Chapter 6 - The Rat in the Walls
The next three days were a brutal test of endurance. Gabriel battled a fierce infection, his fever spiking dangerously high. Clara rarely slept, pressing cool cloths to his forehead, forcing antibiotics down his throat, and monitoring his fragile pulse.
Victor stood guard outside the cabin, patrolling the perimeter with a rifle, functioning as their only shield against the outside world.
On the fourth morning, the fever finally broke. Gabriel woke up clear-headed and ravenously hungry. Clara cooked him a massive breakfast using the cabin’s stockpiled supplies, watching in awe as the syndicate boss devoured the food, his sheer physical resilience defying medical logic.
"You look exhausted, Clara," Gabriel noted, setting his fork down. He reached across the small wooden table, his large, warm hand covering hers. "You haven't slept."
"I'm used to the night shift," she deflected, though her cheeks flushed at his touch.
Gabriel’s expression darkened. "Victor briefed me on the situation in the city while you were resting. The syndicate is fracturing. Someone is telling the lie that I succumbed to my wounds at the hospital."
"Who has the power to do that?" Clara asked.
"Only my highest-ranking lieutenants," Gabriel growled softly. "And only one of them has the blind ambition to try and take the throne."
"Leo," Clara breathed, remembering the arrogant kid who had mocked her in the ER.
"He underestimated me," Gabriel said, his thumb tracing slow, hypnotic circles on the back of her hand. "But more importantly, he underestimated you. He thought you were just a soft, heavy-set nurse who would panic and let me die. He didn't realize you had the heart of a lion."
Clara looked down. "People have underestimated me my whole life, Gabriel. Because of how I look."
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Gabriel stood up slowly, walking around the table until he stood right in front of her. He gently tipped her chin up, forcing her to look into his burning, intense eyes.
"They are fools," Gabriel whispered fiercely. "You are absolute perfection, Clara. Every curve, every sharp word, every ounce of your courage. And when I take my city back, I am going to make sure Leo dies knowing exactly who saved his king."
