Page 15 of Devious Whims

“I was determined to prove them wrong,” he says. “So the next time he came over for dinner, I followed him home.”

Keeping my back to him, I slow my wiping of the counter. I don’t know everything that happened that night. I preferred not to look into the details of the case and the DA who tried to paint him as a psychopath.

“I broke into his house, determined to find the proof of his tapes. I— it wasn’t my intention to hurt him that night. But…”

“But what?” Mike asks.

Devon lets out a hollow laugh. “His collection was fucking sick. The images are burned into my mind forever, girls so much younger than Cami. Then I found a video of her showering, and I just lost it. I needed to stop him, not just for Cami but…”

“All the other girls?” Mike offers.

“Yeah,” Devon sighs. “They were all daughters of his friends, you know? Some of them wrote to me in prison thanking me. I’m sure a couple of them are the reason for my shorter sentence. My father had friends in high-places.”

“He also did nothing to prevent you from going in there in the first place,” I spit out. “They just left you to the wolves.”

Devon shrugs. “Baby, they had all the evidence they needed. I was as guilty as they come.”

“But he deserved it!” I scream, snapping my mouth closed after. I swallow, standing straighter as I feel guilty and a little lighter at the same time.

Mike moves to me, rubbing down my arm. “We don’t determine who deserves to live and who deserves to die.”

I squeeze my eyes shut; I don’t need to be lectured on the morality of it all. “I know.”

Another pair of footsteps walks towards me, and Devon’s scent wraps around me as I’m pulled into a warm chest. “It’s okay, Cami. It’s unfair. I know, but that’s life.”

Cami

“I may have to stay overnight,” Mike tells me hesitantly. His eyes catch mine in the mirror above his dresser as he fixes his tie.

I stare back curiously, not sure what he’s saying. He usually stays over whenever he is required to check on the other office in the region. “I figured.”

“But I’ll drive back if you want me to.”

Setting down the book I’d been attempting to read, I tilt my head at him. “What are you asking?”

Mike turns to face me and steps closer to the bed. “If you’re not comfortable staying alone in the house with Devon overnight, I’ll come back.”

My heart thunders, and I keep my face impassive as I try to decipher what he might already know. “Why would I be uncomfortable?”

He pulls at the sleeves of his buttoned shirt, his jaw tics as he falls silent for a moment. Then he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “I see the way he looks at you, and he has a bit of a temper.”

The breath in my lungs stalls, and I push through the terror coursing through me. “What?”

Mike gives me a pitying glance. “You might not see it, but as a man, I can. He looks at you like he’s just waiting for the chance to pounce and take you.”

“T-take me?” I stutter out, stunned at his astute observation.

“He wants to fuck you, Cami. Even if you are his stepsister.”

I flinch at his blunt statement, my tongue tingling as my mouth dries. It’s not like I can deny it nor do I think Mike would believe me if I did. The steel determination in his eyes tells me that his mind is made up about what he’s witnessed from Devon.

“Are you saying you think he’ll rape me?” My voice is quiet, but the accusation hits us both like bullets.

His eyes widen. “No! I—jesus, Cami. I don’t know him that well, but that’s not where my intentions went.”

My body relaxes, and I shake my head. “Then what are you saying?”

Mike rubs his jaw and drops his hands at his sides in a defeated pose as if regretting bringing this up. “Just be careful.”

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