Chapter 1
Even through everything that has happened over the last five years or so, I would have never thought that I would be standing right here, right now. It’s been five years since my sister died, and my niece became an orphan. I took her in and have been looking after her ever since, but she’s not made it easy for me. She hasn’t had the best luck either, but still, she could have handled it differently. So, here I am. Standing in a restaurant downtown, looking around to see if I can find some staff to ask. And what am I going to ask about? Their boss. Millie said his name was Gabriel Williams, and that he’s the boss of this restaurant. That’s pretty much all she said and it’s all I needed to know, anyway.
“Can I help you, ma’am?
A sweet-looking waitress comes up to me with a pleasant smile and indicates for the tables behind her.
“Are you waiting for company or do you wanna sit down?”
I smile back at her, though my smile is stiff and not as friendly as hers.
“Neither. I’m looking for someone; maybe you can help. Gabriel Williams?”
Her smile falters and she looks around worried as if we’re about to get jumped from me saying that name out loud.
“He’s not here at the moment, but please, wait here.”
She hurries for the back of the restaurant, not looking back at me once and I wait for a few minutes, but then she comes back. And she’s not alone. A man is with her, and he doesn’t look happy. She whispers something to him as they come closer and the grunts a reply at her. Then she hurries off to waitress another table. The man plasters a fake smile on his face as he approaches me slowly.
“I hear you’re looking for Mr. Williams. I am sorry to inform you that he cannot see you; but perhaps I can help you?” he asks, his voice sleezy and full of fake friendliness. There is a faint accent of something eastern European, but it’s too subtle for me to pin it to an exact location. I force a fake smile back at him.
“No. You can’t. I will only speak to Gabriel Williams and if he’s not in right now, I’ll just sit down and wait for him to come back,” I announce, pulling my purse up on my shoulder and kicking my chin up a bit. That fake smile on the man’s face falters and he looks positively dangerous. And pissed off. Which is a bit weird because all I did was ask for his boss. Who is this guy? And why is he so angry at the women around him; the waitress and me?
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Miss…?”
“McGrath. And I don’t care what you think is possible. I’ll be waiting right over there until Mr. Williams has time to see me.”
I start to move towards an empty booth table in the corner, but the man steps in front of me to block my way.
“Miss McGrath, I would ask you to leave if you don’t have any business here,” the man tries, his fake politenessalmost gone now and his face is annoyed, on the verge of angry too.
“Fine. I guess the police station will be my next stop then,” I announce, spinning on my heel, but a hard hand grabs my elbow from behind me.
“And what could you possibly have to tell them about Mr. Willians?” the man grumbles, staring hard at me as if to determine if I truly am going to the police station and if so; what I have to say to them.
“That will be between me and the police,” I say, yanking my elbow back despite the hard grip around it. Maybe he let it go, not wanting to cause a scene in the restaurant with several people dining. The man is angry now, not just annoyed, but he keeps staring hard at me.
“That won’t be necessary,” he grunts, nodding for the booth I was heading to just moments ago. “Have a seat, and I will see if Mr. Williams is available.”
I try to suppress my smile, but it’s hard to.
“That’s all I wanted,” I smile, holding up my hands in defence, even if I’m not being attacked at the moment. The man disappears through the same door as he came from, and I sit here uncomfortably waiting for Gabriel Williams to appear. I’m not even sure what I’m doing here. Or what he can do. It’s not like it’s him who has done something wrong, but he’s supposedly responsible for the boy’s actions in the same way, as I am responsible for Millie. And Millie did tell me to stay away, because apparently, this Gabriel Williams is bad news. Millie said that Nicky always brags about his mafia-uncle who can kill anyone who looks wrong at him, but Millie’s never taken it too seriously, just figured it was hot air. But the feel of this place is aligned with the theory that "Uncle Gabriel" is bad news.
The door in the back opens again and the movement draws my attention. Holy moly. That’s Gabriel Williams? My blood rushes a bit faster as the man approach me, because he’s absolutely a treat on the eye. Tall, dark haired, smooth and tanned skin, a dazzling smile and a build to rival most athletes. Dressed in a tailored black suit, a strikingly white shirt and a navy-blue tie, he walks like he owns the damn place. Which, he does. His eyes dip down my body as he approaches because he’s checking me out just as much as I am checking him out. And when he’s right in front of the table, his dazzling smile is all charm and friendliness.
“Miss McGrath, I assume?” he says, his voice demanding yet pleasant. He also has a subtle accent, which only adds to the demanding tone of his voice.
“Nathalie McGrath,” I say, rising from the booth to shake the hand offered to me.
“Gabriel Williams.”
His hand is warm and rough skinned, clearly calloused from doing hard work and his palm is itching against my soft hand. The gold ring with the black stone on it dominates his little finger and it’s warm against my skin. He holds my hand for longer than appropriate, looking at me intensely while keeping my hand locked in his.
