Page 34 of Blood and Thorns

Suppressing my slightly more feral side, I released him.

“I don’t know his name,” he stammered. “He goes by Eight.”

Now that I was closer, I could see the Rolex he wore on his wrist and the diamond-encrusted necklace he had tucked inside his shirt. Pompous prick born into money, with hands so soft they’d likely never see a hard day’s work.

“Eight? Like the number?” Caden frowned. “How can we get hold of him?”

Jonathan seemed to calm once he’d realised we weren’t going to hurt him. Probably.

“I have his contact details,” he said, his voice not so pathetic this time.Arm shaking, he pulled out his phone from his pocket, holding it out to me. I immediately looked down at the screen, unable to decipher the words before Caden took it. “He’s not my usual guy, but he was the one that turned up.”

That got my attention, and glancing over to Caden I realised he’d raised his brow at that little bit of information too. I turned back to Jonathan, who baulked at the expression on my face.

“What can you tell me about this Eight?”

Chapter 18

Arabella

Now that people had realised Sebastian was gone, it seemed fair game to stare. People openly looked, their curiosity almost hostile as I tried not to recoil, instead meeting the gazes head on. I recognised a few politicians, socialites, and even an actor that had been in the highest grossing movie this year.

I didn’t know what I expected when I agreed to take my father’s place, but a toy for Sebastian to display wasn’t it. Especially amongst the designer clothes, diamond jewels, and I was pretty confident a guy over by the bar was wearing a watch that cost more than my entire year’s wage. I was very much in a different tax bracket.

“Where do you think you’re going?” one of the twins asked when I went to lift the rope, and I froze.

Sebastian never explicitly said I had to stay by the booth. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Both men nodded in unison, their eyes laser focused on me. Stepping out, I pushed through the dancers to wander over to the bar.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked, arching a dark brow with two silver rings through it.

My lips snapped open to reply, but then I realised I didn’t have any money. And drinking away my sorrows when I didn’t usually drink alcohol probably wasn’t a good decision. But then again, I did agree to be Sebastian’s toy, so I wasn’t exactly someone who made good decisions in the first place.

“Is there a phone I could borrow?”

Her eyes slipped over my shoulder, and I stiffened when I turned, realising not one, but both of the twins were hovering behind me. They were far enough away not to hear my words, but close enough that their eyes bored into my back.

The bartender jerked her head, inviting me around the side. “You can use the staff room back here,” she said loudly, her smile aimed over my shoulder.

She held the door open to the staff room, which was a spacious area with a large table, several chairs as well as a large sofa, TV, and lockers. A private bathroom was to the left, beside an emergency exit.

“My mobile’s in the first locker,” the bartender said, her fingers reaching up to scratch at her scalp.

“Thank you.” Waiting until I was alone, I opened the locker to find the phone.

It didn’t have a code, so I immediately swiped it open, only to pause. I had no one to call. Not really. Dad was likely gone, packing his stuff up and running away like we did so many times before. Every time he’d caught himself in trouble, he’d force us to leave everything behind.

New number. New address.

Which meant even after all this, after I finally managed to pay Sebastian back, I wouldn’t know where to find him. I didn’t have friends, not unless I counted the nice old lady I chatted with every week at the coffee shop on the corner. And I could no longer call Suzy at work.

Taking aseat on the sofa I stared at the phone, long enough it timed out, the screen going dark. It had only just hit me how truly alone I was.

That if I disappeared, no one would miss me. Not even my father.

Fucking hell.I was a twenty-five-year-old woman with the social skills of a rabid hamster. I wanted to laugh at the shitshow that was me, but that probably wasn’t healthy, so I suppressed it until I could write it down in my notebook later.

To be fair to myself, I always struggled to make friends growing up. I was always called a little odd, and I was bullied for keeping to myself, preferring to read rather than play with others.