Page 7 of Blood and Thorns (Twisted Ever After #1)

Arabella

I couldn’t seem to shake my nervous energy as I sat in my boss’s office.

Chase was clearly picking up on it, because his surprise at seeing my face on my day off was quickly replaced with disappointment.

“Money’s missing from the float. You wanna tell me about that?”

I swallowed, my hands restless in my lap. “I’m sorry–”

“Fucking hell, doll. I didn’t actually think you had anything to do with it.” He slouched back, his chair letting out a wheeze as if straining beneath his weight. “So, you’re stealing from me now?”

“I have some of the money.” Reaching into the back of my jeans, I pulled out around ￡230. It wasn’t all of it, but it was everything I’d managed to scrape together from what I’d found in Dad’s garage. “I’m so sorry, I was cornered and didn’t know what else to do. I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

Chase’s hand snapped out faster than I expected, making me flinch. “You know I have to let you go, right? You can’t go around stealing from me.”

My eyes widened. “No, please, I really love this job.” And I needed it more than ever. “I was just desperate.”

Chase scraped his teeth over his bottom lip. “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?”

“I need to borrow 100k.”

Chase blinked at me for a moment, then burst into a loud bark of a laugh. “Wait, you’re serious?” he asked once he’d sobered. “You’re fucking crazy if you think I’ll lend you anything. Not even if you bent over this desk for me.”

Heat prickled my cheeks, and I curled my fingers into my thighs. If I wasn’t wearing jeans, I was pretty sure my nails would’ve sliced through the skin of my legs. “Do you know anyone who would lend me it?” I asked, deciding to ignore his previous comment.

He eyed me for a moment. “That’s a lot of money. You in some kind of trouble?”

“My father is.”

Chase shook his head. “Who the fuck does he owe that much to?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Shaking his head, he stood, towering over me. “Doll, take my advice. I don’t want to turn on the news and see your pretty face as just another statistic. Your dad’s business is his own, and you should run while you still can.”

I was quiet as I left, that ice in my gut having melted until I felt numb everywhere.

I was grateful Suzy was too busy to notice me, because I really didn’t feel like arguing who would give the best orgasm from the Lord of the Rings franchise when I felt like my entire life had been turned upside down.

Rachael spotted me from behind the bar, her smile gentle when I gave her a small wave and quickly hurried to the staff room. It was small, consisting of just a sink, a tiny table with two chairs, and space to store our stuff while on shift.

Going over to the cubby hole, I grabbed everything that was mine, which was only a hairbrush and my notebook.

“There you are,” Suzy exclaimed, sweeping in with the energy of a golden retriever. “Rachael said you were here. So, that pretty boy who was here the other night is waiting for you at the…” Her eyes dipped to the book in my bag. “Wait, are you leaving?”

I tugged the bag tighter against me. “Yeah, I… I was offered another job,” I lied. “Better pay. Shorter hours. Even covers my dental, and… stuff.”

Suzy’s bottom lip trembled, and she blinked a few times.

Oh no. Please, for the love of God, don’t cry.

“You were going to leave without saying goodbye?” A sob broke out from her throat, and then the tears came as she threw herself across the short space and wrapped me in a hug.

Jesus Christ.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving us! Who else am I going to discuss who’s hotter with?”

I was pretty confident I resembled a statue in her arms, and even the awkward pat on her back felt strange.

I had zero skills when it came to people crying.

I was an emotional wreck, so I couldn’t mentally deal with other people’s drama when I could barely handle my own. “You have Rachael,” I offered.

“We both know she’s vapid. Like, come on, who hasn’t watched Game of Thrones ? Is she living under a rock?” Suzy sniffled. “And she chose Gimli as her favourite. Gimli! Clearly Legolas has far superior skills in making a woman come. Rachael has no taste, Ara.”

Her tears had dried while she’d grumbled, nothing remaining but a slight blotchiness to her cheeks. “You’ll be fine,” I said, trying to break free from her hold.

“What about you helping me find a date?”

I didn’t do anything except swipe a few times on an app. I literally stayed with a man who gaslit me just because I was lonely. Who was I to give dating advice?

I smiled at her. “I’ll miss you, too.”

Suzy would forget about me within a week, her attention bright but fleeting. It was probably the reason why she went through so many boyfriends.

But other than knowing my personal preference was Aragorn –because of course it fucking was–she knew very little about my personal life.

