"I want to change into a different shirt before we go," she told him as she scooped her bag off the chair and headed into one of the bedrooms. "Everyone here is dressed so nice, I never felt more like a trucker until this moment," she laughed, gesturing to her jeans and t-shirt.
Not hearing a response, she turned and saw Gideon standing in the doorway of the room wearing a sad smile. Guilt seized her as she realized how her words sounded. Turning back around, she walked up to him and slipped her arms around his narrow waist and under his arms. Leaning into him, she closed her eyes and squeezed him tight.
"I didn’t mean it that way," she explained softly. "I was just saying I felt self-conscious compared to all the pretty women I saw as we walked through the lobby."
The hand on her back slid up along her spine and over her shoulder until Gideon cupped the side of her neck, his thumb tracing the underside of her jaw gently. Tilting her head upward, he gave her a determined look.
"I promise it won't be like this forever," he vowed, and she could feel the depth of his solemn promise vibrate through their connected chests. "We'll save up the money, and we'll go back to Stardust Cove and then…then we can…we can be happy, right?"
Her stomach twisted at that. Holding him tighter, she gave him a large smile. "What are you talking about? I'm already happy. As long as we're together, that's all I need."
Gideon stared at her, studying her face. His other hand coming up to mirror the other until both of his large callused hands bracketed her face. Jade felt her lungs constrict, and her heart seize as she watched something spark in his eyes. Burning into hers, his eyes glittered with something so piercing and needful as they traveled and lingered on her lips. Just as her legs felt as if they were going to give out, Gideon stepped back and looked beyond her.
"Get changed," he said hoarsely.
Nodding, Jade rushed to the bathroom and shut the door.
~
"This place is huge," Jade remarked, stepping aside as a group of laughing men all wearing matching shirts walked by. The shirts read Bill's last night of freedom. Jade smiled.
They were in their hotel's indoor mall, standing on a bridge that overlooked the indoor river that ran around the length of the mall. Overhead the giant curving ceiling was painted to look like the evening sky with the help of LED lights and clever spotlights that changed to make it look like a picture-perfect sunny day during the day and a nighttime sky with twinkling lights as the time shifted to the later hours. It was spectacular.
"Yeah, and I don't think we are even halfway through," Gideon said, looking at his map of the mall he had pulled up on his phone. "We are next to the Gucci store, so that means we pass twenty more luxury shops we will never be able to afford until we get to the smoothie stand that our coupon works with," he shot her a wry smile.
The coupons they were originally given were all swapped out with fresh ones due to a slight oversight on their part.
When they first came downstairs, they had both headed to the slot machines to use some of their free coupons. Finding a bank of empty slot machines in the least smoky section they could find they had sat down and began to play, enjoying the animated responses of the machine in between plays. They were even up by twenty dollars when the shadow fell over them. Gideon had turned to the source first. By his sudden stiffening reaction and abrupt move to stand, Jade finally looked up only to freeze at the two imposing men standing at their side. Both dressed in tailored black suits, they stood watching and waiting for their attention. The blonde man in the front smiled, keeping both hands in his pants pockets with a casualness that did not reflect in his smile. Jade wasn't sure, but there was something a little off about the man's smile. Although he was attractive, tall, and looked seemingly fit underneath his suit jacket, judging by the span of his shoulders, his smile seemed almost razor-sharp, as if it was a tool rather than an expression. The other man standing behind him and a little to the side was much worse though, he actually scared her a bit. He looked like a character out of a Mortal Kombat movie or something. He was huge. Wider than a pro-football player and just as tall as the blonde man, the man behind him looked like a professional bouncer—or a contract killer. The dark tattoos on his terracotta skin crept past his collar and up to his ears on both sides of his neck, and down to his hands he kept calmly clasped at his front. Who were these men?
Tense as if ready to fight, Gideon had asked them the same question.
"I apologize," the blonde said smoothly in an accent so deep Jade found herself squinting and replaying his words. Was he Russian? Or was that German?
"I am…the manager of this hotel," he said as if he had come up with the title just then, and it satisfied him. "My name is Dimitri, and this is my head of security, Dominic," he said, gesturing to the man Jade could not take her eyes off of.
For a second, Dominic's dark eyes moved past Gideon and fell to her, and she could have sworn she saw them soften just the slightest before returning back to their unreadable hardness and shifting away from her.
"Yes, and how can I help you?" Gideon asked coldly.
Shocked at his level of hostility, Jade had moved closer to him and wrapped one hand around his firm upper arm. She could feel his bicep harden under her grip.
Smiling even wider as if amused, the blonde carried on. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but you two don't look twenty-one, am I correct?"
Jade had felt like she had been punched. When they first stepped off the elevator, they both knew they couldn’t use the coupons for the bar for the intended drinks but figured they could easily cash them in for soft drinks, they hadn't even considered the age to gamble.
"Not quite," Gideon answered stiffly. He was only twenty.
Sliding his blue gaze from Gideon to her, the blonde gave her a considering look. "And how old are you exactly?" he asked, looking directly at Jade.
"I'm eighteen," she answered quickly.
