Page 41 of The Castle (Endgame 3)
But I can already tell by West’s stern expression and opaque eyes what I’ll find out. Nothing. “He won’t tell me either. He’ll just handle me, like you’re doing. Won’t he?”
“Blue is trustworthy,” he says. “I’m sure that if Gabriel is in trouble, Blue will help however he can. Our contract isn’t limited to this estate.”
Which confirms that Gabriel is in trouble. And that Blue is trying to help him. I guess that’s reassuring. Except not really. “So, tell me this. If I were to walk out the front door right now, what would happen?”
Discomfort flashes across his hard features. “If you plan to leave, I would have to inform my supervisor.”
“No, no,” I assure him, though we both know I’m lying. “I’m not planning to leave. Why would I want to leave? I mean, hypothetically. What would happen if I did?”
He studies my expression. Then sighs. “Our job is to keep you safe.”
“Would I be safe outside?”
“Not according to our information.”
“So then you would force me to stay; that’s what you’re saying. You would kidnap me.”
“We would keep you safe,” he says gently.
And of course they aren’t the ones to keep me. If anyone did that it was Gabriel. Or maybe myself. Maybe I tied the rope around my own wrists, closed the door to my own cage.
The men are just another kind of lock.
Without a word I turn and walk away. At the end of the hallway pale light from the kitchen draws a triangle. Before I reach the entrance, I hear voices—a low, masculine voice I don’t recognize. It must be the man from the security room earlier, the one with cropped silver hair.
“You should tell him sooner rather than later.”
“And then what?” This voice I recognize as Mrs. B, more worried and whispered than I’ve ever heard her. “He’ll despise me. He deserves my loyalty.”
“He doesn’t deserve anything from you.”
“I’ve worked here for over twenty years.”
“And you’ll be long gone, so what do you care what he thinks?”
My heart thuds. The man she’s worked for the past twenty years is Gabriel, and this man is telling her she doesn’t owe him anything. What did she do to break her loyalty? Pass information to a stranger? Take a bribe? It could be anything. It could be the reason why Gabriel is in trouble now.
“I do care,” she says, sounding near tears. “About him. But the girls, it’s too much. First one. Then another. I hate them. I hate them so much I almost can’t breathe.”
I suck in a breath. Me and Penny. Why does she hate us?
And what has she done about it?
Sold information? If that’s the case, then the man with cropped silver hair knows about it. He works for Blue Security, which means Jonathan Scott has an inside man. Even if I believe what West told me, I can’t trust that Gabriel will be okay. Not with people inside working against him.
There’s murmuring from the kitchen, words I can’t make out.
What are they plotting together? Before I realize what’s happening, the man with silver hair strides into the hallway. He stops short, eyes narrowing.
I gesture uselessly toward the room. “I was just talking to West. Asking about Gabriel.”
“And what did he tell you?” There’s suspicion. Accusation.
“Not to worry.”
“Then you should listen to him,” he says, his voice flat.
A shiver runs through me.
For a moment I think he might handle the threat here and now. Drag me into a closet. Finish me. Except that would be too big of a mess, even for someone with connections. There would be evidence on tape. And whatever Mrs. B and this man have done, I believe that West is being honest with me. As honest as he can be. He wouldn’t be in on a plot to hurt Gabriel.
“Of course,” I say too brightly. “I’m sure he’ll be back tomorrow.”
And I see in this man’s expression the truth. He knows Gabriel isn’t coming back. The way that Penny knew that he was in trouble. The way I knew, somewhere deep inside, when I begged him to stay.
In that split second I make a decision.
I’m not safe here. And more importantly, Gabriel isn’t safe out there.
When I emerge from the hallway, Mrs. B works at kneading dough on a wooden chopping block dusted with flour. I smell rosemary and garlic. Any other day I would have given her a smile and some remark about how delicious it looks.
That’s what I do today, too. Because I don’t want her to suspect.
“Oh by the way,” I add. “I remembered I need something. Can you order it for me?”Chapter Twenty-ThreeI feel a little guilty for leaving Penny. She’ll freak out when Mrs. B shows up with her breakfast tomorrow, but I don’t have a choice. Aside from one day of speaking, she still doesn’t talk. She barely eats. I can’t drag her around Tanglewood. And even though I don’t trust Mrs. B or the security guards here, I believe they’ll at least behave for the camera, for the time being.
