Page 55 of The Devil In Disguise

You won't ever see her again.

My vision blurs around the edges as Marco’s voice fades away. Mindlessly, I put my hand up, give him a terse nod, then I turn and walk around the side of the estate, sliding down the wall slowly until I'm sitting on the ground.

It’s been eleven years since I last shed a tear. I know I need to pull myself together, but I just need a moment to myself before I explode into a million pieces and become no help to either of us.

“Fuck!” comes from the depths of my lungs. My head hurts from how hard I’m pulling at it, but the pain is grounding me.

What the hell am I going to do?

The pounding heart in my chest thumps through my whole body and I realize I don’t need to push these feelings away. Fuck hiding away or suppressing my anxiety. Adrenaline courses through me like wildfire with my newfound resolve. I close my eyes and take three deep breaths. When they open back up, I’m ready for war.

I’m going to get my girl back.

Rounding the house again, I’m met with a waiting car right out front. There’s no more time to waste. I’m in the passenger seat in an instant, devising some sort of plan with the guys.

“Okay, what is it you know?” I direct the question at Luciano, then turn to Marco. “And how do you fit into this equation?”

Luci looks at Marco through the rearview mirror and they share a brief look. Marco is the one who answers. “Renato ordered me to go back to Luciano’s until tomorrow morning for some bullshit reason. It was weird, but I didn’t question it until I overheard a few of the soldiers talking. Amaris’ name is what caught my attention, because if they’re talking about her, it can’t be good. They wouldn’t tell me shit, but I heard them mentioning an auction for women happening tomorrow. That’s all I know and it was the first thing I told Luc when I showed up.”

Luci chimes in, saying, “Luckily, I have a contact who dabbles in the human trade industry. His affairs don’t have shit to do with me, as long as he stays on his side I’ll stay on mine. I tried reaching out to him, all I’m waiting on is a response now.”

“Once we have a location, we need a plan. And we’ll need to have this planned before dawn. Time is not on our side this time,” Marco adds with a pointed look.

“I’m not resting until she’s found, you can count on that,” I mutter, trying to wrap my head around the fact that she slipped through my fingers so easily. I don’t even want to begin to think about the horrors they’ll subject her to. Anyone who touches a hair on my little fox is a dead man, or woman, walking.

A sudden thought occurs to me and my head snaps to Marco. “Where the hell was Ace when you went to look for her?”

His eyes close shut at my question, almost involuntarily, as he releases a harsh sigh. They open with a hint of sadness and if he doesn’t give me an answer in the next two seconds, I’m going to pounce on him.

“I found him lying in the woods, immobile. He was still breathing, but not responding. When I picked him up I didn’t find any bleeding on him, so I laid him inside Amaris’ place and left water for him. I didn’t know what else to do.”

My dog? My fucking dog?

What did those bastards do?

This is all his fault. Eyes finding Renato’s body, I’m grateful for the sack covering his monstrous face.

He’s trying to take everything from me. Everything I love.

“They’re gonna wish they never touched anything of mine. Starting with this piece of shit, right here.” My voice is colder, darker than I’ve ever spoken. It’s foreign to my ears.

It fits the way I feel.

He wants a madman? I’ll show him a madman.

When we arrive at the abandoned warehouse, my worries give way to the lava of emotions snaking through my veins. First things first, tonight I become the harbinger of Renato’s annihilation.

I’m coming for you, foxy. I’ll find you. Always.

Chapter 23

My heart beats wildly in my chest. I lost control of the tears the moment my front door shut—his front door. Using big black trash bags, most of my stuff is shoved in carelessly. Halfway through, my tears dry up and I burst, punching the wall with a guttural scream. My old memories are clashing with my new ones and it’s too much for me. I can’t take this.

Slipping on more comfortable shoes, I tuck my knife back in place not bothering to change out of my dress yet. As soon as I open my door, possibly the only face I want to see right now is the one I’m greeted with. Ace follows me through the vacant woods down to the cliff, cuddled close to me as my legs dangle over the ledge. The moon is out, but she isn’t shining as bright as she usually does—or maybe it’s just me.

Before I ever got a chance to truly process what my parents told me, I lost those memories. I wonder about how my life would have turned out if my birth parents were never brutally murdered. But there is still one thing that doesn’t entirely add up. If this was the big secret, then why did my dad—uncle—push me away all these years?

What were they like? Who would I act more like?

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