Chapter 9 — The Gilded Prison
2225 Words
THE FAINT ring of Christmas bells from a distant hallway made the place feel strangely festive, despite the tension humming in Lily’s chest. Warm light glowed from Robert Hale’s office windows, giving the illusion of comfort, safety, maybe even charm.
But Lily wasn’t fooled. Not today.
She stood outside the door, breathing in once, steadying herself before she knocked.
“Come in,” Robert’s smooth voice called out.
She pushed the door open.
Robert stood near the wide desk, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened as if he had just finished negotiating something heavy. He looked up the moment she entered, and a slow smile curved on his lips, warm enough to melt ice if she didn’t already know how sharp he could be underneath.
“Lily,” he said, gesturing her closer. “I was wondering if you’d come.”
“You asked for me,” she replied.
“I ask for many things,” Robert answered with a soft chuckle. “Very few actually arrive.”
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The room smelled faintly of cedar and expensive bourbon, with the fireplace crackling low behind him. A wreath hung above the mantle, subtle and elegant. It would have made the moment feel cozy if her nerves weren’t standing at full attention.
Robert leaned back against the desk. “So,” he said, eyes sweeping over her in a way that made the air warm around her skin, “you’re here about your safety.”
“That’s what Ronan said,” Lily answered, folding her arms.
“Is it?” Robert tilted his head. “Or are you here because you’re finally curious about me?”
She stiffened. “I’m not curious,” she said and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you remember you cheated on me?”
“Don’t be so sensitive, Lily.” Ronan scoffed. “You see, your brother’s den will only be safe if you will stay with me.”
“f**k you,” she snapped under her breath.
“Yeah, including that,” he smirked. “But you should be curious about me.” He smiled again, slow, measured. “Curiosity about powerful men can save a life.”
“Or end one,” she muttered.
Robert laughed, amused. “Fair point.”
His eyes dropped briefly to the faint mark on her arm, left from yesterday’s attack. His gaze sharpened.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“It’s fine.”
“It doesn’t look fine.”
“You going to examine it yourself?” she said, voice dry.
To her surprise, he answered easily. “If you want me to.”
She didn’t. Not really. But something in his tone made her pulse race with warning.
Lily stepped further into the room, careful not to back herself into any corner he could trap her in. “Ronan said you wanted to discuss precautions.”
Robert nodded once. “Yes. I did. Your situation is… delicate.” His eyes softened, though the softness never reached the place where the threat lived. “Someone targeted you. Deliberately. That makes you my responsibility.”
“I didn’t ask to be your responsibility.”
“No,” he said, “but you became one the moment you stepped into my territory. Whether through Ronan or Jeremiah, you’re linked to me.”
Her stomach tightened at the mention of Jeremiah’s name, though she tried not to show it. Robert noticed anyway. He always noticed.
“Ah,” Robert murmured. “So it’s the quiet one you’re concerned about.”
“I’m not concerned about anyone,” she replied.
“Mm. Lying doesn’t suit you.” He walked toward her slowly, stopping a few feet away. His smile stayed soft, almost affectionate, but there was something calculated in the way his eyes narrowed. “Your heart jumps every time I mention him.”
“It doesn’t.”
“It does,” Robert said gently. “Just like your breathing changes when he enters a room.”
Lily held his gaze. “Why are you studying my reactions?”
“Because they tell me what words never will.” Robert’s voice dipped lower. “The way you looked at him during the firefight was… compelling.”
She swallowed hard. “This isn’t about Jeremiah.”
“No,” he said, “it’s about you.”
Robert moved back to the desk, not taking his eyes off her. “You’re caught between two men you don’t understand,” he continued. “One who hides, one who burns. You’re trying to work out which danger is worth facing.”
Her pulse kicked again.
Robert’s lips curled slightly. “See? You feel it. The pull. I’m not blind.”
Lily forced a breath out. “You didn’t ask me here to play mind games.”
Robert raised his brows. “Didn’t I?”
She stared at him, jaw clenching. “What do you want?”
“Honesty.” He pushed himself off the desk and walked to the side table, pouring a drink into a glass. “And clarity.”
“For you or for me?”
“For both of us.”
He handed the glass to her without touching her fingers, yet she still felt the warmth of his proximity like a slow, deliberate tease.
Lily shook her head slightly. “I’m not drinking anything from you.”
Robert hummed. “You think I’d drug you.”
“I think you’d do anything if it got you what you want.”
His smile widened. “And what do you think I want?”
“You tell me,” she said.
Silence stretched for a moment, then Robert spoke, voice soft but piercing.
“I want to know why a girl who used to flinch at shadows now stands in front of men like me without shaking.”
Her breath caught. “Maybe I learned.”
“Or maybe,” Robert said, stepping closer, “you found someone who makes the dark feel familiar.”
Lily’s stomach twisted. She hated how his words seemed to slip inside her guard.
Robert hovered close enough that she could see the quick rise of his chest, the faint line of stubble along his jaw, the dark intent behind his thoughtful expression.
“You said you wanted to negotiate your safety,” he murmured. “But safety isn’t the thing you’re negotiating, Lily. What you really want is control.”
“And you think you can give me that?” she asked as she tried to steady her voice.
Robert’s smile softened, surprisingly genuine. “I think I can show you the choices you pretend you don’t have.”
Her pulse raced. “What choices?”
“Jeremiah,” Robert said plainly. “And Ronan.”
She tensed.
“You’re caught between them,” Robert continued. “But you haven’t realized something.”
