Page 94 of Avenging Devil: Part 1

I though, am having a full-blown panic attack, trying to get air into my lungs. My heart’s beating frantically, and blood drains from my head, making me feel faint. My shaking legs won’t support me, so I drop to the floor.

They’re Wolves in disguise.

Thoughts slam into me one after the other.

They brought me to the clubhouse when they had no real information that Duke was closing in, but the threat was enough to make me fall in with their plans. If Duke’s still in Nevada, I could have stayed in my own apartment until I had a new identity.

Why was it so important to stay here?

Suddenly, Niran’s offer to leave the club, the one thing that had made me start to trust him, has become more sinister. Was that just one last desperate ploy to stop me running away? Maybe their only reason to get me to stay was because they knew Duke was coming for me, but their motive wasn’t to keep me safe.

I’d trusted Duke.

I’d trusted my ex before him.

I’m a terrible judge of men.

My life depends on me not making a mistake again.

My revelations make me run for the bathroom, vomiting up the meagre dinner I’d forced down.It’s happening again.

No, Niran wouldn’t do that.

But I heard it myself. One of the brothers here has a woman tied up in his room. That sounds to me like a sex slave. Just like the Wolves.

Stop!I instruct myself. Chest heaving, heart racing, I pull myself up.Deep breaths.I concentrate on calming myself.It’s just the compound getting to me.Stay, I should stay, voice my fears to Niran tomorrow. Be an adult about this.

My eyes flick to the door, then my brow creases. There’s a note that’s been slipped under it. Wondering what it is, I go pick it up, unfolding it and holding it under the light.

Ask Niran about his old lady.

What? I read it again, but the words don’t change.

Old lady?Had he had one before? He’d never told me. And if he had, what happened to her, and why had he kept it a secret? Bile rises in my throat as another thought occurs to me.What if she’s still around?That would mean I was right, and he’d been lying to me.

Why?

Fuck knows, I don’t, but I doubt there’s any good reason. I’d been on the cusp before, and this is the final straw. There’s only one thought in my head,I’ve got to leave.With shaking hands, I pick up my bag, throw the few things I’d taken out back into it, then I start my escape.

Tiptoeing along the corridor, I walk to the side of the stairs, stepping as quietly as possible. When I reach the clubroom, I freeze. There’s a prospect tiredly wiping down the bar.

He glances up, eyes my bag, and I slump, knowing I’m going to be escorted back upstairs. But all he does is give a shake of his head, and nods toward the door.

“You leaving?”

Incapable of speaking, I nod my head.

“I’ll open the gate from here.”

Chapter Thirty

Niran

Imight go through my nightly routine and slide under the covers, but that doesn’t mean I sleep. My conversation with Saffie plays on repeat.

Did I mean what I said?The pros and cons go around and around my head as I toss and turn all night.Leave the Devils?It would be like starting all over again, and what the fuck would I do with my life? I’d already failed once as a civilian, and nothing has changed.

So I’ll tell her I didn’t mean it.Stay here and live the ride. I stare at my cut hanging over the chair, thinking how much I disrespected it last night.

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