Moriarty's Musician

Masquerade, Part 3

Annabelle felt Nicholas's eyes burning into her back as she collected the cutlery and shattered dishes into a small pile on the floor. With each sharp piece of broken china and glass she placed on the next, with each swipe of the cloth over the floor, the tears started clearing from her chest, and Annabelle's temper started reigniting. She gritted her teeth as she pushed herself to her feet.

"The garbage is in the cupboard under the sink," Nicholas said.

Annabelle paused in step, turning, she glowered back at him as her hands tightened on the broken dishes.

Nicholas leaned back on the sofa and licked his lips, chuckling at the sparks shooting from Annabelle's eyes. He had waited an entire year to have her. She was so beautiful... so aloof... and she was his. He would enjoy taming her and making her succumb to his will. She would be the perfect wife.

After all, she was lovely to look at, intelligent, musically gifted. He rubbed his finger on his lower lip as he thought about their wedding night, a smile curling the edges of his mouth. Of course, he would have to give her his present early to soften her edges. In the meantime, he would enjoy playing with her fire.

"What's wrong, Annie?" he said, raising his eyebrows, a cool gleam in his eyes. "If you don't want to finish cleaning, there are more pleasurable things we can do together."

A streak of panic shot through Annabelle. What did she do to deserve this? How could she possibly keep him off of her if he decided not to stick to their courting period?

All she ever wanted was to be left alone. Isn't that what she had told James?

James... she sighed as she looked down at the broken dishes. He must have known this side of Nicholas existed. How many times had he rescued her and she didn't even realize it? James had been protecting her from this monster the entire time.

A ringing broke through Annabelle's thoughts as Nicholas pulled his cell from his back pocket. Looking down at the number, he smiled. "I'll just be a moment, Angel. I need to take this."

He stood up and walked into the short hall. Annabelle could hardly hear his lowered voice as she went to the little kitchen and dumped the broken porcelain and glass into the garbage. Putting the cutlery into the sink, her eyes fell on the angry streak of blood dripping down her wrist from the gash in her palm. She stood there, silently watching the tiny, red droplets slide down her hand and fall into the sink. How ironic that her blood could so easily escape, but the rest of her couldn't.

She looked around the kitchen for something to stem the stream of blood. But there wasn't a cloth or towel anywhere that she could see. She quickly pulled out drawers and opened cabinets, trying to find something to wrap around her hand. She'd be damned if she'd go to Nicholas for anything, let alone help.

Her blood dripped onto the floor as she continued to search the kitchen. She ran her other hand through her hair, sighing in frustration as the pain from the cut began to radiate around her palm. Raising her head to the ceiling as tears pooled in her eyes, she saw a box on top of the refrigerator. Reaching for the box, she pulled it down from its perch, rested it on the counter and opened it up.

Her eyes widened as she tried to breathe. Nestled in the box was her little silver gun, the very one Moriarty had given her. The bullets had been taken out of the cartridge but lay scattered around the gun inside the box.

"Alright, yes. I'll be there in an hour to pay and give you directions," Nicholas said, his voice getting louder as he wrapped up his conversation.

Annabelle's breath caught in her throat as she clumsily put the lid on. Her blood dripped down her arm while she balanced the wobbly box. She managed to put it back up on the fridge, just as Nicholas came around the corner, tapping his phone in his hand.

He looked at Annabelle's anxious face, then down at her bloodied hand. "What the hell happened?" He rushed over to her and took her hand in his. His mouth set in a tight line as he met her eyes.

"Why did you cut your hand?"

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HEY! Thanks for coming back! Please give me a vote and a comment if you're liking the book. You know I love to hear from you! I've needed to break up this chapter into two as it was getting really long. KEEP READING AS THERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER THAT FOLLOWS. 💕