The man's eyes widened a fraction before smiling even wider. "Good Lord," he said with a laugh. "Well, this should be fun," he mused to himself with a bewildered shake of the head before turning to Dominic. As if expecting what he wanted, the big man reached into his black suit coat and pulled out familiar black and gold paper.
Taking the papers, Dimitri looked back to Gideon and held out his other hand expectedly. "Tell you what, why don't you give me the coupons you received at check-in, and I'll trade them out with some you both can actually use."
Jade was more than relieved the two men allowed them to walk away without any real trouble. Was underage gambling a crime you could go to jail for or get a huge fine? Either scenario would have been really bad, and she was more than happy the manager was nice enough to not only let them walk away but even gave them new coupons.
After taking a few dozen selfies at the various indoor fountains and beautiful artwork, they finally made it to the smoothie stand. Carrying one of the biggest smoothies she had ever seen, they slowly made their way through the stack of coupons. At first, Gideon was insulted as he scanned through each coupon.
"I think that bastard was trying to insult us," Gideon grumbled, tapping the stack of paper agitatedly against his palm. "These are practically for children."
Gently prying the papers from his hand, Jade read through them herself and smiled. There were some for bowling, candy shops, one for the movie theater, a private tour of the hotel's botanical gardens and aquarium, and some for in-room movies and room service. "Maybe," she said thoughtfully, and she gave Gideon a big sheepish grin. "But I like them all much better. All we could do before was gamble, drink and go to the hotel's nightclub, all things we are underage for. I much prefer candy shops and bowling."
Gideon frowned and looked back down at her hand, holding the coupons. "Still," he gave a slight pouty grumble. "Even if these are admittedly better, I don’t appreciate the veiled insult."
By the time they made it back to their room, Jade was dead on her feet. After ten games of bowling, a thirty-minute walk of the gard
ens and aquarium, and two sessions of indoor skydiving, all she wanted to do now was eat and peacefully pass into the afterlife on the nice soft bed.
Kicking off her shoes, Jade pushed aside the stacks of decorative pillows on the couch and laid face down onto the thick, soft cushions, letting out an exhausted groan. She could feel the other end of the couch shift, and she looked up to see Gideon sprawled out against the sofa's back, letting his head hang back.
"I'm hungry," he announced.
For a moment, neither one of them moved. Only the light, almost inaudible sound of their breathing gave any sign of life to the room. Forcing herself to move, Jade reached into her back pocket and pulled out the folded wad of coupons and thrust them forward. Just as tiredly, Gideon grabbed the coupons and fumbled for the phone to his left, sitting on the mirrored table next to the couch. With little to no energy in his voice, he ordered them both some food.
"It's going to be about forty-five minutes," he informed her. "You can shower first, and then I'll go."
Sitting up now, she covered her mouth in a yawn and gestured to the other room. "Why not just use the other bathroom in the other room?" she offered.
"Because I'm not sleeping in that other room tonight, Jade," the savage finality of his words washed away any lingering fatigue replacing it with alarm.
Straightening in her seat, Jade began to nervously pick at the edge of a nearby pillow. "I know," she began in a near whisper. "I mean, I never expected you to," and that was the truth. Ever since they left home, they had been sleeping in such close quarters, she couldn't imagine sleeping apart from him now. "I was just saying you could use the other bathroom and be done at the same time."
She watched as his narrowed eyes and his jaw tightened. There was an unfamiliar rigidity to his lean frame as if the sheer power of his anger were an electrical charge to the air around them. Jade shuddered in fear and something else. It was back, that nameless feeling she had been trying to avoid since they first left the room was back, and she had no idea how to handle it.
Guiltily, Gideon looked away from her running a hand over the back of his neck as he leaned his elbows onto both knees. "No, if they are early," he began evenly. "I don't want to miss it, and we're both in the shower."
The urge to touch him ran like white-hot flames through her veins. Closing her eyes, Jade looked down at her fidgeting hands, anywhere not to look at him. She wanted to pull him to her again to whisper that she loved him, but the more she thought about the bold but honest admission, her heart rate increased, and she felt as if she would pass out.
"Ok," she said, standing up from the couch. "I'll go get cleaned up then."
Without pausing, she walked away.
She was still patting her hair dry with a towel dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a blue and white button-down cropped shirt when the knock came at the door. That was fast, she thought as she glanced at the clock. It had only been twenty or so minutes. Going to the door, she opened it and paused. Only a cart draped in black linen sat at the door. On top was a large gold dome.
Leaning forward, she frowned as she glanced down either side of the empty hall. Pulling the cart in, she eyed it quizzically. She was certain she heard Gideon order at least three or four plates of food, but there was only one dish on the tray. Pushing it to the center of the living room, she stopped and lifted the dome and froze.
Backing away, she stared at it, trying to understand what she was seeing as a slow panic filled her gut.
"Gideon!" she called out, trying not to let her sense of dread turn her voice into a scream as she stared at the note sitting prominently against the black linen.
The note read: "Payback. Installment one."
Chapter 13
"What the fuck is this?"
