Whispers of the Sea (The Compulsion Bride Series) Book II (Unedited)

Chapter Twenty Three

Gabrielle crossed her arms and leaned back in the seat. The creaking noise seem to irritate her even more, than the gentleman in front of her. "What's this?" Her eyes flickered to the letter that was slid across the table towards her. "Where is the book, Prince?"

Alejandro sighed, his fingers drumming on the table as he regard the lady before him with a slight smirk. The last few days had been pure torture for him waiting on Gabrielle to contact him, any longer and he would have gone mad. Why did she take so long to reach him? If it weren't for his men, he would have thought she had skipped town on him. "I told you I don't have it and that's our next best option" His eyes flickered to the letter, she was now tearing open. "The King was kind enough to present me with a list of all his living relatives. My guess is someone on that list is our killer's next target."

"I should just close my eyes and pick one! Is that what you are implying?" She slammed the paper on the desk and glare at him. Fortunately, they were sitting in a secluded corner of the Paire's Inn with no other tables around. It was also too early for visitors considering the decreasing popularity of this place. "This is useless!"

"How is it useless? They are the same names that he took from the book, I really don't understand." He scowled back at her.

Gabrielle shook her head. "I should have known not to rely on anyone" She always got what she wanted without any intervention or assistance, saves herself the disappointment. She stood to her feet only to be prevented by Alejandro's grasped.

"I'm not finished."

Slapping his hands away she reluctantly resume to her previous position of folding her arms and glaring at him. Her fingers itching, to strangle this Prince. "You have one minute, to explain to me why the book isn't in your possession and why I shouldn't sneak in the King's castle again to retrieve it?" Gabrielle had had a difficult time, the night of the ball when she came back at the estate without the book. Freya and George kept asking her questions, some of which she hadn't the answer or choose not to respond. She had failed and trusted Alejandro to deliver the book. No book means no killer and without a way to find this person, her friends were still in danger. She needed to know the Killer's next moves, at times like these she wished for a premonition of any kind. But it didn't work like that, it chooses what to show her and when. Dammit!

"The King took it about himself to hid it from the world, no amount of persuasion could get him to release that book"

"Not even you?" Her eyebrows rose.

Alejandro nodded. "Especially me, with us having been enemies once. It was only wise not to trust me so suddenly. There are only two persons on the list I have given you that are still here in London, I suggest we visit them. Ask some questions...hopefully, they aren't dead as yet." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you can't return to the castle because the King found out of your first attempt, with his secret lair exposed and no matter how convincing Prince Lucian was, trying to persuade his father that it was him. The King was no one's fool."

Gabrielle snickered and looked away. "Sure he isn't." It should have been his servants and men, he shouldn't be trusting. She took off her pirate hat and rest it beside the letter on the table.

"What did you just say?"

"I said nothing," She said nonchalantly, Gabrielle picked up the letter once more and try to place faces with the names. She didn't walked in the circle of the aristocrats but usually dropped by their houses to do late night searches "Which two are-"

"Gabrielle?"

She held her breath when he reached across the table and held on to one of her hands, his thumb started drawing circular patterned upon it and she stared at it, too startled to pull away. This was all so weird, this attraction she had for him. He called her name once again and she lifted her gaze to stare into narrowed gorgeous brown eyes. "You are hiding something from me about the King"