Chapter 6


    “Is Ester being troublesome?” rice asks, going back to drying dishes, and Gannon grunts as an an


    swer and rice sighs. ”


    “Well, since you are free then, Abbie, you might as welle into town with me,” rice says, and I


    stop mid-bite.


    “Is that allowed?” I asked her, shocked that I could leave the castle grounds.


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    “Yes, why wouldn’t it be? You’re not a prisoner here,” riceughed, shaking her head while I stared


    at her in confusion. Wait, I could leave the castle grounds? It made no sense that a rogue servant could


    come and go.


    “I am off for a few hours. I wille with you,” Gannon says with a shrug, and rice looks at him.


    “You want toe grocery shopping with us?” rice asks.


    “Or you can give me the list, and I will take her,” Gannon says, finishing thest bite of his sandwich be


    fore taking his te to the sink. rice watches him before she shrugs. “Works for me. I wanted to


    send Ester, but seeing as she is now preupied and you’re willing, you can go with Abbie.”


    I watched as she retrieved a pen and paper; she scribbled on it and handed it to me before handing me


    a keycard. I had seen one before but never used one. Mrs.Daley usually sent us with a list into town


    but never gave us money. The townspeople would just take the list and bill her at the end of the month.


    “Just grab these things. They weren’t on the delivery,” rice says with a sigh. She held the list out to


    me, and I took the list and nced at her cursive writing and gulped. I chewed my lip, wondering if I


    should tell her I couldn’t read it, yet I didn’t want to embarrass myself. So I remained quiet, and I figured


    I could just ask the clerk at the store. I put the list in my apron pocket as Gannon walks off toward the


    doors before stopping and waiting for me.


    “Are you sure I can leave?” I whispered to rice, not wanting to get in trouble with the King. He was


    the one that put me on that floor, so I could be close to Ivy, yet I hardly saw her.


    “Gannon is with you. And as I said. You’re not a prisoner here, Abbie. If you want to go to town, you


    only have to ask,” rice says, confusing me.


    “Abbie,” Gannon says, and I hurry over to him, not wanting to anger him. Gannon leads me out of the


    castle, and I follow a few steps behind him.


    “I’m not walking. Come on. I will drive us,” he says, gripping my arm and leading me to some garages


    at the back of the stables. He rummages in a little cupboard full of keys before finding the ones he was


    after.


    | pause, watching as he moves toward a car. It made me nervous about getting in the car with him. Not


    that I had any reason to be, and rice knew where I was and who I was with, yet unease crept over


    me at the thought of being in a confined space with the intimidating man.


    He opens the driver’s side door before ncing at me. “Abbie?” he says, and I chew my lip before he


    sighs, walking over to me.


    “I don’t bite,” he says, ‘grabbing my hand, and I pull away from him. His brows furrow. I knew these


    sorts of niceties, and they always led to some expectation.


    I knew that better than anyone. The butcher was nice at first, then he started stealing touches, then


    forcibly taking them until Mrs. Daley told me if I didn’t help him in the basement, she wouldn’t let us eat,


    promising us food if I just helped him. Panic courses through me. Is that why he was being nice?


    rice said to steer clear of him, so I found it odd he was trying to be near me. What were his


    intentions?


    “I won’t hurt you,e on,” he says, stepping away and toward his car. He walks around the other side


    and opens the passenger door.


    “Abbie, please get in the car,” he says, and I nce at the roller door leading in. Briefly wondering what


    my chances of escape were, yet even I knew it would be pointless. If I upset him, what if that got Ivy in


    trou ble? So I reluctantly did as he asked.


    Gannon shut the door behind me, and I jumped at the bang of it before he walked around the other


    side and climbed in.


    | nced around his car to notice duct tape, rope, and some other equipment that made my heart race


    faster. You idiot Abbie, I should have run. My fingers trembled as I reached for the door handle as he


    start ed the car. The movement did not go unmissed by the man, who quickly looked at me before


    following my gaze to the things on the floor. Gannon leaned over, snatching the crowbar up from the


    footwell just as I clicked the door handle.


    His hand falls on my knee, and my lip quivers as I look at him to find him staring at me.


    “Sorry, I should have checked the car beforehand,” he says, leaning down and snatching up the rest of


    the stuff in the footwell.


    My hands trembled as he gathered the things in his arms before opening his door. “Just work equip


    ment,” he says, getting out and moving toward another car where he opens the back door. He tosses


    the stuff on the back floor while I try to calm my racing heart.


    What kind of work did he do that required duct tape, rope, and a bloody crowbar? Gannon climbs back


    in the car. Yet my hand was still on the door handle when he leaned over, pulling my hand away that


    had a death grip on it. He sets my hand in myp before quickly closing the door.


    “You spook easily,” he mutters more to himself. I watched him as he clipped in his seat belt and turned


    his attention back to the front. I fiddled with my fingers as he pulled out of the garage while ying with


    the radio.


    “Do you like music?” He asked, and I nodded, chewing on my fingernails. I know it was a terrible habit,


    but I foundfort in it while he found a station he liked.


    I stared out at the scenery as he drove. The drive to town was awkward and silent, and I hadn’t noticed


    I had chewed one cuticle from my fingertip with my nervousness until Gannon stopped the car and


    snatched the hand I was chewing on, and made me jump. The man curses under his breath.


    He growls, holding my hand up and examining it while I gasped at what I mindlessly had done, not real


    izing I had chewed it entirely down to the flesh beneath. He clicks his tongue and curses before


    reaching into the glove box, where he pulls out a tissue. Gannon wraps it around my fingertip, holding


    pressure on it.


