Page 13 of Stone

“Time’s up, big guy. Let’s go.”

Turning away from Elijah, I leap over the ropes and dip down to grab my bag. Then I head outside, all while feeling Elijah’seyes on me, and a creeping sense of foreboding ripples up my spine as his words ring out in my mind.

“Maybe there’s a bigger picture. You just need to look hard enough to find it. Sometimes, we have to search inside us and follow the beat of our heart. If you listen hard enough, it can guide us home.”Screw that, I just want to survive it.

Besides, she’s my home.

“Just want you to be careful, kid.”Nobody gives a damn about me but Elijah, and I’m left wondering what the hell I’ll walk into at the end of the month.

Chapter Eight

Sienna

Every time Stone is in town and has a fight, I become restless from knowing he’s getting hurt and wondering if he’s okay.

People say he’s made of stone, but I worry one day he will crumble. I know it’s inevitable, but I hope when that day comes, I will be the one to piece him back together, as always.

The women who throw themselves at him put me on edge. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. Czar always comes back from fighting with tales of the sexcapades he indulges in, and it makes my insides burn with jealousy at the thought of Stone taking part or even witnessing some of those acts.

I chew on my nails as I stalk the staff quarters hallway like a creeper, but my ears prick up and my breath stills when I hear movement down the corridor.

I slink back into the shadows, my heart thundering so loud I can hear it in my ears. If security catches me down here, they will be asking me questions, so my mind races with a logical story to give. Maybe I can just say I was hungry and went to the kitchenfor a midnight snack? Yes, I’ll do that. Nothing wrong with that, and totally plausible.

“Shit,” a feminine voice mumbles, and I relax as I step away from the wall and into the kitchen. The light from the extractor fills the room.

“Evelyn?”

She startles, with her hand on the French doors, then she slowly spins to face me.Wow!My mouth falls open at the girl before me.

Her red hair is straightened in a high, glossy ponytail that touches her ass. She wears a tight black dress that molds her body perfectly and amplifies her boobs, pushing them up and making her appear older than she is. Her makeup is impeccable, with cat-eye eyeliner and bright-red lips, and I’m instantly envious of her appearance.

She’s beautiful, modern, and carefree.

I stare down at my nightdress, a drab white slip that would suit someone who’s in their seventies. How can I be sexy in this thing? And how the hell can I order something more appropriate for my age? I don’t even have free access to the internet, and while my day clothes aren’t the same standard as my boring night clothes, I fidget, knowing the girl before me is a few years younger and much more worldly than I could ever be.

My father has always made sure I appear flawless, with amazing designers from around the world flown in to accommodate me. My diet has been controlled from the moment I was born, and I have had the best education money can buy despite it being a waste. A woman in my position is used for one thing—breeding.

The successful man who won the bidding? I know nothing about him and won’t be privy to that information until my father deems it necessary, possibly not until my wedding day.

“You’re sneaking out?” I whisper-yell, unable to disguise the curiosity in my tone.

Her eyes widen as she gives me her full attention, then she chews on her painted bottom lip and finally exhales and relaxes her shoulders as if no longer deeming me a threat.

“I am.” She pulls her shoulders back, and as my gaze travels over her, I look at her a little differently. She’s a confident, striking young woman, not an innocent girl.

Color me intrigued.

“Where are you going?”

She clears her throat and stands taller on her high heels. “To the fight.”

My eyes bug out, and my pulse jumps. “At my brother’s club?”

Her cheeks pinken as she nods, and I realize she’s sneaking out to see Czar. Worry lances through my chest with what they get up to there. “Evelyn, I don’t think that’s a good idea. The things that happen there—”

She holds her hand up and shakes her head. “Maybe I need to see it for myself. To stop this.” Her solemn voice hits me square in the chest, and it’s in that moment I realize how much she cares for him. The look in her eyes freezes me.Holy shit, she loves him.“Maybe I need closure.” She shrugs, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that she will get it tonight. She’s going to be utterly heartbroken.

But maybe she’s right, maybe she needs to see what this world truly entails.

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