Page 22 of Devil Mine

Because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man who just killed the guy on his knees, the man who attacked my father and broke his arm, the man with the open collar tattoo, is the same exact man I saw atFirenze. The same one who stared at me when I was in Franklin’s arms.

The same one I came to find, with the hopes of having a one-night stand.

He’sthe devil.

It’s literally tattooed on him.

His profile offers me a view of the lettered script carved into the side of his head, “El Diablo” in big bold, black letters right above his ear.

Abject horror makes my head spin until I can no longer think. The world has tilted on its axis and I don’t know which way is up and which way is down.

A scared squeak erupts from my lips when he turns towards the door, almost as if he can sense me there. His nostrils flare like he cansmellme and it’s the most primitive, animalistic thing I’ve ever seen a man do. There’s something savagely carnal about it and my throat dries until it’s impossible for me to swallow.

Even through the disastrous reaction pummeling through me, I can’t believe how beautiful he is.

No, he looks like death incarnate.

HeisDeath.

“So it really was the Italians then. They took her,” I hear one of the other men say.

It distracts the devil and he looks away from the door. “Theykilledher.” His low voice echoes menacingly, challenging anyone to correct him. “And I won’t rest until I kill every single one of them for what they did to Adriana.”

He’s adamant. A level of furious I’ve never heard before coloring every terrifying threat he utters.

Clearly, his lover was murdered and he’s seeking revenge. My stomach twists for an altogether different reason, an insane mix of something akin to jealousy and the awful realization that no one’s ever loved me nearly as much as he clearly loved her.

Lovesher.

A loud noise echoes in the silence and my heart stops completely. Unearthly, deathly quiet falls over everything around me. It’s my phone, set to loud and pinging with incoming texts.

I dive for my purse with frantic, trembling hands, struggling to open the clasp because of how much I’m still shaking. I feel like time slows, every new ping echoing as loud as a gunshot around me.

I pray to whatever gods might be looking over me that the notifications are quiet enough that the men aren’t hearing them. I finally dig my phone out of my purse and throw it on silent, clutching it against my chest in agonized anticipation as I wait for my death to come to me.

When nothing happens after long seconds, I look down at the screen and find panicked texts from Dagny.

Dagny:ABORT MISSION!!!

Dagny:I KNOW WHO HE IS

Dagny:DO NOT GO FIND HIM, TESS. TURN AROUND AND COME BACK IMMEDIATELY.

Dagny:WHERE ARE YOU???

Dagny:His name is Thiago da Silva, HE’S THE HEAD OF A FUCKING CARTEL.

My stomach sinks. I know that name.

The double doors I was hiding behind burst wide open, bouncing loudly off the walls.

I look up and my blood runs cold when I find myself staring right into the barrel of a gun pointed down at my face. It’s so close to my forehead that I can feel a chill coming off the metal.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

???

Chapter Eight

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