Page 81 of The Devil's Torment

“Victoria.” Nicholas’s hand shifts to the nape of my neck, and he grips me firmly. “You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong?”

Questions race through my mind, each one striking with the power of a bolt of lightning. How is this possible? I was there when she died. I wasright there.

My legs weaken, and I slump against Nicholas. He’s saying something to me, but whatever it is, the words are whisked away on the wind.

“Beth,” I croak, my voice rasping like my voice box is constricted. “It’s Beth.”

Lifting a shaky arm, I point. Nicholas’s gaze tracks my finger.

“What the fuck?”

That’s the moment I know it’s not a dream or an apparition. She’s here. She’s really here. Alive.

Pushing away from my husband, I dart across the street. When I reach the other side, I stop a few feet from her.

She lifts a hand in greeting. “Hi, Vic.”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I shut it again, trying for a second time. Nope. Nothing. As I make a third attempt, Nicholas skids to a halt beside me, his face flushed crimson. Like me, he seems incapable of speech.

“Hello, Nicholas.” Beth gives him a tight smile. “I’m sure you want answers, and you’ll get them, but for now, I need to speak with my sister. Alone.”

“Not a fucking chance,” he snaps, his arm sliding around my waist again, anchoring me to his side. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but whatever it is, you don’t get to speak to her. You gave up that right when you… what? Faked your own death.” He expels a single note laugh filled with bitterness and incredulity. “Jesus Christ.”

Beth lifts her chin, defiant in spite of the shocking circumstances. “Yes, that’s exactly what I did. I had my reasons, but the person who deserves to know them first is my sister. Not you.”

“Fuck you.” He looms over her, his free hand fisted at his side. A jolt of fear zips through my bloodstream, and for a split second, I consider the thought he might throttle her, or punch her.

“Nicholas.” I grab the sleeve of his jacket and tug, then insert myself between them, my back to Beth. Cupping his face, I bring his eyes to mine. Once they’re locked on, I stand on tiptoes and brush my lips over his. “It’s okay. I’m okay. Let me do this. I need to do this. If she’ll only talk to me, then we have to deal with that. I have to have answers, Nicholas.Weneed answers.”

A pulse thrums in his cheek, and I’m sure I can hear the grinding sound of enamel on enamel. He draws in several deep breaths, his struggle to maintain composure visible even to me. God only knows what’s going on inside his head.

“Andrew goes with you.”

“Of course.”

I can tell he’d rather peel the skin from his body than allow me to face this alone, but it’s the way it has to be. God, Beth is alive. It’s impossible yet irrefutable.

The volley of whys pelts me like icy needles of rain, and a violent shiver racks me. A car pulls into the curb, and Andrew alights from the passenger seat. I didn’t even see Nicholas call for him.

Andrew opens the back door and signals to Beth. “Miss Montague.”

Her gaze travels to me, then Nicholas, before she gets in. As I make a move to follow her, Nicholas yanks me into his body and slams his mouth over mine. His tongue demands entry, his hold on the back of my neck bordering on painful. It’s as though he’s claiming me, reminding me I belong to him, and he belongs to me, and it’s in that moment I realize what he’s doing. He’s reassuring me nothing has changed. Beth returning from the dead doesn’t mean anything forus.

Until now, I hadn’t considered it might have, but those thoughts would have come, and probably when we were apart. He’s preempting any doubts that might have crept in, and I love him for it.

I love him. I do. It’s time to face facts. I love him so much, even if I’ll never be able to tell him. Even if I’ll never hear him say those words to me. I can’t allow that to matter, because dammit, this has to be enough. He cares for me, he puts me first, he defends me against my parents. He’s my rock in a storm.

He’s mine.

He breaks off the kiss and presses his forehead to mine. “You need me, you call. I’m there.”

A rush of gratitude fills my chest. “I know, and I adore you for it.” It’s as close as I can get to sharing my true feelings, but the smile he gives me makes the risk worth it.

Freeing myself from his hold, I climb into the car, and he closes the door, cocooning me and Beth inside the warm cabin.

“Do Mum and Dad know?”

“No. I came to you first.”

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