Page 10 of Connor's Claim
I cracked an eyelid, and she’d sat cross-legged on the wall. Slightly better, but my stomach still roiled at the terrifying drop at her back.
“I’m Everly. I came up from Connor’s apartment.” Feebly, I gestured at the trapdoor.
“Holy shite. You’re staying with Shade?”
“Staying with, kidnapped by, same difference.”
The woman’s eyes widened. Even in the reflected light of the city, I could make out their startling dark blue. At a guess, I’d put her at around twenty, a few years younger than me. I also recognised the vintage couture gold party dress she was happily scuffing on the brick wall.
She fished out a phone from her clutch. “I’m messaging Genevieve.”
Genevieve. I knew that name. She’d famously matched with Arran, gang leader and owner of this building, in a dangerousgame they ran in the basement. Twenty men were set loose on five willing women, and the first to have sex made their claim.
In my desperation to see Connor, I’d signed up for that game, hoping he’d be the one to claim me. My application had been rejected.
Since, I’d tried to meet with Genevieve, but our one short conversation had been interrupted.
The woman finished typing and set down her phone. “Let’s see if she can find a way up. I’m Cassie.”
I raised a hand, glued to the spot so unable to turn it into a polite shake. “A pleasure. Do you live here?”
“Nope. Just visiting. Arran’s family, kinda. He doesn’t actually know I’m here, though I guess that surprise will go by the wayside now.”
“I would never tell him.”
Her lips lifted in a grin. “Hos before bros. I like ye. But anyway, Gen will give it up. Couples, man.”
“Why would Arran not want you here?” I peered at her with greater interest. She was pretty and infinitely cooler than me.
“On account of the murders, he told me to stay away, but I like being part of the action.” She patted the wall fondly, a horn honking somewhere in town behind her, the streets still busy despite the late hour. “I commandeered a bedroom downstairs then went dancing in the club. I came up here after it closed. It’s my new thinking spot.”
“All without the owner knowing you’re here? Impressive.”
She waggled her head. “The head of security knows me. It was easy to convince him that Arran knew I was around. How come Shade kidnapped ye?”
A scrabbling came from across the roof, then a blonde woman appeared in a fire escape, the cage of which presumably ran down the side of the building. She slipped out the gate andapproached us, her gaze jumping from the ledge bearing Cassie, and then to me. “I didn’t even know this was accessible up here.”
“Meet Everly, guest of Shade’s, though by abduction,” Cassie helpfully introduced.
Genevieve blinked, and her eyes crinkled in concern. “We’ve met. Hey, Everly, are you okay? Did Shade really kidnap you?”
Embarrassment heated my cheeks. I turned my toe on the rough rooftop surface, conscious of my lack of clothing beyond Connor’s long hoodie. It reached mid-thigh on me, but still, I never went anywhere underdressed. It wouldn’t be becoming of the mayor’s daughter. “He did, but we aren’t strangers. I’m not scared of him.”
A partial lie. The two women shared a look.
Cassie spoke. “I’ve got a fast car and no sense of self-preservation. Say the word and I’ll get ye out of here.”
Genevieve snapped her head around. “You never offered me an out like that.”
Cassie made an off sound. “I’ve known Arran since I was six, and he’s the best. Shade, I’m on the fence about. Arran trusts him, but we’ve already established hos before bros.” She gestured between me and her.
I hastened to interject. “Oh, no. Thank you, but I don’t need rescuing, at least I don’t think so. Someone broke into my house this evening, and Connor, I mean Shade, brought me here. But I’ve been trying to see him for a while, so it suits me.”
Cassie curled her lip. “I’d say that was the first time kidnapping ever worked for all parties, but Gen arrived at my house with Arran in much the same way. If this is modern-day dating, maybe I should be the one laying traps and readying the duct tape.”
Genevieve choked on a laugh.
I turned to the fair-haired woman. With her, I had an opportunity, and I wanted to take it. The only problem was, Ididn’t know how far I could trust her. Or anyone, really. My life was painfully thin with friends. “I wanted to see you again. We never got to finish our conversation.”