Page 17 of The Devil's Chaos

But then the realization that he had managed to get past my locked door sent a shiver down my spine. I frantically searched for something to barricade it with, my heart pounding in my chest. I grabbed a chair from the dining room table and jammed it under the handle before stepping back to admire my makeshift barrier.

His scent still surrounded me, taunting me with hints of tobacco and sandalwood, caressing my senses, and lingering in the air like a ghost. Even though he royally pissed me off, I felt an odd sense of emptiness in his absence and a strange longing for his overwhelming and all-consuming presence.

His piercing blue eyes seemed to haunt me as I tried to push away the images of him flashing in my mind. I replayed our conversation while grabbing ice cubes from the freezer and wincing as I pressed them against my bruised face. Sulking back into bed, I left the balcony doors open, slid back into my cool sheets, and wrapped myself in my fluffy blanket.

He knew about Alex hitting me, but how? Had he witnessed our altercation in the hallway? Had he been there the entire time, watching me from a distance…watching me as Gerald forced himself on me?

The fire.

No, he couldn’t have been the reason the club caught on fire…could he?

My heart pounded in my chest as I fought to stay awake, replaying the night's events over and over in my mind. But in the end, exhaustion settled in, and I drifted into a deep sleep, my dreams plagued with him.

Birds chirping loudly and obnoxiously through my open balcony doors woke me from sleep. I groaned and mumbled words of disdain as I swatted my unruly hair away from my eyes. His presence lingered in the room, like a ghost haunting the edges of my consciousness. I could almost feel his breath on my skin and hear his deep voice whispering in my ear. Any average person would be terrified of him, of the power he held over me with just a glance. But instead, I found myself inexplicably drawn to him in a way I couldn’t explain. There was something magnetic about him, something that called to me on a primal level.

As I reluctantly got out of bed, the makeshift ice pack fell to the floor and spilled water all over the rug.

Fuck me.

Cursing a few more times, I groaned in frustration, my head spinning from the alcohol, and bent down to pick up the emptybag. After I discarded it, I laid a towel down, blotted up the water, and threw the wet towel in the dirty laundry basket in my closet. I checked my cell phone to see multiple missed calls and texts from my brother.

Why aren’t you answering?

Where are you?

You better answer, or I’m coming over.

CALL ME!!!

Fuck me twice.

Alex got angry when I didn’t respond to him in a timely fashion. My guess was he was already on his way over here, which meant I needed to make a decision: call him and hope he wasn’t outside my door, or wait for him to knock on my front door, which would quickly turn into forcing himself inside.

I opted to call him and crossed my fingers and toes, hoping he wasn’t heading up to my apartment right now.

The phone rang twice and answered.

“Why the fuck are you ignoring my phone calls?”

“I was sleeping,” I reply, trying to calm my voice.

“I don’t care what you’re doing. You answer when I call.”

“Okay, Alex. Sorry.”

“I was on my way to see you, but since you called me back, I’ll make this quick,” he snapped impatiently. “Someone set that fire at the club, and the camera footage was sabotaged. We’re looking into it, but for now, we’ll plan on finding an alternative location while repairs and renovations are completed. I’ll text you the location of the temporary club when I have it. Also, something has come up, and I need you to free up your evening.”

“I’m not really feeling well after you and one of our father’s esteemed guests gave me a concussion.”

“Are you talking back to me?”

I stayed silent.

“I don’t care if you have a broken leg. I need you to do what I asked. Am I clear?”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes.

“Jesus. Tonight, there’s a party at the quarry near St. Mary’s, and I need you to go and hand out party favors and keep an eye on a couple of people.”

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