30. CHAPTER 30
SEBASTIAN
I t was late, and everyone had long gone home.
I was meant to be collecting Aria, but everything had been swirling around in my mind all day.
She was mine, there was no question about that.
I had fully given in to everything I felt for her.
She drove me wild, and I couldn’t help but want to be with her all the time.
It was everything else that was going on with her that I wasn’t quite sure of.
The way I felt about her had made me hesitate about opening that file, hoping she’d open up to me, but she hadn’t. She’d told me everything when we were younger, so I wasn’t quite sure what was so different now.
I glanced over at it on my desk, dread sitting heavy in my stomach. There was going to be something in that file I wouldn’t like, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to know what it was.
I downed my whisky to try to numb the fear, but it didn’t work; I needed more.
As I got up to pour another, the door opened, Hayden walking through it.
I studied him, wondering if he already knew what was in the file.
I poured myself another and grabbed a glass for Hayden.
My fingers lingered on his glass for a split second as I placed it in front of him on the desk, then sat back down in my chair. Unspoken words lingered between us.
“Aria’s at ours.”
“What? Why?”
“Not sure, but she wanted to talk to Serfina about you.” He smirked. “What have you been doing to her?”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“I never thought I’d see the day the great Sebastian Knight was weak for a woman.”
He was right—I was completely and utterly weak for her. She was my kryptonite. My downfall. Everything a man like me shouldn’t have, because I’d fuck over everything in my way to keep her safe, no matter what it was. I’d destroy everything for her.
His eyes flickered to the file. “Did you read it?” he asked quietly.
I picked up my glass, taking a sip, and watched his every move, as if there was something he was trying to tell me. “Not yet,” I replied, trying to control my frustration.
He fixed his eyes on mine. “You need to.”
I frowned at him. Why was it suddenly so important now when he hadn’t wanted me to only a few days ago? I glanced over at it; the edges looked sharper than before, like it was ready to cut through what remained of my restraint.
I took a deep breath, slowly pulling it open.
My eyes started to dart about the page, fixating on the picture at the top.
A man with sharp jawline and cold, lifeless eyes looked back at me.
Jason Brown. The guy Aria had moved to Leeds with.
My eyes drifted under the photo, the words ringing in my head. GBH with Intent domestic abuse case .
I didn’t understand at first; my eyes skimmed down the page, trying to piece it all together, and then it hit me: Victim: Aria Summers. I gripped the file tightly as my jaw clenched. Had I read that right?
The words started to sink in, and I moved further down the page to the incident report.
Victim found unconscious in a hallway … severe laceration to the wrist … multiple bruises consistent with blunt force trauma.
My eyes blurred for a second before sharpening again, every word cutting deep.
I turned the page, unprepared for what I was about to see.
I barely heard Hayden shifting in his chair. My entire focus locked upon the images in front of me.
Photos of Aria’s bruised arms. The wound on her wrist trailed up her arm. Photos of the hallway. It was all there.
I felt sick, my stomach twisted in knots. My Nyx had gone through all of that, and I hadn’t been there for her.
Jason had done this to her. He’d attacked her, then abandoned her.
And now he was on remand, awaiting trial.
This man didn’t deserve a trial.
I stood up, my jaw clenched, and I took hold of the whisky glass, smashing it against the wall. I ran my hands through my hair, trying to get my head around it, and all the while Hayden was sitting there calmly.
He already knew.
“I told you not to do anything stupid.”
“Where is he?” I demanded.
“Sebastian. No.”
“I’m going to fuck him and his brother up.”
“Don’t start a war.”
“It won't be a war when I’ve finished. It’ll be a bloodbath.”
“Sebastian, you know we’d all be behind you, but the lines are calm right now. You need to see her ,” Hayden ordered.
I glared straight at him. He was right, as usual; I did need to see Aria.
I knew now why she’d reacted the way she had when I’d attacked Nicholas and the guy in the bar. I knew now where he was from. He was one of Jason’s.
She wasn’t working for them; she was running from them.