gleam. “It’s your turn.”

My muscles lock up, and I force myself to glance around. The shame pressing onto my shoulders is almost too much weight, and the back of my neck burns. It isn’t just that, though, or the fact that not a single person is looking at us. It’s the headache, the skin-crawling sensation. My stomach is rolling, and every bone in my body aches.

And the heroin will make it stop.

“It’ll shut off your brain for a little while, too,” Gabriel whispers, leaning closer. He still holds my wrist, a finger pressing down on where the needle meets my skin to keep it in place. “Who needs traumatic thoughts running through that pretty head of yours?”

Not me.

I close my eyes and fight the urge, but it’s not enough. My willpower isn’t enough.

I reach for the syringe and depress the plunger. As soon as it’s injected, Gabriel pulls it out and caps it. He tucks the used needle in his pocket, watching me like a hawk.

It doesn’t take long for the effect to hit—although it doesn’t immediately drag me under.

No… it’s just that I can suddenlyfunction. My muscles relax, my headache eases away. The tide of pleasure coasting under my skin is secondary to the relief.

“There you go,” he whispers. “You know where to find me when you need more.”

I shake my head, already patting down the tape and tugging my sleeve into place.

“I’m not coming back here,” I tell him.

His laugh follows me to the door.

7KADE

Gabrieland I meet at Bobby’s house boat, which is docked up in North Falls near my rented house. I’m already seated inside, and Gabriel hops on board with light, sure steps. I almost miss his entrance, absorbed in my own thoughts.

He enters with no weapon in his hand, no fear of me.

Bobby’s house boat, beyond the galley kitchen, is neat and minimalistic. He proclaims he doesn’t need much, and I believe him. There’s a couch and chair, a radio propped on a table beside a lamp, and framed stock photos on the wall. A ladder leads up to the loft, where he keeps clothes and his bed.

I’ve taken the chair, leaving the sunken-in couch for Gabriel.

“Where’s Bob-o?” Gabriel asks.

“Out.”

“Hmm.” He pouts. “Are you mad at me?”

“No.”

“You’re speaking in one-word sentences,” he points out. “How else am I supposed to feel?”

I take a deep breath. “You took pleasure fucking with me, then? Taking Reese out from under my nose?—”

“You tookher,” he snaps.

He’s a rabid dog, calm one moment and foaming at the mouth the next. From Artemis, I learned about his involvement in Terror. And while Gabriel had never mentioned his past—he suddenly showed up in Emerald Cove a few years ago, proving himself in more ways than one—I knew it had to be something bad. What else could twist his brain like it is?

“I didn’t take her.” I try to remain calm. “You never said who you wanted to find, or what you wanted. I knew of Artemis from rumors, nothing more.”

I followed her from Reese, not Gabriel. His clues led me to her club, then her brother’s. To the brother and finally, right down the street to Artemis Madden herself.

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