Page 53 of The Devil In Disguise

Fuck, I’m an idiot. What else is he lying about?

“No, no, no. That's not…You got your memory back?” Is all I manage to get out.

“I should stick my stiletto right here,” she presses the knife down on my jugular, “and watch you bleed out.”

“Amaris, let me explain. Please. I didn’t know they were your parents, I was only eight. Yes, this started out as revenge, but I promise you it’s more than that now. I’m never going to let anything happen to you, you have to believe me.”

The anger she felt towards me the day I crashed into her makes sense now. As much as I regret trying to kill her, it brought us together and I can’t regret that, or let her go.

She removes her knife from my neck, but puts both of her hands on top of her head and takes a step back.

“I don’t know what made me think I could trust you. God, I am so stupid for building this amazing image of you in my head when this whole time you were the devil in disguise.” She pushes me back against the door with a finger to emphasize.

“I never thought I’d be worth the work it would take to piece myself back together, little fox. You changed that, you made me want to live again.” I take a step forward and she takes a step back. “It’s you, foxy. It’s always been you for me, even when I didn’t know it. Let me come home.”

She scoffs, looking around the room. “You are home.”

“No, you are my home.”

“Get out, Kylo. Leave. I want to be alone.”

“You can be mad at me, kick me, punch me, hate me, even stab me if it makes you feel better, but I can’t let you go. I won’t.”

She shoves me backward with new tears forming in her eyes. “You said it yourself. You aren’t designed to love, right? My mistake thinking you were capable of anything aside from destruction. You took advantage of me when I was in possibly the most vulnerable state of my life, after you tried to fucking kill me, and expect me to just forget about it? All of you deserve to rot in Hell!” she seethes.

“Renato spun the story to me, Amaris. Ever since I could remember, he has poisoned you in my mind with what I finally know are lies. He made me believe your parents murdered my mother when I was a boy. I saw her lifeless body and everything. And he convinced me that it was your fault somehow all these years because he believes in an eye for an eye. He…He made me...” I run my hand through my hair and then over my face, attempting to collect my thoughts. Clearing my throat, I provide, “He lied to me, and for that I wrongfully accused you of so much that I regret. If I could go back and change everything, I promise you I would.”

Her confusion is evident, but her anger overpowers any other emotion. Furrowed brows, a pink nose, and a tear-streaked face stare back at me and the sight burns my chest, knowing I’m the cause of her pain.

How ironic.

“Well, you can’t! There is nothing you can do to change what happened. For all I know, that’s just another lie you came up with.”

I open my mouth to say something, but she cuts me off immediately. “I don’t want to hear anything else from you. I don’t want to see your stupid face or hear your stupid voice. What I want is for you to leave. Get. Out. Now.”

She opens the front door, but won’t look me in the eye. She can have her space right now, but this is far from over. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.

Chapter 22

Storming into my house, I take off the suit jacket and run my hands through my hair. I look around the room as my mind whirls with these new pieces of information. I’ll be damned if I sit here and do nothing, that bastard deserves to die. With my gun tucked behind me in my waistband and my phone to my ear, I make my way back to the estate with Luci on the line.

He picks up immediately. “Ky?”

“I don’t have time to explain and I know you said you weren’t coming tonight, but I need you to have my back in case anything goes wrong. How soon can you be at the estate?”

A short, muffled conversation is had on the other line before he responds, “No need to explain. We’re on the way.”

We? Who the hell is he with? The line goes dead before I have the chance to ask. The task at hand is too important for me to dwell on it.

Once I’m sure the last of tonight's guests have left for good, I roll my shoulders back, crack my neck, and stroll into the estate. Like an animal hunting for his prey, I stick to the shadows, prowling towards the smell of a freshly lit cigar.

The house is void of anyone else aside from Renato in his smaller living room and myself, at least the first floor is. When I slip out from the shadows, Renato tenses momentarily sensing my presence, until he turns to face me and relaxes a fraction.

With a smug smirk on his face, he asks, “Kylo, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

My body is cool and controlled on the outside, the tsunami of emotions inside hidden behind my usual stoic mask as I swiftly pull out my gun and train it straight at his head. Aside from his jaw tightening, he doesn’t flinch.

“I should have taken you out a long time ago. That’s a mistake I plan to remedy. You can forget all about your stupid auction and any money you thought you could make off of Amaris. First thing in the morning I’m taking her far away from here,” I spit through gritted teeth.

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