    “You didn’t feel that you had bitten it off?” He asked. Disapproval is clearly on his face. I don’t answer. I


    hardly felt pain, especially mediocre pain like that. It was merely a flesh wound, and it would heal


    quickly enough.


    He checked my finger, and it had stopped bleeding. He pocketed the bloody tissue and shook his head


    before climbing out of the car. We had pulled up at some kind of general store, and I quickly climbed


    out of the car just as Gannon reached my door. I step away from him instantly, putting space between


    us.


    “You got your list?” He asked, and I nodded, pulling the folded piece of paper from my apron. He nods,


    walking ahead and opening the ss shop door. A bell sounds as we enter, and I see aisles of stock


    lining the store and a friendly enough looking woman behind the counter. The woman says hello to


    Gannon be fore waving him over.


    “Hey, Leisha,” he says, nudging me toward the aisles and passing me a basket. I take it while he wan


    ders off to speak with the friendly clerk he seems to know. She was an older woman, about rice’s


    age.


    I opened the note rice gave me, trying to match the cursive writing to what was written on the prod


    ucts on the shelves, but after a few minutes, I still hadn’t found a single thing that matched her


    handwriting when I felt a presence behind me. The warmth of him seeped into my back as he leaned


    down behind me and peered over my shoulder at my empty basket.


    “What are you doing?” He asked curiously. Heat flooded my cheeks as I showed him the list. He takes


    it, looking at it before looking at me. My cheeks burn with humiliation, knowing I had to admit I couldn’t


    read it,


    “… I can’t read,” I whisper to him, and Gannon seems taken aback.


    “Why didn’t you ask? I would have helped you,” he whispered, taking my basket and grabbing my


    hand.


    Gannon looks at the list before ncing around and dragging me to a different aisle. He reads each


    thing out, grabbing it from the shelf and cing it in the basket. He had found everything in a matter of


    minutes before walking back to the counter. The woman scanned and bagged everything before telling


    me


    the total.


    I went to hand the woman the card when Gannon took it from me and tapped some small box on the


    counter. The woman behind the counter smiled, and Gannon handed me the ca buy smokes while I


    stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do next.


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    “We just have to go to one more store, then we can head back,” Gannon tells me, and I nod, gathering


    up the bags, but he swiftly took from my hands. I waved to the woman, and she smiled softly, saying


    good bye as we walked out to the car.


    Gannon loads everything into the trunk before grabbing my hand and tugging me across the road to


    some candy store.


    “Liam likes licorice, so I might as well grab it while I am here,” he tells me and I nod, following him in


    side the store. A man stood behind the counter with a huge smile on his face. It was clear he knew


    Gannon, and Gannon knew the store.


    Gannon leaves me while walking up the back after the man told him what he was looking for was out


    back.


    “Are you one of the new servants at the castle?” the man asked, and I nodded, chewing my lip as |


    looked at the color disy of candies when he held a jar out to me. “Try these. I made thesest night,”


    he says, but I shake my head.


    Mrs. Daley would get so angry if she found out,” I thought to myself before remembering she wasn’t


    here. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to ept the offer when Gannon returned. The man frowns when I


    refuse his offer.


    “Kyle has won awards for his candies. Try one,” Gannon tells me, and I chew my lip before taking one


    of the sponging red clouds from the jar. It was covered in sugar and smelt delicious. I popped it into my


    mouth, and an explosion of vor made my mouth salivate.


    “Good, the man asks?” He seemed genuinely interested if I liked his candy. I nod, licking my lips, and


    Gannon chuckles.


    “Here,” he offers me another one, but I shake my head.


    “No, thank you, I shouldn’t,” I tell him. The man named Kyle seemed disappointed when Gannon set


    the licorice on the counter.


    “And the clouds,” Gannon tells him. The man nods, bagging them in little paper bags while I


    wait. We leave the store and go back to the car. I climb in while Gannon puts Liam’s candy in the trunk.


    Only when he gets in the car does he drop the paper bag of clouds in myp.


    Before I could look at him, he spoke. “There for you,” he says, starting the car. “No, you didn’t have to,”


    I tell him, trying to give them back, but he pushes the bag back toward me.


    “I know I didn’t have to, Abbie. I wanted to. I could tell you liked them.” His words confused me. Did he


    expect something in return for them?


    “No, I shouldn’t,” I tell him, and he looks at me, confused.


    “And why is that?” he asks, reversing out. I didn’t answer his question was stupid. He knows why.


    Every one knows why


    “You didn’t answer,” he says, navigating around the streets.


    “Because I am rogue!” I tell him. His brows furrow.


    “What has being rogue got to do with candy?” he asked.


    “Rogues don’t deserve sweets. We should be grateful we’re allowed to live,” I found myself reciting


    Mrs. Daley’s words before I could stop myself. Gannon growls, making me jump.


    “Which twit told you that?” he demanded. His anger startled me. I lift my hand when Gannon grabs it


    before I can chew on my thumbnail, not realizing I was about to do it.


    “Eat the candy, Abbie,” he says before he lets go of my hand. I offer him one.


    “Will you try one?” | asked him, feeling odd eating them in front of him as he pulled into the castle


    grounds.


    “Are they sour?” he asks, and I shake my head.


    “You haven’t tried them?”


    “No, I mainly go there for Liam’s licorice,” he answers as I dig one from the bag for him. Yet instead of


    taking it from me, he leans over, plucking it from my fingers with his lips, sucking my fingers with it


    before pulling back. I stare at him, shocked, when heughs, sending me a wink. I chuckle, my face


    heating as !ugh at his yfulness. He chews on it before swallowing it.


    “It’s very sugary,” he says, licking the sugar from his lips. I offer him the bag, not wanting to lose my fin


    gers, but he shakes his head, “No, you enjoy them,” he says, pulling into the garage.


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