EYES WIDE in shock, Sydney searched the counter for a knife or something she could use as a weapon of defense.
Her gaze was still trained on Gabriel as his eyes searched the house before it eventually dropped on her.
A plate fell to the ground and shattered.
Sydney flinched from the sound and piece that made contact with her skin, but she didn’t move, nor did Gabriel.
Despite breaking a plate, Sydney still resumed her search for a knife.
” What are you doing here?”
Gabriel was walking towards her now. He was dressed in blue tailored khaki pants, a grey shirt, and a blue polished brogue. He had a fresh new haircut and looked more like a wealthy specimen than a broke lumberjack.
” You are too careless.” He looked at the cut on her leg, frowning.
” I thought I warned you to stay away.”
His eyes met hers. For the first time, she saw an indifferent, unsympathetic look in his eyes.
Was he going to try to kidnap her and lock her up?
Sydney finally felt a butcher knife on the counter and quickly grabbed it.
” Your wound will get infected if you don’t cover it up.” His gaze altered to the knife.
” You have no right to walk in here and tell me what to do. Leave, please. I was busy before you came in.”
He’d seen Gavin’s Rolls-Royce peel out of the porch and into the street.
He wondered what must have happened between him and Sydney. Were they back together? Did she accept him back after Avery told her the truth?
Gabriel was a fireball.
He convinced himself he came to apologize to her and tell her what she needed to hear, not to try to dominate her all over again.
” You are bleeding.”
Sydney pointed the knife at him and growled, ” And why is that your business? You’ve done far worse to me; this is just the tip of the iceberg, isn’t it? ”
” Let me exp-”
” I’m in no mood to listen to you, get out!”
Gabriel’s expression altered. He stared at her hotly in the eyes.
Before she could say a word, Gabriel dragged the knife from her, threw it across the room then snatched her and threw her over his shoulder.
She kicked his chest and slapped his back. ” I’ll call the cops if you don’t let me go.”
He ignored her, walked to the main bathroom, and locked the door before placing her on a counter.
She jumped down quickly, ” Do you have a clue what you are doing? This is called-”
” Sit down.”
” No.”
” Syd-”
” Get out of here!” She barked and charged for the door.
He reached to catch her hand. She ducked beneath it and sent a punch to his back. He was like metal.
He exhaled and looked at her.
” Just stop being stubborn and let me tend your cut and talk to you. I don’t want to force you to stay still.”
He gestured towards the flat rubber pipes on the cabinet drawer.
Sydney folded her arm around her chest defiantly, ” You won’t make me still if I don’t want to.”
” Put up a fuss and you’ll see otherwise.”
Sydney felt a lump in her throat. She looked away and sat on the toilet seat instead.
She watched as he looked through the cabinet and took out a first aid box.
” The cut is deep so I’d have to stitch it.” He winced on her behalf.
He looked through the first aid box and then half-looked at her. ” No sedative or anesthesia.”
She had stitched herself countless times from the injuries her father inflicted on her without sedative or anesthesia, so, this would be nothing.
” Go ahead. ”
He looked at her skeptically and she rolled her eyes. ” If you don’t want to do it, then leave; that’s a better option.”
He muttered something under his breath, took a pair of scissors, and cut a part of his shirt before ripping it off.
Sydney looked at him in a daze.
He folded it and placed it in her mouth.
” So I don’t have to listen to you scream.”
He dipped the cotton wool in antiseptic and cleaned the cut. Sydney winced and held on to his shoulder as a means to quell the pain.
” I’m sorry for everything I’ve caused you.” He sounded earnest. ” I let my desires destroy you.”
He always maintained eye contact with her, but this time, he didn’t. He didn’t want to love her all over again.
He took out a fresh needle and cleaned it in isopropyl alcohol before sending a thread through the little hole.
She took away the cloth from her mouth.
” Gil has been looking for you. Your father called yesterday and asked if I knew of your whereabouts. Where were you?”
He wavered a response. ” I needed to get some things sorted out.”
” Things like what?”
His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second. He took the cloth and put the cloth back into her mouth.
” The pain would only be temporary.” He disregarded her question. ” Don’t move so it doesn’t worsen your cut.”
Sydney shut her eyes and nodded. She wanted to ask how he learned how to stitch up a cut but reckoned he must have stitched up the people he tortured to keep them alive for another round of torture.
Gabriel stitched up the cut in less than five minutes. He was surprised she was shouting, screaming, or throwing a fuss.
He went to the vanity to wash his hands.
” Wait for a while before you stand.” He said as he washed the blood off his hands.
The bathroom was eerily silent for a few minutes, Gabriel knew he had to come straight with her sooner or later.
He sighed.