“What can I do for you, Miss McGrath?” he asks intensely, gesturing for us to sit down but still not letting go of my hand. I have to pull hard to get it free, but he doesn’t even bat an eye at my effort. The gold ring with the black stone isn’t his only jewellery. There are other gold rings on his fingers, as well as a huge golden watch on his left wrist. A gold hoop sits in his left ear, which combined with his dark features, give him a posh pirate look.
“Do you know a boy named Nicky?” I ask, keeping my eyes on Gabriel’s face for any reaction, but it’s like looking at a statue. Not a single emotion flicker anywhere. This is a man who is used to lying and getting everything he wants, because he can manipulate and flirt his way out of anything. I have absolutely not doubt about that. And I should know. I’ve been with someone like that for the last century and I’ve only recently gotten free from his grasp. Men like my ex and Gabriel are dangerous.
“I have a nephew named Nicky,” he confirms, gesturing to one of the waitresses and she’s by our table in seconds.
“I’ll have my usual, Ana, and for you, Miss McGrath?”
I shake my head quickly.
“Nothing, that’s not why I’m here,” I reply, watching the waitress hurry off to fetch Mr. Williams his usual. Whatever that might be.
“Then why are you here, Miss McGrath?” Gabriel asks, his tone still pleasant, but there is a dangerous undertone to it. He seems equally annoyed and intrigued by my presence, though I’m pretty sure he will feel a lot different in a few seconds when I’m told him my purpose of being here.
“Your nephew…” I start, trying not to shake all over from the memory of Millie lying on her bed, crying her eyes out last night. The poor girl was bruised, and her clothes were bloody. It took me hours to get the truth out of her, and she only caved because I kept pushing.
“… raped my niece last night.”
Gabriel’s smile twitches a little as it falters and his face become a hard mask of seriousness. He looks like a thunder cloud about to explode, but then he seems to regain his control, and he stares at me hard.
“Am I right to assume that you are Millie’s aunt, then?” Gabriel asks, and I nod my reply to him.
“Yes, I am. She’s my responsibility.”
“I see,” Gabriel says, “And what exactly happened last night?”
What’s with his tone now? He almost sounds like he doesn’t believe me, but surely that can’t be the case? Surely, we’ve come a longer way than men believing every cried rape is fake, when reality is, that it’s almost always true. Yes, there are false rape allegations here and there, but they are rare and probably mostly connected to some kind of mental illness. No woman – or girl – would cry rape for the fun of it; subjecting herself to questions and explanations, demanding answers for every little detail of her choice, like what she wore or what she said or how her eyes battered the ‘right’ way. No, no woman or girl in her right mind would subject herself to that kind of scrutiny.
“Your nephew, Nicky, raped my niece, Millie,” I repeat, making sure that my voice is firm and cool. Gabriel nods once, gesturing for the waitress to come with his drink. I haven’t noticed, but she’s been standing ready in the periphery all this time, just waiting for the signal to serve. She places a crystal glass with some golden liquid in it on the table right in front of Gabriel and hurries off again.
“I heard you the first time, Miss McGrath, I am asking for details on the matter,” he replies coldly, lifting the glass to his lips and my eyes betray me in the most obvious way. They linger on those pale lips parting for the glass and the shine of wetness left behind by whatever that golden liquid is. Jeez, I wanna lick that off so badly. Thoughts of what those lips could do to, say, my soft skin, makes it run thrillingly down my spine.
“Miss McGrath?”
My name rips me out of the trance of staring at those perfect lips, and I jerk my head up, though I’m too embarrassed to look Gabriel in the eye right now. I’m probably bright red on the cheeks too, but I need to get a grip here. This man is dangerous in more than one way. I cannot let him have the upper hand.
“What was the, eh…”
“Question?” he finishes, and I feel forced to look up. There is amusement lighting up his face as he keeps looking at me, and I wish the ground would open and swallow me whole. Dammit. I was so confident and brassy when I came in through the door, but now I’m like a swoony little schoolgirl, crushing on the bad boy from senior class. The very charming and handsome bad boy, I might add.
“Details, Miss McGrath, I want the full details.”
My mind is blank for a second and I stare bewildered at Gabriel.
“Details? Like what he did to her?!” I reply, not able to hide my disgust at the question. Not that I have the answers because Millie was reluctant enough as it was, so I didn’t press for details, but how perverse would one have to be to want to hear what his own flesh and blood has done to a sixteen-year-old girl?
“No, Miss McGrath, I’m not a pervert,” Gabriel replies, a disappointed shake of his head follows those worlds, “details as in where and when it happened.”
“Oh.”
Now I feel stupid. I blush again, twisting my hands in my lap while I desperately try to regain control of this situation.
“They were at a party, I don’t know where, but at some friend of Nicky’s house. She came home sometime after midnight and was in her room for almost half an hour before I heard her crying.”
The memory is so vivid and horrible; my little Millie bruised and broken by some asshole who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I’ve known her since she was born; I was godmother at the Christening, and I’ve been her funny aunt up until she was eleven when my sister and her husband were at the wrong place at the wrong time that left that little girl an orphan. Both my parents and Millie’s paternal grandparents are dead, so there was no one else to take her in and I probably wouldn’t had let anyone else take her anyway. She’s my Millie.
