Page 101 of Devilish

Worked for me.

I scanned the room we found ourselves in—Rupert’s bedroom.It was all outdated wood paneling and built-in shelves that could’ve been beautiful if the person living there had any taste. But when my gaze got to the enormous four-poster bed and gold silk sheets, bile rose in my throat.

I didn’t want to imagine what might’ve taken place there, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to believe that Kai had ever seen this room. When a sound from the opposite side of the room drew my attention, I decided to focus on that instead.

The door, to what I assumed was an en suite, was shut, and a sliver of light peeked out from under it.

This was it. He was mine now.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Lachlan helping Theo search Guard Bravo’s body for weapons and ID.

“I’m going to take those ten minutes now,” I told them, my voice unrecognizable even to myself.

“You want help?” Lachlan asked, but I’d already turned back on him and was making my way toward the bathroom.

On the other side of that door was the man who’d taken Kai. The one who’d kept him locked away from the world, the one who’d treated him like gum on the bottom of his shoe.

I hated him. I wanted to rip him apart for ever laying a hand on Kai. For making him feel worthless.

That man didn’t deserve mercy.

With my gun trained on the door, I let every bit of rage flow through me, until the adrenaline was so intense that I kicked the bathroom door open. It slammed back against the wall, causing Rupert to jump and whirl around to face me.

The sight of him only amped up my wrath. He wore nothing but a pair of boxers, his robe half open, but it was his face that set my teeth on edge. There was a scratch across his cheek that had drawn blood, and his nose was beginning to bruise, with caked blood around his nostrils.

The state of him was telling a story, and none of it was good. My stomach sank as I pieced it together: Rupert trying to force Kai—and Kai fighting back.

I struggled not to blow Rupert’s goddamn brains out right then. My finger itched against the trigger, so close to ending it for this motherfucker.

But that would be too quick. And I wasn’t going to let him off easy.

I wanted him to see me when he got what he deserved. I pushed the mask up beneath my hood.

The shock on Rupert’s face morphed into anger, but when I took a step toward him, aiming my gun between his brows, fear flickered in his eyes.

“How did you get in here?” Of all the questions, that was what he went to first.

I moved aside long enough for him to see his fallen guard and my brothers behind me, and then took another step toward him. Rupert backed away, holding his hands up.

“What do you want?” he said. “Kai? Fine. Take him.”

“Oh, I will.” I didn’t recognize the sound of my voice, too menacing for it to be mine. I took another step toward him, and his back hit the wall. Nowhere left to go.

“He’s not fucking worth it. Just a good-for-nothing piece of?—”

I didn’t let him finish, striking him in the head with the handle of the gun. The force caused blood to spew from his mouth across the tiled floor, and he let out a muffled curse, then lifted his head and spat at me.

I shoved the gun in its holster and put both my hands around his neck, throwing him back against the wall and pinning him there with one arm. My fist made contact with his jaw, knocking it off its hinges with every repeated blow.

He struggled to put up a fight, but I didn’t stop, never letting him get a hit in. His body went limp against the wall, and I let him fall to the ground. The robe fell open, and seeing him lying there in just those boxer briefs sent visions of him and Kai flashing through my head.

I crouched down, grabbed the back of the fucker’s head, and hauled his flaccid body up off the ground as I reached for my gun and stuffed the barrel in his mouth.

Satisfaction roared through me at the fear that flashed in Rupert’s eyes.

“You better not have fucking touched him,” I seethed. “Or you’re gonnaprayI pull this trigger.”

I released my hold and got to my feet, staring down at the pathetic piece of garbage cowering in the corner of his enormous en suite, and it didn’t escape my notice that Rupert had pissed himself.

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