Page 19 of The Devil's Secret

“What the hell is that?” Anger swells in my gut, not meant for her.

“What are you talking about?” When she glances to where I stare, she tries to get off my lap, but I clutch her tightly, refusing to let go.

I grip her jaw, pulling her face gently toward me. “Baby, who left those bruises on your thigh? Tell me who fucking did that.”

“Enzo, please…” She sighs with a drop of her shoulders. “It’s nothing. Let it go.”

But I can’t. I won’t.

“Joelle, all you have to do is give me a name. That’s all. They’ll never find his body. I promise.”

Her eyes go round. “You’d kill? For me?”

I lower her lips to mine, inhaling her heavy, scattered breaths. “Without an ounce of hesitation.”

“You can’t,” she murmurs. “There are too many...”

“Too many of them?” I finish for her when she won’t, my lips stroking over hers.

She exhales, defeated.

“I know who you work for, Joelle. I know what they’re capable of. I swear to you, baby, they’ll all die, and you and me, we can be a thing after it’s over. If you want it.”

Shit, that was fucking stupid. The girl is gonna think I’ve lost my mind, talking to her like this. But maybe once things are safer, we can try. The thought grips me with hope of something more, something better in my fucked-up life.

She moves back enough to look at me. “I want that so much, but I just ca—”

I press a finger to her lips. “Don’t say no. Not yet.”

Not ever.

She nods, a frown taking hold. “I can’t let you kill for me. I can’t have that on my conscience.”

“They were dead before we ever met. Now I have even more reason to make their end painful.”

Her chin trembles, but she tightens her jaw, steadying the ache forming behind her eyes, like it’s hiding. Like she’s its keeper. She tries so hard to be strong, but slowly it’ll destroy her. Pain always does.

“You don’t know what you’re getting involved in,” she says, all evidence of her sadness is now a distant memory.

“I can say the same about you. But here we are, baby. And I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

JOELLE

He holds me like he’s always meant to. Like his arms are the safest place on earth. But it’s all a desperate illusion my mind has created. I’m not safe with anyone.

“Are you going to tell me who hurt you?” he asks for the second time, refusing to give in. I want to tell him, I really do, but I can’t. I have to think about my son and the repercussions to him if I do.

I wish Enzo could find those three men and make them suffer for what they did to me last night. I want him to beat the living hell out of the bearded man who drove me to them, the man who I now know as Roman, the one who was scolding me for not doing my very best work with those men.

After they were through with me, they complained to Roman. He told me he wouldn’t tell the Bianchis if I fucked him again. That’s what Enzo walked in on.

I’ve never seen Roman before the night he showed up at my place, but Faro likes to change the men around. He doesn’t want anyone to get attached to each other.

I don’t know how a man like that has a daughter as nice as Chiara. She’s oblivious to everything her father is doing, all the women and children he’s destroying. She hates him too. She’s told me so plenty of times.

Chiara is as good of a friend as I have. If my life were different, I could see us being friends outside of this place. We mainly talk here at the club. The people in charge don’t allow us to have anyone over or go anywhere. It’s part of the rules they have set for us.

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