Dark Angel: A Dark Romance: London Ruthless Series Book 1 (The London Ruthless Series)

by Sadie Kincaid

  Where was my phone? Could I get to it quickly enough? Was there a weapon to hand?

  I glanced at the letter opener just a few feet away from me on my desk. As I reached for it I looked up to see the door to my office opening.

  Oh, God, please let it be Gabriel!

  Chapter 32

  Gabriel

  ‘Fucking traffic,’ I muttered under my breath. I had promised Samantha I’d be at her office by six to pick her up and it was already quarter past. I’d forgotten about the nearby roadworks which had turned the road into one long traffic jam. I hated being late for anything, but especially for her.

  Approaching her office, I could already see the blue lights in the distance. It took me a few seconds to realise that they belonged to two police cars and an ambulance, lighting up the street directly outside Donovan Cook.

  Shit!

  My heart started to beat so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest. Pushing my foot down on the accelerator, I sped towards the scene. My tyres screeched to a halt outside when I got there. Leaping out of the car, I took the couple of steps up to Samantha’s office in one stride. As soon as I reached the door I was stopped by a uniform.

  ‘This is a crime scene, Sir.’ He said, his arm outstretched in front of me to stop me from moving any further.

  ‘That’s my fucking girlfriend in there,’ I snapped at him, determined to move him by force if he didn’t step out of my way voluntarily.

  ‘Name?’ the uniform said as he reached for his radio.

  ‘Gabriel Sullivan,’ I seethed. My teeth were clenched so hard my jaw was beginning to ache.

  ‘There’s a Gabriel Sullivan here, Sarge.’

  The voice on the other end crackled through. ‘Let him in.’

  I pushed past the idiot at the door and into the hallway. At the sight of blood spattered across the floor, my hammering heart felt like it was going to pack in altogether. I tried to swallow but there was no saliva at all in my mouth.

  ‘Mr Sullivan,’ another uniform stepped out of the office doorway. She gave me a half-smile and gestured for me to step inside Samantha’s office.

  ‘Gabe!’ Samantha shouted when she saw me.

  My knees felt like they’d been hit from behind with a sledgehammer. Holding onto the doorframe for a split second, I steadied myself as I looked at her sitting at her desk, seemingly uninjured. I let out a long breath. She was pale and shaking like a leaf, but she was okay.

  ‘Sam, what happened? Are you okay?’ I crossed her office in two strides.

  She nodded at me and gave me a weak smile.

  I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. ‘We’re just about to take a statement, Mr Sullivan.’ I turned to see a tall, bearded man in a brown overcoat indicating the chair next to Samantha. I took a seat and frowned. I wasn’t used to co-operating with the law.

  I turned to Samantha. ‘The blood? The ambulance?’

  ‘Your girlfriend here broke her attacker’s nose,’ the bearded police officer answered for her. ‘And quite possibly a couple of his ribs.’

  ‘And she dislocated his shoulder,’ the female officer who had shown me into the room said.

  ‘What?’ I said as I stared at Samantha.

  ‘I told you I didn’t need a bodyguard, Gabe,’ she said with a faint smile.

  I shook my head before smiling back. Jesus Christ, just when I thought this woman had run out of ways to amaze me.

  ‘In your own time, Samantha,’ the bearded detective said with a smile.

  Chapter 33

  Samantha

  I took a deep breath. My mouth was dry. My throat felt swollen. I clasped my hands in front of me to stop them from trembling. Gabriel shifted in his seat, moving closer to me and resulting in his thigh being pressed against mine. The heat from his body penetrated the thin fabric of my skirt. I glanced at him and saw the concern in his eyes. Clearing my throat, I started to relay the details of my brush with Mr Garvey, while one of the uniformed constables wrote down my statement.

  ‘I was filing some papers before finishing for the night when I heard the buzzer at the front door. I assumed it was Gabriel and pressed the release to unlock the doors and let him through. It was stupid. I should have checked who it was,’ I shook my head. DS Phillips smiled at me and I went on. ‘I heard the footsteps coming towards my office and I knew it wasn’t Gabriel. The shoes squeaked on the tiles, like trainers do, you know? And Gabriel never wears trainers outside of the gym. I grabbed the letter opener from my desk just as Anthony Garvey walked through the door.’

