26. Lincoln
LINCOLN
Stopping inside the opulent entrance hall of Thorpe Manor, I stared down at the message on my screen.
Dad:
I went to a lot of trouble to get you an invitation for this event. Find out something tonight that your uncle can use. You know what will happen if you don’t.
Tilly’s face flashed through my mind, and I swallowed hard, straightening my shoulders.
This was the first time I’d been back in Thorpe Manor alone since that first night I’d been asked to pass a note to Daniel.
Tonight wasn’t a party but a charity event—the kind of function the Thorpes threw every now and then to pretend that they were upstanding citizens, rather than criminals.
I spotted Mayor Sullivan and his wife chatting to—oh, shit, that was Mike’s boss.
Turning on my heel, I headed in the opposite direction.
“Mr. Bellingham. How lovely of you to join us. The young people are in the basement.” Ryker’s mother appeared in front of me with a false, polite smile painted on her lips. Her eyes were almost as empty as her son’s. “Take the stairs at the end of the corridor.”
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat. “My parents send their apologies. They’re both caught up in cases in London, and they weren’t able to get away.”
She inclined her head. “Of course. We understand. Enjoy your evening.”
As soon as the heavy iron door leading to the basement swung open, I heard the music, a pounding, heavy bass line that reverberated through the soles of my feet and up into my body, until I felt as if I were vibrating with it.
I was already on edge, knowing who waited for me beyond this door, but I steeled myself, putting my game face on as I descended the stairs.
I was immediately hit by a wall of scent—weed, heavy in the air, overheated bodies crushed together, and the sweeter fragrance of various perfumes overlaid with cheap beer and expensive champagne.
Hostile gazes swept over me, but I ignored them, scanning the crowds for the one friendly face I knew was somewhere here.
I swerved past couples and groups of people with hands and mouths all over each other, uncaring who saw them, and eventually, I made it to an empty corner.
My shoulders loosened, relieved, as I finally spotted the person I’d been looking for.
“Bells.” My team captain thrust a bottle of beer into my hand. “You’re brave, showing up here.”
I exhaled, leaning back against the stone wall. “I’m not here out of choice.”
Enzo smirked. “Don’t think any of us are here out of choice. You, though… A lot of these people class you as the enemy.” He paused. “Then again, you’re not the only one here on the right side of the law. Remember, this is a charity event.”
“Right.” That was code for “play nice.”
“My advice? Help yourself to the free drinks, find yourself a hot woman or two, and make the most of it. That’s my plan.”
“Yeah…I’ll do that.” I clinked my bottle against his.
“Bellingham. A word?” Shit. Ryker Thorpe stood in front of me, radiating hostility.
“Yeah. What’s up?”
He jerked his head towards a door to my left, and I pushed away from the wall, following him. He punched in a code on a keypad, and the door swung open.
When it clicked shut behind us, Ryker flipped on the lights, illuminating a cavernous space with concrete floors, slightly sloped to a small drainage channel with an outlet at the far end.
A row of cabinets lined one wall next to a long, low counter, and the rest of the room was empty other than a large metal table and a chair in the centre, both bolted to the floor.
As my gaze swung upwards, it caught on a huge, sharply curved iron hook hanging from the ceiling. I swallowed hard.
Ryker smiled the smile of a psychopath, and it sent chills down my spine. “I don’t think I need to tell you what this room is used for.”
“Uh, no.” I rubbed my hand across my jaw, despising the tremble in my fingers.
“Good. You mess with Dan, or his family, or anyone I care about, and you’ll be getting to know this room a lot more intimately. I have zero fucking problem with teaching you a lesson you’ll never forget.”
“Got it,” I rasped.
“Good. Leave him alone. I mean it.”
Back in the main room, I headed straight for the bar, finding an open bottle of vodka and tipping it to my lips. My phone was burning a hole in my pocket, and Ryker’s warning gaze was searing the side of my face. I had no idea what to do. None.
The alcohol burned, but I kept going until it stopped burning. Slumping against the wall, I pressed my forehead to the cool stone, closing my eyes.
“Lincoln?” At the sound of the familiar voice, I exhaled heavily, letting my eyes open and pasting on a smile. I turned around to see Kimberly peering up at me with concern. My smile became more genuine when she said, “It’s nice to see another Whelford face here.”
“There aren’t many of us. Are you here against your will too?”
She laughed. “I used to go to school with half the people here, and my mother likes these kinds of parties, so…here we are. Not my first choice, but you don’t say no to the Thorpes.”
“Yeah.” I placed the vodka bottle back on the table, noticing with a wince that it was almost half-empty. Swiping a bottle of water from the ice bucket on the end of the table, I uncapped it and downed the contents.
“Want to dance?” Kimberly eyed me hopefully.
“Uh…”
“Just as friends,” she said quickly. “Don’t worry. I won’t get any ideas.”
