“You are such an ass,” she said. “I can’t believe I actually thought you were selfless.”
“What did you say?”
“You heard me the first time, Gabriel.”
“Yeah. I did.” He paused, surprised to find that he actually gave a damn about her opinion of him. With the exception of his parents, he didn’t give a shit what people thought of him. If his opponents mistook his ruthlessness for cruelty, that was their problem. “It’s just weird seeing myself through your eyes.”
“Yeah, well, at least somebody sees you,” she said softly. “I’m just plain Jane.”
“There’s nothing plain about you.”
Without warning her mouth was on his, those soft, ripe lips parting instantly. He pulled her even closer, wrapping her tightly in his arms, his grip on the gun never loosening. The heat of her body against his was so intense that it banished the chill. Hungry for a real taste of her, Gabriel swirled his tongue into her mouth with a groan. She tasted like fire. Hot and forbidden. A dangerous combination he couldn’t resist even if he wanted to.
Jane might have been invisible to the people around her, but she wasn’t to him. Beneath her subtle, delicate beauty was a raging passion he’d never get enough of. She kissed him with an eager abandon that stirred his blood.
Deepening the kiss he stroked his tongue over hers, coaxing a soft moan from her.
It was insane to do this down here of all places. But somehow, in this subterranean cemetery with the dead, Gabriel realized that he hadn’t felt this alive since he’d lost his brother. For years he had been numb. Going through the motions of his legal career. He had been like the walking dead. Moving through life but never living. It had taken this stubborn, maddening woman to bring him back to life.
She tore her mouth away, chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. “This is crazy, right, Gabriel? Tell me this is crazy.”
“It is. But Jane—”
Her mouth fell open. “What is that?”
He took a step away from her and turned to follow her gaze. Looking down where she was pointing the flashlight, Gabriel noticed the lid of the sarcophagus wasn’t properly shut like the rest of the others. In fact, from the angle of the lid, it looked like the tomb had been disturbed. Recently.
“Somebody’s definitely been here,” he said, noticing how little dust there was on the sarcophagus lid.
Jane moved closer, holding the light steady. “Should we…should we open it?”
“We’re gonna have to,” he said grimly, not able to fathom what the hell they were going to find inside. He hoped like hell it wasn’t Berta’s body. Without hesitating, he handed over the rifle to Jane. “I’ll take the top off.”
“Okay.” She kept the flashlight on the sarcophagus while he grabbed the stone lid and heaved with all his might.
Gabriel looked inside. “There’s nothing in here.” He shook his head in confusion. What the hell could possibly explain an empty tomb? “This doesn’t make sense.”
“Gabriel. Look.” Jane flashed the light on the overturned coffin lid.
“Fuck.” Gabriel stared at the stone in horrified disbelief. There, on the underside of the lid, were unmistakable markings. Proof that someone had clawed at the stone with their fingernails.
8
Jane’s heart was racing so fast she could hear it.
Distraught at the sight of the claw marks on the coffin lid, she took a step back. “What does this mean?”
“Maybe these markings were made a long time ago,” he said.
Her whole body started to shake in terror. “And if they were made recently?”
“We have to tell the others.” He took the rifle back from her. “Come on, Jane, let’s get you out of here.”
Jane didn’t argue. Couldn’t. It didn’t matter when those claw marks had been made. Somebody must have been buried alive in that tomb.
She was in so much shock that words weren’t coming to her anymore. Her fear hadn’t left her ever since she saw Heidi’s body at the bottom of the stairs. Sometimes she managed to get control of it long enough to act, but the terror was paralyzing her now. No matter how well Gabriel thought she was handling this nightmare, she knew that deep down she was still a scared ten-year-old girl who couldn’t cope with the weight of such a gruesome truth.
As a child, she had been sure there were monsters under her bed. Then she had learned that her father was a rampaging killer. Nothing was more monstrous than that. Except now there was an unseen killer in the castle, picking them off one by one. Maybe even burying some of the victims alive.
Another wave of shock washed over her so forcefully she barely felt Gabriel take her hand and lead her back the way they had come.
When they finally made it back out of the catacombs to the ground floor of the castle, Jane sucked in a deep breath. The castle might have smelled faintly of mildew, but it was fresh air compared to the stale air down in the crypt.
She followed him to the great hall to find Timothy and the manservant heading their way. Gabriel guided her to a chair by the fireplace.
“Why don’t you sit down while I talk to the others,” Gabriel suggested.
Jane nodded, still too shaken to speak. Slowly, she stretched out her hands to start warming herself. Maybe if the chill went away, she’d be back to her old self again. Soon enough, she was getting feeling back in her fingers.
By the time she was starting to breathe a little easier, Gabriel approached her.
“Any news about Berta?” she asked.
Gabriel sat opposite her and shook his head. “No. The others haven’t found a trace of her.”
“What did they say about the coffin?” She was already dreading the answer, but part of her
