Page 162 of Kissing the Villain

“Look, Luca, I’m tired. And I’m not in the mood to play beer pong with your frat bros. So we can keep doing this dance, or you can let me go.”

One man snickered. Maybe he wanted to play beer pong with me. I almost laughed at the ridiculous thought.

What the hell did they do down here?

Jerk each other off.

Fuck women.

Worship the Devil.

Who knew?

I wasn’t sticking around to find out.

Luca’s jaw ticked. Disrespecting him in front of his friends made him angry, but I didn’t care.

“You want answers we can’t give you,” Luca said after a long pause. “Not without swearing an oath. I tried to tell you this before, but you never listen.”

I moved in front of him and shoved the hood off his head. “What are you talking about?”

Luca’s intense blue irises met mine, and a shiver rolled down my spine. My dark prince was terrifying on a typical day, but tonight, he looked possessed.

“It’s time you accept your place with The Devil’s Knights.”

“I never agreed to join your secret society, Luca.”

A haunting smirk stretched the corner of his mouth. “You never had a choice, baby girl.”

“Because you never gave me one.”

He pointed his finger at the back of the room. “Go! If you want to leave, none of us will stop you. But you will never get the answers you seek. You will always be an outsider.”

Without a second glance, I spun around and hopped off the dais. Marcello blocked me, his chest inches from my face. His head was down, eyes on me beneath the black hood, but I knew his scent. Why did they even bother with this arcane bullshit? It was fucking stupid.

I stepped around Marcello, and he didn’t stop me this time. Before I left the room, I stopped in front of the door and glanced over my shoulder. All eyes were on me, but only Luca’s face was visible. By process of elimination, I assumed Bastian, Damian, Sonny, Drake, and Cole were the other hooded men.

I took one last look. Luca was so damn beautiful my heart ached when our eyes met. His upper lip twitched as if he were about to explode at any second. The rage was always present, brewing at the surface. He did his best to contain it, but I knew him well.

Without a second thought, I took off, running from the room so fast my bare feet hurt as they scraped against the rough stone. I stopped at the end of the dark hallway, feeling like the wall was closing in on me. Hand over my heart, I blew out a deep breath and tried to control my rapid pulse.

Why would they bring me down here?

What the fuck were they thinking?

I had to get out of there.

Away from these psychos.

Taking one turn after another, I walked in circles, my head spinning with each turn. Where was the exit? They opened the secret door by removing a brick from the wall. But which one? They all looked the same. I spun in circles, trying to retrace my steps. Panic bubbled up inside my chest, the dark walls suffocating me.

It was too dark.

Too cold.

Sinking to the floor, I leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths, reminding myself to calm down. Otherwise, I would be stuck in this creepy ass cult hideout forever. Luca knew I would not get far. That was why he let me go without having me followed. He did nothing without a plan.

Get up.

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