Walking barefoot out of the bedroom, Gideon left the towel around his neck as he walked towards the cart, eyeing it suspiciously. Sitting on the gold platter was the cryptic note, and next to it, two sets of familiar black boxes, along with a phone. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt, Gideon picked up one of the boxes and opened the lid confirming her suspicions. Two sets of black wireless earbuds.
"Maybe it's another hotel perk or something?" she offered shakily, but somehow, she knew it wasn't.
Flipping the towel from around the back of his neck, he threw it onto a nearby chair before plucking up the note. He turned it over in his hand, and Jade could see that there was writing on the other side. Looking up, Gideon gave her a withering look.
"Somehow, I doubt it," he murmured, showing her the note.
On the other side, there was one line of instructions. Put in the earbuds and turn on the TV.
Jade breathed, aware of the tightening in her stomach as Gideon quietly stared at the black boxes on the gold platter. She could tell he was thinking, analyzing his options. At least she wasn't the only one unnerved by this, she thought. Finally, after a few more seconds of tense silence, Gideon finally snatched up a box and flipped open the lid, and stuck both earbuds in his ear. Hesitantly, she followed suit. Seeing that her earbuds were in place, Gideon grabbed the TV's remote off the coffee table and picked it up, pointing it to the TV.
With a flicker, the black screen faded until it showed a familiar scene. Shot from an above angle, Jade watched in silent horror as the video of herself and Gideon played across the scene. On the screen, she was holding her pressure cooker with both arms, tight to her chest as she looked around nervously by a pool. Opening a patio door with success, Gideon grinned and waved her to follow. The sounds on the TV were low and barely audible, but she knew exactly what the recorded image of her was saying as Gideon ushered her inside.
Taking a step back, Jade felt suddenly lightheaded. Glancing up to Gideon, who stood a few paces in front of her, she could see that he hadn't budged. The taut lines of his shoulders and arms told her enough, though. Breathing faster, she began to turn and head towards the nearest seat when the beep went off in her ear. Jade jumped in surprise. The phone on the platter glowed brightly with an unknown number. Gideon's expression was darker than she had ever seen it. Looking at the phone as it rang, they both listened to the calm single beeps in their ears. Coming to a decision, Gideon's jaw tightened, and his mouth thinned as he reached up and pressed the button on his earbud.
"Hello, Jade, hello Gideon," the familiar accented voice greeted them both. A mental picture of the blonde hotel manager flashed in Jade's mind, and she felt suddenly sick and foolish all at once. Staggering to the side, her hands found the back of the tall chair and clutched onto for support as he continued. "Let's get directly to the point. You two broke into my house and stole something of mine."
Gideon's amber eyes met hers, and she could see the eddies of emotions, from anger to remorse swirling around in their depths.
Neither one of them said anything for a long moment. Both processing the implications as the video of their time in the mansion played on the TV.
Stole something? She repeated mentally. They didn't steal anything. He had it all wrong, all they did was shower, sleep, and leave that next morning…Oh God.
Tears began to well up in her eyes, and Gideon frowned, pulled from his own thoughts by her tears, he took a step towards her. Holding up her hand, she shook her head, feeling a wave of nausea churn in her stomach as her hands went cold and clammy.
"I'm sorry," she choked out a whisper, staring back at Gideon's confused and worried expression. "I took some granola bars," she confessed. That morning when they were leaving, she spotted the bars through the open pantry door and slipped two into her bag, thinking no one would notice. Unable to look at his face, she turned around and addressed the voice directly. "Please, I'll pay you back I—"
The man's laugh cut her off. "I'm not talking about that. I could care less about that. You're welcome to the bars."
"Then what are you talking about?" Gideon shot back, his voice low and dark.
"Let me refresh your memory," the clipped accented voice said coolly.
>
The video on the screen began to fast forward their recorded selves moving swiftly out of the frame until after a few moments of nothing, Gideon's image reappeared in the living room and walking through the kitchen. The scene changed to another room, this time a narrow closet type room filled with monitors. The Gideon on camera was looking at the screens, his lips curled in disgust before reaching for the control box, and removing what Jade could only assume were hard drives. The video paused on the scene of Gideon pocketing the hard-drives.
Looking away from the TV, Gideon began to pace back and forth, running his hands over his face and clasping them behind his head as he paced.
"I was curious about you two," the voice continued in her ear. "I wanted to know who had the balls enough to break into my home. Surely, someone who was ready to take a bullet to the head. Surely, someone who was ready to go to fucking war. But to my surprise, I found a pair of children simply sleeping in my bed, like some sort of fairytale," he laughed all the while Jade lowered herself to the nearest seat. She was shaking, and she felt as if any minute her fear would make her pass out. "So, I had you both brought here," the man said cheerfully, "and while you both ate candy and played around my hotel," he said mockingly. "I looked you up. Really Gideon," his tone full of admonishment. "You should have asked your sister to look at my security system first. I'm sure Stardust Cove's president of the engineering club could have told you with one glance taking the hard-drives was unnecessary."
A Love So Wrong: A Forbidden Romance Page 19