Page 33 of Unworthy Ties
After the last bloodstain had been cleared from the penthouse floor, I sank into the sofa, my heart racing as the weight of the evening finally pressed down upon me. Gabriella could have been killed tonight. Fuck, I could have been too, but that didn’t matter as much as the thought of losing her. The sharp edge of fear had cut deeper than any blade, leaving a jagged ache within me that throbbed with every beat of my heart.
Fear wasn’t something I was used to. Before I had met her, I had stared down loaded barrels, buried men who’d begged for their lives, and walked away from streets still wet with blood—never once making my pulse quicken. But now… I couldn’t shake the image of her face from my mind, her wide eyes filled with terror.
The weight of tonight seeped into the room, heavy and suffocating. I had to get away from this darkness, to breathe in something other than the remnants of chaos. I pushed myselfoff the sofa and strode into the bedroom, where Gabriella was curled up in a ball.
I knelt beside her, careful not to disturb the fragile cocoon she had formed. The shadows in the room danced around us, but in that moment, she was my only focus—my beacon in the storm. Gently, I reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair from her forehead, the warmth of her skin grounding me in a way that felt both foreign and necessary. Her face was pale, the remnants of fear still etched into her delicate features, and a deep sense of protectiveness surged within me.
“Hey,” I said softly, my voice barely a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile calm.
“Hey.” Her voice trembled, laced with remnants of panic that still clung to the air.
“Let’s get out of here.” I reached for her hand, intertwining our fingers as I helped her to sit up.
“Do you think it’s still dangerous here?”
“I don’t think so. I just want to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.”
“Okay,” she swung her legs over the bed. “Where are we going?”
I hadn’t quite thought that far. A hotel didn’t seem right; the vibrant city streets felt too chaotic, too close to the shadows that had just haunted us. There was only one place that came to mind—somewhere secluded, where we could find solace together and breathe without fear pressing down on us.
“My family owns a cabin in Hudson Valley. We can go there.”
“Hudson Valley?” she echoed, her brow furrowing slightly as hope flickered in her eyes. “Is it safe?”
“It’s secluded,” I assured her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll be alone. No one will find us there.”
I moved through the apartment fast, shoving whatever we’d need into a duffel. It wasn’t a vacation, but a desperate escapefrom the chaos that threatened to consume us. I grabbed her jacket from the back of a chair, draping it around her shoulders as we stepped out into the night. The streets were eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the storm that had just raged within our lives.
I started the car and the engine purred to life, a comforting sound in the stillness. As I navigated through the empty streets, I stole glances at Gabriella from the corner of my eye, noting the way her hands trembled slightly in her lap, the shadows of the streetlights playing off her features. Her expression was a mixture of uncertainty and resolve, and I could see her battling the remnants of fear that clung to her.
The drive to the cabin was silent, the hum of the tires against the asphalt the only sound mingling with our unspoken thoughts. I was constantly checking the rearview mirror for any tails, but the reassuring emptiness of the road gave me a sliver of comfort. The moon hung high above us, its pale light illuminating the path ahead as I focused on the winding turns leading us away from danger and deeper into the embrace of nature.
As we drew closer to our destination, the trees thickened around us, their shadows stretching like arms inviting us into a world untouched by the chaos we had left behind. The cabin stood nestled among the trees, a structure that exuded warmth and familiarity.
“Cabin?” Gabriella said, cracking a half smile for the first time tonight. “It’s a mansion in the woods.”
“Let’s just say it’s a cabin’s prettier, richer cousin.”
She giggled for the first time after the event as we stepped out of the car, the laughter spilling from her lips like a gentle balm against the night’s haunting memories.
Getting in also required going through an extensive security system, including a thumbprint recognition, which comforted me after the night’s events. As I entered my print, the doorclicked open, and a familiarity I hadn’t experienced in a long time greeted me.
As a kid, my parents took Felix and me here every summer, a tradition filled with laughter and carefree days. The smell of pine, the quiet rustle of leaves, and the sound of a winding river in the distance had always felt like home. But tonight, it was different. Tonight, it was more than a refuge; it was a sanctuary where I could protect Gabriella and keep the rest of the world out.
I flicked on the lights, the warm glow enveloping us both as we stepped inside. The walls were adorned with rustic wooden beams, and the large windows framed the starry expanse outside.
“It’s beautiful,” Gabriella said sincerely.
“Thanks.”
“My dad was never one for nature,” she said, walking to the window. The view of the stars twinkling through the trees took her breath away. “He always took us to cities on vacation, like Paris or London. Always lights and noise.”
“I don’t think I’d call this a vacation,” I responded, walking up behind her and wrapping my arms around her. “But I’ll take you on a proper one someday.”
“Mhm. I want to try camping.”
I laughed. “You would not last three hours without basic necessities.”
