Page 92 of Devilish

I pressed play and watched the video again and again, my brain still not allowing me to believe what I was seeing.

Fuck. Fuck.

Rupert had kidnapped Kai.

He’d taken him from right under my nose.

Right on my fucking street.

My blood boiled and my vision turned red, until I finally tossed my phone into the middle of the table. Everyone fell silent and looked up at me.

“Lucien?” Benoit touched the fist I was flexing, imagining it was crushing Rupert’s skull. “Lucien, are you okay?”

I said nothing as Alessio reached for the phone and hit play. His curse echoed around the room as one by one each of my brothers watched the unthinkable happen.

When it finally got to King and played through, I could barely see through the rage now coursing through me, but I did hear, “So, Lucien, how’s that plan of yours feel now?”

I ground my molars, my mind still caught on the words, the video, the fact Kai was gone, then I looked over at King and spat out, “New plan. I’m going to kill that motherfucker.”

34

KAI

THIS WASN’T REALLY happening. Any minute now, I was going to wake up in Lucien’s arms and tell him all about the nightmare I’d had. He would rub my back and hold me tight, quietly listening before soothing me with his words and wiping away the bad dream with his kisses.

It was strange how it felt like he was still with me, even though this was the last place I’d ever want Lucien to be. Rupert’s home may be a sprawling townhome on the Upper East Side, but it had always felt like a prison I deserved.

I held tight to thoughts of Lucien as I sat motionless at Rupert’s dining room table. It was the first time I’d ever been invited to dinner with him like this, with an enormous spread of roasted chicken and sides between us fit for ten people. When I was here before, I’d taken meals in the room he kept me in—and right now I would’ve preferred to be there rather than sitting here looking at his face.

He looked positively gleeful, which made my stomach turn.

Rupert was proud of himself. Patting himself on the back at not only blowing up Lucien’s club, but by kidnapping me in the middle of the day.

I hadn’t even seen it coming. It’d become my new norm to venture out to the café by Lucien’s building and try a different flavor of tea every day. Sometimes Lucien came with me; other times, like today, I’d gone with one of the security guards. I was always too embarrassed for him to come inside, because it made other people look at me like I was someone famous enough to have security. They usually appeased me by waiting outside the door.

God, he was going to get in trouble because of me, wasn’t he? I should’ve just let him do his job and come inside, but how the hell was I supposed to know someone could just walk in the back door of a café and steal a person?

Had anyone seen? Had they called the cops? Did Lucien know?

Then another thought crossed my mind.What if Lucien thought I’d left because Iwantedto?

I felt myself start to hyperventilate, but I couldn’t give Rupert that satisfaction. I had to think of a plan. I had to get myself out of here.

As I tried to breathe and fight the panic, Rupert narrowed his eyes and pointed his fork at my untouched plate.

“The food’s not there for decoration.”

I didn’t want his food. If I took a bite, I’d throw it back up anyway.

I didn’t want his conversation either. Maybe he’d realize I wasn’t worth it and throw me out.

“You’re being a rude little shit.” Rupert wiped his mouth with his cloth napkin before dropping it back in his lap.

It was the first time in weeks I’d seen him, and I took the opportunity now to reallylookat him. While I’d never seen him through rose-colored glasses, there had always been a sort of acceptance about findingsomethingabout him that I found attractive. It was the only way I could get through the nights hecalled me into his bed. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember what that was now, because I could see him for what he really was. Someone vile. Ugly inside and out. Someone who could never compare in any way to Lucien.

He was older, and he really looked it tonight. There were heavy bags under his eyes and lines that framed his mouth. A receding hairline, heavy with grey, and ears that stuck out a bit. His skin was a reddish color naturally, though it seemed to only get darker the longer I ignored him. Maybe it’d be purple soon.

Rupert watched me for a long minute and then sniffed and resumed cutting his chicken a little too hard.

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