Page 157 of Nocturne

But something in me was just not right ever since I was a kid. I had an extremely morbid sense of view towards death. One that lacks fear. Maybe that is the reason I’ve turned out to be who I am.

I see his dogs scurrying behind him. Nico, the loyal shadow, is right behind his boss. The fucker nearly caught Vince while he left the note, which successfully pissed off Devlin. I expected him to whisk his Cinderella to his castle. But imagine my surprise to see that he didn’t.

He has grown soft. In the wake of his obsession, instead of going berserk, the mighty Devlin has gonesoft. He gave the woman a choice, something he didn’t give to even his closest allies. And look how that turned out. I even went to the lengths of killing a nameless nobody in a bloody creepy forest at that, to see if that would push him to take her away.

But no.

Nowsee what happened. All of this could have been avoided if he just stuck to his usual unhinged self instead of growing a thoughtful bone. What was he even thinking? A villain being thoughtful? Watch it come back to bite you in the ass!

I’m sure he will continue being soft for the woman. The woman he thinks is a fragile fucking flower. It’s time for him to see that she is no damsel. When it comes to slaying demons, Ara does it with a sweet smile.

The enforcer—Eero—flips Iblis off when he says something as he rushes into the house. I hear Iblis cursing before he orders the small army that came along not to disturb the neighbours.

A smirk grazes my lips, and I turn to Vince. He grows wary at the expression. Time to bid adieu to the softness of the hardened mafioso.

“Send it.”

“Why? We already have them all exactly where we want them to be.”

I look down at the diplomat, who looks far too unbothered for my liking. I want all of them quaking in rage. Filled with a fury that should burst at a moment’s notice. I want them all to keeptheir ears open for the slightest of threats because the game has just started.

“Just do it.”

He sighs but complies. He fishes out his encrypted phone, the same one he used to send the pictures of the fallen soldier and the men I killed. I know it is not only the pictures that pissed Devlin the fuck off but the little message I made Vince add with it. The crazy in me just cannot get enough of watching the once great, stoic boss who impaled Crescenzo to his gate, now look so out of place with not only fury but also fear.

Fear for a little thing that has him in a chokehold.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Love. It makes even the brilliant fools.

And obsession? It turns the beast into something even more feral. I need that beast to come out and stay. I need the once bloodhound out in the open. And to see what that feral beast would do once it knows that his obsession planned on running. Running from him.

A laugh bubbles out of my throat, but I keep it inside. I’ll have all the time in the world to sit and watch the dominos fall.

Once the information has been sent, Vince looks at me. He is warier than usual. He is used to my habits. He is used to me not giving a fuck. He is used to seeing me deranged, but he is not used to me seeing like this.

Reckless, maniac and downright psychotic. Well, that is what happens when the only family I had gets robbed from me. There was only ever a shadow of humanity left inside me. But that vanished the moment Willow did.

Now, it’s time for everyone involved with her death to pay.

Starting with the faux-innocent nerd.

“Why, Har? Why take it to the extreme?”

“For the plot of course,” I smirk.

I see Iblis received the info dump mail about Ara’s plans to run. I see him looking down at his phone; his mask of composure slips, and he looks disturbed. But also pissed.

I thought he’d go to his boss and squeak, but I’m pleasantly surprised when he treks to the house of Ivy O’Shea. The house on whose border the tree where both Vince and I sit stands. I watch him barrel on the door and unceremoniously drag Ivy towards her friend's house once she opens it.

He has no qualms about observing the kid who is right behind her. The kid who snaps his weird fucking eyes to look at the tree—as if he knows we are here. I know he cannot see me. I’ve been trained to camouflage better than a fucking chameleon. But he knows I’m here, the same way he knows not to open the window for a strange man posing to be his friend.

Despite that, I smile. And he stares, not an emotion on his face, which bubbles with smiles only with Ara. He says nothing; he doesn’t even beat an eye as he goes to follow his aunt.

“That kid is something, alright,” I note.

“Every fucking person you stubbornly involved in this chess board is something. So many anomalies, so many players, Har. Unhinged individuals. We are on thin fucking ice.”

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