Chapter 1 - The Man in the Doorway
Harper’s hand froze around the bloodstained towel.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Gabriel Ashford stood in the doorway with one hand still resting on the brass handle.
He was taller than Harper had imagined.
His black suit was perfectly fitted.
His dark hair was pushed back from his forehead.
Nothing about his expression revealed surprise anymore.
Only his eyes did.
They moved slowly across Harper’s exposed back.
Across the fading yellow marks near her shoulders.
Across the darker bruises around her ribs.
Across the thin scar beneath her left shoulder blade.
Then his gaze dropped to the blood on the marble floor.
Harper jerked her uniform upward.
“I’m sorry.”
Gabriel did not respond.
“I know I’m not supposed to be here.”
She fought with the zipper.
“I’ll clean everything.”
Her fingers would not stop shaking.
“I won’t tell Mrs. Morrison.”
Gabriel closed the door behind him.
The sound was soft.
Harper nearly jumped anyway.
“Stop.”
She froze.
His voice was quieter than she expected.
That somehow made him more frightening.
Gabriel walked to the linen cabinet.
He removed a clean towel and placed it on the counter beside her.
Then he stepped backward.
He did not touch her.
“Cover yourself.”
Harper pulled the uniform over her shoulders and managed to close the zipper.
She expected questions about why she had entered his bathroom.
Instead, Gabriel stared at the bruising visible above her collar.
“Who did that?”
“I fell.”
His expression did not change.
“Try again.”
Harper swallowed.
“It’s nothing.”
“People do not accidentally fall in five different directions.”
Her face burned.
She looked at the floor.
Gabriel stepped toward the door.
For one hopeful second, Harper thought he was leaving.
Instead, he locked it.
Fear exploded through her chest.
She backed against the vanity.
Gabriel noticed immediately.
He looked at the lock.
Then at her.
His hand returned to it.
He unlocked the door.
“You can leave whenever you want.”
Harper stared at him.
“I locked it because there are men downstairs who do not need to hear this conversation.”
He moved away from the doorway.
Harper realized he was giving her a clear path out.
That small gesture confused her more than anything.
The newspapers called Gabriel Ashford a monster.
Derek had called himself a protector.
Yet Gabriel was the one making sure she knew where the exit was.
“I don’t need help.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
“Everyone needs help eventually.”
“I can handle it.”
“Is that what you told yourself when he broke your ribs?”
Harper’s head snapped upward.
Gabriel’s gaze dropped toward the way she was protecting her right side.
“You breathe shallowly.”
He spoke matter-of-factly.
“You favor your left side when you bend.”
Harper wrapped her arms around herself.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
She almost laughed.
Men like Gabriel Ashford did not do anything for nothing.
“I’ve heard that before.”
Something shifted behind his eyes.
He understood exactly what she meant.
Gabriel reached into his jacket.
Harper stiffened.
He removed a phone.
He placed it on the counter.
“Call whoever you trust.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“Then call a hospital.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Harper hesitated.
The answer escaped before she could stop it.
“Because he’s a cop.”
Gabriel became completely still.
The room suddenly felt colder.
“What precinct?”
Harper shook her head.
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
“What precinct, Harper?”
The fact that he knew her name startled her.
Of course he knew.
She worked in his house.
Still, hearing it from him made everything feel more real.
“Roxbury.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“Precinct Twelve?”
Harper said nothing.
She did not have to.
Gabriel looked away for the first time.
Something like recognition crossed his face.
Then came anger.
Not wild anger.
Not Derek’s kind.
Gabriel’s anger was silent.
Controlled.
Terrifying.
“What is his name?”
Harper grabbed the cleaning basket.
“I need to finish downstairs.”
Gabriel blocked neither the doorway nor her path.
“Harper.”
She stopped.
“If this man is who I think he is, hiding from him will not be enough.”
Her stomach turned.
“What does that mean?”
Before Gabriel could answer, someone knocked.
“Mr. Ashford?”
It was Mrs. Morrison.
Gabriel opened the door.
The older woman took one look at Harper.
Then at Gabriel.
Then at the bloody towel.
Her face changed.
“Is something wrong?”
Gabriel looked directly at her.
“Call Dr. Bell.”
Harper shook her head.
“No.”
Mrs. Morrison hesitated.
Gabriel’s attention stayed on Harper.
“No police.”
Harper stopped protesting.
“No reports.”
He continued.
“No names unless she chooses to give them.”
Mrs. Morrison nodded.
“I understand.”
Harper stared at him.
Gabriel turned back toward the hallway.
Then his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression hardened again.
“What?” Mrs. Morrison asked.
Gabriel showed her something Harper could not see.
Mrs. Morrison went pale.
“What happened?”
Gabriel did not answer immediately.
He looked at Harper.
“Someone was at the front gate twenty minutes ago asking whether a woman named Harper Queen worked here.”
Every ounce of blood seemed to leave Harper’s body.
May you like
Gabriel’s voice dropped.
“He was wearing a Boston Police Department uniform.”
