Page 128 of The Devil's Chaos

HAVEN

Inavigated the city streets recklessly as I ran red lights and weaved through traffic. The other drivers honked and cursed, but I didn’t care. My mind was too consumed with worst-case scenarios, each more horrifying than the last. I couldn’t lose him. Not like this. Not because of my brother’s twisted games.

As I approached the club, I saw that the usually packed street was eerily deserted. The neon sign flickered ominously which casted a sickly pink glow on the pavement. I parked haphazardly, not caring if I was blocking the road. There was no one to complain anyway.

I burst through the front doors and the pounding music assaulted my ears. The strobe lights disoriented me briefly, but I blinked rapidly as I tried to get my bearings. The dance floor was empty, save for a few overturned tables and shattered glasses. It looked like a hurricane had torn through the place.

“Alex!” I screamed. “Where are you, you bastard?”

Silence greeted me as the music that was playing abruptly cut off at my shout. Then, a slow clap echoed from the balcony above. I whirled around to see my brother leaning against therailing. He wore a smug grin—one that he wore when he knew he had won.

“Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” he drawled. “I must say, sis, I’m impressed. You made it with,” he glanced at his watch, “two minutes to spare.”

I glared at him, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. “Where is he, Alex? Where’s Kai?”

Alex tsked as he wagged his finger at me. “So impatient. All in good time. You know the deal, Haven. You for him.”

“Fine,” I spat. “You have me. Now let him go.”

My brother laughed, a cold, humorless sound that reminded me that nothing was ever simple with him. He was always plotting. I was dumb to think there wasn’t something else going on. “Oh, it’s not that simple. You see, you’ve caused me a lot of trouble, baby sister. And trouble must be punished.”

He snapped his fingers, and Bruno and Rocco emerged from the shadows as they dragged a hooded figure between them. They shoved the prisoner to their knees, and Alex descended the stairs slowly while he relished in my anguish. He stopped behind the captive and ripped the hood off.

Instead of Kai, it was Archer. His face was almost unrecognizable beneath the bruises and blood. His one good eye met mine, and I saw a flicker of fear, not for himself, but for me.

“Haven, no,” he rasped. “Don’t do this. Just go…”

His pleas were met with the butt of my brother’s gun. “What did I tell you about speaking out of turn?”

This time, Bruno and Rocco reappeared with the other three hooded captives, one of whom I knew was Kai.

He was alive. Thank god.

“What is this?” I asked as they forced each of them on their knees in line with Archer—two on the left and Kai on the right.

“When I found Maddie dead and you in the hospital, I wanted to bring Maddie back to life just to murder that little slutfor almost killing you. But then, you did something unthinkable. You left me. Betrayed me for our enemies. You tore my fucking heart out. I could have ripped the flesh from your bones, piece by piece. God knows I wanted to. But thanks to our dear old daddy, he reminded me that revenge is a dish best served cold or some bullshit like that. Anyway, Sergei’s still well connected in Russia, and it turns out he has these Spetsnaz friends—you know, the mercenary-for-hire types. They’re a little batshit crazy, but they will, in fact, do anything for a little dough. When I heard that Archer here was celebrating his upcoming nuptials with the girl I was promised to have, I realized the time for revenge was now.” Alex pressed the muzzle of the gun to Archer’s temple, his finger hovering over the trigger. My heart lurched, and I took an involuntary step forward.

“Stop!” I cried. “Please, Alex. Don’t hurt him. Please don’t hurt any of them. I’m here, just like you wanted. Let them go.”

My brother’s cold eyes flicked to me, and a cruel smile played on his lips. “You’re right, sis. You did hold up your end of the bargain. But you see, I’ve realized something. As long as these people are alive, you’ll always have a reason to defy me. To fight back. And we can’t have that, now can we?”

He nodded, and Bruno and Rocco removed the hoods from the remaining three captives. My eyes immediately went to Kai. His face was swollen and bruised, his lip split and bleeding, and his eyes burned with sadness as they locked on mine. I looked over at the other two captives—Cassian and Evelyn King. Cassian’s face was marred by a deep gash across his cheekbone, and Evelyn’s usually perfect hair was tangled and matted with blood, her mascara ran in dark streaks down her cheeks. They both stared at me with pleading eyes, silently begging me to save myself.

“No,” I shook my head in disbelief.

My heart shattered. This was all my fault. My friends, my love, were suffering because of me. Because I dared to defy my psychopath of a brother, I knew he would never let me go. Guilt and despair threatened to swallow me whole.

Alex’s sinister laugh cut through my anguish. “What’s the matter, Haven? Not so brave now, are you? When the lives of your little friends are on the line?”

I swallowed hard as I fought back the tears that burned my eyes. I had to stay strong. Think clearly for them. “Let them go, Alex. This is between you and me. They have nothing to do with it.”

“They have everything to do with it!” he snarled. “They’re the reason you betrayed me. They poisoned you against me, turned you into a traitor. And now, they’ll be the reason you never leave again.”

“I won’t leave again. I’ll do anything you want. Just let them live,” I begged, my voice breaking as I looked back at Kai.

“Anything?” Alex arched his eyebrow, a wicked gleam in his eye. He stepped away from Kai and circled around me slowly like a shark sizing up its prey. “Tempting offer, baby sister. But how do I know you’ll keep your word this time? You’ve betrayed me so many times before.”

I swallowed hard as I met his cold gaze unflinchingly. “I swear it. On our mother’s grave.”

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