“Did you take her to the hospital?” Gabriel asks, taking another sip of his drink while those dark eyes never leave my face. I shake my head; regretting not forcing Millie to get a rape kit before she took a shower.
“No, she didn’t want that, and I couldn’t force her there.”
Gabriel nods seriously, lifting his hand and snaps his fingers once. The man who greeted me earlier comes rushing to his side and leans down to Gabriel’s face. Low whispers sound but I can’t make out what they’re saying to each other, but judging from the tone, Gabriel is giving an order, and the man is protesting.
“Now,” Gabriel grunts louder and the man nods solemnly, agreeing to whatever Gabriel has just told him to do. He leaves and Gabriel’s attention shifts to me.
“Since you’re here, I assume you haven’t contacted the police in this matter?”
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest in a stupid effort to shield myself from the force of the man sitting in front of me.
“You assume an awful lot, Mr. Williams,” I reply, and that cold, hard stare chills me to the bone. And lights me up like a match at the same time. It’s the most insane reaction I’ve ever had to any man in my entire life. Lifting one dark eyebrow at me, Gabriel looks arrogant and sexy all at once.
“No, we haven’t reported it to the police.”
Yet.
“No, you wouldn’t be here if you had,” Gabriel nods, waving for Ann the waitress to come back since his glass is now empty.
“I’ll have another. And still nothing for you, Miss McGrath?”
“No, thank you.”
Waving Ana off again, Gabriel turns his whole body towards me. Wow. That movement was both threatening and intimate, clearly intended to intimidate me and it works. On more than one level.
“So, what is it you want from me, Miss McGrath?”
Jeez, why does he keep saying my name like that? It’s eery and nerve wrecking.
“Since you didn’t go to the hospital and you didn’t go to the police, but you came here instead, I’m assuming you want something from me then? You know who I am, I gather?”
It takes me a full fifteen seconds to understand the meaning behind those words. I exhale offended and lean towards that tall, handsome man that is Gabriel Williams.
“You’re Nicky’s uncle, that’s all I need to know. And whatever you think of me, I’m not that kind of person. I’m not here to blackmail you or ask you for bribe money or something along those lines, and you offend me just by suggesting it,” I state, keeping my gaze locked in his while I trace any emotion in his face. Not that I find any, but it doesn’t stop me from trying.
“Then why are you here… Nathalie?”
His whispers my first name in such an intense and warm way, while lifting his hand towards my face. Long fingers grab a lock of my hair and pushes it behind my ear. In doing that, fingertips brush the side of my face, and I feel flames erupt all over my damn skin. Fuck me, I can’t think at all.
“Hmm?”
It’s not really a word, but more like a sound rumbling from Gabriel’s chest towards me. Dammit, I need to remember why I came here.
“Nicky said…” I start, my skin goose bumping from the memory of that featherlight touch of those calloused fingers across it.
“Nicky said?” Gabriel prompts, retracting his hand and leaning back a bit. It’s enough for me to finally be able to take a full breath and I feel a little of my reason and sense return with it.
“Nicky said that you’re… connected. And that he answers to you.”
Gabriel nods his confirmation while signalling to Ana to bring his second drink. With it in hand, he nods for me to continue.
“That’s what I want from you,” I state, forcing myself not to tell him all the other nasty things I want him to do to me, right here on the dining table, not giving a shit about any other customers being in here to witness it.
“I want you to keep Nicky away from Millie. For good. He doesn’t see her ever again and he never, ever, comes near her in any way again.”
Swallowing before putting his glass on the table in front of him, Gabriel nods once.
“Done.”
I blink rapidly.
“Just like that?” I ask, surprised and baffled. Gabriel nods again.
“Yes. Just like that. You have my word that my nephew will not contact your niece in any way again.”
“Woah,” I mumble, not sure what to reply to that, “that’s…”
I don’t get a chance to finish my sentence, before I’m interrupted by Gabriel.
“Now, is there anything else I can do for you, Miss McGrath?” he asks, and my immediate though is ’besides sinking to your knees and putting your head between my legs?’, but I crush that thought as soon as I’ve had it. Because that intense warmth from before is completely gone and he’s back to being cold and controlled. I shake my head, causing Gabriel to rise from the sofa. He buttons his jacket and nods down to me.
“Then I thank you for coming and wish you a pleasant day, Miss McGrath.”
And with that, he leaves. He’s gone before I can even think of anything to reply, not that there would have been anything to say. I lean back, exhaling loudly. Jeez, that man is a walking red flag. Dangerous, clearly criminal in some way – though maybe not in the mafia way as Nicky has bragged about – and obviously narcissistic and sociopath. No one else could switch from cold to hot to cold like that if they had a conscience and/or empathy. I rub my eyes, not sure how to get over this encounter but I need to leave before I do something stupid like try to follow Gabriel Williams so I can beg him to fuck me raw.