  I paused and reached for the glass of water DS Phillips had given me a few moments earlier.

  ‘He started shouting as soon as he saw me. Calling me a fucking bitch and telling me I was about to get exactly what I deserved. He made a grab for me. He was so close, I could smell the cigarettes and whisky on his breath. He put one hand around my throat and then started to pull at the buttons on my shirt.’ I paused as I felt Gabriel tense beside me.

  ‘I tried to jam the letter opener into his ribs but he was wearing a thick coat, and it barely scratched him. He started laughing then and telling me how I was going to pay, how he’d make me suffer. He made a grab for my hand, trying to get the letter opener from me. I knew I had to get out of there and away from him so I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until I heard a pop, and then I made a run for it. I grabbed my jacket off the chair on my way out. My mobile was in it and I managed to dial 999 before he caught up with me and knocked it from my hand. He was screaming by then that he was going to kill me. There was a bit of a scuffle but I head-butted him in the nose and then kicked him in the ribs when he was doubled over. I locked myself in my office then until you arrived.’

  I finished my statement and took another sip of water. Gabriel took hold of my free hand and squeezed and I smiled at him. I knew it hadn’t been easy for him to stay calm hearing about my assault. I had felt his body tense throughout. ‘I’m just relieved you arrived when you did,’ I said to the officers.

  ‘There was a car in the area,’ DS Phillips replied.

  ‘Thank God,’ Gabriel muttered.

  ‘For who?’ one of the officers said, smiling, until he realised that nobody else found his joke amusing.

  It felt like hours before I was finally allowed to leave the office and go home. Both Gabriel and I were silent during the drive. I knew he’d be blaming himself for being late, and I didn’t have the energy to argue about it. I wondered whether to tell him what else I thought Garvey had said to me. I could have sworn he’d said ‘we’ll make you pay.’ But it had all happened so fast and my blood had been thundering in my ears, I couldn’t be sure. I hadn’t mentioned it to the police and now I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because if there was a ‘we’ it had to be Jackson behind it. And if that was true then the police could do little about it. Jackson had friends very high up in the Met.

  Gabriel and my father would have me wrapped in cotton wool and never leaving the house again if they knew. But more importantly, I didn’t want either of them on the wrong side of my ex-husband. As tough as the two of them were, Jackson was far too dangerous. No, I would find out what was going on myself, even if that meant speaking to Jackson to find out what the bloody hell he was playing at.

  I showered as soon as I got home to my apartment, turning the temperature dial up as far as it could go. I enjoyed the feeling of the hot water running over my face. I recalled the many times I had stood in a scalding shower and desperately hoped that it might wash away a memory. Sometimes, I used to like to imagine it washing me away entirely. Like maybe I could just melt, trickle down the plughole and disappear.

  Gabriel didn’t join me, as he usually would, and I wasn’t sure if I was hurt or relieved. My brush with Anthony Garvey had shaken me more than I would ever admit. I had been stupid to open that door without checking who it was. I’d been so desperate to prove that I could look after myself and didn’t need protection, that I’d been reckless. I’d spent years of my life do
ing all I could to keep myself safe, and now that some crazy person was out to get me, I’d been careless and arrogant. I had thought that surviving Jackson made me invincible. At least now Garvey was going to be behind bars for the foreseeable future. That gave me some comfort at least — and so did having my own personal bodyguard in the form of Gabriel Sullivan, as much as I would never admit that to him or my father.

  Padding into the living room in my bathrobe, I found Gabriel sitting on the sofa with a glass of Jack Daniels in his hand. There was another glass on the coffee table.

  ‘I thought you might like one,’ he nodded towards the glass and I picked it up before taking a seat beside him.

  Taking a large gulp of the dark liquid, I enjoyed the feel of it burning my throat as I swallowed.

  ‘I’m sorry, Sam.’ Gabriel said, shaking his head. ‘I should have been there.’

