Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
I move to pry myself free of Ben’s grasp.
“Where are you sneaking off to now?” he teases.
“Calling an Uber.”
I’m all out of fucks to give.
“Don’t be cross with me.” Ben rips my phone out of my hand. He tosses it to the brunette. “Babe, tell her I’m not awful.”
A bolt of anger surges through me. Is he serious right now?
“It’s bad luck to lie under a new moon.” Melissa laughs in return, tossing my phone off to the blond.
“She’s a witch,” the blond one squeals. “Burn her!” She dips her fingers into her glass and flicks the wet tips at the other woman.
The gentleman and the lizard then take turns tossing my phone over my head while I try snatching it out of the air. Eventually I give up and throw a drink on one of them.
“No. Now come on,” Ben interjects as his friend indignantly wipes champagne off his face. “Bad form, Abbey.”
I don’t give a shit. I grab my phone and dart for the bathroom before anyone can get a hand on me. I hear a knock just as I lock the door and throw my back against it for good measure.
There isn’t much battery life left, and the nearest Uber is thirty minutes away. I suddenly hate Friday nights in London. The first tremors of panic start rippling in my stomach. I check every rideshare in the city for a quicker way home. No luck.
Damn it.
They’re pounding on the door now, and I’m not sure I can stay in here another five minutes before Ben finds a key or a battering ram. In desperation, I type out a quick SOS, then check off a bunch of names in my contacts list and send it off in the hopes someone on that list will come for me. In the meantime, I sink to the floor, pressed up against the door, feet braced, prepared to fight to the death against the coked-out horde.
Somehow, of all the escapades I envisioned for myself, I never imagined when I moved to London that I’d be holed up in a British lord’s powder room above the city, his rabid scavengers clawing at my back.
I’m pretty sure this is precisely what my father pictured. Dr. Wu will have to medicate him if Dad ever finds out about this.
“Abbey, I’m sorry,” Ben pleads after a couple minutes. “We were only having a bit of fun. We’re terrible, I know. Come out and let us apologize. No harm done, right? Be a good sport.”
It goes on like that, every few minutes or so. Until they bore of me, and I hear the muffled laughter of them taking to mocking me instead.
Then, a new commotion.
Shouting.
Doors slamming.
A glass breaks.
I hear my name echoing through the penthouse, followed by a forceful knock at my back.
“Abbey, you in there? Let me in.”
Relief hits me like a tidal wave. “Jamie? Is that you?”
I scramble to my feet and open the door for Jamie, who slips inside and slams it shut behind him. He grabs me by both shoulders and meets my eyes with his frantic gaze.
“All right, Abbs?”
“Yeah, good.” I suck in a deep breath as what’s just occurred solidifies in my mind. “You got my message? That was quick.”
“We were at a pub nearby.” He gives me a once-over, scanning me from head to toe. “What do you say we get out of here?”
Outwardly, he’s calm. Entirely unruffled. But I suspect that’s for my benefit.
It’s working.
I swallow in relief. “Sounds good.”
He takes my hand and leads me toward the living room, where I spot Lee first. Poor guy looks distraught and lets out a held breath once our eyes lock.
Then there’s Jack, who doesn’t notice me as he badgers Ben.
Fuck.
My stomach drops at the sight of him. I have a feeling I’m in for a long lecture tonight.
“Oi, I don’t want to hear it, mate,” Jack’s growling at my captor.
“I’d kindly ask you to take your hands off me.”
“If I mean to put hands on you, asking nice ain’t about to stop me.”
“I don’t know what she’s told you, but she’s grossly exaggerated the situation.”
Ben’s gaze slides to mine as he watches me and Jamie cross the room toward the exit.
“That’s my flatmate there,” Jack says, looking more ferociously dangerous than he ever has on the rugby pitch. “If she says you even looked at her sideways, I reckon you and I will see each other again real soon. Count on that, mate.”
The circus titter from the corner like a pack of mischievous sideshow clowns who’ve set a trap for an unsuspecting audience member coming down the aisle. They’re all quite proud of their chaos.
“Come,” Jamie urges, tugging me along. “Let’s get out of here.”
Jack isn’t long behind us as we ride the elevator down.
In the lobby, security and the doorman eye us warily when what they should actually do is call the damn cops. But I imagine Ben pulls this shit so often they’re probably used to it. They watch us leave, Jack staring them down the whole way.