Page 38 of Point of Contention

Old friends, we were not. Though Gage was a long-standing member of the club, an acquaintance at my sanctuary, I did not count him among my list offriends. Those spots were sacred, reserved for people like Travis. And Mina. People I trusted implicitly.

Rylan.

“I’ve collared no one, Master Creed, and I don’t intend to.” He chuckled and my back tensed. “I like to keep my options open.”

The fact he thought Rylan was one of theoptionsavailable to him set my teeth on edge, but if she’d sought him out, there was nothing I could do.

Shewanteda new Dom.

Sure, as Ombudsman I could try to overrule their pairing. Hell, I could bring it to Mina and beg her to make sure Gage never got his hands on Rylan, but… in the long run, I had no say in her life.

No say in how—or with whom—she found pleasure.

The thought of her returning to the Rabbit Hole with Gage sickened me, but my hands were tied.

“I’ll need to speak to Rylan, of course,” I finally said. “Her comfort is my first priority.”

“Understandable.”

We were barely back on speaking terms, but maybe I could somehow make Gage think we were good, somehow delay the inevitable.

Shaking my head, I opened my mouth to say more, but ended the call without another word instead. I quickly pulled up the search browser, then punched in a flight search.

I found a flight leaving Burbank in just under three hours and booked it.

Chapter Thirteen

Rylan

Even after everything I’d been through, from the chaos of my relationship hitting the tabloids then falling apart, losing the internship then getting it back, reconnecting with my mom, interviewing for new jobs, and returning to the White Rabbit, nothing had been as nerve-wracking as walking into brunch at Tavern on the Green with my old friends—who may or may not absolutely hate me.

Eloise had forgiven me. Even more importantly, shebelievedme.

The others… well, they were wild cards.

Marisa had truly hurt me when she sent that vicious text, but I understood where she came from, how itlooked, and, more importantly, I realized now that I’d also hurt her. She’d thought the worst of me because I hadn’t been truthful with her.

I’d given her little choice but to believe what she’d read.

And, even after I knew what she thought about me, I hid from that instead of confronting it and salvaging what I could of that friendship. I was a coward.

But I refused to hide any longer.

Breathing deeply and bracing myself, I squared my shoulders and gave the hostess my name.

“Right this way, Ms. Blake. Your party is on the back veranda.”

I smiled and followed her through the restaurant to the back patio, my heart in my throat and a sheen of sweat on my palms.

At a round table closest to the fountain, sat my old friends from Reed Publishing, plus a few faces I didn’t recognize. As I approached the table, the conversations died down as all heads swiveled toward me.

I glanced over my shoulder and debated running—

“You came!” Eloise announced excitedly, bringing my attention back to the table as she stood and rushed toward me, pulling me into her arms in a quick embrace. “Don’t look so afraid,” she whispered. “I’ve told them all to be on their best behavior for my birthday.” Then she pulled back and grinned at me before sitting down and motioning to the chair she’d kept empty beside her.

On the other side of the empty seat, Marcus watched me with a look of curiosity, but I didn’t spot any animosity in his eyes. Eloise had set this up, no doubt, placing me between her and the least likely to go for my jugular.

“Hey,” Marcus said as I sat down. “You look good, Rylan.”