Page 82 of Law Of Love

A suited and grey-haired butler was waiting in the manor's foyer as I stepped in, and he nodded at me and took my coat, hanging it up with the rest of them. I tried my best not to gawk at the beautiful tiled flooring and regal ceiling, but I’d never seen a house so lavish. It oozed elegance.

I was directed into a room to the left, and I pushed open the door to reveal it to be full of guests in expensive dresses and designer shirts and slacks. There was a glossy wooden table in the room's corner—an array of canapes and alcohol placed on it.

I was out of my depth here, but I released a sigh of relief once Ty squeezed his way past a few people and bounded up to me, dressed smartly in a shirt and pants.

“You made it.”

“I did.” I smiled, the action feeling fake. I was far from happy, but Ty didn’t need to know that. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin his good mood. “Hannah had to go to work. She's annoyed she forgot."

He handed me a glass of champagne. “No problem. Thank you so much for coming. This really isn’t my scene, and I wanted to head out instead, but my uncle and auntie were adamant about meeting some of my friends.”

I smiled, sipping my drink. “No, of course. This place is amazing.”

“Making enough money to afford moving out can't come soon enough. This place is way too tacky, and most of these guests are snobs. Between you and me, I can’t name one of them I actually like.”

Ty introduced me to a few people, and although I tried my best to pay attention, I couldn’t shake Kaleb from my thoughts. The only thing I knew I could do was give myself some time to step away from the situation and register it—otherwise, I'd end up doing or saying something hurtful.

I didn’t want to associate him with my criminal father, but that was now inevitable. The idea cut me deeply, leaving me with throbbing open wounds.

“Oh, Freya,” said Ty as he nodded toward the crowd. “My uncle is over there. Is it okay if I introduce you to him so he doesn’t hound me any longer about you being my girlfriend?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

I apologised to a few people as I weaved around them, keeping my arms and legs close together so as not to scrape against anyone. The sensation of my cold gun grazing against the skin of my thigh came to my attention, and I feared it was going to fall from its strap and clatter to the ground. That wouldn’t be a good look.

“Freya, this is my uncle.” Ty gestured to the back of a lanky man, and at the sound of his nephew’s voice, he turned, causing my heart to seize up, my blood running cold as it pumped through my constricted veins.

“It’s great to meet you, Freya,” he jeered, a small smile on his face, his evil eyes sucking me in, chewing me up, and spitting me out.

My hands shook, and I released a small gasp as my glass of champagne slipped from my clammy fingertips to the tiled flooring, smashing into tiny pieces by my feet. I drew in a sharp breath, nausea wavering through me.

Standing in front of me was the man who I assumed wanted me dead.

Will Sheffield.

I inhaled deeply, my lungs collapsing and my head throbbing. I felt the colour drain from my face, leaving me snow-white.

Ty was quickly ushered away by Will to grab a dustpan and brush to clean up the shattered glass, and I stood glued to the ground in the corner of the room with Will towering over me, his usual cigarette hanging limply from his mouth.

One of his hands clutched his gun strapped to his waistband, most of the firearm concealed by his suit jacket, and he leaned a little closer to me. “You’re going to come with me, or I’m going to start shooting innocent people,” he growled, his voice hoarse and breath stinking of smoke. “If you try to run, I’ll kill you. My butlers all have weapons, and they won’t hesitate to shoot you in the head at my command.”

My body shook. My dress was wet with champagne and my perspiration as I considered my options. I needed to get out of this alive, and the idea of being shot in the head didn’t leave me with a tremendous amount of optimism.

I had my gun, and although I wasn’t the most confident when it came to actually using it, I was sure I could take a shot at Will when he wasn’t looking to keep him down long enough to run. Then, I could find a back entrance to slip out of, avoiding the butlers.

“Make your decision quickly, Freya,” warned Will, a strand of his gelled hair falling in front of his penetrative eyes. “Before my nephew comes back and I have to involve him in all this.”

I grimaced, and my lips settled into a frown before I nodded at him, glowering at his cheerful expression.

“Perfect.” Will grinned—a smile that could curdle cream. “Come with me.”

Thirty-seven: Kaleb

Iscratched at my stubble as I turned the steering wheel of my car a little too sharply, causing the car next to me to blare its horn, the driver waving his middle finger at me. I blinked a few times, ridding myself of my daze, quickly overtaking the car and speeding down the road.

Freya hadn’t answered my calls or texts, and nobody was home at Hannah’s, so I headed to her work to ask her if she knew her whereabouts.

My chief had been trying to talk to me about my new base over the past few days, but I’d been putting it off. I didn’t want to hear where I was going to be stationed because, knowing my luck, it would be halfway across the country—or in a different country entirely.

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