That was the way I preferred it, not getting too attached to people.

Just in case something were to happen, and I’d have to leave again.

So I kept to myself as much as possible, instead getting lost in my books.

She perked up, sniffling her nose. “Oh, yeah, don’t forget your boyfriend’s waiting for you at the bar. Has he come to pick you up?”

“I don’t have a…” Wait, what was Gabriel doing here?

I found him leaning against the bar, a blushing Rachael beside him. I intended to walk out and not look back, but he turned at the last second and spotted me. Shit.

“Baby, there you are.” He waltzed across the space, looking out of place in his neatly pressed suit and trench coat, which was his statement detective uniform apparently. His dark hair was swept to one side, which made his eyes pop. “Are you okay? That waitress just told me you’re leaving.”

He went to pull me against him, but I quickly shook him off. He didn’t try to hug me again, but the look of concern seemed almost genuine.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, gently tugging him towards the wall where there were a few empty tables. I could feel eyes on me, and it made me want to squirm.

“Can’t I come and see my girl?”

“I’m too tired to do this right now.”

“I spoke to Lennon.” He cupped my jaw, and all I wanted was to press myself against his palm and seek comfort. But I didn’t.

“Of course you did.” I tried to pull back, but Gabriel only pinched his fingers to stop me.

What luck that Lennon was the responding officer, the one who had to take my statement all while snickering at me.

It hadn’t even occurred to me that he’d tell Gabriel, not when I was so distracted with everything.

“You should’ve called me,” Gabriel chided.

“What good would that have done?”

“I work for the fucking Met,” he snapped before clearing his throat. “I have contacts, Ara. This is what I do. Now, tell me everything that’s happened. Your dad gambling again?”

My stomach recoiled with how cold he asked the question.

Hours I’d spent telling Gabriel about my dad, and the demons that haunted him.

He was the only person I’d opened up to, and when I thought he was listening because he cared, in reality he only listened so he could weaponise the knowledge in our fights.

I nodded, not trusting my voice for a moment even as I stepped back, putting some space between us. I needed to remind myself that Gabriel only cared about himself, even if I ached for him to care about me right now.

“Who took Morris, Ara?”

I shrugged, blowing out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know. He was really tall, built large and wore this skull mask on the bottom of his– ”

“A mask?” Gabriel nodded to himself, as if confirming a suspicion. “That sounds like the Beast.”

I frowned at him. “The Beast?”

Gabriel clenched his jaw, that viciousness that I’d witnessed so many times in our relationship darkening his eyes.

“I thought Lennon was crazy when he called,” he said with such a pompous tone that I was actually grateful, because it shattered his carefully constructed facade.

“Like why would someone like him be interested in someone as small as you or your father? It doesn’t match his profile. ”

And there it was. The realisation that I was never good enough. He always wanted me to change to his idea of the perfect woman. Someone silent and pretty on his arm. Who wouldn’t argue back, and simply laid flat on her back, spreading her legs and giving him babies.

I laughed, the sound slightly hysterical, and if I were a therapist, I’d probably be concerned. “You’re such an arsehole, Gabe.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned away before I made a scene and embarrassed myself.

“Baby, come on, you don’t understand how ridiculous it sounds.” Gabriel caught up to me in two strides. “Sebastian Devereaux’s a big name in certain circles within the underworld. Fucking untouchable, and notoriously a ghost. The bastard’s ruthless, and known to be cruel.”

Jostling my shoulder when he went to grab it, I shoved myself through the door and out into the cool air.

“Look, if Morris isn’t already dead, he will be. Soon.”

I paused, turning to face him. “I need to find him. I can’t…” Be all alone, I finished inside my head. I already held the guilt of one parent’s death on my shoulders; I couldn’t handle having another when I could prevent it.

Soft fingers along my jaw forced me to look up. “Don’t worry, baby, we’ll get him back.”

“You know where to find Sebastian?” I asked, a pressure on my chest growing.

Gabe pulled me until I was against him, and this time I didn’t fight. “Of course. He’s been involved in more than one of my investigations over the years. I personally know him; he owns The Thorn over in Soho.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“That’s because you don’t fit there,” he said. “You don’t fit their… aesthetic.” A smirk curled his lips, mocking, and all I wanted to do was push him away. But clearly, I needed him. “But that’s okay, because I can get you inside.”