Page 68 of The Devil's Chaos

I nodded, my jaw clenched tight. “I know. But she won't listen to me. She thinks I betrayed her.”

“Then you make her listen to you. We need to tell Archer.”

“You’re right.”

We were interrupted by Damion.

“Sorry for interrupting you, but we have a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alexander Benson was here tonight.”

“What do you mean he was here tonight?” I demanded, a hint of panic creeping into my voice.

“I thought I saw him, but he was gone when I tried to follow. So I went and pulled up the camera footage, and we saw him dancing with Ms. Grey’s friend, Lacey. The last footage of him is him getting in the car with Lacey.”

“How did he get past our security?” Theo asked, annoyed.

“I don’t know, boss. We are looking into it.” Damion’s voice was grave as he spoke.

Haven saw him when she darted out of the manor and went outside. The entire time, she knew he was there. She knew Lacey had gotten into the car with him and said nothing.

She had betrayed me.

Alexander had been here, right under our noses, and he had taken Lacey. The pieces were falling into place—the video,Haven’s erratic behavior, her desperate need to leave. She knew her brother was here and that he had left with someone—with Lacey. And like the self-sacrificing fool she was, she had gone after them alone.

And it didn’t matter because he had left with Lacey, and I knew the chances of finding her alive were slim.

“I’m sorry, but Maddie is gone too. She got into the same car as Alexander and Lacey by the front gate. She left her phone too,” Damion said grimly. “It looks like she left in a hurry.”

Theo’s face was ashen.

“Fuck!” I roared, slamming my fist into the wall. The plaster cracked under the force of my blow, but I barely felt the pain. All I could think about was how I had royally fucked up. “How could we let this happen?”

This was all my fault. I had pushed Haven away with my secrets and lies, and now she was gone, possibly in grave danger. If Alexander had sent that video, then he knew about us. And if he knew, then Haven was now a target. A pawn he could use to manipulate and control me.

I had to find her.

“Go to her. I’ll deal with this,” Theo offered.

“No. We need to tell Archer first. Mila needs to know that her best friend is missing.”

31

THIRTY-ONE

HAVEN

The dim lighting and musty smell of this rundown dive bar were not my usual scene. It reeked of stale beer and cigarette smoke, with a layer of grime coating every surface. I huddled in the corner near the restrooms, desperately trying to drown out the haunting images from the video my brother had sent me just two days ago. I had spent the last couple of days hiding in shady dive bars in the crappier parts of the city, hoping to hide away from everyone that was probably looking for me, including Kai, my brother, and I’m sure Archer, after my brother viciously murdered his fiancee’s best friend. I had seen the news that her body was found in a church on the St. Mary’s campus, but they reported no leads to who might have committed the heinous act.

But I knew.

And instead of doing the right thing, I was doing my best to destroy my liver, avoiding any and all accountability. All I knew was I needed to do whatever it took to get the images I saw in the video my brother sent me of Lacey’s final moments out of my brain forever. This video was a warning—a reminder. A show of force to remind me who he was and who I belonged to. I wouldnever be free. He would destroy everything and everyone I cared about if I didn’t step back in line.

The loud music and chatter of the bar faded into the background as I struggled to push the haunting scenes from my mind. Deep down, I knew no amount of alcohol could erase those images.

The girl, Lacey, was hogtied, her body tightly bound and contorted into a painful position on the stone floor of what appeared to be a cathedral. Her naked body trembled as tears streamed down her face. Her terrified eyes darted around the ornate-stained glass windows and towering arches. A thick layer of duct tape silenced her screams, but they still echoed off the sanctified walls. The camera panned to reveal my brother sauntering toward her with a long, gleaming, curved blade in his hand. Each step he took was confident and deliberate, and I knew he relished in the fear that radiated from her tiny form. A twisted smile played on his lips as he raised the knife to make his first cut. He didn’t want to just kill her. He wanted to inflict pain and terror until she begged for death.

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