Page 79 of Sardonic Burn

Well, the obsession with his family has been deeply rooted inside of my mind, body, and soul since the day I was born. Yet, it never felt quite like this. The fact that all calls are going straight to voicemail and he isn’t responding to the many texts I’ve sent is starting to piss me off beyond words.

Cecilia has practically moved in. Unless she’s at work, she’s with me twenty-four hours a day. She’s even following me to the bathroom and is always with me while I take a bath. While I understand her concern, it’s suffocating.

Lucas is out there doing God knows what. He’s supposed to call any day now to check in; in the meantime, I’m supposed to be sitting still and trying to reach Hudson, who better be dead at this point.

Because if he’s ignoring me, he’ll wish he was dead.

“It’s Saturday.” Cecilia strolls into my bedroom, and I frown.

“Are you going somewhere?” I bite my tongue before the wordfinallyslips out.

“We are going out. I found this cute little club an hour away.”

My brows shoot up. “An hour away? Why so far?”

She lifts a shoulder. “A change of scenery will do you good.”

“May I ask why you’re dragging me out?”

“For the past few months, you haven’t really been yourself. So, let’s bring you back. And of course, I want to check the club out, but I can’t leave you all alone.”

“Don’t you have a morning shift tomorrow?”

“Eh, who cares? Go get ready. You have an hour.”

I glance at the clock and notice that it’s already nine in the evening. We had dinner not too long ago. With a sigh, I walk over to the bathroom to take a shower. Cecilia is on my heels, sitting on the chair she personally put in my bathroom.

“Go on,” she urges. “I’m just standing guard.”

“I won’t do it again, you know. No need to be here.”

“So you do admit it was done deliberately?”

“No.” I sigh. “It wasn’t.”

She snorts. “Then, yes, I’ll be here. Now, shower. You’re running out of time.”

God, someone save me.

TWENTY-ONE

“Ididn’t peg you for this type of person,” I murmur, clutching onto Cecilia’s hand like she’s going to disappear into thin air at any second. She only chuckles and shakes her head, continuing to lead me further down the stairs.

“Would you quit complaining? Just… relax, alright?”

It’s easier said than done. Not only am I not feeling this evening, but the cute little club, as Cecilia called it, is located in a basement. The hall is narrow, the stairs steep, and people are pushing each other to get inside first.

They should be lucky I’m not looking for trouble and that Cecilia confiscated every knife I tried to sneak in. She patted medown four times before we arrived, and there was no way for me to get one past her keen senses.

“How can I relax?” I hiss and clutch on her sleeve harder.

Someone pushes me, probably by accident, and I jolt forward. A scowl forms on my face, and I growl in Cecilia’s ear, feeling her skin prickling with goosebumps. She turns, gives me an apologetic smile, and continues to stroll down the stairs.

“We’re here.” She sighs in relief, and a security guard pushes the door open, allowing us in.

A laugh of disbelief slips my lips, a smile on my face as my eyes widen. I release the hold on Cecilia’s sleeve and take a step back, glancing between her and the interior.

“You brought me to a sex club.”

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