Page 24 of The Devil's Chaos

I pushed through them, fielding drunken advances and hands that were on a mission to touch as many asses as they could. I stood on my tiptoes, looking for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, knowing their freakishly tall bodies would tower over everyone there. They were approaching Mila from behind.

Now was my chance.

I shoved through the crowd and stood between my brother and Mila.

“Alex, stop.”

He looked surprised to see me interfering with his plans. “Get out the way, Haven.”

“There’s innocent people here!”

“You confuse me for someone who gives a fuck. Now, move out of the way before you become one of the casualties,” he threatened.

I planted my feet on the ground. “Please, Alex. Don’t do this.”

He nodded, and Bruno grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back, forcing me to lean forward before separating my shoulder from my arm.

I cried out in pain, and Alex leaned down. “I don’t know what’s going on with you lately, but clearly, I’ve been too lenient on you. A mistake I won’t make again. There are plenty of ways to break you without bruising that beautiful face of yours.” Hestood back up, leaving me gasping in pain in Bruno’s grasp. “Get her out of here. I’ll deal with her later.”

Bruno’s grip on my arm tightened as he dragged me across the party, ignoring the stares and whispers from the other guests. I watched helplessly as my brother moved behind Mila, pretending to dance behind her. I tried to struggle against his grip, but if I thought Kai was strong, Bruno was made up of all muscle to compensate for his lack of brains.

“Let go of me, Bruno. You’re hurting me, you big oaf!”

“Shut up.”

“Or what? You can’t hurt me.”

“Or I’ll shove my dick in your mouth and choke you until I can’t hear you anymore.”

I let out a boisterous laugh. “You mean that little shriveled-up thing in your pants that you call a dick? Awfully bold to assume that tiny dick of yours could ever make me choke.”

My insult had the desired effect. Bruno’s face reddened, and the veins in his neck bulged, but he released his grip for the slightest moment to punish me for what I said. When he released his grip, I turned my body, going for the knife he always kept on his waistband. This time, he grabbed me by my throat, lifting me into the air. By the time he realized what I had done, it was too late. I plunged the blade deep into his shoulder. The sickening squelch sounded as the blade sank into his flesh.

“You fucking bitch!” he bellowed, shaking me violently as I struggled to free myself, but I couldn’t move. His grip around my throat had my vision swimming. I was dangerously close to passing out. My blood was dripping down my wrist from the wound I got when my hand slipped down the hilt and onto the blade as I had stabbed him.

Suddenly, I heard a cracking sound. Bruno stopped shaking me, he released his hold on me, and I crumpled to the ground. His eyes rolled back, and he, too, fell to the ground; a new woundon the back of his head bled profusely, staining the gray stone beneath him.

I coughed, gripping my throat as air flooded into my lungs. Strong arms picked me up, and I smelled his scent before my eyes focused on his face.

“My brother—he’s already here,” I managed to say. My throat was on fire. “He’s using Mila to get to Archer.”

Kai’s brow furrowed as he looked at me and back toward the crowd. “I need to get you out of here.”

“No. You need to get to Archer. My brother and his men outnumber you. People will die if he isn’t stopped.”

He was conflicted. I could see it on his face. I was fully aware that there was a chance that this would be the last time I had him. There was a good chance my brother might kill him, and I was powerless to stop the wheels that were already in motion. My heart hurt at the thought for reasons I couldn’t understand. I grasped his face and pressed my lips firmly to his.

It was a desperate, impulsive act, born from the awareness that my brother would take everything from me, no matter what I did. I tried to say everything I needed to say in that one kiss, but my words fell short. It was a silent plea, an understanding, just for one more moment of life. His lips were soft, and all I wanted to do was fall into his arms and be saved by him, just like the princesses in the fairy tales.

But this was no fairy tale, and I was no princess.

When I stepped away from him, his eyes were filled with surprise and confusion. The sound of yelling and people screaming broke the haze of our kiss.

“Go,” I whispered, my voice hoarse from the struggle and the kiss.

He was gone before I could even stand up. My legs shook as I got my bearings. People were screaming and running toward the exit that would lead them out of the quarry. Others hid behindboulders, clinging to each other, mumbling prayers to a God they didn’t believe in, just for a sliver of comfort in what could be their last moments.

My brother was engaged in a fight with Archer, while Kai and their friend were brawling with my brother’s men. I watched the scene in front of me play out, horrified as bullets flew and bodies fell to the ground. A petite dark-haired girl stumbled into me, clutching her stomach, as her blood spilled through her fingers.

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