Page 11 of Blood and Thorns
It was Caden who answered. “100k.”
She flinched, those plump lips parting, and I took the opportunity to brush my thumb across the bottom one, pressing hard against her cut. She bit me, so I tightened my grip until I controlled her every breath.
“Lang,” I began, keeping my eyes trained on the woman in my grasp, “prepare Mr Grey for transport. Looks like he’s going to have to come with us.”
She finally began to struggle, taking in a gasp when I finally relaxed my fingers.
“Please,” she begged, the word like music to my ears. I wanted to hear her say it over and over, ideally seconds before she submitted to me in the most primal way.
“Please, what?” I pressed my thumb against her pulse, savouring the rapid beat.
“Don’t do this. We’ll find the money.”
“And how exactly will you do that?” I was conscious of the sirens in the background, slowly growing louder. I wasn’t worried about the police turning up, not when almost every copper was under my payroll. And those that weren’t… well, they went missing.
She let out an exhale, her hot breath feathering across my skin. She didn’t look away from my gaze, not even when I dipped my head closer to her height. Not many people had the backbone to challenge me in such a way, especially with my fingers around their throat.
I wanted nothing more to push her further and see whether she continued to fight. But reluctantly, I let her go. “Mr Grey,” I said, speaking to her father, “as of now, your life is forfeit.”
Morris was a sickly shade of grey, the whites around hiseyes only emphasising his panic. “You can take anything you want. Sir… please. Anything.”
His eyes snapped to his daughter, and then back again.
I raised a brow, but those sirens were going to start causing a scene. A scene I didn’t have the patience to deal with. So, nodding to Caden, I waited for him to grab Morris by his collar.
“Where are you taking him?” Ara cried, trying and failing to block my exit. “Stop, you fucking monster!”
“Monster?” I paused at the door while Morris’s screams echoed around us. “Ohbelle,you have no fucking idea.”
Chapter 6
Sebastian
“You need anything else, Sir?” Mrs Potter, my head housekeeper, asked as she laid down a silver tray on my desk. I glanced over at the glass of whisky, immediately dismissing her with a wave of my hand.
“That’s all. Please lock down the lift on your way out.”
“Of course, Sir.” Mrs Potter bowed her head.
My gaze followed her figure as she made her way through my home on the cameras, confirming she’d obeyed the order, and I had the entire place to myself. Cracking my neck, I sat back in my chair, reaching over to the ice-cold whisky and taking a sip.
I’d designed my two-story penthouse as an impenetrable stronghold capable of withstanding any type of attack. Caden and Langdon owned luxury flats below, and only because I trusted them like brothers. The floors below them were empty, gutted and reinforced with the strongest materials money could buy. I had cameras across almost every inch, and as my fingers flexed on the glass of my drink, I flicked through the twenty-or-so screens until I found my club, The Thorn.
Just as fortified as my home, The Thorn was the face toeverything. A place to entertain rich and influential guests, as well as hide my… other activities.
I became known for my fights, but it wasn’t the fights or the subsequent betting where I made my fortune. No, my empire was in cocaine, the powder designed to give you the perfect euphoric high. Synthetically adapted to lessen the risk of adverse effects, my product was the cleanest on the market.
Nobody could match the quality, and anybody who tried suffered unfortunate accidents.
The leather seat creaked as I rested back, but I couldn’t relax. Recently it had been like ants itching beneath my skin, making me unsettled, and not even the burn of alcohol seemed to help.
Three overdoses in two weeks. Overdoses were going to happen; it was part of the industry. But three intwo weeks? No, there was a reason my product dominated the market, and it wasn’t because my clients fucking died. At first, I was sceptical, but the men I had constantly tracking all the other players confirmed it was the Cursed Rose. My fucking powder.
Clicking a button on the mouse, I flicked through the feed until I found something to distract me. The ice clinked in my glass as I raised the whiskey to my lips, savouring the taste as I watched Morris Grey pace his cell in frantic strides. It had only been a few hours, and he already looked like shit.
You can take anything you want, Sir… please. Anything.
It wasn’t unusual for weak men to make desperate pleas. I’ve had many offer me their wives, daughters, and sons in exchange for their lives, and I’d never been tempted.
