Page 130 of Blood and Thorns

Turning, I found Caden standing there with his arms crossed, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up from where he’d had a turn. His watch was smeared with blood, the obnoxious ticking louder now I wasn’t so focused. He usually took it off, but clearly, he’d gotten caught in the moment.

Langdon was the first to have a go but quickly grew bored, which was very unlike him. He still smelt like smoke, the soot and scorched flesh clinging to his clothes as he frowned down at the information found on the hired gun.

Which always was nothing but an agreement for money, and a number that we traced to Detective Gabriel-fucking-Graves. A soon-to-be dead man.

I couldn’t calm down, this insistent energy crackling beneath my skin only increasing. Needing to get home I left Langdon there to organise the cleanup team, Caden side eyeing me as I chose to drive.

I wasn’t any calmer, my grip on the steering wheel making the leather squeal. My control was fracturing, the very thing I needed to keep my demons at bay disappearing too fast for me to rebuild. It put a pressure on my chest, as if I was fourteen again watching my power be taken by someone I was told to trust.

Pulling into the underground garage, I didn’t bother to park in a bay, swinging the car to a stop and stepping out before I could combust.

You’re so fucking weak. They died because you weren’t strong enough.

I never knew if it was actually a memory or whether it was a manifestation of my subconscious. Either way, it was always my father’s voice that scolded me. Reminding me of my failures.

Caden silently stood to the side, the lift taking its sweet time to ascend before it finally opened on my floor. Except the air wastoo still, my eye drawn to the broken statue just a few feet away.

Caden tensed, as if sensing the same distinctive stiffness. “You think she’s finally made a run for it?”

I stormed through my home, but she wasn’t here, my lungs becoming heavier with every vacant room. Where the fuck was she? She wasn’t allowed to leave.

With a snarl I went to my office, Raven tapping at the glass of my terrarium as if she could sense my distress. Bending over the computer I scrolled to the security log.

“Bas, maybe you should just let her go. She’s just lost–”

“Shut up and read the fucking log.”

Caden pursed his lips, his attention burning the side of my face. “Beatrice Potter used her card a few hours ago to unlock the lift.” I stilled in my chair, and he glanced down at me with a raised brow. “What?”

“Mrs Potter was fired over a week ago.”

“Jesus Christ.” Caden dragged a hand down his face before clicking a few buttons on the mouse. “Unless your girl’s a secret IT nerd, I don’t think she has the knowledge to scramble the cameras, do you?” He pointed at the screens, showing the footage being blocked for a total of nine minutes.

There was footage of Arabella arriving with me, our kiss, and then nothing. It only started up again after a short time had passed, showing nothing for a few hours until Caden and I ascended the lift.

The security was on a separate server, protected and supposedly tamper proof.

So who the fuck managed to interfere with it?

My stomach dropped, my palms sweaty as I stared at the screen. Someone else had been here. Someone else had taken Arabella.

“Need to get someone over to check on Mrs Potter.”Caden clicked a few buttons on his phone before placing it face-up on the table. “Dad, there’s been an incident.”

“Son, I was just about to call,”my uncle’s voice echoed through the speaker.

“I need the contact for someone able to hack the surrounding CCTV of the penthouse, all street cameras as well as private. We believe someone’s broken into the penthouse.”

“Ah, that’s exactly why I wanted to speak to you,”Alexander said cooly.“Sebastian should really take better care of his toys.”

Heat seared through me, my rage almost blinding. “Where the fuck is she?” I snarled.

“Oh good, you’re there. It saves me fromhaving to make a separate call.”

“Dad, get to the point,” Caden growled. “Do you know what’s happened to Arabella?”

“I suppose you should come over to my place. I have a guest you’ll want to meet.”

“Dad… what the fuck?”