Thorn

“Me?” I asked like a zombie when I knew that I was being referred to.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” the bodyguard warned me sternly.

“What about him?” I asked, referring to Moses.

“What about me for what?” Moses was quick to ask fearfully.

“Thorn Crowe, get into the car before I forcefully make that happen for you,” he threatened darkly.

I didn’t have a choice but to enter the car.

He shut the door, got into the car as well, and the driver drove us off, leaving Moses there.

“Fuck you, Lumberman,” I cursed internally, because if he had simply done what I wanted him to do, I wouldn’t be in this mess by now.

And they drove me to where I knew as Lucas’s camp, my heart beat rapidly. Lucas had sent several warnings to me, and not that I didn’t want to pay him back, but I hadn’t been able to come up with the money.

It was a huge sum.

And now, Seraphina had ruined things for me.

Yes, I blamed her for walking in when she did, because if she had simply called before coming, she wouldn’t have seen Aria and I together. Aria was simply for the fun of it; she didn’t have anything to offer except sex.

I had looked at up before now. She didn’t have close to the inheritance that Seraphina had. Everything their dad owned was placed in Seraphina’s name. They were biological sisters, and so I couldn’t fathom why nothing was given to Aria.

I knew that my dad must have done the same for me. Who else would he bequeath his expanse of wealth to if not me, his only son? He had no one else, and this was one of the reasons I had been pleased that his marriage to Jenna didn’t yield any kids.

I would have had to share.

If only he would just die, just as Seraphina’s dad graciously did, so that I could inherit everything and clear this debt off from me.

It was a long drive to Lucas’s camp, but we eventually arrived there, and I was literally forced out of the car.

“Hey, do you know the son of whom I am?” I queried the bodyguard as he pushed me into the camp.

He didn’t act this way back in the city because he knew that eyes were watching, and people would easily suspect, which was also why he flashed the gun at me, just to warn me not to try anything funny. I wouldn’t have even dared, because there was nowhere I would be able to run to that Lucas wouldn’t be able to find me.

“You don’t treat a Crowe like that, boy,” Lucas said to the bodyguard, appearing from somewhere inside.

The bodyguard hissed and stepped away from me.

“Hello, Thorn,” Lucas greeted with a dangerous smile, revealing his gold-plaited artificial set of teeth.

“Lucas,” I said grudgingly.

“Do you need me to tell you to go on your knees or you need my bodyguard to help you do that?” Lucas snarled. “You know he doesn’t know the son of whom you are, and he doesn’t care about it one bit,” he added dangerously.

I instantly went on my knees.

The last time I was here to get a loan from Lucas, I had seen him chop off someone’s knees without remorse. The remembrance of it even sent shivers down my spine, so no, I didn’t want that to happen to me first.

“Now, you are being respectful, and I like that,” Lucas said.

He was smoking from his fat stick of cigar and puffing out the smoke into the air, and more scaring, he had his revolver with him. It was the kind that shot silently, and also killed slowly and painfully.

I shivered.

“Where is my money?” Lucas asked me.

“Um…I..,” I tried to form an explanation, but nothing seemed to be coming to mind.

Fear gripped me, and I began to regret coming to the most dangerous drug lords in the city for a loan, but I had needed it urgently.

The game of gambling had gotten better, and the stakes had been high. I was assured of winning, and it was millions of dollars. Being that my dad was already acting stingy and full of some ridiculous demands, I had had to find the money to gamble elsewhere.

I needed money to fund my lifestyle since he stopped giving me money and even froze my assets and denied me access to them, and also, I wanted to prove that without him and his bloody rules, I could survive on my own.

Unfortunately, the game had taken a nosedive and I had lost every single penny I borrowed from Lucas, and that was the beginning of searching every nook and cranny from where I could get swift cash, and that was when I found out about Seraphine Gale, warmed my way into her life, and got engaged to her in three months.

I honestly thought it would work, but it didn’t.

To worsen it, the damn attorney was giving me one hell of a hard time.

“Cat caught your tongue?” Lucas asked, but I still couldn’t answer that. “Thorn, remind me, what did I tell you when you came for the loan?” Lucas asked me.

How could I have forgotten?

“You said that you don’t joke with your money,” I answered.

“And?” He urged. “I bet those weren’t the only words I told you that day,” Lucas added, and I shook my head. “So let’s hear it,” he demanded.

“You also said that you are merciless and ruthless to those who don’t pay back,” I managed to answer.

Lucas nodded with satisfaction.

“I am glad we didn’t forget,” he said. “How many warnings and reminders did I send to you?” Lucas asked me.

“Three,” I answered with fear.

“So, you want me to cut your body parts and send them to your billionaire father as a memo?” He asked me dangerously.

“No, no, please, Lucas,” I begged with fear.

“Then what is your plan, Thorn Crowe?” He asked me stiffly.

“My fiancée has a bounty inheritance,” I said hastily. “Once we get married, I am going to pay you back instantly,” I vowed.

“You have two weeks, Thorn, or you are dead meat,” he threatened dangerously.

And I swallowed hard.