28. Caden
Caden
A roar rippled through the crowd, excitement catching like a fever.
It was fight night at Thorns, which meant the club’s usual exclusivity loosened for those with deep enough pockets and a taste for unsanctioned violence.
The arena was more compact than the main club, echoing the same refined design.
Except the centre where carpet met concrete, a ring emerged surrounded in lights.
I scanned the room, searching for a flash of familiar red amongst the sea of bodies.
I already knew she wasn’t home, having every door, window, and possible entrance to her home alarmed.
Each time someone entered or exited I’d get a notification, pull up the camera feed we’d discreetly installed to make sure she was alone.
She thought she was cute changing the locks, but I would always get in.
“He’s just teasing,” Sebastian said calmly to my right, seated on a roped-off area with Arabella on his lap. She wore her black choker, the red rose like a drop of blood at the centre of her throat.
“He’s losing again,” she said, concern slipping into her voice. “He’s getting himself hurt.”
“You know Lang only loses when he wants to,” I replied, finally dragging my attention from my phone to the ring.
Langdon stood there grinning like a man unhinged, even as someone twice his size drove a right hook into his jaw.
The impact snapped his head sideways, but he simply rolled with it, spat a thick rope of blood onto the canvas, and bounced back onto the balls of his feet before teasing his opponent with aggressive hand gestures and creative obscenities.
Ara flinched at the hit, only for Sebastian to tighten his grip around her waist and pull her against his chest. I watched as he leaned down, whispering something in her ear that had her eyes widen and a flush burn her cheeks.
Probably because Bas was translating.
Not that she needed that much help, considering she’d spent enough time while technically being captive under Sebastian’s command learning Langue des Signes Francaise just so she could communicate with Langdon.
She’d actually begun learning British Sign Language, not realising he was brought up in France, same as Sebastian.
“Your girlfriend sucks my dick harder than you hit!” Lang teased, the fabric wrapped around his knuckles restricting his ability to sign efficiently. “Come on, princess, you’re sweating harder than a priest in a playground.”
Langdon continued to taunt, taking some weird, twisted delight in pushing the men he fought to the edge of their patience. It was true, he only really lost when he wanted to. He may have been the smallest of us, but he was still six foot three and surprisingly fast considering his scars.
He could also take a punch.
Lang’s hands blurred as he evaded his opponent just to get in the last word. “Your mum rides dick better than you throw punches.”
Jesus Christ.
Sometimes I was thankful he had damaged vocal cords.
Another punch landed, this time almost taking Langdon to the canvas.
My own hands fisted, itching to spill some blood, to release even a fraction of the tension building under my skin. But my attention kept slipping, getting dragged back to the crowd.
Aeris still wasn’t here.
Irritation flared behind my ribs, something I pointedly ignored as Langdon finally started showing the crowd why he was a fan favourite. Reaching into my pocket I crushed the sea glass I’d stolen in my hand, feeling the hard edge dig into my palm.
My phone vibrated, and I looked down expecting Aeris’s name to be on the screen. When it wasn’t, the disappointment sharpened with something I refused to acknowledge.
She really didn’t understand. I didn’t do well with disobedience.
Pulling out the glass, I rolled it between my fingers, studying the imperfect edges that had been smoothed over by the sea.
Movement to my right—Sebastian meeting my eyes over Ara’s head. Pocketing the sea glass once more I moved closer, dipping down to keep our conversation private.
“Has it been confirmed?” he asked, his tone level except for the slight anger simmering beneath it.
I nodded, not wanting to share too much in a room with too many ears.
It had only been a week, and already we’d managed to plant explosives and bugs in three of the known locations connected to Selene Blackwater.
Progress. But composing the full picture would take time and patience, two things Sebastian had never been particularly good at.
We had to play it carefully, especially not knowing how much of Aeris’s word we could trust.
She’d given us a detailed profile breakdown of the Blackwater empire including names, territories, and possible weaknesses. We’d spent hours comparing every word against what we already knew, but a few details were too clean. Too convenient.
She was either telling the truth or feeding us exactly what she wanted us to know. Considering she’d been sharing details of our production, I assumed the latter.
But if even half of Aeris’s information was accurate, Selene’s operation was bigger and deeper than we’d realised. She really had been rebuilding her father’s legacy in the shadows.
Which made Aeris even more valuable, and more dangerous.
And she still wasn’t fucking here.
The crowd surged to their feet, their cries and screams of glory drawing me back to the fight. Langdon stood there grinning, his opponent knocked out cold.
Knowing Sebastian was there to help Langdon come down from his high, I walked the edge of the arena towards the side exit.
The bouncers nodded at me as I passed, a cigarette already in my mouth as I pushed the double doors to the cold.