  ‘It’s not your fault, Gabe. I should never have let him in. Even so, it’s nobody’s fault, except his. And the police have him now. He’ll end up where he belongs soon enough.’

  Gabriel drained his glass and started to pour another.

  I put a hand on his arm. ‘Let’s go to bed, Gabe. I’m tired.’

  He nodded and followed me to the bedroom. We both undressed silently before slipping into bed. I lay my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him so tightly I struggled to breathe.

  ‘Easy, Tiger,’ I laughed, trying to wriggle from his vice-like grip.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said absent-mindedly, loosening his hold.

  I moved to look at him, leaning my head on my elbow. ‘Where are you, Gabe? Come back to me.’

  ‘I’m sorry. It’s just that I should have been there.’

  ‘Will you please stop? I am not your responsibility, Gabe. I get that you want to look after me, I do, but I am responsible for my own life. And in case you still haven’t realised, I can look after myself.’

  ‘I know that, Sam. But I can’t help it.’

  ‘Well, please try. I want my Gabe back. The one who wouldn’t dare leave me to shower alone,’ I grinned. Needing to anchor him back to me somehow, I ran my hand down his chest towards his groin and he groaned. Taking hold of his stiff cock, I squeezed before bending and running my tongue across the tip. ‘Where would you like to come tonight, Sir?’ I asked as I looked up at him and fluttered my eyelashes. ‘My mouth? Or my hot, wet pussy?’

  In an instant, he had me rolled over onto my back and pinned to the bed. ‘Both,’ he growled as his eyes burned into mine, and then he was inside me, fucking me so hard that I forgot all about Anthony Garvey and Jackson Carver.

  Gabriel and I lay facing each other in bed, our legs entwined.

  ‘You broke his nose, his ribs and dislocated his shoulder, Sam?’ he raised an eyebrow at me.

  ‘Yes. I told you I could look after myself.’

  He shook his head. ‘But how?’

  ‘I had a personal trainer for years. I saw her three times a week. She was an excellent yoga teacher, and Jackson thought that was all we did. But she was a champion kickboxer too. She taught me self-defence and part of that was learning the best way to disable an attacker. I was very good at it — an A student,’ I told him with a smile.

  He kissed my hand. ‘I’m proud of you — and maybe just a little bit scared,’ he laughed and his green eyes twinkled. ‘Have I ever told you, you are the most incredible woman I have ever known, Samantha Donovan?’

  ‘You’re pretty incredible yourself, Gabriel Sullivan.’

  Chapter 34

  Samantha

  The tyres of Gabriel’s Jaguar crawled over the gravel path as he pulled up outside his friend’s cottage. Climbing out of the car, I smiled as I looked at the place where we were about to spend the weekend. It was beautiful. Old stone walls and huge windows. Standing in the middle of nowhere, in the beautiful English countryside.

  Taking our bags out of the car, Gabriel smiled at me. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It’s gorgeous,’ I replied.

  He dropped the bags and pulled me to him. ‘Complete privacy.’ He grinned wickedly. ‘No-one will hear you scream.’

  I gave an involuntary shudder.

  ‘Only with pleasure, Sam,’ he whispered. Pulling me to him, he kissed me long and hard, as if to remind me of the pleasure he could instil.

  The cottage was stunning inside too. An old-fashioned Aga dominated the rustic kitchen and a log fire was the focal point of the living room. The place had two bedrooms and we chose the one with the giant four poster bed. My insides contracted in anticipation at the thought of we would do in it later.

  Gabriel had booked us a table at a restaurant in the nearest village that someone had recommended to him. Apparently, they did the best steak in all of England and he couldn’t wait to try it. I was brushing my hair in the bedroom and was almost ready to go out, but as usual when Gabriel was around, I was feeling decidedly horny. There was something about being stuck in the middle of nowhere, only me and him, that made me think of nothing but having him rip off my clothes and ravage me in every room of the house. Suddenly, I remembered the surprise outfit I’d brought along. Smiling to myself, I slipped it on and made my way into the living room where Gabriel was reading the newspaper. He looked up as I walked into the room and smiled.

  ‘Jesus Christ, Samantha! What are you wearing?’

