Page 70 of The Devil Within

“She said she was going to work,” Celeste chokes out between sobs. “How’d she end up there? With them?”

I close the space between us and cup her cheek in my palm. I run my thumb through her tears.

“I think she went willingly to them,”I tell her.

“Why?” she whimpers and grips her hands into my shirt as if I’m the only thing keeping her standing. “Why would she do that?”

“To save us.”

The words hit us both with equal impact. They know about Celeste, and Liv let herself be taken and tortured in order to save us. She sacrificed herself for the two of us. I watch as the gears spin through her mind, piecing together the events of the past twenty-four hours. I see the moment she reaches the same conclusion I did on my way home. The sting of sadness shifts into the fire of fury on Celeste’s beautiful face right before my eyes.

“Well,” Celeste says as she disentangles herself from me.

Spinning on her heel, she turns to the closet and grabs the white purge style LED mask. She slides it over her face andwraps her fingers around a bat of her own. Swinging the bat over her shoulder, she turns to face me. She’s gorgeous—lightness and dark mixed together and driven by the need for vengeance. My angel of destruction.

“What the fuck are we waiting for? Let’s go get our girl.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

Garett

Devil by SHINEDOWN

The buzzing sound of my doorbell rings through my home again. The noise is annoying and grits against my nerves. My bare feet feel cool against the sleek bamboo flooring as I move toward the front of the house. The buzzer sounds again.

“Fucking coming!” I growl at the door despite the fact I know they can’t hear me through the thick frame.

Throwing up the door with a huff, I’m immediately met by a figure in my doorway. I’d buzzed Luke in through the gate amoment ago but the petite and curvy figure in front of me is definitely not Luke. Black clothes cling to her like a second skin, making her almost blend into the darkness of the night behind her. Her raven hair falls loosely around her glowing face. A mask covers her features. Glowing X’s cover the mouth and eye holes of the mask. Slung over her shoulder is an aluminum bat. We stand in stark silence for a moment before she cocks her head to the side in a way that comes across as completely sinister.

“Hello, Angel,” I coo right before she swings the bat.

The metal meets my diaphragm with such force that it completely takes the air out of my lungs. I double over in pain, my insides struggling to regain the ability to breathe. A second sure swing has the aluminum crushing my jaw. I stumble backwards, leaving a trail of blood droplets on the floor.

“I’m not your Angel, asshole,” Celeste seethes.

My eyes flit up to appraise her just as she raises the bat to swing again. My hand comes up to meet her blow this time. It was cute at first, but now I’m fucking annoyed. I wrap my fingers around the bat, holding it firmly in my grip. She tries to pull it back to regain control, but she should know by now—she’s never the one in control when I’m around.

She was a pawn to be used and abused, and the fact that Luke stole her for his own pleasure still grates at my nerves. I let him keep her and play with her because, truth be told, I did feel a slight bit of guilt about the idea of killing her, and he did seem happy for the first time in a very long time. It seemed like a win-win. But bringing her to my house to hit me upside the head with a baseball bat was not part of the deal.

Using my grip on the bat to control her, I move her backwards until her body hits the wall behind her. I am desperate to see the fear in her eyes and hear the small little gasps of surprises leaving her lips, but the damn mask is hiding her from me. At one point of time, I would have licked that fear from her skin,savoring in her pain. But things are different now. I’m different now. With a firm grip, I pin her tightly. From my periphery, I catch Luke’s tall frame lazily waltzing into the room making no attempt to get involved in the chaos that’s ensuing.

“Did you miss me, Angel?” I ask her as I lean in, invading her space.

Luke flinches slightly, but doesn’t move from the spot on the wall where he’s currently leaning.Interesting.

And then agonizing pain rips through my core as Celeste’s knee connects with my testicles. I double over in pain as blackness fills my vision. I stumble backwards, coughing and sputtering.

“I amnotyour fucking Angel, you sick fuck.” Pain sears my head as she hits me again with the bat. “You stalked me, kidnapped me, and tried to kill me!”

With my ass on the floor, I chance a glance up. Luke has a snide smirk on his face as he watches the show in front of him.Fucker.

“You gonna’ help?” I ask him as I finally manage to catch my breath. I can feel warm blood dripping down my face.

“Seems like she’s doing just fine all on her own,” he quips while flashing Celeste a wide white smile.

Okay, I’m officially done with this shit now.

Rising to my feet, I grab the bat swiftly. Celeste whines in surprise and pain as I twist the metal in her hand, forcing her arm to spin at an uncomfortable angle.

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