Page 28 of Heart of Stone (Dark Billionaires)

“Well I actually need one,” Kate opened the other box and gave it a squidge. The new cup was slightly smaller than what she had at home. “I didn’t have a chance to pack before I came here.”

Kate had decided that she wouldn’t tell Saffron she was effectively imprisoned here, not when Saffron had so many issues of her own to deal with. The more time she spent here, though, the more it started to feel like an escape from the drudgery of her everyday life.

“I’ve never heard of a menstrual cup before. Are they good?”

“They’re certainly cost efficient. I paid £8 for mine about four years ago and it’s still as good as new.” Kate picked up the bottle of hydrogen peroxide with a shake. “Right. Let’s get to work. And put the gloves on. This stuff will sting and turn your fingers white if you get it on your skin.”

The two of them spent the next hour carefully removing the bloodstains from the sheet, followed by the mattress. Saffron’s eyes went wide when the hydrogen peroxide began to fizz when it hit the blood.

“Is it supposed to do that?”

Kate nodded, wiping the foam away to reapply another round of hydrogen peroxide. She repeated the process until both the sheet and the mattress were good as new. The final step was using a hairdryer to dry the damp patches on each.

Saffron visibly relaxed when the stains were gone. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Do you want to choose a film to watch whilst I go and fill up the hot water bottle for you? Then when I come back, we can make a start on those chocolates.”

The rest of the afternoon saw them tucked under the bedcovers, watching the entire first season ofStranger Things, which Saffron had never seen and Kate was pleased to revisit.

“Did you say there’s five seasons of this?” Saffron asked, biting into a chocolate seahorse.

Kate nodded. “Four at the moment.”

There was a sharp knock at the door.

“Come in,” Kate called.

Rhys let the door swing open, resting his shoulders against the doorframe. “You two look very comfy.” A frown. “Was the thing you urgently needed a large box of chocolates?”

“No, but would you like one?” she smiled sweetly, holding what remained of the tray up to him.

He took one. The hydrogen peroxide they’d left on the bedside table caught his eye. “You weren’t dissolving bodies in here, were you?” he joked, rolling his eyes. “No wonder Warren likes you.”

“Perhaps you should take another one,” Kate said.

Rhys’s smile echoed hers as he held the covers up, planting his arse on the mattress next to her. “Budge up, Kate. Ooh,Stranger Things. I only came in here to ask what you wanted to order for dinner.”

“Order?” Kate asked.

“Of course. You don’t expect me to cook for myself, do you?”

“Let me guess, you’re too pretty for that?” Kate grinned, dodging his attempt to elbow her in the ribs. “Saffron, what do you fancy?”

By the time they began season two ofStranger Things, the three of them sat with trays of fish and chips balanced on their knees, huddled together in the bed. They chatted like old friends, with Kate finding herself in far too good a mood.

After leaving school, she had become so isolated that it became almost second nature. Her father often stayed at the club, meaning Kate was alone in the house for days on end, her only contact with the outside world being debt collectors.

But the companionship she felt, sandwiched between Rhys and Saffron, felt good. Her eyes grew heavy, and the sounds of their laughter lulled her to sleep.

For once, it had been a good day. She’d made a friend.

6

Warren

“Yourleadswereuseless,”Warren said quietly, rolling his sleeves up. His eyes were trained on Paul Charlton as the man fidgeted in his chair, having been given heroin for the first time since his imprisonment.

Paul’s hands raised—as much as they were able to when they were strapped to the arms of the chair in which he sat. The fingertips on his right hand were blackened with frostbite, courtesy of the industrial walk-in freezer in which Paul had been stashed since the ramblers’ attack. “I told you everything I know.”

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