  ‘Do you remember this, Gabe?’ I asked as I gave him a twirl.

  ‘Yes, I do. And it’s even more obscene now than it was fourteen years ago,’ he laughed.

  I made my way over to him. ‘Well, I have filled out a bit since I was eighteen.’

  He was right though. The tiny black dress barely covered my modesty. I had found it in amongst some of my old things at my father’s house and had known that I’d have to wear it for Gabriel. I straddled him as he sat on the sofa, making him put down the newspaper.

  ‘You can’t go out in this, you know that, don’t you?’ he said.

  ‘Why not?’ I said, feigning indignation.

  He pulled gently on the fabric and my nipples popped out of the top. ‘That’s why,’ he said, taking one into his mouth and sucking hard, making me squirm with pleasure.

  ‘Well, I’m wearing it. I think it looks fine,’ I insisted.

  ‘No, you’re not,’ he snapped as he nipped at my shoulder blade.

  ‘Are you seriously telling me what I can and can’t wear, Gabriel?’

  He laughed. ‘I wouldn’t dare. But I’m asking you politely to please put something else on. For my own sanity. I’m starving and I’ve been desperate to try this restaurant’s steak for ages. And if you continue wearing this poor excuse for a dress, then we will never make it to the restaurant.’

  ‘We could always stay in?’ I purred in his ear. ‘I can cook us an omelette?’

  ‘An omelette?’ he replied with a flash of his eyebrows. ‘Do you even know me at all, woman? Besides, I made you come twice before we left, and you still want more? You’re insatiable. We’ve got all weekend. And there’ll be plenty of other opportunities for you to wear this tiny little dress. In fact, I’m going to fuck you in it later. But right now, I’m starving. So please get changed.’

  I climbed off him and headed back to the bedroom. ‘I’m wearing the dress,’ I shouted as I made my way down the hall.

  I returned ten minutes later, ready to go. I was still wearing the dress, only I had put on a strapless bra and pulled the dress up like a boob tube, pairing it with some skinny jeans and my favourite Louboutins. Gabriel laughed out loud when he saw me.

  ‘Told you!’ I smiled.

  ‘You look beautiful,’ he said, pulling me to him for a kiss. ‘Now, let’s go.’

  I looked around the crowded restaurant. It was certainly popular. I had ordered champagne from the wine menu and Gabriel had simply smiled when the waiter had told him it cost four hundred pounds a bottle. There was something about the country air that was making me feel giddy. Or perhaps it was the champagne, which
I had consumed almost entirely to myself as Gabriel was driving.

  ‘Thank you Paulo,’ I giggled at the Spanish waiter whom I had been brazenly flirting with all night as he brought my meal. I had even squeezed his bicep at one point and asked him how often he worked out. I could sense Gabriel getting angrier by the minute, but despite that, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I knew I was playing a dangerous game, but I seemed to be driven by some innate need to see just how far I could push him before he would snap.

  My marriage to Jackson had made me suspicious and paranoid. Gabriel was too perfect — he must have a flaw, and it was better that I found out sooner rather than later what that was.

  Gabriel asked for the bill as soon as he had taken the last bite of his steak. After paying, he walked to the car in silence, with me trailing after him.

  ‘Are you angry with me, Gabe?’ I asked.

  ‘Just get into the fucking car, Samantha,’ he growled.

  I did as I was told, given that my only other option was to stay where I was and be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Gabriel didn’t speak during the drive back. I glanced at him occasionally, noting how his jaw was clenched shut, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. I could feel the anger emanating from his body and as the champagne started to wear off, I wondered if I had pushed him too far and what he would say when he finally spoke to me. Wasn’t this exactly what I wanted? To see how far I could push him?

  When we arrived back at the cottage, Gabriel collected his things from our bedroom and stomped across the hall to the spare room.

  ‘Gabe, don’t do this. I’m sorry,’ I said to his retreating back.

  He turned to me, his face full of anger. ‘Don’t you fucking dare! You pretend you don’t play games, Samantha. But what the fuck was that tonight? And don’t try and pretend I’m overreacting, or convince yourself this is jealousy because that is not what this is about.’