Page 47 of Sugar Coated

He knew how to get into the house, where the cameras were, maybe even how to disable them. He knew when I’d stopped at Fang’s because he was there. But—no. When I went to that party with Kelly, he was still in the hospital, wasn’t he?

My eyelids slammed shut, and I was thrown back into that room, the room that was my entire life for two whole years. Chained to that bed, with nothing but a TV as my company, kept under lock and key for so damned long, with only the occasional masked Devil as my company.

My Devil. My Devil who brought me food, knew I liked the color pink, and never laid a hand on me—except that time when he let himself get close to me, when he lifted a gloved hand and ran his fingertips down the side of my face, nothing but shadowy, dark eyes staring out at me through that mask.

I reached up to my face, touching the spot where Kieran’s hand had lingered. The similarities were too much to ignore, and the shushing gesture… it was no coincidence.

I might’ve been out of it, but I could hear a man’s voice calling my name in the hall, so I responded by saying loudly, “I’m in here!”

My entourage funneled in, both Mike and Fang, and the moment they saw me safe and unharmed, they both visibly relaxed. Fang dropped to his knees before me, setting his hands on my outer thighs as those silver eyes of his scrutinized me, while Mike folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his stare, wordlessly asking me what I thought I was doing, wandering off by myself.

“Princess,” Fang whispered urgently, “what is it? Is something wrong? Tell us, and we will do whatever we can to make it right.”

He shouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. This… there was no making this right, because it was so wrong. It was the most wrong something could be, and that’s why I was having such a difficult time coming to terms with it.

All this time… he was right there.

Fang and Mike exchanged glances when I didn’t answer right away. How could I? It was as if my entire world had been turnedupside-down, and I was still lost, tumbling down the rabbit hole into a land of confusion.

Mike’s rigid posture relaxed with a sigh, and he slowly moved toward me. His tall figure hunched down as he sat beside me on the chaise lounge chair, and though his hands were on his knees, I could tell he was wrestling with himself, stopping himself from reaching for me in much the same way Fang was. “Laina, what’s going on?”

“Did Kieran say something to you?” Fang’s brows came together as he asked that question. “If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to teach him a lesson in etiquette.” I didn’t doubt his lesson would involve some use of his sharp teeth.

“No,” I whispered. “I mean… yes. I don’t know. I—” I kind of felt like throwing up, but that’s just the shock talking. Nothing felt real, like I was having some sort of out of body experience and I couldn’t find my way back.

I looked down at Fang kneeling before me, so earnest in his desire to see me well again, his hands resting comfortably on my thighs, above the dress, and then I looked at Mike beside me, at how his hazel eyes seemed to press into me as he waited for more information. His tall, wide body was inches away; he did not touch me, and yet I’d never felt closer to him than I did in that moment.

I was vulnerable. There was only one person in the world who could make me feel so out of whack, and that was the man behind the mask. My Devil.

My Devil, who’d been right before my eyes this whole time.

“It’s him,” I whispered. “He’s here. He’s always been here, I just didn’t see him.” My words weren’t descriptive enough, because it’s clear neither man near me understood what I meant.

Fang was the one who asked for more, “Who? Who’s here?” When I didn’t answer right away, he glanced at Mike. “Did you see anyone?” All he got was a shake of the head as a reply; Mikehad been standing lookout, one among many, ever since we got here. Nobody dangerous would just waltz right in.

But no one would see the danger if they expected it to come walking through the door. No one knew the danger was already inside the house.

“No,” I whispered. “No, it’s him. He’s my Devil.”

Mike leaped to his feet, slipping his hand beneath his suit jacket and pulling out his gun like he’s itching to use it. “Where? Are you sure?” The man wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in someone if I gave the order. Even though I’d told him about the party and giving my Devil everything, his first instinct was to shoot first and ask questions later.

The words that had been percolating in my head I was finally able to speak, and when I spoke them, I hardly sounded like myself: “It’s Kieran. Kieran is my Devil.”

“No,” Mike huffed. “No, it’s not possible. He—” Something in him clicked and then darkened. “I’m going to kill him.” A whispered statement, spoken so grimly, I didn’t doubt he meant it with all of his heart.

He’d kill Kieran for kidnapping me and keeping me locked up for two years. He’d kill him harder for coming to me at that party and fucking me.

Fang, on the other hand, did not appear shocked in the least. He only blinked up at me as he said, “I knew he was more than an overprotective step-uncle to you. I sensed something in him. I warned you to be careful with him, didn’t I?” Behind him, the other man in the room kept muttering about how he was going to kill Kieran.

Kieran was my Devil. The words didn’t sound right, and yet in my heart of hearts, I knew it was true. All this time I spent pining over my faceless man, I was really pining over Kieran.

Kieran. The sarcastic little shit who’d done nothing but bug the shit out of me before my kidnapping. The man who neverknew when to let things go—the one who’d turned a jealous leaf ever since my escape.

He was jealous and possessive because we shared something no one else could ever grasp. He acted like he owned me because, in a way, he did. The Devil had my heart from the beginning, and he didn’t take kindly to other men encroaching on his territory.

What a game he played, and what a good liar he was. All this time, I never suspected… I never knew. My Devil had been right in front of my eyes this entire time, and I’d known his name from the beginning.

Kieran, why?

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