“Realized what?”
He leaned in. “You don’t belong to either of them.”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
“Correct,” Robert said. “But they both think you do.”
“Then they’re wrong.”
“Are they?” Robert studied her carefully. “Jeremiah watches you like he’s memorizing every breath you take. Ronan treats you like a ghost he refuses to let vanish twice. And here you stand in my office, pretending you’re here for ‘negotiation’ when we both know you wanted answers.”
Lily shook her head. “Stop twisting this.”
“I’m not twisting anything,” Robert said. “I’m observing.”
His hand reached out, brushing lightly along her sleeve, almost a test. Lily jerked back a step. Robert’s eyes flicked downward for a second, and something hungry passed through them before he gathered himself again.
“You fear me,” he said softly. “Good. You should. But you’re also curious. And that curiosity is going to get you in trouble.”
Lily’s voice tightened. “I’m not curious about you.”
“You’re curious about danger,” Robert corrected. “You’re curious why Jeremiah won’t touch you. Why Ronan keeps locking you inside this compound. Why men like us react to you at all.”
“I didn’t come here for this,” she insisted.
“Then why did you come?” Robert asked.
Her mouth opened, but she hesitated.
A small, knowing smile touched his lips. “You see? Even you don’t know.”
Lily stepped back again, needing space. “Enough. Tell me what precautions you wanted to discuss.”
Robert let the teasing fall from his expression. “You’re being targeted. Whoever attacked you yesterday wanted to test how Ronan and Jeremiah would react if you were hurt.”
Her heartbeat jumped. “Why test that?”
“Because both men are unpredictable when something strikes close to home,” Robert said. “A weakness like that can get people killed.”
Lily frowned. “So what are you planning to do?”
“I’ll increase surveillance,” Robert said. “Limit who has access to you. Tighten the perimeter. Keep you within visible range.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Visible range? Meaning where you can see me?”
Robert didn’t deny it. “If someone wants to use you to manipulate the people around you, the safest place for you is near me.”
Lily’s stomach twisted. “That sounds a lot like a cage.”
Robert shrugged lightly. “A cage is only a cage if you’re frightened of the person holding the key.”
“I am frightened,” she whispered.
“Of me,” Robert said calmly. “Not of the cage.”
Lily stiffened.
Robert stepped closer again, eyes darker now. “If I wanted to trap you, Lily, you wouldn’t be standing here asking questions. You’d already be behind locked doors. The fact that you’re here means you still have freedom.”
“And you’re trying to take it.”
“No,” he murmured, “I’m trying to show you that freedom without protection is death.”
Her pulse stuttered.
Robert tilted his head. “Ronan protects through violence. Jeremiah protects through obsession. I protect through control.”
“I don’t want any of those,” she said.
“But you want one of them more than the others,” Robert replied.
Her breath faltered.
Robert leaned closer again. “And I know exactly which one.”
Before Lily could speak, movement from the hallway caught her attention.
Jeremiah.
He stood at the doorway, half-shadowed, eyes locked on Robert’s hand lingering near her arm. His jaw clenched, shoulders tight, barely contained. The sight of him made Lily’s chest collapse with relief and tension all at once.
Robert noticed him instantly.
“Well,” Robert said lightly, tone shifting with calculated smoothness, “seems we have company.”
Lily stepped away from Robert without thinking. Jeremiah’s eyes tracked her every movement, burning with something raw, something sharp.
He didn’t enter the office.
He didn’t speak.
He just stared.
Robert smiled faintly, turning his gaze toward Jeremiah. “Relax. We’re only negotiating.”
Jeremiah’s voice was low, gravel edged. “Doesn’t look like negotiating.”
Robert’s eyes gleamed. “No. It looks like someone losing their patience.”
Lily looked between them, the tension thick enough to choke on.
Jeremiah spoke again, quiet but lethal. “Lily. Come here.”
Something in her moved before she could think. She walked toward him, pulse hammering, Robert’s eyes following her with a slow, unreadable expression.
When she reached Jeremiah, his hand brushed her elbow. Barely. Just enough. His touch was grounding and electric all at once.
Robert’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Interesting.”
Jeremiah ignored him. “We’re done here,” he said to Lily.
Robert chuckled softly. “Are you sure?”
Jeremiah finally looked at him. “Positive.”
Robert lifted his glass in a mock toast. “Take care, Lily.”
She turned away without answering, Jeremiah guiding her out of the room with a gentle but unmistakably possessive touch.
Once the door shut behind them, Lily’s breath finally returned in one shaky rush.
Jeremiah leaned close, voice low so no one else could hear. “Don’t be alone with him again.”
Her throat tightened. “He asked for me.”
“I don’t care who asked,” Jeremiah said, anger buried under worry. “If you have to speak with him, I come with you.”
“Since when do you give orders?” she asked, lifting her chin.
He didn’t back down. “Since he looked at you like that, but cheated on you when you gave in.”
Lily’s pulse tripped and she looked away.
Jeremiah stepped closer, eyes dark. “But you still looked back.”
She inhaled sharply. “I didn’t—”
“You did,” he said quietly. “And it’s going to get you hurt—again.”
Her breath trembled. “Why do you care?”
Jeremiah’s jaw tightened. “Because I do.”
Lily swallowed.
And for the first time, she felt the full pressure of what she had stepped into. Robert’s charm. Jeremiah’s intensity. Ronan’s control.
A gilded prison with three different guards.
And she wasn’t sure which one scared her the most.
- Writer
