Page 11 of The Queen (Masterpiece Duet 2)
My blood runs cold. That’s the dream I had since I was a child. One by one, everyone I love disappearing. Like a terrible fable, one that ends with me alone.
I struggle to keep my voice even. “You should tell him how you feel.”
“No, he would just worry about me. Maybe even stay here more when he really needs to be visiting to make these deals. I know I should feel better that he’s had this rift with Damon Scott. He’s mostly a criminal. Definitely dangerous. That leaves Gabriel with more time to focus on his legitimate business.”
Definitely dangerous. The words echo in my head. “But?”
“But it was good to know someone had his back. At least they trust each other. Or they did. Now it seems like everyone has some secret agenda. And Gabriel is operating by himself.”
“He probably has a good sense of who to trust. That’s how he got so far.”
“You’re right,” she says, smiling a little. It’s troubled, though. She’s not convinced. And the truth is, neither am I. It bothers me more than I want to admit to hear that Gabriel Miller and Damon Scott have had a falling out. What could it be about?
“Things will seem better in the morning,” I say, not because I believe it but because I want it to be true.
Worry draws a crease between her eyebrows. “Will you sleep over?”
“Oh.” I glance at the large California king, covered in plush white 1000-thread count linens. It’s definitely big enough for the both of us, but still weird to be where Gabriel would sleep.
“Come on,” she says, her voice teasing. “You’re way too drunk on popcorn and Perrier to walk back to your room.” Her tone grows serious. “And I’m actually kind of scared to be alone.”
That decides me. “Of course I’ll stay. And tomorrow you’ll call Gabriel and tell him what you’re really feeling. He deserves to know, and you deserve to have him help you through it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she says, relief in her voice.
I feel relieved too, to not sleep alone for one night out of a thousand, to have a break from the dreams that plague me. But the nightmares come again, worse than ever. I’m in a crowd of glittering diamonds and gold, so sparkling I can’t even see anyone’s faces. And then one by one the lights go out. The people disappear. Until I’m left standing alone in a ballroom.
And then the ballroom turns into an empty pool, its green tiles cracked, dark roots breaking it apart from underneath. It’s filling with water, blackness rising, until I can’t see anything at all.
Chapter Seven
I wake up startled, as if I had been falling in my dream, arms jerking back to catch my fall. The bed where I land is warm and soft—and very, very big. It’s not clear for two minutes, three, that I’m alone in it. The piles of pillows don’t hold anyone but me.
Sheets cling to my damp skin as I sit up in bed, blinking at the wide empty space. My room is the size of an ordinary dorm room, and I like that about it. It’s small. And it’s mine.
This room belongs to Avery James, who is basically modern-day royalty. Antique furniture and artwork tastefully decorate the large space. On the far coffee table I see the half-empty popcorn bowl we left and a couple of green glass water bottles. The teal scales on my phone case glitter in the morning light. Pushing away the heavy down comforter, I get out of bed and stumble across the room.
The phone blinks low battery at me, having sat here all night without charging.
The time is ten o’clock, way later than I usually wake up. I got used to rising early working at the diner back home. Sleeping until eight when I get up for class still feels like a luxury.
“Avery?” I ask out loud. My voice seems to echo back at me.
I glance at the bathroom, where the door sits half-open, the claw-foot bathtub dark and dry. Maybe she went downstairs to talk to the staff for some reason. She does own the hotel, even if she doesn’t usually get involved in operations.
Or maybe Gabriel came home early and surprised her.
Then why didn’t I wake up and hear him? And where did they go? It would be just like Avery to not want to wake me. They could have found an empty hotel room on a lower floor and left me to sleep.
The more I think about it, that must be what happened. I certainly hope that’s what happened. Because Avery has been so worried about him. I can’t imagine her relief to have him safely home.
Something buzzes faintly in the room, and I turn back toward the bed. It’s coming from the mountain of white sheets and blankets. I pull aside pillows, letting them fall to the floor like I’m excavating something. And the results of my dig are a phone, this one with a pink and black Kate Spade phone case that I recognize as being Avery’s. Why would she leave her suite without her phone?
