Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
After a long moment, Will gave a clipped nod. He disappeared into the night as soon as the yacht docked.
“Where’s Will?” Gadiel said when he returned.
“He’s left,” Scott said, helping him to get off the yacht. “He said he’d give us some privacy. Let me walk you home. Your place isn’t far from here.”
Gadiel looked around, frowning a little. “What do you mean he left? Without even saying anything to me? That doesn’t sound like him.”
Suppressing his annoyance, Scott shrugged with a smile. “He’s probably tired of third-wheeling. Come on, surely you can give the man a night off.”
Gadiel’s lips tightened at the corners. “He can’t just leave without talking to me. I didn’t say he could go.”
For fuck’s sake.
“All right, I talked him into staying out of sight,” Scott admitted. Stepping closer, he touched Gadiel’s cheek. “I wanted to be alone with you. Don’t you want that too?”
“Of course,” Gadiel said faintly.
Scott grinned. “Let’s go, then. It’s a nice night for a walk.”
It was. Dubai’s layout wasn’t really conducive to walking, but Gadiel’s apartment was located in a quieter part of the city and there was a nice promenade along the beach.
They walked in silence.
It felt a little awkward. And strange. Gadiel was far less talkative without Will there.
“I can’t see Will anywhere,” Gadiel said, looking around. “If he’s just staying out of sight, he’s great at it.”
“Oh, Will has always been good at staying out of sight. Even when we were kids. You wouldn’t even know he was at the parties, he was great at blending into the scenery. He’s always been allergic to socializing.”
Gadiel frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. Not everyone likes being the center of attention.”
Scott gave him a sharp look. What was up with jumping to Will’s defense? Wasn’t Gadiel angry with him?
“I didn’t say there was,” he said slowly. “I know he’s an introvert, and it’s fine by me.”
“Right,” Gadiel said with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I misunderstood you. So, Will has always been this... reserved?”
Scott shrugged, more than a little annoyed. It felt like all they had talked about on this date was his cousin. “At least ever since he started living with us,” he replied reluctantly. “I remember him being different when his parents and siblings were alive. More open and quick to laugh.”
“Oh,” Gadiel said softly.
“Anyway, enough about my cousin,” Scott said. He knocked their shoulders together. “Let’s talk about us.”
“About us?”
“Yeah.” Scott looked around and tugged Gadiel into a dark alley.
“What are you doing?” Gadiel said with a startled laugh. “Scott, it’s not safe—”
“There’s no one around, don’t worry,” Scott said, pushing him against the building. “And it’s dark here, no one will see us.”
It was dark in the alley, so he couldn’t see Gadiel’s pretty face well. But that didn’t stop him from finding Gadiel’s soft, full lips in the dark.
Gadiel tensed up before suddenly pushing him away. “Don’t—I can hear someone!”
Scott scoffed and tried to pull him closer again. “Come on, there’s no one—”
He was shoved against the wall and something sharp and cold pressed into his nape. A knife. “Don’t move,” someone growled in accented English. “You got cash on you?”
Fuck. Muggers.
“Not much,” Scott said, his heart pounding.
“Credit card?”
“Y—yes.”
The man took his cash and credit card from his pocket. “The PIN,” he ground out, pressing the knife harder against his neck. It pricked Scott’s skin, making him gasp. “And you better not lie to us. Or I’ll gut you like a fish.”
Swallowing, Scott told him the PIN, and Gadiel did the same. The man said something in Arabic to his accomplices, and two dark shapes left toward the brighter street, likely to the ATM there. Only two thugs remained, presumably to make good on their threat if Scott and Gadiel had lied to them.
Scott told himself the situation wasn’t all that bad. Sure, he’d lose some money, but it wouldn’t be much, since his card had a daily limit for withdrawals, and the ATM probably did, too. As long as they didn’t actually get stabbed, it would be okay. All they needed to do was stay calm and—
The lights in the building nearby turned on, and it illuminated the alley better. One of the remaining thugs suddenly said something in Arabic, and the man holding Scott at knifepoint tensed up and looked at Gadiel. He said something too, sounding excited. The only word Scott caught was Gadiel’s name.
They must have recognized him. They must have initially not recognized him in the dark, mistaking them for tourists.
“Dammit,” Gadiel whispered, his eyes flashing with fear.
Scott was at a loss. Didn’t that just mean that Gadiel would be held for ransom? Why did Gadiel suddenly seem so scared?
Before he could say anything, the man holding Gadiel barked something out. Scott could only watch helplessly as Gadiel was half-pushed, half-dragged away from him.