Chapter 3 Sophia
Sophia
Istirred in the bed, opened my eyes groggily. feeling the empty space where the warmth of Gabriel should have been. My hand brushed against the rumpled sheets where he’d lain, and a dull ache settled in my chest.
I squinted at my phone. It was nearly midnight. Had he gotten out of bed the moment I fell asleep? I felt his side again.
Cold.
Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and caught sight of my suitcase still sitting untouched at the foot of the bed. I pulled out a plain white sweater and leggings.
As I dressed, I could hear muffled voices drifting up from somewhere in the house. Gabriel’s voice was unmistakable—low, commanding, and sharp. Whoever he was speaking to, it wasn’t a casual conversation.
I tied my hair into a ponytail and stepped into the hallway, the polished wood beneath my feet was cool and smooth. The walls were lined with paintings that felt as old and brooding as the house itself.
The voices grew louder as I crept down the grand staircase.
I sat halfway down, peering through the banisters.
Gabriel was in an office directly beneath his bedroom, pacing like a caged lion while a man I didn’t recognize stood rigidly, slightly hunched forward, as still as a statue—aside from his beady eyes tracking Gabriel’s every movement.
The man was average height, with close-set, soft blue eyes that didn’t match the mean, narrow angles of his face
“I’m beginning to question your competence, Nikolai.
” Gabriel’s voice carried through the wide-open foyer, hard enough to echo.
“Time and again, you come up short. I tell you to investigate the oil company polluting Port Aranza’s water, and you miss that it’s also a smuggling front tied to the Sinclairs.
And now you claim you don’t know where Ivan is keeping Caroline—only that it’s not at their estate? Please.”
Nikolai’s eyes darted toward me through the open door. “You have a visitor,” he said in a hushed tone that softly echoed in the grand hall around me.
Gabriel appeared in the doorway and motioned for me to come forward.
“Everyone makes mistakes Gabriel,” Nikolai said, watching me as I entered the room.
Gabriel turned when he heard me, a flicker of warmth crossing his face before it vanished. “You couldn’t sleep?” he asked, quieter now.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. You weren’t in bed, so I—”
He cut me off with a wave of his hand. “Sophia, this is Nikolai. He’s... been a family friend for decades.”
Nikolai inclined his head, gaze cool and assessing, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
“Weeks ago, my Father asked Nikolai to gather information on the Sinclairs and find where Ivan is keeping Caroline. The only thing he’s discovered, is that he is certain she is not being held in the Sinclair estate. What do you make of this, Sophia?”
I looked Nikolai up and down. I had only just met him, but I didn’t like him.
“How could he know what’s inside their home?”
Nikolai hesitated, glancing at Gabriel as if weighing how much to say. Finally, he spoke.
“I have my sources. The Sinclairs aren’t exactly subtle, but they’re careful. We’ve got a few possibilities, but nothing concrete. They’ve been moving their operations around while you were gone, making it harder to pin them down.”
“Get out. Get it done.”
Nikolai inclined his head slightly, and slipped out of the room.
I stepped closer, brushing my hand lightly against Gabriels arm, feeling his tense muscles under the soft fabric of his shirt. He didn’t look at me, but felt him relax slightly under my touch.
He sank into the nearest chair, exhaling deeply, and I walked over to the shelf containing decanters of liquor, pouring him a glass of what I guessed was whiskey.
His expression lightened a bit as he looked up to see the glass in my hand, extended to him.
“You always seem to know what I need, and when I need it,” he said, taking a drink, then setting it down, returning his gaze to mine before trailing his eyes down my body, slow and deliberate.
I stepped closer. He hadn’t spoken, but he didn’t need to. His presence alone pulled me in, the quiet power of him impossible to resist.
I settled onto his lap facing him, my knees pressing into the expensive leather as his hands rested at my waist.
“You should be sleeping,” he murmured, his voice was low, but no less commanding.
I tilted my head, letting my fingers graze through his hair, “So come to bed.”
His lips parted slightly, the ghost of a smirk playing at the corner. “I have things to take care of.”
A shiver ran through me as his hands slid lower, gripping my hips with strong hands that sent my pulse skittering. Heat pooled low in my stomach, and I leaned in, brushing my lips over his in the lightest of teases.
“You should take care of me.”
His grip tightened and he returned my kiss with a low growl.
A sharp knock echoed through the office.
He exhaled harshly, his jaw clenching as his fingers flexed against me. His patience frayed, his grip bruising for a split second before he forced himself to let go. “Of course,” he muttered under his breath, voice razor-edged with restraint.
I climbed out of his lap and he walked to the door. He opened it, revealing a man—clearly one of his house staff. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What is it?”
The servant swallowed nervously. "The Don calls for Sophia."
My stomach dropped.
"Tell him she’s sleeping."
The servant hesitated, caught between the immediate danger of defying Gabriel and the greater danger in lying to his father, the Don.
“Go.” Gabriel said.
The servant slipped out of the room without another word.
The heat between us had already cooled, the moment slipping away.
I poured myself a drink, the clink of glass on glass loud in the sudden stillness.
"I don’t think it’s a good look for me that you’re trying to protect me from him," I said, keeping my voice even.
"Right now just isn’t the time," he said. "He’s looking for an excuse to attack you. After the conversation I had with him... he’s not thinking clearly."
I turned, holding my glass loosely in my fingers.
"Is that going to change?"
Gabriel’s mouth twisted, something between a grimace and a smile.
"Probably not."
"And you think lying for me buys us time?"
His gaze locked onto mine.
"No. It buys you time."
I sipped from the glass, the burn trailing down my throat sharper than I wanted to admit.
"I don’t want you shielding me from everything."
"I know," he said simply.
He crossed the room, took the drink from my hand, and set it aside.
"Meeting him tonight would be a mistake. His condition gets worse at night. I don’t know why. But by morning he wont even remember that he called for you."
I stepped forward, took his big hand in both of mine.
“Come to bed.” I said softly. I felt his reluctance, and spoke before he could. “You will find her, but not by staying up all night in your office.”
“Your right.” He admitted.
I crawled into the cool sheets. The lights clicked off behind me, leaving only the soft glow of the dying fire to illuminate him as he climbed into bed beside me.