“Alright. Just as friends, nothing more. I need you to understand that, okay?” There was no way I was even going to attempt to make a move on anyone here, even if I’d wanted to.
Ryker Thorpe clearly had some kind of issue with me, and I needed to lay low and work out what the fuck I was supposed to do.
Not only that, but encouraging Kimberly would be a bad, bad idea.
She nodded. “It’s fine, I get it.”
“Okay. In that case…” Taking her hand, I led her to the edge of the space that had been cleared for dancing. As she wrapped her arms loosely around my neck, I caught sight of something over her shoulder.
Daniel Hoyton, dancing with Liana Lazovsky. Her back was pressed up against his front, her head thrown back against his chest as his hands spanned her hips, moving them both to the music.
Something red-hot flared to life inside of me, and as Daniel’s hateful gaze met mine and then slid to the woman I was dancing with, it ignited. How dare he look at me and Kimberly like that when he knew there was nothing between us, and he was all over someone else? How dare he fucking touch her?
I untangled Kimberly’s arms from around my neck and stalked straight across the dance floor towards them.
“You’re fucking mine,” I snarled, and even though I was too far away for him to hear me, he obviously read my lips because his eyes widened. But then he smirked at me and dipped his head to Liana’s neck, and all hell broke loose.
My arm swung out, tearing him away from her, and as I drew my hand back to punch him for daring to touch someone else in front of me, his teammate Kane Worthington suddenly appeared, smashing his fist straight into Daniel’s jaw.
Daniel flew backwards, and I turned on Kane, launching myself at him, sending us both flying into the wall.
“Don’t fucking touch him!” I roared.
Kane shoved at my chest, his teeth bared and his eyes flashing with fire. “Stay the fuck out of this, Bellingham.”
“Leave him—”
I was yanked backwards, my arms twisted behind my back, and then Ryker Thorpe’s mouth was at my ear, low and deadly.
“I told you not to mess with Dan.” He manhandled me through the crowd, their whispers swirling in my ears over my pounding heartbeat.
We reached the same door he’d taken me through earlier, and he loosened his grip so he could punch in the code.
“Don’t even fucking think about making a run for it.
You have no friends here. No one will help you.
Not even your team captain. He’s one of us. Don’t forget it.”
Yeah, I knew that. I was the enemy of every-fucking-one in this place.
He shoved me inside the room, slamming the door behind us. “You need to be taught a lesson.”
“I’m not going down without a fight,” I told him, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt.
“Good. I wouldn’t expect you to.” He opened one of the cabinets, and when he withdrew his hand, he had a long length of chain dangling from his fingers. He lifted it up, letting me get a good view, the chain clinking as he began wrapping it around his fist.
“I should get a weapon if you have one,” I rasped. My throat was so dry, it felt like sandpaper.
“Nah, that’s not how this works. You fucked around, and now you’re finding out. Maybe after this, you’ll learn to stay away from my best friend.” He prowled towards me, and I readied my stance.
The door burst open. “King! Stop!”
The desperate shout sliced through the room, and my gaze swung to the open doorway, where a dishevelled, red-headed demon stood, his chest heaving and his bright blue eyes wide with alarm.
“Arson.” Ryker’s voice echoed through the space.
“No.” Daniel stalked into the centre of the room, putting his body between me and Ryker. “You lay a hand on him, and I’ll never forgive you.” His voice cracked on the last words, and my heart jolted.
“Dan. You can’t— You—”
“Ry, I’m serious. Let me deal with my own shit, okay?” He stepped closer to his best friend, holding his gaze. “Look, if I need your help, I promise I’ll ask you. But I can handle him. Don’t worry. You know me.”
“Yeah, I do know you, and that’s why I’m worried,” he muttered, his shoulders slumping. “You sure about this?”
“I’m sure. Trust me.”
“Alright,” he said reluctantly, after a long, charged silence. “If you’re sure.”
Daniel exhaled slowly. He nodded at Ryker and then turned to face me, rubbing at his jaw. Rage filled me again at the reminder that his own fucking teammate had hit him. I stepped forwards, lifting my hand.
“Don’t. Don’t fucking touch me. Don’t even look at me.” His lashes were glistening, the gold sparkling under the strip lights. “You need to leave. Now.”
“Dan,” I choked out around the lump in my throat. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s not safe for you here,” he ground out. “You need to fucking leave.”
“Not without you.”
There was a sharp exhale from behind him, but we both ignored it. I held his gaze until eventually he gave a short, jerky nod. “Fine.”
“Really?”
“Unless you want to leave with fucking Kimberly,” he spat.
I stepped closer, lowering my voice as I dared to touch my fingertips to his clenched fist. “Do you want me to leave with Kimberly?”
He gritted his teeth. “No.”
“Good. Then come with me.”