Page 8 of Blood and Thorns (Twisted Ever After #1)

Sebastian

The punching bag swung beneath my fists, the leather cracking and groaning. I practiced my hits, the strikes repetitive and perfectly timed. I kept going until my arms began to ache, and my knuckles threatened to split beneath the impact.

Tension pulled my skin tight, the need to hit something an almost violent impulse that I barely caged.

So after lifting weights, I used the bag, the chain clinking as it rocked.

Blinking past the sweat dripping from my brow, I pushed past the pain, unable to stop until my muscles strained and exhaustion finally took over.

If I didn’t, I couldn’t rest, sleep eluding me as nightmares haunted.

Memories threatened.

With a last hit the bag crumpled, my breathing heavy as it collapsed to the wooden floor with an audible thwack . Sand poured out from where it had split, the grains pale against the dark wood.

Taking in a deep breath, I unwrapped the fabric from my knuckles before tossing it onto the sand and stepping over the mess .

“That’s the second bag this month,” Chip commented, appearing in the doorway. He didn’t flinch when I turned my glare towards him, his demeanour almost as frosty as mine.

“Then order a new one.”

Chip nodded, folding his arms. “It’s your turn to play,” he said, not waiting for a reply before he disappeared.

I gave myself a moment, the sand finally settling into the grooves.

Chip and I had an ongoing game of chess, and it had first started as a way to teach him strategy and discipline as a favour to his mother.

He was young and brash, and if he ever wanted to survive amongst the corruption of the underworld, he’d have to learn.

Until then, he wasn’t ready for more responsibility.

Stretching out my muscles, I took the stairs down and made my way to my bedroom, the dark colours comforting as I walked straight into my attached ensuite.

My knuckles were pink when I raised them, but not broken or bruised.

It had been Caden’s idea to practice with them bound, especially when I’d frequently get carried away.

Pulling off my shorts, I stepped into the shower, turning the water on and ducking my head even as it was freezing.

I kept myself beneath the stream, only allowing myself to move once the water had heated.

I made it quick, just enough to remove the sweat before I padded naked back into my bedroom, my eyes resting on the screen on the wall.

Reaching for the remote, I flicked through the feeds until I found the CCTV facing the garage, but she wasn’t there. The woman with her messy brunette hair and eyes that held fragments of gold.

Something twisted in my gut, and I wondered if it was disappointment.

It had been a few days, and still I haven’t caught a single peek of her.

I was almost tempted to ask Langdon to sneak into the flat above and plant a camera, hoping to catch just another glimpse of the woman who’d bitten me and then left me with the biggest fucking hard-on.

Defiance wasn’t my kink, but my cock didn’t seem to care.

Not when it came to her, at least.

Clicking the remote, I filtered through the feed until I came to Morris, his arms frantic as he tried to shoo the tarantulas that sometimes called his cell home.

He was standing on his makeshift bed, clearly terrified of the eight-legged creatures I was so fascinated with. He was lucky; the cell’s last occupant had nothing but a bucket. The fact I gave him a bed made me a goddamn fucking saint, and he should be more grateful.

I returned to flicking through the screens, only for my eyes to immediately settle on a familiar face. Reaching for my phone, Icalled Caden.

He answered immediately.

“What the fuck is Detective Graves doing here?” Conniving little cunt wasn’t welcome since he was caught sticking his nose into places he didn’t belong. It didn’t matter that he found nothing. No one, not even the police, moved in my territory without my permission.

“Oh, hi Caden, how are you? Oh, I’m great Bas, you know, chilling and–”

“Cade,” I growled.

A chuckle echoed through the line. “Did you say Graves? I haven’t seen him, but Miles is working the door. I’ll go check.”

I watched Gabriel a little longer, his posture at ease in a place he knew he didn’t belong. He hadn’t risked stepping foot inside any of my establishments since the last time he’d been warned. So what has changed? Why now would he risk his life?

He was a fool, but he wasn’t stupid .

Phone in hand, I pulled on my black shirt and trousers, pairing it with the matching jacket. I fucking hated it, but I forced myself to look civilised because it put people on edge when they first meet me and realised I was anything but.

The fabric felt tough, brushing against the scars that sliced across my back and shoulders akin to sandpaper. They were the thickest and most irritating. But unlike Langdon, mine were made from blades and whips, not flames.

The ones on my face were nothing compared to his, mere scratches that disappeared beneath my beard.

The one that sliced down my eye was harder to hide, as was the one through my upper lip.

Not that I cared about hiding them. My uncle once tried to convince me to seek treatment, but I’d always refused.

Why hide from my past? The scars and the memories attached made me who I was.

Tugging at the collar, I glanced back at the screen, only to still. Because there, looking completely out of place in her pale blue summer dress compared to the surrounding elegance, was her.

“Bas?” Caden’s voice jolted me out of my stasis. “He came in with someone on your personal pre-approved list. Want me to deal with it?”

I blinked, finding Graves tugging her to his side as if he had the right to. From the camera’s angle I couldn’t see her entire expression, but her shoulders tensed. Her spine rigid.

“Bas?”

“Don’t worry, I’m coming in,” I said, reaching for my mask. “I’ll deal with it myself.”