The alley behind the club was dark and empty, the kind of quiet that settled over my frustration, broken only by the whistle of the wind and the distant hum of traffic.
I lit the cigarette and took a long drag, letting the smoke burn in my lungs before I exhaled it into the cold night air. My gaze swept the alley, making sure I was alone before I made the call.
“What’s the update?” I asked, keeping my tone calm.
“Same as this morning,” Hendrix grunted. “You calling every few hours isn’t going to make the code write itself faster.”
I bit back my reply. Hendrix had more than earned his reputation as one of the best. He walked the line between the Underworld and the law with ease, making him an asset I was willing to be patient with.
Not many people managed a double life as a cybercrime detective while still operating as an experienced hacker on the dark net.
“The data’s coming in,” he continued, “I can nuke anything tied to the Beast. But if you want this done properly, I need a RAT in their system. Full access.”
I frowned, dragging in another breath of smoke. “And how exactly are you planning to do that?”
“That’s the issue. I need an initial foothold, preferably on Selene’s personal network. Once I’m inside her devices, I can pivot across the whole infrastructure. It’ll be more controlled. She won’t know she’s been hit until you’re ready to push the button and erase everything.”
My mind returned to Aeris, and my jaw tightened.
Crushing the cigarette out against the wall, I watched the ember die. “Leave it with me.”
Disconnecting the call, I slipped the phone into my pocket and stepped back into the club.
I looked around to find my company gone.
Sebastian and Arabella had likely dragged Langdon home before his self-destructive tendencies could reduce the night into smoke, ash, and screams. I already planned to play for him later, something slow, dark, and hypnotic.
The kind of music that could bleed the excess adrenaline from his veins before it devoured him whole.
It was as if Langdon’s mind didn’t know how to process that kind of fire.
It simply unhooked from reality and spiralled back into memories he was never meant to relive.
He was the priority, but I still scanned across the crowd, expecting to find her waiting …
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” a feminine voice gasped just as cold liquid splashed across my shirt.
I reacted instantly, hands shooting out to steady the woman before she could stumble in her heels.
Her dark eyes met mine, framed with thick lashes and purple shadow. A slow, delighted smile curved her lips. “Oh … it’s you.”
I released her arms, but she didn’t step back. Instead, she let her fingers linger on my damp shirt.
“Excuse me,” I said, voice even, already shifting to move past her.
Her hand caught mine. “Vivienne. Vivienne Blackwater.”
I stilled, my eyes narrowing a fraction as I finally connected her face to the information. Aeris had included pictures, her report professionally thorough.
“We met at that mixer,” she added, a touch too eager.
I masked the irritation and offered a polite nod.
“Right.” I had no memory of meeting her, which meant she hadn’t been important. Or I’d been distracted with a certain fucking temptress. “How are you, Vivienne?”
Her smile brightened, stepping closer until the sweet vanilla-cherry scent of her perfume drowned out the scent of sweat.
“Much better now that you’re here,” she murmured, tilting her head so dark waves spilled over her shoulder. Her gaze drifted, slow and deliberate, down my chest, lingering on the damp fabric. “God, I made a mess of you. Let me fix it … maybe buy you a drink?”
Her fingers danced over my arm, and disgust coiled tight in my gut. How was it that her touch stirred only irritation, while Aeris—the woman blackmailing me—set my blood on fire with nothing more than a fucking smirk?
I let a beat pass, just enough to make it seem like I was considering it, before I gave her a faint smile. “Careful,” I said quietly, hoping my voice wasn’t cold. “People might start talking.”
Her lips curved into a triumphant little smile, clearly taking it as encouragement. “Let them talk,” she whispered. “I’ve never been one to care what they say … especially when I see something I want.”
“Unfortunately, I have somewhere to be,” I added, holding her gaze just long enough to sell the reluctance.
Vivienne’s fingers tightened on my arm, sliding higher in a slow caress. “Then give me your number,” she said quickly, voice dropping into something huskier. “Maybe we could meet somewhere more … private.” Holding out her phone, she waited as I input a burner number.
One she immediately messaged so I’d have her number too.
“Text me,” she murmured, biting her lip. “Anytime.”
She lingered a second longer, eyes glittering with satisfaction, then finally sauntered off into the thinning crowd with a sway in her hips that screamed invitation.
I watched her go until she disappeared near the VIP section. The moment she was out of sight, any fake warmth drained from my face.
Pathetic.
It wasn’t a coincidence. Vivienne Blackwater had zero reason to throw herself at me so aggressively, not unless someone had pointed her in my direction.
My thoughts drifted back to Aeris, something dark and possessive curling through my veins like smoke. If Vivienne was an angle planted by Selene, then she would know. Which meant she had not only failed to appear tonight, but she’d deliberately kept critical information from me.