Page 128 of Vengeful Princess

“I’m sure they’d love to know you’re whoring yourself out while they’re away for the weekend!”

If that’s what they thought, then screw them. I wasn’t in a relationship with either of them and was therefore free to do what I wanted and with whom. For all I knew, the pair of them were banging other women. Possibly right now.

The thought of Kyril and Landon tag-teaming some other bitch made me feel stabby, but I decided not to over-think it. If I was a free agent, they were too. Still, something must have shown on my face because Dar smirked.

“Have fun with your whore of a friend,” he spat before pushing off from the wall and walking away.

How dare he call Eden a whore! Darkness descended and I reached into my purse for the butterfly knife I’d hidden in there. That man had pushed me too far. We might have history, but I was done with being his punch bag.

I stormed after him, fully intending on calling him out for his misogynistic bullshit, but when I burst into the VIP lounge, four strangers sat on the sofa where I’d left Eden. All thoughts of gutting Dar like a fucking haddock disappeared in a puff of anxiety.

Where had she gone?

Dar’s little groupies had also disappeared and while I scanned the room, he strolled back down towards the dance floor.

A server crossed my path and I grabbed her arm.

“Hey, did you see where my friend with the pink hair went?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry.”

Shit. Maybe she’d hit the dance floor with Lachlan. Cursing my stupid shoes, I hobbled back down the stairs and stopped half-way to scan the mass of people moving to the latest dance tracks, but I couldn’t see Eden’s bubblegum pink hair anywhere.

“Did my friend with the pink hair pass you?” The security guy guarding the velvet rope scowled at my sharp tone but shook his head.

“I only got here five minutes ago. Frank might have seen her, but he went on his break when I arrived.”

Dammit, Eden! That girl had a death wish, I swear. I pulled my phone from my clutch and dialed her number, but it rang out. Hardly surprising given the current volume of the music blasting from the speakers.

Since there was no sign of Eden around the dance floor or near the bar, I circled back to the lobby area, looking out for Ryan and Lachlan, too. If she left, it was likely with them. I hoped they hadn’t roofied her while I was wasting time in the bathroom.

The two beefy guys working on the main door claimed not to have seen Eden, so I went back inside to look again.

The music was deafening, the crowd high on life and recreational drugs, and it took me a while to push through. By the time I made it to the back of the club, where a corridor led to another set of bathrooms and an emergency exit, I had a serious case of bad vibes.

Over the years, I’d learned to trust my instincts. An innate sense of self-preservation had saved me more than a few times. This was one of those occasions.

Eden wouldn’t have gone off with two random dudes. As much as she moaned about Michael, I got the impression she really did like him. And if I was right, she wouldn’t have left me to pursue a hookup with two sleazy lawyers.

I pushed open the emergency exit. Thankfully, it wasn’t alarmed, so no security guards came running. It led into a corridor lined with doors. I tried each one, but they were all locked.

Eventually, I reached a reinforced metal door, which I assumed led outside. I was all out of options at this point, so with my trusty knife in my right hand, I pushed the bar down and stepped out.

The suited men I’d spotted earlier stood in a dark alley talking to Lachlan and Ryan, with Eden propped up between them. Her eyes were half-closed. I knew damn well she’d drunk a ton of cocktails and champagne, but I suspected someone - Lachlan or Ryan - had drugged her. Probably while I was procrastinating in the ladies’ bathroom.

All four guys spun around at the sound of the door opening. I was amused to see none of them looked remotely phased when they realized it was a small female, not one of the hulking club staff.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Lachlan said with a smirk. “Come to join the party?”.

“I need my friend back,” I whined while acting like a drunk girl who had no clue what was going on.

If these idiots had any sense, they’d hand Eden over and get out of here before shit hit the fan, but they weren’t that bright.

Because I stood next to a large dumpster, the knife in my hand wasn’t visible. I wobbled on my heels, giving the impression of a girl who’d had too much to drink but was not completely wasted.

In reality, I was stone cold sober. Adrenaline had burned away what remained of the alcohol in my system, leaving me ready to kick some ass.

I wasn’t a great believer in coincidence and something told me Eden’s kidnapping wasn’t a random act by a bunch of sexual predators. Whatever these guys were up to, they’d deliberately targeted her.

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