Page 129 of Blood and Thorns

Chapter 58

Arabella

“I didn’t need to be escorted up,” I said, my tears long gone, only to be replaced with this anger that lapped at me in waves. Anger was good. Anger was a much-needed distraction. “I could’ve come back on my own.”

Sebastian eyed me, his attention firm as we ascended in the lift. He hadn’t said a word, so I glared up at him, hoping he saw my frustration. But of course, a man like Sebastian didn’t see, or maybe didn’t even care.

“I want to help.”

“Help how?” His head dipped closer, voice dropping to a husky whisper. “Help me torture one of the men who tried to take you from me?”

My breath caught in my throat at the deadly intention behind his words.

“Because if you do, then your darkness really does match mine.” His fingers laced through my hair, scratching at my scalp to tilt my head back. “I’m going to remove that man’s fingernails one by one, hoping he breaks quickly so I can get back to you. But if he doesn’t, then I’ll destroy his dominant hand, and then his kneecaps. I’ll put glass beneath his skin and even hold a needle to his eye. Do youthink that would be enough for him to tell me everything I want?”

I stared at his eyes, the midnight of his irises darkening to the purest shade of wrath.

“But some men don’t respond to pain,” he continued, his fingers tightening to emphasise his point. “They’re trained to withstand it. So that’s when I go through their fears, wearing them down until they finally break into a million fucking pieces. Claustrophobia, pyrophobia, thalassophobia, or maybe it’s as simple as spiders.”

I shivered, unable to control the reaction.

“You think you can help with that?” he asked, the lift coming to a stop at the penthouse. “Break a man so efficiently they have no hope of surviving?”

The doors opened silently, and Sebastian waited for my response.

I slowly shook my head, my heart racing and my chest aching. No, I could never do that to someone, and I wasn’t sure how I felt that Sebastian could.

His eyes softened a fraction. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” His lips caught mine, but it wasn’t gentle, or romantic or anything sane. It was heated and rough, his emotions pouring into me with little groans and nips of his teeth.

I didn’t want it to end, but before long he was gone, the lift locked down leaving me alone to finally come to terms that dad was dead, and Gabriel had tried to…

Swallowing, I looked down at my hands, finding them red. My knees too, the hem of my dress saturated with my own father’s blood. Swallowing bile, I ran to my room, stripping as I went to stand beneath the shower and scrub until my skin was raw. No more tears fell, and for that I was grateful.

I don’t know how long I stood there beneath the water, long enough for the temperature to cool and for my body toshake at the loss of heat. With chattering teeth, I finally stepped out, drying myself quickly before I managed to find one of Sebastian’s T-shirts. I pulled it on, the cloth long enough it almost hit my knees.

A creak sounded behind me, and spinning on the spot I expected to see Sebastian, or maybe even Chip. Instead, I froze, my eyes taking in the man by the door. He wore all black, his face covered but for his eyes. I recognised those eyes, but they were no longer a warm brown, rather now hard as he stood with a needle glinting in his hand.

“Nothing personal,” Ryder said, his voice shocking me out of my stasis. “It’s just business.”

Chapter 59

Sebastian

The man knew nothing, but that didn’t stop me from using my knuckles. His flesh split at the impact, his bones crunching beneath my force.

It wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough.

“He’s dead,” Caden commented, but he was smart enough not to try and stop me. “He’s just a hired gun who’s clearly shit at his job.”

My knuckles ached as I pulled back, my breathing frantic as this rage surged through my veins like poison. Blood coated my skin, the heat of it a small comfort as I cracked my neck to try and relieve just some of the fucking tension. Licking along my bottom lip, I kicked the chair, sending the prick crashing to the concrete.

Of course he didn’t react. I was pretty sure I’d killed him five minutes ago, but I couldn’t help myself. Not when they’d comethatclose to hurting her. Graves pointed a fucking gun to her face,and the thought of losing her clawed at my ribs, leaving my lungs tight.

I wasn’t used to this panic, this brutal fucking vulnerability.

It was fear, I realised, searing me from the inside out.