Page 75 of The Devil's Chaos

“No,” I breathed heavily. “She wasn’t kidnapped. She helped them.” Archer was silent for a few moments, and my heart felt crushed by the revelations that had just been made. “I’m so sorry, Archer. I’m so fucking sorry,” I apologized repeatedly, but even I knew nothing I said would change the severity of the situation.

When he hung up, I felt a pit form in my stomach—I had betrayed one of my best friends, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to Mila because of it. I texted him Haven’s address and pulled into her parking garage. I knew she felt safer meeting us at her apartment than out in the open.

Theo pulled up on his motorcycle beside me, removing his helmet and giving me an apologetic smile.

“I fucked up,” I confessed to him.

“You couldn’t have known what Alexander had planned. Archer knows that,” he reassured me.

“But what if my relationship with Haven and Maddie somehow caused this? What if Haven played me the whole time?”

“Do you believe Haven would do that to you?” he asked hesitantly.

“No, but maybe my radar was skewed because I was fucking her.”

“Maybe I’d believe that if she hadn’t ended things with you, but she did regardless of her feelings for you. That doesn’t exactly scream betrayal to me. And also, I took the liberty of tracking her and her phone to be on the safe side.”

“You’ve been spying on her?”

“Hell, yes, I have. After Lacey, I didn’t want to risk something happening to anyone else.”

“Did you find out anything?”

“Nope. Her routine has been consistent. She goes to the club and dances and then goes home. She’s had zero interaction with her brother outside the club, and it’s in front of their customers. There’s been no plotting or anything resembling plotting since I’ve watched her. And I haven’t seen Maddie at all until the alleyway video. My guess is she’s been lying low since the ball. I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but I think your girl is actually telling the truth.”

“Has she had any visitors?” I asked, hoping the answer was no.

“Only her friend from the club.”

“Olivia?”

“Yeah, they’ve gone out to brunch several times, but otherwise, no one. Not even her brother.”

All I wanted to do was put the blame on someone. To explain away the decisions I made, but Haven wasn’t the villain in this story. She was a victim just as much as Mila was. Her cutting off contact with me wasn’t for her brother. It wasn’t for her. It was for me. She thought she didn’t deserve anything good in her life, and when she said she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, I realized now she meant it. It wasn’t a cop-out. It was the only choice she thought she had.

Damion and Archer arrived, parking next to Theo’s motorcycle. When Archer got out of the car, he looked like a man about to commit a murder.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“My contact’s apartment,” I replied.

“Where is she?” he questioned.

“We are going up to her.”

“Why?” he asked with suspicion in his eyes.

“She’s risking a lot by helping us. It’s not safe for her to meet us out in the open so close to where Mila is.”

“What does that mean?” Archer raised an eyebrow.

“She’ll explain everything when we get up there,” I assured him as I led the way to the elevator.

I hoped this interaction didn’t solidify my death.

We reached her floor, and I knocked on her door. She opened it, and her green eyes met mine before scanning over Archer and Theo. She stepped back to let us in, quickly closing the door behind us.

“This is Haven,” I introduced her. “Archer and Theo are with me.”

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