Page 33 of Devoured By Demons

I reach into my duffle and rummage through to find one of my plain black hoodies. When I walk toward her with the intent of handing over the hoodie, she recoils and almost slams herself into the wall.

“You’re scaring her, Zain,”my sister’s voice floats through my mind but when I turn, she’s not here. Sara giggles.“You’re gonna look like a weirdo if you keep staring at the lamp like that.”she whispers, and I narrow my eyes.

Azrael’s deep chuckle has me clamping my eyes shut in frustration. “Both of you fuck off,” I mutter under my breath.

Isadora’s eyes widen as she glances between the lamp on the bedside table, and me. “Um… who are you talking to?”

“No one, I was talkin’ to myself.” I trail off and extend my arm, offering Isa the hoodie.

“Thank you for the clothes, and this.” She pulls the hoodie on.

“You hungry? Fuck—you’re probably hungry. I’ll order something.” I don’t give her time to reply. I pull out my phone, tap on the app and order two large pizzas and a couple bottles of water.

When I look up, Isadora is still standing by the bathroom door, arms curled protectively around her waist. “Can I ask your name?” she says in a whisper.

“No.”

“Zain! What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see she’s scared?”Sara’s voice behind me has me turning around. Shesettles on the end of the bed, legs crossed, eyes darting between me and Isadora.

I glare at her. “Get out,” I whisper hiss.

“Wha—What?” Isa asks. She takes a tentative step forward.

“No. Not you—fuck… sit down. You don’t have to stand, you can sit.” I scrub my hands over my face. “Are you—do you need a doctor or anything?”

See? I can do nice. I can do fucking normal.

“I’m okay. It’s a little sore, but nothing’s broken and I’ve had worse.” She shrugs and I grind my teeth.

“Is this where you live?” Isadora looks around the small hotel room for all of five seconds before her gaze is on mine again.

“For now.” I peek through the blinds again confirming Santos’ men are still there.

My phone vibrates on the nightstand with a coded message from Liam. Even though we were meticulous in our planning, and confident in our details, nothing in our line of work comes without risks. To be safe, I used a burner phone. Had I been caught and had my personal cell, a few quick swipes would have given them access to my entire life. My brothers, their kids. That’s not a risk I can take.

L: Hey man, you wanna catch the game tomorrow?

Me: You know they don’t stand a chance.

L:Thank fuck. You safe?

Me: For now.

L:What are you gonna do with her?

Me: The fuck was she doin’ there man? Did you know?

L: That she was going to be up for bid? No.

Me: This wasn’t part of the plan.

L: Gotta pivot, man. Fast.

Me: We’ve got a tail.

L: On it.

When I look up from my phone, Isadora is watching me. “Why did your father put you in the auction?” I ask.

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